Half the cases of early childhood asthma are due to secondhand cigarette smoke
Health Care Delivery
Nearly one-third of U.S. toddlers have not received complete immunizations
Laboratory testing and antibiotic therapy are often at odds with expert advice about Lyme disease care
Clinical Decisionmaking
Treadmill testing of certain ED patients with chest pain may substantially reduce hospital admissions and costs
Heparin reduces catheter-related clot formation and may reduce catheter-related infections
Moderately anemic elderly patients who undergo surgery don't necessarily require blood transfusions
Nonclinical factors affect use of maternal corticosteroids to reduce respiratory complications in premature infants
Outcomes/Effectiveness Research
Using relatively inexpensive antibiotics to treat pneumonia does not lead to poorer medical outcomes
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Stoke PORT examines post-stroke risks and outcomes of carotid endarterectomy
Hospital Studies
Receipt of certain major procedures by hospitalized adults varies by race and sex
Problems in communicating critical hospital lab results delay necessary treatment
Managed Care
HMO coverage may alter treatment choices and hospital stays for women with breast cancer
Managed care patients with chronic diseases are hospitalized less often than those with traditional insurance
Priorities identified for managed care research agenda
Attention AHCPR-funded researchers
Managed care plans develop research capabilities and partnerships
A changing health care environment presents both challenges and opportunities for health services researchers
Health Care Costs and Financing
California hospitals shifted costs from public to private payers during the 1980s
Multiple births raise neonatal intensive care charges 250-400 percent over singleton births
Job lock due to loss of employer-related health insurance is smaller than previously thought
Health Care Access and Quality
Reasons vary for lacking a usual source of health care
Discharge abstract data may not be a reliable indicator of hospital quality of care for bypass surgery
Linking published evidence with practice data can change physicians' practice behavior
Elderly/Long-Term Care
Attitudes toward medical care and risk affect demand by elderly for Medigap insurance
Use of long-term care varies according to race
Special Populations
Asthma disproportionately affects blacks who often go to the ER for asthma care
Rural teens are just as likely as urban teens to become pregnant
HIV/AIDS Research
Preventing AIDS-related opportunistic infections is cost effective
AHCPR News and Notes
From the Administrator: Academic health centers have an important role in improving health services research and health care
AHCPR announces availability of prevention materials
Register now for AHCPR's second conference on evidence-based practice
AHCPR invites guidelines for public/private clearinghouse
Announcements
AHCPR releases new hospital data
AHCPR funds new studies
New publications now available from AHCPR and NTIS
Research Briefs
Impact of opportunistic disease on survival in patients with HIV infection
Diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis using PCR assays on sputum collected within 24 hours of hospital admission
Public release of cardiac surgery outcomes data in New York: What do New York State cardiologists think of it?
Minority issues in Alzheimer disease outcomes research
Competition between for-profit and nonprofit health care providers: Can it help achieve social goals?
A synoptic evaluation of asthma hospital admissions in New York City
Finding health-related quality of life outcomes sensitive to healthcare organization and delivery
A comparison of patient and nurse ratings of human immunodeficiency virus-related signs and symptoms
The quality-of-life effect of interferon beta-1b in multiple sclerosis
Clinic HIV-focused features and prevention of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
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