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Research Studies is a monthly compilation of research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers and recently published in journals or newsletters.
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1 to 25 of 9525 Research Studies Displayed
Tandan M, Zimmerman S, Sloane PD
Which nursing home residents with pneumonia are managed on-site and which are hospitalized? Results from 2 years' surveillance in 14 US homes.
Pneumonia is a frequent cause of hospitalization among nursing home (NH) residents, but little information is available as to how clinical presentation and other characteristics relate to hospitalization, and the differential use of antimicrobials based on hospitalization status. This study examined how hospitalized and nonhospitalized NH residents with pneumonia differ. The investigators concluded that respiratory rate was associated with hospitalization but was not documented for more than a quarter of residents.
AHRQ-funded; HS022298.
Citation:
Tandan M, Zimmerman S, Sloane PD .
Which nursing home residents with pneumonia are managed on-site and which are hospitalized? Results from 2 years' surveillance in 14 US homes.
J Am Med Dir Assoc 2020 Dec;21(12):1862-68.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.07.028..
Keywords:
Elderly, Nursing Homes, Pneumonia, Respiratory Conditions, Hospitalization
McInerney M, Mellor JM, Sabik LM. M, Mellor JM, Sabik LM
Welcome mats and on-ramps for older adults: the impact of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid Expansions on Dual Enrollment in Medicare and Medicaid.
The authors examined whether Medicaid participation by low-income adults age 65 and up increased as a result of Medicaid expansions to working-age adults under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Using American Community Survey data and state variation in ACA Medicaid expansions, they found that Medicaid expansions to working-age adults increased Medicaid participation among low-income older adults by 4.4 percent. They also found evidence of an “on-ramp” effect, which is an important mechanism behind welcome mat effects among some older adults.
AHRQ-funded; HS025422.
Citation:
McInerney M, Mellor JM, Sabik LM. M, Mellor JM, Sabik LM .
Welcome mats and on-ramps for older adults: the impact of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid Expansions on Dual Enrollment in Medicare and Medicaid.
J Policy Anal Manage 2021 Win;40(1):12-41. doi: 10.1002/pam.22259..
Keywords:
Elderly, Medicaid, Medicare, Low-Income, Health Insurance, Policy
Bajaj JS, Shamsaddini A, Fagan A
Distinct gut microbial compositional and functional changes associated with impaired inhibitory control in patients with cirrhosis.
The authors sought to assess the impact of inhibitory control versus traditional cirrhosis-related cognitive performance on gut microbial composition and function. They found that the gut microbial signature of impaired inhibitory control, which is associated with addictive disorders that can lead to cirrhosis, is distinct from cirrhosis-related cognitive impairment.
AHRQ-funded; HS025412.
Citation:
Bajaj JS, Shamsaddini A, Fagan A .
Distinct gut microbial compositional and functional changes associated with impaired inhibitory control in patients with cirrhosis.
Gut Microbes 2021 Jan-Dec;13(1):1953247. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1953247..
Keywords:
Digestive Disease and Health
Greenberg JK, Olsen MA, Poe J
Administrative data are unreliable for ranking hospital performance based on serious complications after spine fusion.
The authors evaluated the extent to which a metric of serious complications determined from administrative data can reliably profile hospital performance in spine fusion surgery. They found that a metric of serious complications was unreliable for benchmarking cervical fusion outcomes and only modestly reliable for thoracolumbar fusion. They concluded that, when assessed using administrative datasets, these measures appeared to be inappropriate for high-stakes applications, such as public reporting or pay-for-performance.
AHRQ-funded; HS027075; HS019455.
Citation:
Greenberg JK, Olsen MA, Poe J .
Administrative data are unreliable for ranking hospital performance based on serious complications after spine fusion.
Spine 2021 Sep 1;46(17):1181-90. doi: 10.1097/brs.0000000000004017..
Keywords:
Surgery, Provider Performance, Hospitals, Adverse Events, Back Health and Pain
Fong A, Adams K, Samarth A
Assessment of automating safety surveillance from electronic health records: Analysis for the quality and safety review system.
Researchers provided a heuristic assessment of the feasibility of automatically populating the Quality and Safety Review System (QSRS) questions from electronic health record (EHR) data. They developed the Relative Abstraction Complexity Framework to assess relative complexity of data abstraction questions. Their results suggested that Blood and Hospital Acquired Infections-Clostridium Difficile Infection (HAI-CDI) modules would be relatively easier to automate, whereas Surgery and HAI-Surgical Site Infection would be more difficult to automate.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201400008I.
Citation:
Fong A, Adams K, Samarth A .
Assessment of automating safety surveillance from electronic health records: Analysis for the quality and safety review system.
J Patient Saf 2021 Sep 1;17(6):e524-e28. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000402..
Keywords:
Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Chua KP, Linder JA
Prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by antibiotic among privately and publicly insured non-elderly US patients, 2018.
The authors used 2018 commercial and Medicaid claims to assess inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics. In their analysis, 22% of antibiotic claims were inappropriate. Azithromycin had an outsized role in inappropriate prescribing. They concluded that broad-based stewardship initiatives remain important given widespread inappropriate prescribing of all antibiotics.
AHRQ-funded; HS024930; HS026506; 2332015000201.
Citation:
Chua KP, Linder JA .
Prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing by antibiotic among privately and publicly insured non-elderly US patients, 2018.
J Gen Intern Med 2021 Sep;36(9):2861-64. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06189-z..
Keywords:
Antibiotics, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Medication, Medicaid, Health Insurance
Abdus S
Financial burdens of out-of-pocket prescription drug expenditures under high-deductible health plans.
This study examines financial burdens of out-of-pocket prescription drug expenditures across different levels of deductibles, focusing on low-income adults with multiple, prevalent chronic conditions. The results of this study suggest that for low-income adults with multiple chronic conditions who are enrolled in employer-sponsored high-deductible plans, out-of-pocket prescription drug costs may still result in significant financial hardships. The key takeaway point of this paper for general internists is that for patients with chronic conditions, out-of-pocket costs of prescription drugs could be excessively burdensome if they are enrolled in high-deductible plans.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Abdus S .
Financial burdens of out-of-pocket prescription drug expenditures under high-deductible health plans.
J Gen Intern Med 2021 Sep;36(9):2903-05. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06226-x..
Keywords:
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Health Insurance, Healthcare Costs, Medication
Ye J, Zhang R, Bannon JE
Identifying practice facilitation delays and barriers in primary care quality improvement.
Practice facilitation is an effective approach to implementing quality improvement (QI) interventions in practice-based research networks (PBRNs). Regular facilitator-practice interactions are necessary for successful facilitation and missed engagements may hinder the process of practice improvement. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to characterize the dynamics of practice facilitation and examine facilitation delays and barriers, as well as their association with the achievement of QI program goals in a PBRN initiative.
AHRQ-funded; HS023921.
Citation:
Ye J, Zhang R, Bannon JE .
Identifying practice facilitation delays and barriers in primary care quality improvement.
J Am Board Fam Med 2020 Sep-Oct;33(5):655-64. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2020.05.200058..
Keywords:
Practice Improvement, Primary Care, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Kim C, Colborn KL, van Buuren S
Neighbors-based prediction of physical function after total knee arthroplasty.
The purpose of this study was to develop and test personalized predictions for functional recovery after Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) surgery, using a novel neighbors-based prediction approach. Findings showed that predictions were well-calibrated in out-of-sample testing. These predictions have the potential to inform care decisions both prior to and following TKA surgery.
AHRQ-funded; HS025692; HS024316.
Citation:
Kim C, Colborn KL, van Buuren S .
Neighbors-based prediction of physical function after total knee arthroplasty.
Sci Rep 2021 Aug 18;11(1):16719. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-94838-6..
Keywords:
Orthopedics, Surgery, Arthritis
Angier H, Giebultowicz S, Kaufmann J
Creation of a linked cohort of children and their parents in a large, national electronic health record dataset.
Researchers sought to identify a national cohort of children that link to at least one parent in the same electronic health record dataset and describe their demographics. They were able to link 33% of children to a parent in electronic health record data from a large network of community health centers across the United States. They stated that further analyses utilizing these linkages will allow examination of the multi-level factors that impact a child's receipt of recommended health care.
AHRQ-funded; HS025962.
Citation:
Angier H, Giebultowicz S, Kaufmann J .
Creation of a linked cohort of children and their parents in a large, national electronic health record dataset.
Medicine 2021 Aug 13;100(32):e26950. doi: 10.1097/md.0000000000026950..
Keywords:
Children/Adolescents, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Delivery
Ko JY, Hirai AH, Owens PL
Neonatal abstinence syndrome and maternal opioid-related diagnoses: analysis of ICD-10-CM transition, 2013-2017.
Researchers sought to evaluate whether the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM may have affected surveillance on rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), maternal opioid use disorder (OUD), and opioid-related diagnoses. Using HCUP data, they found that the ICD-10-CM transition did not appear to affect NAS. However, coding of maternal OUD alone may not capture the same population across the transition, potentially confounding the interpretation of trend data spanning this time period.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Ko JY, Hirai AH, Owens PL .
Neonatal abstinence syndrome and maternal opioid-related diagnoses: analysis of ICD-10-CM transition, 2013-2017.
Hosp Pediatr 2021 Aug;11(8):902-08. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2021-005845..
Keywords:
Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Newborns/Infants, Opioids, Medication, Pregnancy, Substance Abuse
Klein IA, Rosenberg SM, Reynolds KL
Impact of cancer history on outcomes among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Researchers investigated whether a current cancer diagnosis or cancer history is an independent risk factor for death in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. They found that patients with a history of cancer hospitalized for COVID-19 had similar mortality to matched hospitalized patients with COVID-19 without cancer, and a lower risk of complications, while patients with active cancer or recent cancer treatment had a similar risk for adverse outcomes compared with survivors of cancer. They concluded that active cancer, systemic cancer therapy, and a cancer history are not independent risk factors for death from COVID-19 among hospitalized patients, and hospitalized patients without cancer are more likely to have severe COVID-19.
AHRQ-funded; HS023680.
Citation:
Klein IA, Rosenberg SM, Reynolds KL .
Impact of cancer history on outcomes among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Oncologist 2021 Aug;26(8):685-93. doi: 10.1002/onco.13794..
Keywords:
COVID-19, Cancer, Risk, Mortality, Hospitalization, Outcomes
Howard R, Johnson E, Berlin NL
Hospital and surgeon variation in 30-day complication rates after ventral hernia repair.
Researchers analyzed variability in 30-day complication rates and identified specific complications that contributed to this variability after ventral hernia repair. They found that, after adjusting for a number of patient-specific clinical variables, there was significant variation in 30-day complication rates after ventral hernia repair, representing a significant opportunity to improve patient outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS025778.
Citation:
Howard R, Johnson E, Berlin NL .
Hospital and surgeon variation in 30-day complication rates after ventral hernia repair.
Am J Surg 2021 Aug;222(2):417-23. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.12.021..
Keywords:
Surgery, Adverse Events, Outcomes, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Hoffmann JA, Pergjika A, Konicek CE
Pharmacologic management of acute agitation in youth in the emergency department.
In this article, the authors reviewed the definition of agitation and pharmacologic management for youth with acute agitation, including common classes of medications, indications for use, and adverse effects. They also discussed the need to integrate the use of medications into a comprehensive strategy for agitation management that begins with proactive prevention of aggressive behavior, creation of a therapeutic treatment environment, and verbal de-escalation strategies.
AHRQ-funded; HS026385.
Citation:
Hoffmann JA, Pergjika A, Konicek CE .
Pharmacologic management of acute agitation in youth in the emergency department.
Pediatr Emerg Care 2021 Aug;37(8):417-22. doi: 10.1097/pec.0000000000002510..
Keywords:
Children/Adolescents, Emergency Department, Medication, Care Management
Hoffman GJ, U U, Bynum J
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and episode spending under Medicare's Bundled Payment for Care Improvements Advanced (BPCI-A).
Investigators evaluated the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) across the episodes included in Medicare's Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI-A) program and the association between ADRD and 90-day spending among hospitals participating in the BPCI-A program. They found that ADRD is associated with higher episode spending, highlighting the importance of closely monitoring the experience of these patients under BPCI-A to ensure that they are receiving appropriate care. This is particularly important for episodes like sepsis and pneumonia that are common among patients with ADRD and also highly prevalent under BPCI-A.
AHRQ-funded; HS025838.
Citation:
Hoffman GJ, U U, Bynum J .
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and episode spending under Medicare's Bundled Payment for Care Improvements Advanced (BPCI-A).
J Gen Intern Med 2021 Aug;36(8):2499-502. doi: 10.1007/s11606-020-06348-2..
Keywords:
Elderly, Dementia, Medicare, Payment
Fishbein AB, Cheng BT, Tilley CC
Sleep disturbance in school-aged children with atopic dermatitis: prevalence and severity in a cross-sectional sample.
The authors sought to estimate the US prevalence of sleep disturbance and its impact on psychological and neurocognitive function in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Using PROMIS (Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System), they found that sleep disturbance was a common symptom of AD affecting approximately 3 million US children and was associated with neuropsychiatric impairment, including depression, anxiety, and inattention. They recommended that clinicians screen for these symptoms in school-aged children, particularly with moderate-to-severe AD.
AHRQ-funded; HS023011.
Citation:
Fishbein AB, Cheng BT, Tilley CC .
Sleep disturbance in school-aged children with atopic dermatitis: prevalence and severity in a cross-sectional sample.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2021 Aug;8(8):3120-29.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.04.064..
Keywords:
Children/Adolescents, Sleep, Skin Conditions
Dorr DA, D'Autremont C, Pizzimenti C
Assessing data adequacy for high blood pressure clinical decision support: a quantitative analysis.
This study examined guideline-based high blood pressure (HBP) and hypertension recommendations and evaluated the suitability and adequacy of the data and logic required for a Fast Healthcare Interoperable Resources-based, patient-facing clinical decision support HBP application. Findings showed that data quality from the electronic health record required to implement recommendations for HBP was highly inconsistent, reflecting a fragmented health care system and incomplete implementation of standard terminologies and workflows. Although imperfect, data were deemed adequate for two test use cases.
AHRQ-funded; HS026849.
Citation:
Dorr DA, D'Autremont C, Pizzimenti C .
Assessing data adequacy for high blood pressure clinical decision support: a quantitative analysis.
Appl Clin Inform 2021 Aug;12(4):710-20. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1732401..
Keywords:
Hypertension, Blood Pressure, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Decision Making, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Guidelines
Dahabreh IJ, Haneuse SJA, Robins JM
Study designs for extending causal inferences from a randomized trial to a target population.
In this article, the authors examined study designs for extending causal inferences from a randomized trial to a target population. They showed that the counterfactual quantities that can be identified in each study design depend on what is known about the probability of sampling nonrandomized individuals. They explored the implications of the sampling properties underlying the designs for the identification and estimation of the probability of trial participation.
AHRQ-funded; HS000011.
Citation:
Dahabreh IJ, Haneuse SJA, Robins JM .
Study designs for extending causal inferences from a randomized trial to a target population.
Am J Epidemiol 2021 Aug;190(8):1632-42. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwaa270..
Keywords:
Research Methodologies
Chilakamarri P, Finn EB, Sather J
Failure mode and effect analysis: engineering safer neurocritical care transitions.
Investigators presented failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) as a systems-engineering methodology to be applied to neurocritical care transitions to reduce failures in communication and improve patient safety. They described their local implementation of FMEA to improve the safety of inter-hospital transfer for patients with intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage as evidence of success. They found that application of the FMEA approach yielded meaningful and sustained process change for patients with neurocritical care needs.
AHRQ-funded; HS023554.
Citation:
Chilakamarri P, Finn EB, Sather J .
Failure mode and effect analysis: engineering safer neurocritical care transitions.
Neurocrit Care 2021 Aug;35(1):232-40. doi: 10.1007/s12028-020-01160-6..
Keywords:
Patient Safety, Transitions of Care, Critical Care, Communications, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Abdul-Chani MM, Moreno CP, Reeder JA
Perceived community disability stigma in multicultural, low-income populations: measure development and validation.
Investigators sought to develop and validate a brief bilingual (English/Spanish) perceived disability stigma measure, to compare perceived disability and autism stigma, and to examine perceived disability stigma by parent sociodemographic characteristics and disability familiarity. They found that perceived autism stigma was greater than perceived disability stigma, with Latino parents reporting less perceived disability stigma than white parents. They concluded that their perceived disability stigma scale demonstrated sound psychometric properties, with results suggesting differences in how stigma is perceived across sociodemographic characteristics and disability familiarity.
AHRQ-funded; HS000063.
Citation:
Abdul-Chani MM, Moreno CP, Reeder JA .
Perceived community disability stigma in multicultural, low-income populations: measure development and validation.
Res Dev Disabil 2021 Aug;115:103997. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2021.103997..
Keywords:
Disabilities, Low-Income, Vulnerable Populations, Social Stigma
Zuvekas SH, Grosse SD, Lavelle TA
Healthcare costs of pediatric autism spectrum disorder in the United States, 2003-2015.
Published healthcare cost estimates for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) vary widely. One possible contributor is different methods of case ascertainment. In this study, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) case status was determined using two sources of parent reports among 45,944 children ages 3-17 years in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) linked to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Sample Child Core questionnaire. In this paper, the investigators describe their process and conclusions.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Zuvekas SH, Grosse SD, Lavelle TA .
Healthcare costs of pediatric autism spectrum disorder in the United States, 2003-2015.
J Autism Dev Disord 2021 Aug;51(8):2950-58. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04704-z..
Keywords:
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Children/Adolescents, Autism, Healthcare Costs, Behavioral Health
Vemulakonda VM, Sevick C, Juarez-Colunga E
Treatment of infants with ureteropelvic junction obstruction: findings from the PURSUIT network.
Studies based on administrative databases show that infant pyeloplasty is associated with minority race/ethnicity but lack clinical data that may influence treatment. The objective of this study was to identify clinical and demographic factors associated with pyeloplasty in infants from three large tertiary centers. The investigators found that infant pyeloplasty rates varied between sites. In addition, they found that prolonged T½ was associated with surgery despite prior studies suggesting this was a poor predictor of worsening dilation or function.
AHRQ-funded; HS024597.
Citation:
Vemulakonda VM, Sevick C, Juarez-Colunga E .
Treatment of infants with ureteropelvic junction obstruction: findings from the PURSUIT network.
Int Urol Nephrol 2021 Aug;53(8):1485-95. doi: 10.1007/s11255-021-02866-y..
Keywords:
Newborns/Infants, Treatments, Practice Patterns
Suls J, Bayliss EA, Berry J
Measuring multimorbidity: selecting the right instrument for the purpose and the data source.
Adults have a higher prevalence of multimorbidity-or having multiple chronic health conditions-than having a single condition in isolation. Researchers, health care providers, and health policymakers find it challenging to decide upon the most appropriate assessment tool from the many available multimorbidity measures. The objective of this study was to describe a broad range of instruments and data sources available to assess multimorbidity and offer guidance about selecting appropriate measures.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation:
Suls J, Bayliss EA, Berry J .
Measuring multimorbidity: selecting the right instrument for the purpose and the data source.
Med Care 2021 Aug;59(8):743-56. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001566..
Keywords:
Chronic Conditions
Snyder ME, Adeoye-Olatunde OA, Gernant SA
A user-centered evaluation of medication therapy management alerts for community pharmacists: recommendations to improve usability and usefulness.
Community pharmacists provide comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs) through pharmacy contracts with medication therapy management (MTM) vendors. These CMRs are documented in the vendors' web-based MTM software platforms, which often integrate alerts to assist pharmacists in the detection of medication therapy problems. The objectives of this study were to 1) assess the usability and usefulness of MTM alerts for MTM vendor-contracted community pharmacists and 2) generate recommendations for improving MTM alerts for use by community pharmacists.
AHRQ-funded; HS025005.
Citation:
Snyder ME, Adeoye-Olatunde OA, Gernant SA .
A user-centered evaluation of medication therapy management alerts for community pharmacists: recommendations to improve usability and usefulness.
Res Social Adm Pharm 2021 Aug;17(8):1433-43. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.10.015..
Keywords:
Medication, Provider: Pharmacist, Community-Based Practice
McCoy RG, Van Houten HK, Dunlay SM
Race and sex differences in the initiation of diabetes drugs by privately insured US adults.
The authors examined the differences in the use of three glucose-lowering medications as a function of both sex and race. They found that, compared to white men, GLP-1RA were 43% more likely to be started by White women, 12% more likely to be started by non-White men, and 21% less likely to be started by non-White women. SGLT2i were at least 10% less likely to be started by all groups compared to White men, and DPP4i were used more often by non-White than White patients of both sexes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation:
McCoy RG, Van Houten HK, Dunlay SM .
Race and sex differences in the initiation of diabetes drugs by privately insured US adults.
Race and sex differences in the initiation of diabetes drugs by privately insured US adults..
Keywords:
Diabetes, Chronic Conditions, Medication, Sex Factors, Racial / Ethnic Minorities
