National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 22 of 22 Research Studies DisplayedAneja S, Chang E, Omuro A
Applications of artificial intelligence in neuro-oncology.
This article explores the promise that artificial intelligence algorithms has for improving understanding of brain tumors and help drive future innovations in neuro-oncology.
AHRQ-funded; HS023000.
Citation: Aneja S, Chang E, Omuro A .
Applications of artificial intelligence in neuro-oncology.
Curr Opin Neurol 2019 Dec;32(6):850-56. doi: 10.1097/wco.0000000000000761.
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Keywords: Health Information Technology (HIT), Cancer, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging
Lacson R, Gujrathi I, Healey M
Closing the loop on unscheduled diagnostic imaging orders: a systems-based approach.
This study looked at the impact of implementing a tool called SCORE (System for Coordinating Orders for Radiology Exams), whose objective is to manage unscheduled orders for outpatient diagnostic imaging in an electronic health record (EHR) with embedded computerized physician order entry. The rate of unscheduled imaging orders was compared before SCORE (October 2017 to September 2018) and after (October 2018 to June 2019). There was a 49% reduction in unscheduled orders after SCORE implementation at a large academic institution.
AHRQ-funded; HS024722.
Citation: Lacson R, Gujrathi I, Healey M .
Closing the loop on unscheduled diagnostic imaging orders: a systems-based approach.
J Am Coll Radiol 2021 Jan;18(1 Pt A):60-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2020.09.031..
Keywords: Imaging, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Levy AE, Shah NR, Matheny ME
Determining post-test risk in a national sample of stress nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging reports: implications for natural language processing tools.
The authors investigated whether Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools could potentially help estimate myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) risk. Subjects were VA patients who underwent stress MPI and coronary angiography 2009-11; stress test reports were randomly selected for analysis. The authors found that post-test ischemic risk was determinable but rarely reported in this sample of stress MPI reports. They conclude that this supports the potential use of NLP to help clarify risk and recommend further study of NLP in this context.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Levy AE, Shah NR, Matheny ME .
Determining post-test risk in a national sample of stress nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging reports: implications for natural language processing tools.
J Nucl Cardiol 2019 Dec;26(6):1878-85. doi: 10.1007/s12350-018-1275-y..
Keywords: Imaging, Risk, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT), Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Cardiovascular Conditions, Heart Disease and Health
Kang SK, Garry K, Chung R
Natural language processing for identification of incidental pulmonary nodules in radiology reports.
The authors developed natural language processing (NLP) to identify incidental lung nodules (ILNs) in radiology reports for assessment of management recommendations using the electronic health records for patients who underwent chest CT before and after implementation of a department-wide dictation macro of the Fleischner Society recommendations. They concluded that NLP reliably automates identification of ILNs in unstructured reports, pertinent to quality improvement efforts for ILN management.
AHRQ-funded; HS024376.
Citation: Kang SK, Garry K, Chung R .
Natural language processing for identification of incidental pulmonary nodules in radiology reports.
J Am Coll Radiol 2019 Nov;16(11):1587-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2019.04.026..
Keywords: Imaging, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Health Information Technology (HIT), Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Fu Y, Wu X, Thomas AM
Automatic large quantity landmark pairs detection in 4DCT lung images.
A new method was developed to automatically and precisely detect a large quantity of landmark pairs between lung computed tomography (CT) image pairs. The detected landmark pairs could be used as benchmark datasets for more accurate and informative quantitative evaluation of DIR algorithms. Target registration errors (TREs) were measured for 300 manually labeled landmark pairs in 10 lung 4DCT benchmark datasets (DIRLAB) with 97% of landmark pairs having a TRE smaller than 2 mm.
AHRQ-funded; HS022888.
Citation: Fu Y, Wu X, Thomas AM .
Automatic large quantity landmark pairs detection in 4DCT lung images.
Med Phys 2019 Oct;46(10):4490-501. doi: 10.1002/mp.13726..
Keywords: Imaging, Diagnostic Safety and Quality
Moore CL, Carpenter CR, Heilbrun ME
Imaging in suspected renal colic: systematic review of the literature and multispecialty consensus.
This study conducted a Delphi process consensus on 29 specific clinical scenarios when kidney stones are suspected due to renal colic. The authors wanted to create an evidence-based, multispecialty consensus on optimal imaging for suspected renal colic in the acute setting. A 9-member panel was conducted with 3 physician representatives from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), 3 from the American College of Radiology, and 3 from the American Urology Association. First a systematic literature review was conducted. Out of 6,337 records, there were 232 relevant articles. Out of the 29 clinical scenarios examined, 15 were rated as perfect, 8 were excellent, and 3 good and 3 moderate.
AHRQ-funded; HS023778.
Citation: Moore CL, Carpenter CR, Heilbrun ME .
Imaging in suspected renal colic: systematic review of the literature and multispecialty consensus.
Ann Emerg Med 2019 Sep;74(3):391-99. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2019.04.021..
Keywords: Imaging, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Emergency Department
Deng F, Li MD, Wong A
Quality of documentation of contrast agent allergies in electronic health records.
The purpose of this study was to describe and appraise contrast agent allergy documentation in the electronic health record (EHR). The investigators concluded that contrast allergy records in EHRs were diverse and commonly low quality. They suggest that continued EHR enhancements and training are needed to support contrast allergy documentation to facilitate improved patient care and medical research.
AHRQ-funded; HS025375.
Citation: Deng F, Li MD, Wong A .
Quality of documentation of contrast agent allergies in electronic health records.
J Am Coll Radiol 2019 Aug;16(8):1027-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2019.01.027..
Keywords: Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Technology (HIT), Imaging
Shah NR, Ahmed ST, Winchester DE
Facility-level variation in stress test utilization in veterans with ischemic heart disease.
The aim of this study was to quantify variation in cardiac stress test utilization across the Veterans Health Administration (VA) in patients with established ischemic heart disease (IHD). The investigators used VA datasets to identify adults with IHD (myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, and/or coronary artery bypass grafting) with a primary care clinic visit at the VA in fiscal year 2014.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Shah NR, Ahmed ST, Winchester DE .
Facility-level variation in stress test utilization in veterans with ischemic heart disease.
JACC Cardiovasc Imaging 2019 Jul;12(7 Pt 1):1292-93. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2019.02.020..
Keywords: Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Healthcare Utilization, Practice Patterns, Imaging
Armstrong MJ, Gronseth GS, Day GS
Patient stakeholder versus physician preferences regarding amyloid PET testing.
Patient and caregiver perspectives on amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) use are largely unexplored, particularly as compared with clinician views. In this study, the investigators surveyed clinicians, patients, caregivers, and dementia advocates on topics relating to an evidence-based guideline on amyloid PET use. They found that patients and caregivers emphasized the importance of having a dementia diagnosis and placed more value on testing and outcomes for asymptomatic populations than clinicians.
AHRQ-funded; HS024159.
Citation: Armstrong MJ, Gronseth GS, Day GS .
Patient stakeholder versus physician preferences regarding amyloid PET testing.
Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 2019 Jul-Sep;33(3):246-53. doi: 10.1097/wad.0000000000000311..
Keywords: Shared Decision Making, Dementia, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Evidence-Based Practice, Guidelines, Imaging, Neurological Disorders, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Provider, Provider: Physician
Miglioretti DL, Abraham L, Lee CI
Digital breast tomosynthesis: radiologist learning curve.
This study examined if detect rates and lower recall rates occurred with the adoption of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) than for traditional breast mammography. Performance was compared before and after DBT adoption using data from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium cohort. There was a small improvement in recall rates, with more improvement in women with nondense breasts. Cancer detection rates were similar.
AHRQ-funded; HS018366.
Citation: Miglioretti DL, Abraham L, Lee CI .
Digital breast tomosynthesis: radiologist learning curve.
Radiology 2019 Apr;291(1):34-42. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2019182305..
Keywords: Cancer, Cancer: Breast Cancer, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging, Screening, Women
Pruitt P, Naidech A, Ornam J
A natural language processing algorithm to extract characteristics of subdural hematoma from head CT reports.
Researchers created a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm to predict radiographic characteristics of subdural hematomas (SDH). The NLP was used to extract data from cranial computed tomography (CT) scan reports for patients with SDH. The results were measured for accuracy compared to cranial CT scan interpretations by board-certified attending radiologists and data coded by two ED physicians.. Output performance was considered high, with an algorithm accuracy of 0.84 for side of largest SDH, 0.88 for thickness of largest SDH, and 0.92 for size of midline shift.
AHRQ-funded; HS000078.
Citation: Pruitt P, Naidech A, Ornam J .
A natural language processing algorithm to extract characteristics of subdural hematoma from head CT reports.
Emerg Radiol 2019 Jun;26(3):301-06. doi: 10.1007/s10140-019-01673-4..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging, Trauma
Cochon LR, Kapoor N, Carrodeguas E
Variation in follow-up imaging recommendations in radiology reports: patient, modality, and radiologist predictors.
The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and to identify factors associated with follow-up recommendations in radiology reports from multiple modalities, patient care settings, and imaging divisions. A trained algorithm classified 318,366 report; the findings indicate that substantial interradiologist variation exists in the probability of recommending a follow-up examination in a radiology report.
AHRQ-funded; HS024722.
Citation: Cochon LR, Kapoor N, Carrodeguas E .
Variation in follow-up imaging recommendations in radiology reports: patient, modality, and radiologist predictors.
Radiology 2019 Jun;291(3):700-07. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2019182826..
Keywords: Shared Decision Making, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Hammer MM, Kapoor N, Desai SP
Adoption of a closed-loop communication tool to establish and execute a collaborative follow-up plan for incidental pulmonary nodules.
The purpose of this study was to assess radiologists' adoption of a closed-loop communication and tracking system, Result Alert and Development of Automated Resolution (RADAR), for incidental pulmonary nodules and to measure its effect on the completeness of radiologists' follow-up recommendations. Results showed that a closed-loop communication system that enables establishing and executing a collaborative follow-up plan for incidental pulmonary nodules can be adopted and improves the quality of radiologists' follow-up recommendations.
AHRQ-funded; HS024722.
Citation: Hammer MM, Kapoor N, Desai SP .
Adoption of a closed-loop communication tool to establish and execute a collaborative follow-up plan for incidental pulmonary nodules.
AJR Am J Roentgenol 2019 May;212(5):1077-81. doi: 10.2214/ajr.18.20692..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging, Communication
Ablordeppey EA, Drewry AM, Theodoro DL
Current practices in central venous catheter position confirmation by point of care ultrasound: a survey of early adopters.
Although routine chest radiographs (CXR) to verify correct central venous catheter (CVC) position and exclude pneumothorax are commonly performed, emerging evidence suggests that this practice can be replaced by point of care ultrasound (POCUS). POCUS is advantageous over CXR because it avoids radiation while verifying correct placement and lack of pneumothorax without delay. In this study, they aimed to describe the current clinical practice regarding POCUS alone for CVC position confirmation and pneumothorax exclusion as compared with chest radiography.
AHRQ-funded; R18 HS025052.
Citation: Ablordeppey EA, Drewry AM, Theodoro DL .
Current practices in central venous catheter position confirmation by point of care ultrasound: a survey of early adopters.
Shock 2019 May;51(5):613-18. doi: 10.1097/shk.0000000000001218..
Keywords: Imaging, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Patient Safety
Strom JB, Shen C, Yeh RW
SCOT-HEART: does it live up to the PROMISE?
This paper examines the Scottish Computed Tomography of the Heart (SCOT-HEART) trial which was a prospective, openlabel, parallel group, multicenter trial that randomized 4146 adults (ages 18–75), referred for suspected angina to 12 cardiology clinics across Scotland between November 18, 2010 and September 24, 2014, to an initial strategy of computed tomographic Angiography (CTA) plus standard care or standard care alone in a 1:1 fashion.
AHRQ-funded; R01 HS024520.
Citation: Strom JB, Shen C, Yeh RW .
SCOT-HEART: does it live up to the PROMISE?
J Cardiovasc Comput Tomogr 2019 May - Jun;13(3):48-50. doi: 10.1016/j.jcct.2019.01.008..
Keywords: Imaging, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Diagnostic Safety and Quality
Shah SC, Nakata C, Polydorides AD
Upper endoscopy up to 3 years prior to a diagnosis of gastric cancer is associated with lower stage of disease in a USA multiethnic urban population, a retrospective study.
This study focused on the feasibility of earlier diagnosis of non-cardia gastic cancer (NCGC) for high-risk populations in the US who include multiracial and ethnic populations. A retrospective study was conducted with patients who were positively identified endoscopically with NCGC at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. The primary outcome was an increased frequency of patients diagnosed with stage 0-Ia (38%) as opposed to stage Ib-III (34%) and stage IV (20.3%). For patients with stage 0-Ia if they had a prior negative endoscopy there was a 94% higher likelihood of the NCGC being in a curable stage.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Shah SC, Nakata C, Polydorides AD .
Upper endoscopy up to 3 years prior to a diagnosis of gastric cancer is associated with lower stage of disease in a USA multiethnic urban population, a retrospective study.
J Prev Med Public Health 2019 May;52(3):179-87. doi: 10.3961/jpmph.18.262..
Keywords: Cancer, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Digestive Disease and Health, Imaging, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Urban Health
Crawford ED, Koo PJ, Shore N
A clinician's guide to next generation imaging in patients with advanced prostate cancer (RADAR III).
This paper reports on the convening of the Radiographic Assessments for Detection of Advanced Recurrence (RADAR III) Group to offer guidance on the use of next generation imaging to stage prostate cancer based on available data and clinical experience. The RADAR III Group recommends next generation imaging techniques in select patients in whom disease progression is suspected based on biomarker values, comorbidities and symptoms.
AHRQ-funded.
Citation: Crawford ED, Koo PJ, Shore N .
A clinician's guide to next generation imaging in patients with advanced prostate cancer (RADAR III).
J Urol 2019 Apr;201(4):682-92. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2018.05.164..
Keywords: Men's Health, Cancer: Prostate Cancer, Cancer, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging, Evidence-Based Practice, Guidelines
Giess CS, Wang A, Ip IK
Patient, radiologist, and examination characteristics affecting screening mammography recall rates in a large academic practice.
This retrospective study examined patient, radiologist and examination characteristics affecting screening mammography recall rates. This study used 61,198 examinations from an academic center and two outpatient centers from October 1, 2012 to May 31, 2015. Radiologists’ risk aversion, stress from uncertainty, and malpractice concerns and cancer detection rates were derived from the survey. Their annual screening volumes, clinical experience, and concentration in breast imaging was calculated. About 9.3% of screening examinations were recalled. There was no association found with radiologists’ risk aversion, stress from uncertainty, malpractice concerns and cancer detection rates and high recall rates. The most variation was found with radiologists’ annual reading volume and experience.
AHRQ-funded; HS24722.
Citation: Giess CS, Wang A, Ip IK .
Patient, radiologist, and examination characteristics affecting screening mammography recall rates in a large academic practice.
J Am Coll Radiol 2019 Apr;16(4 Pt A):411-18. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2018.06.016..
Keywords: Cancer, Cancer: Breast Cancer, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging, Prevention, Screening, Women
Haymart MR, Banerjee M, Reyes-Gastelum D
Adverse Events, Health Status, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Physician, Surgery
This study used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data to analyze thyroid cancer incidence in adults aged 65 years or older. Data was analyzed in the SEER-Medicare database from 2002 and 2013. Thyroid ultrasound use as initial imaging increased in all types of thyroid cancer, which increased the diagnosis of low-risk thyroid cancer. It was associated with female and comorbidities. Researchers believe that there is greater thyroid ultrasound use which results in increased diagnosis.
AHRQ-funded; HS024512.
Citation: Haymart MR, Banerjee M, Reyes-Gastelum D .
Adverse Events, Health Status, Provider: Clinician, Provider: Nurse, Provider: Physician, Surgery
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2019 Mar;104(3):785-92. doi: 10.1210/jc.2018-01933..
Keywords: Cancer, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Elderly, Imaging
Lacson R, Cochon L, Ip I
Classifying safety events related to diagnostic imaging from a safety reporting system using a human factors framework.
This study measured the prevalence of safety events related to diagnostic imaging reported to an electronic safety reporting system. The authors evaluated reports all system reports from 2015 at an academic medical center. Out of 11,570 safety reports submitted, only 7% were related to diagnostic imaging. The adverse event was reported as either result communication or harm during the imaging procedure itself. The harms were rates from 0 to 4 by the reporter. Harms from 2-4 were considered as “potential harm."
AHRQ-funded; HS024722.
Citation: Lacson R, Cochon L, Ip I .
Classifying safety events related to diagnostic imaging from a safety reporting system using a human factors framework.
J Am Coll Radiol 2019 Mar;16(3):282-88. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2018.10.015..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging, Patient Safety, Medical Errors
Sheehan FH, McConnaughey S, Freeman R
Formative assessment of performance in diagnostic ultrasound using simulation and quantitative and objective metrics.
The authors of this article describe how they developed simulator-based tools for assessing provider competence in transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and vascular duplex scanning. Psychomotor skill in TTE image acquisition was calculated using the deviation angle of an acquired image from the anatomically correct view, and this skill metric applied for formative assessment to evaluate curricula and provide feedback to learners. Psychomotor skill in vascular ultrasound was measured in terms of dexterity and image plane location. The skill metric in the TTE simulator enabled immediate feedback, as well as formative assessment of curriculum efficacy and a comparison of curriculum outcomes. The vascular duplex ultrasound simulator also provided feedback. The authors conclude that skill in acquiring diagnostic ultrasound images of organs and vessels can be measured using simulation in an objective, quantitative, and standardized manner. Simulator-based metrics might also be applied to summative assessment.
AHRQ-funded; HS024219.
Citation: Sheehan FH, McConnaughey S, Freeman R .
Formative assessment of performance in diagnostic ultrasound using simulation and quantitative and objective metrics.
Mil Med 2019 Mar 1;184(Supplement_1):386-91. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usy388.
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Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Education: Continuing Medical Education, Imaging, Provider Performance, Training
Carrodeguas E, Lacson R, Swanson W
Use of machine learning to identify follow-up recommendations in radiology reports.
The aims of this study were to assess follow-up recommendations in radiology reports, develop and assess traditional machine learning (TML) and deep learning (DL) models in identifying follow-up, and benchmark them against a natural language processing (NLP) system. The investigators concluded that TML and DL were feasible methods to identify follow-up recommendations. They suggest that these methods have great potential for near real-time monitoring of follow-up recommendations in radiology reports.
AHRQ-funded; HS024722.
Citation: Carrodeguas E, Lacson R, Swanson W .
Use of machine learning to identify follow-up recommendations in radiology reports.
J Am Coll Radiol 2019 Mar;16(3):336-43. doi: 10.1016/j.jacr.2018.10.020..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Imaging, Patient Safety