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- Access to Care (1)
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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 10 of 10 Research Studies DisplayedOsmanlliu E, Kalwani NM, Parameswaran V
Sociodemographic disparities in the use of cardiovascular ambulatory care and telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers examined adult cardiology visits at an academic and affiliated community practice in Northern California to assess the persistence sociodemographic disparities in telemedicine use before and during the COVID pandemic. Results indicated that sociodemographic characteristics of patients receiving cardiovascular care remained stable during both periods, but the modality of care diverged across groups. Observed disparities in the use of video-based telemedicine were greatest for patients 80 years or older, Black, with limited English proficiency, or on Medicaid. The researchers recommended that future studies examine barriers and outcomes in digital healthcare access across diverse patient groups.
AHRQ-funded; HS026128.
Citation: Osmanlliu E, Kalwani NM, Parameswaran V .
Sociodemographic disparities in the use of cardiovascular ambulatory care and telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Am Heart J 2023 Sep; 263:169-76. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2023.06.011..
Keywords: COVID-19, Cardiovascular Conditions, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Disparities, Ambulatory Care and Surgery
Anderson NW, Halfon N, Eisenberg D
Mixed signals in child and adolescent mental health and well-being indicators in the United States: a call for improvements to population health monitoring.
The authors of this paper suggest that policies targeting social indicators of youth status may not have improved overall mental health and well-being. They contend this absence of impact is evidenced by the divergence between social indicators which are improving, such as high school graduation, food insecurity, and smoking, and those which are worsening, such as mental health and well-being. The researchers report that available data indicates that one or more common exposures may be to blame, including those inadequately captured by existing social indicators.
AHRQ-funded; HS000046.
Citation: Anderson NW, Halfon N, Eisenberg D .
Mixed signals in child and adolescent mental health and well-being indicators in the United States: a call for improvements to population health monitoring.
Milbank Q 2023 Jun; 101(2):259-86. doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.12634..
Keywords: COVID-19, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Cardiovascular Conditions
Kravchenko OV, Boyce RD, Gomez-Lumbreras A
Drug-drug interaction between dexamethasone and direct-acting oral anticoagulants: a nested case-control study in the national COVID cohort collaborative (N3C).
This study examined whether there is an association between thromboembolotic events (TEEs) and concomitant use of dexamethasone with either apixaban or rivaroxaban (both direct oral anticoagulants or DOACs) during treatment for COVID-19. The authors used data from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) to conduct a nested case-control study. Eligible participants were adults over 18 years who were exposed to a DOAC for 10 or more consecutive days and exposure to dexamethasone at least 5 or more consecutive days. The study did not find a discernible association of TEE in patients concomitantly exposed to dexamethasone and a DOAC.
AHRQ-funded; HS025984.
Citation: Kravchenko OV, Boyce RD, Gomez-Lumbreras A .
Drug-drug interaction between dexamethasone and direct-acting oral anticoagulants: a nested case-control study in the national COVID cohort collaborative (N3C).
BMJ Open 2022 Dec 29; 12(12):e066846. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-066846..
Keywords: COVID-19, Blood Thinners, Medication, Adverse Drug Events (ADE), Adverse Events, Cardiovascular Conditions, Medication: Safety, Patient Safety
Kalwani NM, Wang KM, Johnson AN
Application of the quadruple aim to evaluate the operational impact of a telemedicine program.
This study compared the operational impact of a telemedicine program called CardioClick at a preventive cardiology clinic compared to traditional clinic visits. The authors examined data for 134 patients enrolled in CardioClick with 181 video follow-up visits and 276 patients enrolled in the clinic’s traditional program with 694 in-person follow-up visits. The Quadruple Aim was used to evaluate CardioClick. Both cohorts were similar in characteristics in terms of age, gender balance, and baseline clinical characteristics. Video follow-up visits were shorter in time for clinicians (median 22 vs 30 minutes) than in-person visits and total clinic time (median 22 vs 68 minutes). Video visits were more likely to end on time than in-person visits as well. Physicians more often completed video visit documentation on the day of the visit.
AHRQ-funded; HS026128.
Citation: Kalwani NM, Wang KM, Johnson AN .
Application of the quadruple aim to evaluate the operational impact of a telemedicine program.
Healthc 2021 Dec;9(4):100593. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2021.100593..
Keywords: Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Cardiovascular Conditions, COVID-19
Zachrison KS, Sharma R, Wang Y
National trends in telestroke utilization in a US commercial platform prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this study, the objective was to describe characteristics of telestroke consultations among a national sample of telestroke sites on one of the most commonly used common vendor platforms, prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The investigators concluded that among spoke sites using a commercial telestroke platform over a seven-year time horizon, times to consult start and alteplase bolus decreased over time. Similar to academic networks, duration of telestroke participation in this commercial network was associated with faster alteplase delivery, suggesting practice improves performance.
AHRQ-funded; HS024561.
Citation: Zachrison KS, Sharma R, Wang Y .
National trends in telestroke utilization in a US commercial platform prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2021 Oct;30(10):106035. doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2021.106035..
Keywords: COVID-19, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Stroke, Cardiovascular Conditions, Practice Patterns
Freno DR, Shipe ME, Levack MM
Modeling the impact of delaying transcatheter aortic valve replacement for the treatment of aortic stenosis in the era of COVID-19.
The objective of this study was to model the short term and 2-year overall survival for intermediate-risk and low-risk patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing timely or delayed transcatheter aortic valve replacement during the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Findings showed that prompt transcatheter aortic valve replacement for both intermediate-risk and low-risk patients with severe symptomatic AS resulted in improved 2-year survival when local healthcare system resources were not significantly constrained by COVID-19.
AHRQ-funded; HS026122.
Citation: Freno DR, Shipe ME, Levack MM .
Modeling the impact of delaying transcatheter aortic valve replacement for the treatment of aortic stenosis in the era of COVID-19.
JTCVS Open 2021 Sep;7:63-71. doi: 10.1016/j.xjon.2021.06.006..
Keywords: COVID-19, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Access to Care
Brown CS, Albright J, Henke PK
Modeling the elective vascular surgery recovery after coronavirus disease 2019: implications for moving forward.
This study looked at the impact of delays in elective vascular surgery caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Data from a 35-hospital regional vascular surgical collaborative consisting of all hospitals performing vascular surgery in the state of Michigan was used to estimate the number of delayed surgical cases for adults undergoing carotid endarterectomy, carotid stenting, endovascular and open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, and lower extremity bypass. Median statewide monthly vascular surgical volume before the pandemic was 439 procedures, with a maximum statewide monthly case volume of 519 procedures. For the month of April 2020, elective vascular surgery procedure volume decreased by ~90%. Modelling estimated it would take approximately 8 months to catch up with the backlog. The authors suggest that if hospitals across the collaborative shared the burden of backlogged cases, the recovery should be shortened to ~3 months.
AHRQ-funded; HS000053.
Citation: Brown CS, Albright J, Henke PK .
Modeling the elective vascular surgery recovery after coronavirus disease 2019: implications for moving forward.
J Vasc Surg 2021 Jun;73(6):1876-80.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2020.11.025..
Keywords: COVID-19, Infectious Diseases, Cardiovascular Conditions, Surgery
Vaughn VM, Yost M, Abshire C
Trends in venous thromboembolism anticoagulation in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
This study’s objective was to characterize frequency, variation across hospitals, and change over time in VTE prophylaxis and treatment-dose anticoagulation in patients hospitalized for COVID-19, as well as the association of anticoagulation strategies with in-hospital and 60-day mortality. This cohort study used adults hospitalized with COVID-19 from 30 pseudorandom hospitals in Michigan from March 7, 2020, to June 17, 2020. Main outcomes measured were the effect of nonadherence and anticoagulation strategies on in-hospital and 60-day mortality. Of a total 1351 patients with COVID-19 with a median age of 64 years, 47.7% women and 48.9% Black, only 18 (1.3%) had a confirmed VTE, and 219 (16.2%) received treatment-dose anticoagulation. Use of treatment-dose anticoagulation without imaging ranged from 0% to 29% across hospitals and increased over time. Of 1127 patients who ever received anticoagulation, 392 missed 2 or more days of prophylaxis. Missed prophylaxis varied from 11% to 61% across hospitals and decreased markedly over time. VTE nonadherence was associated with higher 60-day (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.31) but not in-hospital mortality (aHR, 0.97). Receiving any dose of anticoagulation (vs no anticoagulation) was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (only prophylactic dose: aHR, 0.36; any treatment dose: aHR, 0.38). However, only the prophylactic dose of anticoagulation remained associated with lower mortality at 60 days (prophylactic dose: aHR, 0.71; treatment dose: aHR, 0.92).
AHRQ-funded; HS026530.
Citation: Vaughn VM, Yost M, Abshire C .
Trends in venous thromboembolism anticoagulation in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
JAMA Netw Open 2021 Jun 1; 4(6):e2111788. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.11788..
Keywords: COVID-19, Blood Clots, Blood Thinners, Medication, Inpatient Care, Cardiovascular Conditions
Etherton MR, Zachrison KS, Yan Z
Regional changes in patterns of stroke presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The authors sought to determine the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on patterns of stroke patient presentation and quality of care. They analyzed data from 25 New England hospitals: one urban, academic, comprehensive stroke center and telestroke hub, and 24 spoke hospitals in the same telestroke network. They included all telestroke consultations from the 24 spokes, and stroke admissions to the comprehensive stroke center hub from November 2019 through April 2020. They compared rates of presentation, timeliness presentation, and quality of care pre- versus post-March 2020. They also examined trends in patient demographics, stroke severity, timeliness, diagnosis including large vessel occlusion, alteplase use, and endovascular thrombectomy among eligible subjects. Among 1248 patient presentations, telestroke consultations and ischemic stroke patient admissions decreased through the hub and spoke network. Age and stroke severity were unchanged during the study period. However, rates of adherence for the quality measures dysphagia screening, early antithrombotic initiation, and early venous thromboembolism prophylaxis were reduced during the pandemic.
AHRQ-funded; HS024561.
Citation: Etherton MR, Zachrison KS, Yan Z .
Regional changes in patterns of stroke presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stroke 2021 Apr;52(4):1398-406. doi: 10.1161/strokeaha.120.031300..
Keywords: Stroke, Cardiovascular Conditions, COVID-19, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Delivery
Khazanie P, Wynia MK, Dickert NW. P, Wynia MK, Dickert NW
Forced choices: ethical challenges in cardiology during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article discusses the ethical dilemmas that cardiologists may face with cardiac patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The influx of patients threatens to exhaust resources in many hospitals and creates many challenges. These include determining the urgency of subacute and chronic cardiovascular diseases. Another challenge is critical care triage in cardiac patients. Protocols were developed during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic which are now adapted for the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest challenge has been interacting with patients and their families. A cardiac patient may not be able to go to an intensive care unit due to severe scarcity of beds and to minimize risks to them and the medical staff.
AHRQ-funded; R01 HS026081.
Citation: Khazanie P, Wynia MK, Dickert NW. P, Wynia MK, Dickert NW .
Forced choices: ethical challenges in cardiology during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Circulation 2020 Jul 21;142(3):194-96. doi: 10.1161/circulationaha.120.047681..
Keywords: COVID-19, Cardiovascular Conditions, Heart Disease and Health, Public Health, Healthcare Delivery