Patient preferences for life expectancy cutoffs for aggressive treatment in clinically localized prostate cancer.

Background: Guidelines for prostate cancer treatment in men with limited life expectancy are based on expert opinion. Patient preferences for when to defer treatment based on longevity are unknown. We sought to define life expectancy thresholds at which men are more likely to choose conservative management in the context of varying risks of cancer death and treatment-related side effects.

Comparing the efficacy of different proton pump inhibitor dosing regimens for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Several proton pump inhibitor (PPI) dosing regimens that vary by strength and frequency (once [Qday] or twice [BID] daily) are available to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We performed an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the impact of various PPI regimens on esophageal healing and GERD and heartburn symptoms. To identify relevant studies, we searched EMBASE and PubMed in January 2023, which yielded 1381 records.

Bridging the Gap: Culturally Responsive Strategies for NIH Trial Recruitment.

Objective: To enhance recruitment and participation rates of non-Hispanic Black (NHB) and Hispanic adult patients in a NIH-funded clinical trial studying an emerging health technology.

Data Sources And Study Setting: This study includes primary data collected in Los Angeles, California from November 2020 through November 2023.

Study Design: To improve the representation of NHB and Hispanic patients in a NIH-funded (NCT04409353) trial on virtual reality for chronic lower back pain (cLBP), we conducted a multi-phase study utilizing a mixed-method approach.

Evaluating for Evidence of Sociodemographic Bias in Conversational AI for Mental Health Support.

The integration of large language models (LLMs) into healthcare highlights the need to ensure their efficacy while mitigating potential harms, such as the perpetuation of biases. Current evidence on the existence of bias within LLMs remains inconclusive. In this study, we present an approach to investigate the presence of bias within an LLM designed for mental health support.

The Cost Effectiveness of Adjunctive Treatments for Proton Pump Inhibitor-Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.

Background And Objective: Half of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) experience persistent symptoms while on proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), thus driving efforts to develop novel adjunctive therapies for PPI-refractory GERD. An economic analysis was performed to establish at what cost and efficacy such potential medications are likely to become cost effective in clinical practice.

Methods: A Markov decision model was used to examine a hypothetical cohort of patients being evaluated for PPI-refractory GERD in the USA.