The Association Between Telehealth Use During Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and Clinical Outcomes: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) represent a high-risk population due to increased rates of adverse health outcomes and death. To evaluate whether telehealth utilization during OUD treatment compared with in-person encounters alone was associated with emergency department (ED) utilization, inpatient admissions, and mortality within three years of initiating buprenorphine. We conducted a retrospective cohort study within the Veterans Health Administration among Veterans treated for OUD between 2012 and -2022.

Characteristics of incident benzodiazepine recipients among US veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Disclaimer: In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.

Assessing 1-year sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor tolerance in older adults.

Background: Evidence concerning tolerability of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in older adults is limited due to under-representation in clinical trials. Our study aimed to determine the extent to which SGLT2 inhibitor intolerance increases with age and explore additional factors associated with intolerance.

Methods: This retrospective observational study included patients in the Veterans Health Administration who initiated an SGLT2 inhibitor between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2021.

Reprint of: The impact of alpha-1-adrenergic receptor antagonists on the progression of Parkinson disease.

Background: Alpha-1-adrenergic receptor antagonists (AARAs) are used in the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy. Some AARAs, such as terazosin, stimulate glycolysis and increase cellular adenosine triphosphate levels through activation of phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1), which has been suggested to be of therapeutic benefit in patients with Parkinson disease (PD).

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether exposure to PGK1-activating AARAs was associated with slower PD progression.

Comorbid Chronic Pain and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Current Rates and Psychiatric Comorbidities Among U.S. Military Veterans.

Introduction: This study reports rates of comorbid chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among U.S. military veterans and rates of psychiatric comorbidities among those with both chronic pain and PTSD.

What's Gender Got to Do With It: Accounting for Differences in Incident Guideline Discordant Prescribing for PTSD Among Women and Men Veterans.

Women veterans are more likely than men veterans to receive medications that Department of Veterans Affairs clinical practice guidelines recommend against to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To understand this difference, we examined potential confounders in incident prescribing of guideline discordant medications (GDMs) in veterans with PTSD. Veterans receiving care for PTSD during 2020 were identified using Veterans Health Administration administrative data.

Association Between Clozapine Exposure and Risk of Hematologic Malignancies in Veterans With Schizophrenia.

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between clozapine use and hematologic malignancies, using national administrative data from the United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This case-control study of veterans with schizophrenia matched cases with incident hematologic malignancy to 10 controls without hematologic malignancy by gender, age, and time since first schizophrenia diagnosis from October 1999, the beginning of VHA data archives, to June 2022. Schizophrenia diagnoses were identified using , code 295.

A Nationwide Emergency Department Data Analysis to Predict Beers List Medications Use Among Older Adults.

Background: The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is considered an important quality indicator for older adults seen in the ambulatory care setting.

Study Objectives: To evaluate the pattern of potentially inappropriate medication (PIMs) use as specified in the Beers Criteria, for older adults during emergency department (ED) visits in the United States.

Methods: Using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey (NHAMCS) we identified older adults (age 65 or older) discharged home from an ED visit in 2019.

Incidence of immune-related adverse events in U.S. veterans treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are associated with potentially severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Emerging clinical practice reports have suggested higher incidence of irAEs in real-world settings than initially observed in phase III clinical trials. Objectives were to determine the incidence of irAEs associated with ICIs in a clinical population, the Veterans Health Administration, characterize their time to onset, and explore potential risk factors.

The impact of alpha-1-adrenergic receptor antagonists on the progression of Parkinson disease.

Background: Alpha-1-adrenergic receptor antagonists (AARAs) are used in the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy. Some AARAs, such as terazosin, stimulate glycolysis and increase cellular adenosine triphosphate levels through activation of phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1), which has been suggested to be of therapeutic benefit in patients with Parkinson disease (PD).

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether exposure to PGK1-activating AARAs was associated with slower PD progression.

Procalcitonin Monitoring and Antibiotic Duration in Presumed Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: A Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Across the Veterans Health Administration.

Background: Randomized controlled trials have shown that procalcitonin-guided algorithms can reduce antibiotic duration for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). The goal of this study was to compare antibiotic duration for LRTIs with and without procalcitonin testing in real-life practice.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included all acute care hospital admissions for presumed LRTIs between 1/2018 and 12/2021 at 81 Veterans Affairs facilities with on-site procalcitonin testing.

Continuation of Buprenorphine During Hospitalization and Subsequent Retention in Therapy: an Observational Study in Veterans Administration Hospitals.

Background: Inpatient hospitalization has the potential to disrupt buprenorphine therapy.

Objective: Among patients receiving outpatient buprenorphine prior to admission, we determined the rate of discontinuation during medical and surgical admissions to VA hospitals and its association with subsequent post-discharge continuation of buprenorphine therapy.

Design And Main Measures: We conducted an observational study using Veterans Administration data from 10/1/2018 to 3/31/2020 for all medical and surgical admissions where Veterans had active buprenorphine prescriptions at the time of admission.

Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and gout risk: a sequence symmetry analysis.

Objective: To examine the association between sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2-I) and gout incidence in patients with diabetes is the objective.

Method: National administrative data from the United States Veterans Health Administration were used to identify patients initiated on SGLT2-I from 2012 to 2020. Sequence symmetry analysis was performed to contrast the number of patients with incident gout within the year following SGLT2-I initiation to the number within the year preceding initiation.

The prevalence and treatment of hypertension in Veterans Health Administration, assessing the impact of the updated clinical guidelines.

Objective: Hypertension is the most common risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Several guidelines have lowered diagnostic blood pressure (BP) thresholds and treatment targets for hypertension. We evaluated the impact of the more stringent guidelines among Veterans, a population at high risk of CVD.

Differences in chronic pain care receipt among veterans from differing racialized groups and the impact of rural versus urban residence.

Purpose: The current study aimed to identify differences in Veterans Affairs (VA) chronic pain care for Black, Asian, and Hispanic Americans, compared to non-Hispanic White Americans, and examine the intersection of race and rurality.

Methods: Using national administrative data, all veterans who presented to the VA for chronic pain in 2018 were included. Demographic and comorbidity variables were built from 2018 data and health care utilization variables from 2019 data.

Montelukast and risk for antidepressant treatment failure.

Objective: While implicated in causing depression, no studies have examined the impact of montelukast on antidepressant effectiveness. We examined whether existing montelukast therapy was associated with acute antidepressant treatment failure (objective 1), and whether montelukast initiation was associated with depression relapse during maintenance antidepressant therapy (objective 2), relative to inhaled corticosteroid (ICS).

Methods: Patients with asthma and depression were identified using national Veterans Health Administration data from 2007 to 2019.

Immunopathology of terminal complement activation and complement C5 blockade creating a pro-survival and organ-protective phenotype in trauma.

Background And Purpose: Traumatic haemorrhage (TH) is the leading cause of potentially preventable deaths that occur during the prehospital phase of care. No effective pharmacological therapeutics are available for critical TH patients yet. Here, we identify terminal complement activation (TCA) as a therapeutic target in combat casualties and evaluate the efficacy of a TCA inhibitor (nomacopan) on organ damage and survival in vivo.