Angiotensin blockade therapy and survival in pancreatic cancer: a population study.

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive and challenging cancer types to effectively treat, ranking as the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the United States. We investigated if exposures to angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) or angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors after PC diagnosis are associated with survival.

Methods: PC patients were identified by ICD-9 diagnosis and procedure codes among the 3.

Metformin exposure and survival in head and neck cancer: A large population-based cohort study.

What Is Known And Objective: Observational clinical studies of metformin for prevention and treatment of several cancer types have reported mixed findings. Although preclinical studies have suggested metformin may reduce head and neck cancer (HNC) proliferation, clinical evidence is limited. The objective of this large population-based study was to evaluate the relationship between metformin exposure following HNC diagnosis and all-cause mortality.

Assessing adverse events of postprostatectomy radiation therapy for prostate cancer: evaluation of outcomes in the Regione Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

Purpose: Although the likelihood of radiation-related adverse events influences treatment decisions regarding radiation therapy after prostatectomy for eligible patients, the data available to inform decisions are limited. This study was designed to evaluate the genitourinary, gastrointestinal, and sexual adverse events associated with postprostatectomy radiation therapy and to assess the influence of radiation timing on the risk of adverse events.

Methods: The Regione Emilia-Romagna Italian Longitudinal Health Care Utilization Database was queried to identify a cohort of men who received radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer during 2003 to 2009, including patients who received postprostatectomy radiation therapy.

Variation among local health units in follow-up care of breast cancer patients in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

Aims And Background: This study examines the patterns of follow-up care for breast cancer survivors in one region in Italy.

Methods And Study Design: This retrospective analysis included 10,024 surgically treated women, with incident cases of breast cancer in the years 2002-2005 who were alive 18 months after their incidence date. Rates of use of follow-up mammograms, abdominal echogram, bone scans and chest x-rays were estimated from administrative data and compared by Local Health Unit (LHU) of residence.

Statins and colorectal cancer risk: a longitudinal study.

Purpose: Studies evaluating the association between statins and colorectal cancer (CRC) have used various methods to address bias and have reported mixed findings. We sought to assess the association in a large cohort of residents in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, using multiple methods to address different sources of confounding. We also sought to explore potential effect measure modification by sex.

Using administrative data to identify and stage breast cancer cases: implications for assessing quality of care.

Aims And Background: The study evaluated the use of Italian hospital discharge data (SDO, scheda di dimissione ospedaliera) for identifying women with incident breast cancer, determining stage at diagnosis and assessing quality of care.

Study Design: Women aged 20+ years residing in the Regione Emilia-Romagna, Italy, between 2002 and 2005 were studied. Case identification using algorithms based on ICD-9-CM codes on hospital discharge data were compared with AIRTUM-accredited cancer registry data.

Physicians' empathy and clinical outcomes for diabetic patients.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that physicians' empathy is associated with positive clinical outcomes for diabetic patients.

Method: A correlational study design was used in a university-affiliated outpatient setting. Participants were 891 diabetic patients, treated between July 2006 and June 2009, by 29 family physicians.

Increasing appropriateness of hospital admissions in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

Objectives: The Emilia-Romagna region of Italy has reduced the number of available hospital beds and introduced financial incentives to curb hospital use. The goal of this study was to assess the impact of these policies on changes over time in the number of acute hospital admissions classified in diagnosis related groups (DRGs) that could be treated safely and effectively in alternative, less costly settings.

Methods: The assessment of the appropriate site of care was based on analysis of hospital discharge data for all hospitals for the selected diagnosis related groups in the Emilia-Romagna region for 2001 to 2005.

Using pharmacy data to identify those with chronic conditions in Emilia Romagna, Italy.

Background And Objectives: Automated pharmacy data have been used to develop a measure of chronic disease status in the general population. The objectives of this project were to refine and apply a model of chronic disease identification using Italian automated pharmacy data; to describe how this model may identify patterns of morbidity in Emilia Romagna, a large Italian region; and to compare estimated prevalence rates using pharmacy data with those available from a 2000 Emilia Romagna disease surveillance study.

Methods: Using the Chronic Disease Score, a list of chronic conditions related to the consumption of drugs under the Italian pharmaceutical dispensing system was created.

Long-term retention of graduates from a program to increase the supply of rural family physicians.

Purpose: To determine the long-term retention of rural family physicians graduating from the Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP) of Jefferson Medical College.

Method: Of the 1,937 Jefferson graduates from the classes of 1978-1986, the authors identified those practicing rural family medicine when their practice location was first determined. The number and percent of PSAP and non-PSAP graduates practicing family medicine in the same rural area in 2002 were then identified, and compared to the number of those graduates practicing rural family medicine when they were first located in practice 11-16 years earlier.

Genetic and environmental influences on the organisation of semantic memory in the brain:is "living things" an innate category?

The organisation of semantic memory into separately lesionable or imageable components must be determined by some combination of genetic and environmental factors. Little is known about the relative contributions of these two factors in establishing the functional architecture of semantic memory. By assessing the semantic memory impairment of an individual who sustained brain damage as a newborn, it is possible to place an upper bound on the contribution of post-natal experience.

Evaluations of medical students' clinical experiences in a family medicine clerkship: differences in patient encounters by disease severity in different clerkship sites.

Background And Objectives: Evaluation of medical students'clinical encounters is an essential component of optimizing their educational experience. In this study, we collected data on the diagnoses and disease severity in student-patient encounters at different family medicine clerkship sites.

Methods: Participants were 582 third-year medical students who completed a total of 7,515 specially designed patient encounter cards in a 6-week family medicine clerkship atfive training sites over 3 years.