The level of association between functional performance status measures and patient-reported outcomes in cancer patients: a systematic review.

Purpose: The process of assessing patient symptoms and functionality using patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and functional performance status (FPS) is an essential aspect of patient-centered oncology research and care. However, PRO and FPS measures are often employed separately or inconsistently combined. Thus, the purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the level of association between PRO and FPS measures to determine their differential or combined utility.

A quantitative meta-analysis of neurocognitive sequelae in survivors of pediatric brain tumors.

Background: Deficits in neurocognitive functioning are an important area of late effects in survivors of pediatric brain tumors, but a quantitative analysis of the magnitude of these deficits has yet to be conducted.

Procedure: The purpose of the current article is to provide a comprehensive meta-analysis of the literature on long-term neurocognitive effects found in these survivors.

Results: Results indicated significant deficits in both narrow and broad indices of neurocognitive functioning, and the overall magnitude of the effects across all domains ranged from small to large in magnitude (g = -0.

Do comorbid anxiety disorders impact treatment planning for outpatients with major depressive disorder?

Research indicates that depressed patients with comorbid anxiety disorders have a poorer long-term course of illness, are less responsive to treatment, and may experience greater deficits in psychosocial functioning, when compared with depressed patients without comorbid anxiety disorders. The objective of this study was to examine, through use of a large, well-characterized clinical database, how clinicians may modify treatment recommendations in depressed outpatients when anxiety disorders are present. A group of 346 case records, derived from the Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project at Rhode Island Hospital, were examined to determine what treatment recommendations were made immediately after diagnosis.

Reach of benchmark psychiatric trial results to community-based providers: a case study of CATIE.

Objective: To evaluate the familiarity of front-line clinicians with findings from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE), the influence of didactic continuing medical education on provider knowledge about key details of CATIE, and how location-related factors affect rates of pre-event knowledge and intraevent learning about CATIE.

Method: Data derived from the Massachusetts General Hospital Psychiatry Academy (MGH-PA) semester II live symposia provided in different cities nationally between September and December 2006 were analyzed to evaluate providers' self-assessment of their knowledge about CATIE. In addition, participants were also asked a preactivity and postactivity question to assess learning of material presented during the live event psychosis lecture.