Long-term economic outcomes of ureteral injury in the United States.

Objectives: Ureteral injuries (UIs) during surgical procedures can have serious consequences for patients. Although UIs can result in substantial clinical burden, few studies report the impact of these injuries on payer reimbursement and patient cost-sharing. This retrospective study evaluated 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year healthcare resource utilization for patients with UIs and estimated patient and payer costs.

Abdominopelvic Surgery: Intraoperative Ureteral Injury and Prophylaxis in the United States, 2015-2019.

Introduction: Preoperative ureteral catheterization/stenting (stenting) and intraoperative diagnostic cystoscopy (cystoscopy) may help prevent or identify intraoperative ureteral injuries (IUIs) during abdominopelvic surgery. In order to provide a comprehensive, single source of data for health care decision makers, this study aimed to catalog the incidence of IUI and rates of stenting and cystoscopy across a wide spectrum of abdominopelvic surgeries.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of United States (US) hospital data (October 2015-December 2019).

Secondary invasive fungal infection in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 in the United States.

Background: Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) have been identified as a complication in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To date, there are few US studies examining the excess humanistic and economic burden of IFIs on hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Objectives: This study investigated the incidence, risk factors, clinical and economic burden of IFIs in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the United States.

Predictors of self-reported benign prostatic hyperplasia in European men: analysis of the European National Health and Wellness Survey.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify predictors of European men who self-reported being diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (DxBPH) compared to men with moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms [American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUA-SI) score ≥8] who did not self-report a BPH diagnosis (non-DxBPH).

Methods: Data were taken from the 2010 European National Health and Wellness Survey; a cross-sectional, self-administered, Internet-based questionnaire. This analysis included males ≥40 years with DxBPH or without DxBPH, but with AUA-SI ≥8.

How might immunization rates change if cost sharing is eliminated?

Objectives: There is a debate regarding the effect of cost sharing on immunization, particularly as the Affordable Care Act will eliminate cost sharing for recommended vaccines. This study estimates changes in immunization rates and spending associated with extending first-dollar coverage to privately insured children for four childhood vaccines.

Methods: We used the 2008 National Immunization Survey and peer-reviewed literature to generate estimates of immunization status for each vaccine by age group and insurance type.

Treatment patterns in alpha-blocker therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

This study examined treatment patterns and patient characteristics of men initiating alpha adrenergic blocker therapy (alpha-blocker) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The 2009 Thomson Reuters MarketScan® Database was used to identify the newly initiated alpha-blocker: men ≥40 years old with continuous medical and pharmacy coverage for 12 months before and after alpha-blocker initiation, with no alpha-blocker or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors in the previous year, and with ≥1 BPH diagnosis within 1 month before and 6 months after alpha-blocker initiation. This study analyzed patient demographics, clinical characteristics, adherence (percentage of men achieving medication possession ratio [MPR] ≥ 0.

Erectile dysfunction with or without coexisting benign prostatic hyperplasia in the general US population: analysis of US National Health and Wellness Survey.

Objective: Erectile dysfunction (ED) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) commonly affect older men. There is limited epidemiology information on coexisting ED and BPH. This study assessed self-reported prevalence of ED with or without a diagnosis of BPH (ED/DxBPH versus ED only) in US men.

Policy implications of first-dollar coverage: a qualitative examination from the payer perspective.

Objectives: Immunization against potentially life-threatening illnesses for children and adults has proved to be one of the great public health successes of the 20th century and is extremely cost-effective. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes a number of provisions to increase coverage and access to immunizations for the consumer, including a provision for health plans to cover all Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices-recommended vaccines at first dollar, or without cost sharing. In this study, we examined payers' perspectives on first-dollar coverage of vaccines and strategies to improve vaccination rates.

Gender differences in the relationships of cardiovascular symptoms and somatosensory amplification to mortality.

Symptoms of angina and dyspnea predict coronary artery disease and death less well in women than in men. Greater somatosensory amplification - a psychosocial propensity to report symptoms of physical discomfort - may lead women to report relatively high levels of angina and dyspnea for reasons unrelated to coronary disease, reducing their associations with mortality. We assessed this hypothesis in a nationally representative survey of U.

Use of emergency departments for conditions related to poor oral healthcare: implications for rural and low-resource urban areas for three states.

Persistent and worsening shortages of oral healthcare providers in rural areas, combined with limited acceptance of Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs, have left many patients without adequate access to dental care. Evidence suggests that such patients seek treatment in emergency departments (EDs) for problems that might have been prevented given adequate oral healthcare. This finding has public policy questions that are explored by this study.