Efficacy and safety of microwave ablation in solitary kidney patients with T1a small renal masses.

Objectives: To assess the safety and efficacy of using microwave ablation (MWA) to treat solitary kidney (SK) patients with T1a renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database identified patients with T1a RCC with either congenital or acquired SK. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated from serum creatinine before MWA and after at 6 and 12 months post-procedure.

Homelessness and Risk of End-Stage Kidney Disease and Death in Veterans With Chronic Kidney Disease.

Importance: Adults experiencing homelessness in the US face numerous challenges, including the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The extent of a potentially greater risk of adverse health outcomes in the population with CKD experiencing homelessness has not been adequately explored.

Objective: To evaluate the association between a history of homelessness and the risk of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and death among veterans with incident CKD.

Assessing efficacy of a web-based smoking cessation tool - QuitAdvisorMD: Protocol for a practice-based, clustered, randomized control trial.

Background: Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death, yet physicians inconsistently provide best-practices cessation advice to smokers. Point-of-care digital health tools can prompt and assist physicians to provide improved smoking cessation counseling. QuitAdvisorMD is a comprehensive web-based counseling and management digital health tool designed to guide smoking cessation counseling at the point-of-care.

Role of Age and Competing Risk of Death in the Racial Disparity of Kidney Failure Incidence after Onset of CKD.

Significance Statement: Black adults in the United States have 2-4 times higher incidence of kidney failure than White adults. Yet, the reasons underlying this disparity remain poorly understood. Among 547,188 US veterans with new-onset CKD, according to a new race-free GFR equation, Black veterans had a 2.

Role of Anemia in Dementia Risk Among Veterans With Incident CKD.

Rationale & Objective: Although some evidence exists of increased dementia risk from anemia, it is unclear whether this association persists among adults with CKD. Anemia may be a key marker for dementia among adults with CKD, so we evaluated whether anemia is associated with an increased risk of dementia among adults with CKD.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Overcoming barriers to implementing new guideline-directed therapies for chronic kidney disease.

For the first time in many years, guideline-directed drug therapies have emerged that offer substantial cardiorenal benefits, improved quality of life and longevity in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes. These treatment options include sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. However, despite compelling evidence from multiple clinical trials, their uptake has been slow in routine clinical practice, reminiscent of the historical evolution of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin II receptor blocker use.

Age-Related Association between Multimorbidity and Mortality in US Veterans with Incident Chronic Kidney Disease.

Introduction: Mortality is an important long-term indicator of the public health impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We investigated the role of individual comorbidities and multimorbidity on age-specific mortality risk among US veterans with new-onset CKD.

Methods: The cohort included 892,005 veterans aged ≥18 years with incident CKD stage 3 between January 2004 and April 2018 in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system and followed until death, December 2018, or up to 10 years.

Associations of Race, Ethnicity, and Social Determinants of Health With Colorectal Cancer Screening.

Background: Racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of recommended colorectal cancer screening exist; however, the impact of social determinants of health on such disparities has not been recently studied in a national cohort.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether social determinants of health attenuate racial disparities in receipt of colorectal cancer screening.

Design: This was a cross-sectional telephone survey of self-reported race and ethnicity and up-to-date colorectal cancer screening.

An Examination of Psychological Stress, Fatigue, Sleep, and Physical Activity in Chinese Americans.

Chinese Americans comprise the largest Asian subgroup in the U.S. Yet, little research has focused on the well-being of this population.

Association of a Substance Use Disorder with Infectious Diseases among Adult Home Healthcare Patients with a Venous Access Device.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) and high incidence of infectious diseases are both critical public health issues. Among patients who use a venous access device (VAD) in home care settings, SUDs may play a role in increasing their risk of having a concurrent infectious disease. This study examined the association of SUD with infectious diseases among adult home healthcare patients with a VAD.

The Effects of the Medical Pause on Physiological Stress Markers among Health Care Providers: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Contemplative practices promote well-being, work engagement and resilience among health care providers. We examined the impact of The Pause, a brief contemplative intervention, on health care providers' physiological stress response. Participants were randomly assigned to either The Pause or the control group.

Sleep moderates the association between arterial stiffness and 24-hour blood pressure variability.

Background: Arterial stiffness and increased blood pressure variability (BPV) are important subclinical cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Evidence is accumulating that poor sleep is associated with subclinical CVDs. The purpose of our study was to investigate how sleep was related to arterial stiffness and BPV.

Moral distress among nurses: A mixed-methods study.

Background: Moral distress is recognized as a problem affecting healthcare professionals globally. Unaddressed moral distress may lead to withdrawal from the moral dimensions of patient care, burnout, or leaving the profession. Despite the importance, studies related to moral distress are scant in Thailand.

Global Epidemiology of End-Stage Kidney Disease and Disparities in Kidney Replacement Therapy.

Background: The global epidemiology of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) reflects each nation's unique genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and sociodemographic characteristics. The response to ESKD, particularly regarding kidney replacement therapy (KRT), depends on local disease burden, culture, and socioeconomics. Here, we explore geographic variation and global trends in ESKD incidence and prevalence and examine variations in KRT modality, practice patterns, and mortality.

Exploration and Comparison of Contextual Characteristics and Mistreatment Prevalence Among Older American Indian and Alaska Native Respondents: Secondary Analysis of the National Elder Mistreatment Study.

Limited research on elder abuse among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) suggests a higher prevalence of abuse. Using data from the National Elder Mistreatment Study (NEMS), we compared contextual characteristics and elder mistreatment prevalence rates from a community-based sample of AIAN ( = 195) and Black ( = 437) and White ( = 5,013) respondents. There were differences in the prevalence of 16 abuse types and the 23 contextual variables.

Effect of preventive care interventions on pressure ulcer rates in a national sample of rural and urban nursing units: Longitudinal associations over 4 years.

Background: Pressure ulcer rates are persistently high despite years of research and practice policies focused on prevention. Prior research found crosssectional associations between care interventions, hospital and nursing unit characteristics and pressure ulcer rates. Whether these associations persist over time is unknown.

Mapping epileptic directional brain networks using intracranial EEG data.

The human brain is a directional network system, in which brain regions are network nodes and the influence exerted by one region on another is a network edge. We refer to this directional information flow from one region to another as directional connectivity. Seizures arise from an epileptic directional network; abnormal neuronal activities start from a seizure onset zone and propagate via a network to otherwise healthy brain regions.

Racial and Ethnic Variations in Mortality Rates for Patients Undergoing Maintenance Dialysis Treated in US Territories Compared with the US 50 States.

Background And Objectives: In the United States mortality rates for patients treated with dialysis differ by racial and/or ethnic (racial/ethnic) group. Mortality outcomes for patients undergoing maintenance dialysis in the United States territories may differ from patients in the United States 50 states.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: This retrospective cohort study of using US Renal Data System data included 1,547,438 adults with no prior transplantation and first dialysis treatment between April 1, 1995 and September 28, 2012.

Association of Race/Ethnicity, Stage, and Survival in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A SEER Study.

Objective: Survival differences in oral cancer between black and white patients have been reported, but the contributing factors, especially the role of stage, are incompletely understood. Furthermore, the outcomes for Hispanic and Asian patients have been scarcely examined.

Study Design: Retrospective, population-based national study.

Use of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Among Black and White Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease in the United States.

Background Racial disparities in invasive cardiac procedures such as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in the general population are well documented; however, national-level data on such disparities in the end-stage renal disease (ESRD) population are lacking. We assessed racial differences in PCI between black and white patients with ESRD on maintenance dialysis. Methods and Results Using the US Renal Data System database, we abstracted Medicare inpatient procedure claims for PCI in a cohort of 268 575 Medicare-primary patients who initiated treatment on maintenance dialysis from January 1, 2009, through June 1, 2013.

Direct and indirect costs associated with stereotactic radiosurgery or open surgery for medial temporal lobe epilepsy: Results from the ROSE trial.

Objective: To determine whether a less-invasive approach to surgery for medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with lower health care costs and costs of lost productivity over time, compared to open surgery.

Methods: We compared direct medical costs and indirect productivity costs associated with treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) in the ROSE (Radiosurgery or Open Surgery for Epilepsy) trial. Health care use was abstracted from hospital bills, the study database, and diaries in which participants recorded health care use and time lost from work while seeking care.

Visual field defects after radiosurgery versus temporal lobectomy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: Findings of the ROSE trial.

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) may be an alternative to anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Visual field defects (VFD) occur in 9-100% of patients following open surgery for MTLE. Postoperative VFD after minimally invasive versus open surgery may differ.

Relationships of Reproductive Coercion and Intimate Partner Violence to Unintended Pregnancy.

Objective: To examine the prevalence, correlates, and influences of male partner reproductive coercion (RC) and intimate partner violence (IPV) on unintended pregnancy (UIP).

Design: Retrospective cohort study using population-based data.

Setting: Six participating states contributed data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS).