Patient Insights on Integrating Sleep Apnea Testing into Routine Stroke and TIA Care.

AHA/ASA guidelines recommend patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) be considered for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) evaluation, given the high prevalence of OSA and improved outcomes for cerebrovascular disease when OSA is treated. However, OSA testing has not been incorporated into routine cerebrovascular management. We interviewed 30 patients hospitalized for acute stroke/TIA at six Veterans Affairs facilities participating in a stepped-wedge implementation trial to improve timely OSA testing after stroke/TIA.

Duration of double balloon catheter for patients with prior cesarean: a before and after study.

Background: Previous studies that suggest a shorter time from cervical ripening balloon placement to delivery with shorter total balloon placement time have excluded patients with prior cesarean deliveries.

Objective: To evaluate, in patients with a prior history of cesarean delivery undergoing cervical ripening with a double-balloon catheter, whether planned removal of device after 6 vs 12 hours would result in shorter time to vaginal delivery.

Study Design: A before-and-after study was performed after a practice change occurred November 2020, shortening the planned time of double-balloon catheter placement for cervical ripening from 12 to 6 hours.

Health Care Discrimination Affects Patient Activation, Communication Self-Efficacy, and Pain for Black Americans.

This study examines whether a key psychosocial factor-perceiving racial discrimination in health care-is associated with worse patient activation, communication self-efficacy, and physical health outcomes for Black veterans with chronic pain. Moreover, we explore the role of physician-patient working alliance as a moderator that may alleviate the potential consequences of perceiving racial discrimination. This work is a secondary analysis of baseline data from a clinical trial with 250 U.

Colon Age: A Metric for Whether and How to Screen Male Veterans for Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer.

We aimed to develop a metric for estimating risk for early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) to help decide whether and how to screen persons < age 50. We used risk prediction models derived and validated on male veterans to calculate the RRs for six scenarios: one low-risk scenario (no risk factors present), four intermediate risk scenarios (some risk factors present), and one high-risk scenario (all risk factors present) for three age groups (35-39, 40-44, and 45-49 years). For each scenario, we estimated absolute colorectal cancer risk using Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results colorectal cancer incidence rates and each scenario's RR.

Colon Age: A Metric for Whether and How to Screen Male Veterans for Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer.

We aimed to develop a metric for estimating risk for early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) to help decide whether and how to screen persons < age 50. We used risk prediction models derived and validated on male Veterans to calculate the relative risks (RRs) for 6 scenarios: one low-risk scenario (no risk factors present), four intermediate risk scenarios (some factors present), and one high-risk scenario (all factors present) for three age groups (35-39, 40-44, and 45-49 years). For each scenario, we estimated absolute CRC risk using SEER CRC incidence rates and each scenario's RR.