Evaluating algorithms for identifying incident Guillain-Barré Syndrome in Medicare fee-for-service claims.

Objective: Claims data can be leveraged to study rare diseases such as Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a neurological autoimmune condition. It is difficult to accurately measure and distinguish true cases of disease with claims without a validated algorithm. Our objective was to identify the best-performing algorithm for identifying incident GBS cases in Medicare fee-for-service claims data using chart reviews as the gold standard.

Remediating Indoor Pesticide Contamination from Improper Pest Control Treatments: Persistence and Decontamination Studies.

The improper and excessive use of pesticides in indoor environments can result in adverse human health effects, sometimes necessitating decontamination of residential or commercial buildings. A lack of information on effective approaches to remediate pesticide residues prompted the decontamination and persistence studies described in this study. Decontamination studies evaluated the effectiveness of liquid-based surface decontaminants against pesticides on indoor surfaces.

Laboratory study of PCB transport from primary sources to settled dust.

Dust is an important sink for indoor air pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were used in building materials and products. In this study, two types of dust, house dust and Arizona Test Dust, were tested in a 30-m(3) stainless steel chamber with two types of panels. The PCB-containing panels were aluminum sheets coated with a PCB-spiked primer or caulk.

Chamber study of PCB emissions from caulking materials and light ballasts.

The emissions of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners from thirteen caulk samples were tested in a micro-chamber system. Twelve samples were from PCB-contaminated buildings and one was prepared in the laboratory. Nineteen light ballasts collected from buildings that represent 13 different models from five manufacturers were tested in 53-L environmental chambers.