Resource utilization and costs during the initial years of lung cancer screening with computed tomography in Canada.

Background: It is estimated that millions of North Americans would qualify for lung cancer screening and that billions of dollars of national health expenditures would be required to support population-based computed tomography lung cancer screening programs. The decision to implement such programs should be informed by data on resource utilization and costs.

Methods: Resource utilization data were collected prospectively from 2059 participants in the Pan-Canadian Early Detection of Lung Cancer Study using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT).

Optimal medical therapy at discharge in patients with acute coronary syndromes: temporal changes, characteristics, and 1-year outcome.

Background: There are limited data on the recent trend in the use of optimal evidence-based medical therapies after acute coronary syndromes (ACSs). We sought to evaluate (1) the temporal changes in medical management of patients discharged after an ACS; (2) patient and practice characteristics associated with optimal medical therapy at discharge; and (3) the association between discharge medication use and 1-year outcome.

Methods: The Canadian ACS I (September 1999-June 2001) and ACS II (October 2002-December 2003) Registries were prospective, multicenter, observational studies of 6853 patients admitted for ACS.