Patient and physician perspectives guiding intra-articular treatment choice in knee osteoarthritis: stakeholders are aligned on treatment priorities but have different assessments of treatment effect.

Objectives: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of health-related disability. In the absence of curative non-operative therapies, treatment goals are limited to symptom relief. Data are limited on how patients and physicians prioritise available treatment options.

Clinical and Economic Outcomes in Patients with Persistent Asthma Who Attain Healthcare Effectiveness and Data Information Set Measures.

Background: Attainment of asthma-specific US Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) quality measures may be associated with improved clinical outcomes and reduced economic burden.

Objective: We examined the relationship between the attainment of HEDIS measures asthma medication ratio (AMR) and medication management for people with asthma (MMA) on clinical and economic outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective claims database analysis linked to ambulatory electronic medical records enrolled US patients aged ≥5 years with persistent asthma between May 2015 and April 2017.

Analysis of Real-World Dosing Patterns for the 3 FDA-Approved Medications in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances that affects approximately 2% to 4% of the adult population in the United States, with minimal real-world data related to the use of medications and associated dosages for this condition.

Objective: To analyze the real-world dosing patterns of the 3 medications approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for fibromyalgia-pregabalin, duloxetine, and milnacipran.

Methods: Using QuintilesIMS' (now IQVIA) electronic medical record data linked to administrative claims, we identified adults with fibromyalgia who were newly prescribed pregabalin, duloxetine, or milnacipran between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2014.

Comparative effectiveness of uterine fibroids procedures using linked medical record and claims data.

Aims: To compare durability of uterus-conserving procedures for symptomatic fibroids in terms of incidence and time to subsequent procedures.

Patients & Methods: We conducted a retrospective database study of 2648 patients having a uterus-conserving procedure for uterine fibroids from 2005 to 2011 with a minimum of 2 years follow-up.

Results: Patients with myomectomy or uterine artery embolization as their index procedure had lower risk of a subsequent procedure during the study compared with patients who underwent endometrial ablation.

One-year follow-up healthcare costs of patients hospitalized for transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke and discharged with aspirin plus extended-release dipyridamole or clopidogrel.

Objective: To examine healthcare costs among patients hospitalized for transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke (TIA/stroke) and prescribed aspirin plus extended-release dipyridamole (ASA-ERDP) or clopidogrel (CLOPID) within 30 days post-discharge using a retrospective claims database from a large US managed care organization.

Methods: Adult patients with ≥1 hospitalizations for TIA/stroke between January 2007-July 2009 and ≥1 claims for an oral anti-platelet (OAP) were observed for 1 year before and after the first TIA/stroke hospitalization or until death, whichever came first. Cohorts were defined by the first claim for ASA-ERDP or CLOPID within 30 days post-discharge.

Medical care costs and survival associated with hepatocellular carcinoma among the elderly.

Background & Aims: We assessed the burden of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in terms of mortality and medical care costs, based on analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database.

Methods: We analyzed data from the SEER-Medicare database on patients 66 years or older who were diagnosed with primary HCC from 1991 to 2007, entitled for Medicare Parts A and B, and not enrolled in health maintenance organizations (n = 5712). Controls were individuals without HCC, identified from a 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries residing in SEER areas; they were matched 1:1 with individuals with HCC (cases) for age, sex, race, and geographic region (average age, 75 y; 34.