Publications by authors named "Lori Devlin"

Background: Medical record abstraction (MRA) is a commonly used method for data collection in clinical research, but is prone to error, and the influence of quality control (QC) measures is seldom and inconsistently assessed during the course of a study. We employed a novel, standardized MRA-QC framework as part of an ongoing observational study in an effort to control MRA error rates. In order to assess the effectiveness of our framework, we compared our error rates against traditional MRA studies that had not reported using formalized MRA-QC methods.

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Background: In clinical research, prevention of data errors is paramount to ensuring reproducibility of trial results and the safety and efficacy of the resulting interventions. Over the last 40 years, empirical assessments of data accuracy in clinical research have been reported, however, there has been little systematic synthesis of these results. Although notable exceptions exist, little evidence exists regarding the relative accuracy of different data processing methods.

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Article Synopsis
  • Infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) cared for using the Eat, Sleep, Console (ESC) approach experienced less medication treatment and shorter hospital stays compared to those receiving usual care.
  • The study aimed to compare feeding practices and weight change in infants treated with ESC versus usual care across 26 hospitals in the US.
  • Results showed that a higher percentage of infants in the ESC group were breastfed and received exclusive breast milk, indicating a more favorable feeding outcome compared to the usual care group.
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Importance: The function-based eat, sleep, console (ESC) care approach substantially reduces the proportion of infants who receive pharmacologic treatment for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). This reduction has led to concerns for increased postnatal opioid exposure in infants who receive pharmacologic treatment. However, the effect of the ESC care approach on hospital outcomes for infants pharmacologically treated for NOWS is currently unknown.

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Background: In clinical research, prevention of systematic and random errors of data collected is paramount to ensuring reproducibility of trial results and the safety and efficacy of the resulting interventions. Over the last 40 years, empirical assessments of data accuracy in clinical research have been reported in the literature. Although there have been reports of data error and discrepancy rates in clinical studies, there has been little systematic synthesis of these results.

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Background: Although clinicians have traditionally used the Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring Tool to assess the severity of neonatal opioid withdrawal, a newer function-based approach - the Eat, Sleep, Console care approach - is increasing in use. Whether the new approach can safely reduce the time until infants are medically ready for discharge when it is applied broadly across diverse sites is unknown.

Methods: In this cluster-randomized, controlled trial at 26 U.

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Background: Medical record abstraction (MRA) is a commonly used method for data collection in clinical research, but is prone to error, and the influence of quality control (QC) measures is seldom and inconsistently assessed during the course of a study. We employed a novel, standardized MRA-QC framework as part of an ongoing observational study in an effort to control MRA error rates. In order to assess the effectiveness of our framework, we compared our error rates against traditional MRA studies that had not reported using formalized MRA-QC methods.

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Objectives: (1) To evaluate the direct (un-mediated) and indirect (mediated) relationship between antenatal exposure to opioid agonist medication as treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and the severity of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), and (2) to understand the degree to which mediating factors influence the direct relationship between MOUD exposure and NOWS severity.

Methods: This cross-sectional study includes data abstracted from the medical records of 1294 opioid-exposed infants (859 MOUD exposed and 435 non-MOUD exposed) born at or admitted to one of 30 US hospitals from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017. Regression models and mediation analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between MOUD exposure and NOWS severity (i.

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Background: Studies have shown that data collection by medical record abstraction (MRA) is a significant source of error in clinical research studies relying on secondary use data. Yet, the quality of data collected using MRA is seldom assessed. We employed a novel, theory-based framework for data quality assurance and quality control of MRA.

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Neonates born to mothers taking opioids during pregnancy are at risk for neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), for which there is no recognized standard approach to care. Nonpharmacologic treatment is typically used as a first-line approach for management, and pharmacologic treatment is added when clinical signs are not responding to nonpharmacologic measures alone. Although morphine and methadone are the most commonly used pharmacotherapies for NOWS, buprenorphine has emerged as a treatment option based on its pharmacologic profile and results from initial single site clinical trials.

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Background And Objectives: Despite the neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) epidemic in the United States, evidence is limited for pharmacologic management when first-line opioid medications fail to control symptoms. The objective with this study was to evaluate outcomes of infants receiving secondary therapy with phenobarbital compared with clonidine, in combination with morphine, for the treatment of NOWS.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of infants with NOWS from 30 hospitals.

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Illicit use of opioids is a global health crisis with major implications for women and children. Strategies for managing opioid use disorder (OUD) in pregnancy have been tested over the past 40 years, but studies have focused on maternal and pregnancy outcomes, with less attention given to long-term follow-up of exposed children. Here, we provide a narrative review of recent advances in the assessment and management of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), and we summarise evidence from multiple domains-neuroimaging, electrophysiology, visual development and function, neurodevelopment, behaviour, cognition and education-which suggests that prenatal opioid exposure modifies child development.

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Background And Objectives: Variation in pediatric medical care is common and contributes to differences in patient outcomes. Site-to-site variation in the characteristics and care of infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) has yet to be quantified. Our objective was to describe site-to-site variation in maternal-infant characteristics, infant management, and outcomes for infants with NOWS.

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Objective: Inhaled NO (iNO) is used in the NICU for management of hypoxemic respiratory failure. The cost of iNO is significant and does not consistently improve outcomes in infants <34 weeks.

Project Design: Our team used The Model for Improvement to design a quality improvement project to utilize iNO for appropriate indications, ensure response to therapy and initiate timely weaning.

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Importance: Observer-rated scales, such as the Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring Tool (FNAST), are used to quantify the severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and guide pharmacologic therapy. The FNAST, a comprehensive 21-item assessment tool, was developed for research and subsequently integrated into clinical practice; a simpler tool, designed to account for clinically meaningful outcomes, is urgently needed to standardize assessment.

Objectives: To identify FNAST items independently associated with the decision to use pharmacologic therapy and to simplify the FNAST while minimizing loss of information for the treatment decision.

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The national incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome has dramatically increased over the last decade due to an increase in antenatal opioid exposure. Recent human and animal studies suggest that antenatal opioid exposure impacts the developing brain. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of perinatal methadone exposure on myelination in multiple regions in the developing rat brain.

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Article Synopsis
  • The incidence of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) has significantly increased over the past decade, highlighting the need for improved management practices.
  • A survey conducted at 54 medical centers showed high adherence to protocols for NOWS care, with intensive care units (NICUs) generally following standardized practices more consistently than non-ICU settings.
  • The study identifies gaps in management practices between NICUs and non-ICUs, suggesting the need for better training and standardized care plans to improve outcomes in non-ICU environments.
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Studies often rely on medical record abstraction as a major source of data. However, data quality from medical record abstraction has long been questioned. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) potentially add variability to the abstraction process due to the complexity of navigating and locating study data within these systems.

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Perinatal opioid misuse and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) are a significant public health problem that has grown exponentially over the past decade. In the United States, a woman seeks emergency room care for prescription opioid misuse every 3 minutes and approximately every 25 minutes, a child is born with signs of drug withdrawal. The economic impact of perinatal opioid misuse is significant with annual hospital charges for NOWS in 2012 as $1.

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Introduction: Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a rapidly growing public health concern that has considerably increased health-care utilization and health-care costs. In an effort to curtail costs, attempts have been made to complete withdrawal as an outpatient. Outpatient therapy has been shown to prolong exposure to medications, which may negatively impact neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes.

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Objective: To develop a simplified Finnegan Neonatal Abstinence Scoring System (sFNAS) that will highly correlate with scores ≥8 and ≥12 in infants being assessed with the FNAS.

Design, Setting And Participants: This is a retrospective analysis involving 367 patients admitted to two level IV neonatal intensive care units with a total of 40 294 observations. Inclusion criteria included neonates with gestational age ≥37 0/7 weeks, who are being assessed for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) using the FNAS.

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It is not known whether up-regulation of complement components, either circulating or locally synthesized, contributes to an increased susceptibility to neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) cerebral injury. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that in neonatal rats subjected to a unilateral HI cerebral insult, prior administration of E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) augments (1) complement-mediated serum hemolytic activity, and (2) C3 mRNA and C9 mRNA levels in hepatic and cerebral tissue.

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Extremely low-birth-weight infants are susceptible to invasion by coagulase-negative staphylococci (CONS). This article reviews the epidemiology, immunology, and microbiology of CONS and describes recent clinical trials of immunoenhancing agents such as intravenous immunoglobulin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and mouse humanized chimeric anti-lipoteichoic acid antibody. Potential avenues of research to reduce the incidence of nosocomial CONS sepsis in premature neonates are presented.

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