Complications, Costs, and Health Care Resource Use with Tissue Biopsy Followed by Liquid Biopsy Versus Tissue Re-biopsy in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Nonsmall-cell Lung Cancer.

Objectives: We compared complications, costs, and health care resource utilization (HCRU) of patients with newly diagnosed metastatic nonsmall-cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) who had a tissue biopsy followed by either liquid biopsy (TFLB) (identified with a novel algorithm) or tissue re-biopsy (TRB).

Methods: This claims-based retrospective analysis included commercial and Medicare Advantage members in the Optum Research Database with mNSCLC (January 2017 to June 2021) and ≥2 tissue biopsy claims (7 to 90 d apart) (TRB) or ≥1 tissue and ≥1 liquid biopsy claim within 90 days (TFLB). Patients in the TFLB group were matched 1:1 to patients in the TRB group using propensity score matching.

Real-world use of inotuzumab ozogamicin is associated with lower health care costs than blinatumomab in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the first relapsed/refractory setting.

To compare all-cause and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)-related healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs among patients receiving inotuzumab ozogamicin (InO) and blinatumomab (Blina) for ALL in the first relapsed/refractory (R/R) setting. We studied retrospective claims for adult commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees with ALL receiving InO (n = 29) or Blina (n = 23) from 1 January 2015 to 16 February 2021. Mean per-patient-per-month (PPPM) HCRU and total costs were described and multivariable-adjusted PPPM total all-cause and ALL-related predicted costs were calculated.

AMDIS Case Conference: Implementing Electronic Health Records in a Small Subspecialty Practice.

Electronic health record adoption has failed to achieve critical mass in small private practices in no small part due to lack of leadership; the challenge of cultural change; and the difficulty of adapting to new automated workflows. We present one small practice that successfully navigated these obstacles, and examine its accomplishments through the lens of organizational psychology.

Direct serum assay for microRNA-21 concentrations in early and advanced breast cancer.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs whose expression changes have been associated with cancer development and progression. Current techniques to isolate miRs for expression analysis from blood are inefficient. We developed a reverse-transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) assay for direct detection of circulating miRs in serum.

Nosocomial pneumonia and oral health.

This article will critically review the evidence linking pneumonia to the aspiration of microbe-laden oropharyngeal secretions and tie that to the predisposition for these processes to affect dependent, medically compromised individuals. The goal of this review is to alert the reader to the role that oral disease and oral health play in fostering and preventing, respectively, widespread and potentially fatal pulmonary disease among high-risk individuals.