Trends in the appropriateness of oral antibiotic prescriptions dispensed in the United States from 2010 to 2018.

Background: One of the goals established by the United States National Action Plan to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria is to reduce inappropriate outpatient antibiotic prescriptions by 50% by 2020. Recent data on the achievement of this goal is lacking. The objective of our study was to examine recent trends in the appropriateness of oral antibiotic prescriptions dispensed to a commercially insured population in outpatient settings in the United States to quantify the relative trend in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing from 2010 to 2018.

Real-World Survival, Healthcare Resource Utilization, and Costs Among U.S. Elderly Patients With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) Treated With R-GemOx in the Relapsed/Refractory Setting.

Background: Little recent real-world evidence exists on overall survival, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and costs among R/R DLBCL patients treated with the combination of rituximab, gemcitabine, and oxaliplatin (R-GemOx), a widely-used regimen for patients ineligible for stem cell transplant due to age or comorbidities.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective analysis used 2014 to 2019 U.S.

Real-world treatment patterns, survival, health resource use and costs among Medicare beneficiaries with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

To examine real-world treatment patterns, survival, healthcare resource use and costs in elderly Medicare beneficiaries with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). 11,880 Medicare patients aged ≥66 years with DLBCL between 1 October 2015 and 31 December 2018 were followed for ≥12 months after initiating front-line treatment. Two-thirds (61.

Oral fluoroquinolones and risk of aortic aneurysm or dissection: A nationwide population-based propensity score-matched cohort study.

Study Objective: To investigate risk of aortic aneurysm or dissection in patients using oral fluoroquinolones compared to those using macrolides in real-world clinical practice among a large US general population.

Design: Retrospective cohort study design.

Data Source: MarketScan commercial and Medicare supplemental databases.

Resource Over-Utilization in Hospitalized Patients With Uncomplicated Skin and Soft Tissue Infections.

Background: Inpatient management of SSTIs utilizes considerable healthcare resources. The CREST+SEWS score categorizes patients with SSTIs into 4 severity classes. Hospitalizations can be avoided in Class I as they are treated as outpatients with oral antibiotics, whereas Class IV require hospitalization for intravenous antibiotics.

Twelve-year trends in pharmacologic treatment of type 2 diabetes among patients with heart failure in the United States.

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using a database from commercial health plans in the United States to describe trends in the use of antidiabetic medications among patients with type 2 diabetes and heart failure (HF) from 2006 through 2017. We used loop diuretic dose as a surrogate for HF severity (mild HF 0-40 mg/day, moderate-severe HF >40 mg/day). We assessed antidiabetic medication dispensing in the 90 days following HF diagnosis.

Reimbursement of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in the US commercial insurance marketplace.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is increasingly recommended for confirming hypertension diagnosis and ongoing hypertension monitoring. However, reimbursement in the United States is variable and low compared with other advanced health care systems. We examined the reimbursement of ABPM and factors associated with successful reimbursement.

Validity of Self-Reported Drug Use Information Among Pregnant Women.

Introduction: This study assesses validity of self-report for the use of major classes of illicit drugs and opioid-maintenance therapy among pregnant women at a substance abuse treatment program.

Methods: Analyses used data collected from 83 pregnant women in a prospective cohort study at the University of New Mexico. Study participants with a history of substance abuse were screened and, if eligible, enrolled during an early prenatal care visit.

The feasibility and cost of neonatal screening for prenatal alcohol exposure by measuring phosphatidylethanol in dried blood spots.

Background: Accurate confirmation of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is required as a diagnostic criterion for the majority of children adversely affected by PAE who do not manifest the physical features associated with fetal alcohol syndrome. A number of ethanol biomarkers have been used to assess PAE, often with suboptimal results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and cost of PAE screening in newborns by measuring phosphatidylethanol (PEth) in dried blood spot (DBS) cards.