Impact of Clinical Characteristics and Biomarkers on Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire Exacerbation Prediction Ability.

Background: Complex models combining impairment-based control assessments with clinical characteristics and biomarkers have been developed to predict asthma exacerbations. The composite Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) with adjustments for demographics (age, sex, race, and body mass index) predicts 12-month exacerbation occurrence similarly to these more complex models.

Objective: To examine whether AIRQ exacerbation prediction is enhanced when models are adjusted for a wider range of clinical characteristics and biomarkers.

Advancing assessment of asthma control with a composite tool: The Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire.

Background: National and international asthma guidelines and reports do not include control tools that combine impairment assessment with exacerbation history in one instrument.

Objective: To analyze the performance of the composite Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) in assessing both domains of control and predicting exacerbation risk compared with the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) 4-question symptom control tool (GINA SCT), Asthma Control Test (ACT), and physician expert opinion (EO) informed by GINA SCT responses and appraisal of GINA-identified risk factors for poor asthma outcomes.

Methods: Multivariable logistic regressions evaluated AIRQ and GINA SCT as predictors of ACT.

Assessing meaningful change in the Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire.

Background: The Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) is a 10-item, yes/no, equally weighted control tool. Lower scores indicate better control. Moreover, 7 impairment items reflect previous 2-week symptoms, and 3 risk items assess previous 12-month exacerbations.

Predictors of Psychological Distress among Post-Operative Cardiac Patients: A Narrative Review.

Following surgery, over 50% of cardiac surgery patients report anxiety, stress and/or depression, with at least 10% meeting clinical diagnoses, which can persist for more than a year. Psychological distress predicts post-surgery health outcomes for cardiac patients. Therefore, post-operative distress represents a critical recovery challenge affecting both physical and psychological health.

The Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire enhances the assessment of asthma control.

Background: Asthma control is often overestimated in routine practice, and despite advances in the understanding of immunopathology and the availability of new precision therapies, the burden of disease remains unacceptably high.

Objective: To compare the performance of the Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) with patient and physician assessments and the Asthma Control Test (ACT) in identifying asthma control.

Methods: Baseline data from a longitudinal study of the AIRQ were analyzed.

Peanut allergy burden survey: Factors associated with health-related quality of life in adolescents.

Background: Patients with peanut allergy (PA) experience significant burden of illness, which impacts health-related quality of life (HRQoL), particularly in adolescence. There is a paucity of research evaluating drivers of HRQoL scores.

Methods: A prospective, online survey of adolescents with self-reported, provider-diagnosed PA completed from November 2018 to January 2019 was used to explore drivers of the real-world impact of PA on HRQoL using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.

Real-world experience of pediatric patients treated with peanut (Arachis hypogaea) allergen powder-dnfp.

Background: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) allergen powder-dnfp (PTAH) is the first oral immunotherapy indicated for children aged 4 to 17 years with peanut allergy. There are limited real-world data on patients treated with PTAH.

Objective: To characterize pediatric patients treated with PTAH and associated treatment patterns in US clinical practice.

Relationship Between Asthma Control as Measured by the Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) and Patient Perception of Disease Status, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Treatment Adherence.

Purpose: Critical asthma outcomes highlighted in clinical guidelines include asthma-related quality of life, asthma exacerbations, and asthma control. An easy-to-implement measure of asthma control that assesses both symptom impairment and exacerbation risk and reflects the impact of asthma on patients' lives is lacking. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) construct validity relative to patient self-perception of asthma status and validated disease-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures.

The Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) Control Level Predicts Future Risk of Asthma Exacerbations.

Background: The Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) is a 10-item, equally weighted, yes/no control tool validated in patients with asthma aged 12 years and older.

Objective: To evaluate AIRQ's ability to predict patient-reported exacerbations over 12 months.

Methods: Patients completed a baseline AIRQ during an in-person enrollment visit and reported exacerbations (ie, asthma-related courses of oral corticosteroids, emergency department/urgent care visits, and hospitalizations) via monthly online surveys.

Evaluating construct validity of the Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire using a 3-month exacerbation recall.

Background: Recurrent assessment of asthma control is essential to evaluating disease stability and intervention impacts. An assessment that can be administered between annual clinic visits is needed. The Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ) is a cross-sectionally validated, 10-item, yes or no, composite control tool evaluating previous 2-week symptoms and previous 12-month exacerbations.

The Peanut Allergy Burden Study: Real-world impact of peanut allergy on resource utilization and productivity.

Background: There is limited research demonstrating the real-world economic burden of peanut allergy (PA) in the United States. The Peanut Allergy Burden Study (PABS) is a cross-sectional quantitative survey designed to determine the real-world experience of patients and caregivers with PA. The objective of the study was to understand the real-world utilization of PA-related healthcare resources and the impact of PA on productivity.

The Peanut Allergy Burden Study: Impact on the quality of life of patients and caregivers.

Background: Peanut allergy (PA) places significant burden on peanut-allergic individuals and their families, yet limited research in the United States has quantitatively examined the impact on peanut-allergic individuals and their families' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The Peanut Allergy Burden Study (PABS) aimed to quantify the impact of PA on the general and disease-specific HRQoL of children, adolescents, and adults with PA, as well as caregivers of children with PA.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was employed to examine the real-world impact of PA in children, adolescents, and adults with PA, and caregivers of children with PA.

Immigrants, Crime, and the American Dream: Testing a Segmented Assimilation Theory of Crime.

The immigrant-crime relationship is often misunderstood and highly complex. To date, criminological research has largely ignored theory testing of this relationship. This paper examines the extant literature on intergenerational offending amongst immigrant youth and subsequently tests whether the segmented assimilation theory- a theory borrowed from the interdisciplinary social sciences- adequately explains immigrant offending.

Validation of inducible basophil biomarkers: Time, temperature and transportation.

Background: The short stability window of several hours from blood collection to measuring basophil activation has limited the use of flow cytometry-based basophil activation assays in clinical settings. We examine if it is possible to extend this window to 1 day allowing for shipment of samples between laboratories. Several options exist for reporting the results including reporting all the measured values directly, calculating ratios and reporting a single value covering all measured results.

Development of the Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ): A Composite Control Measure.

Background: Asthma exacerbation risk increases with worsening asthma control. Prevailing numerical control tools evaluate only current symptom impairment despite the importance of also assessing risk based on exacerbation history. An easy-to-use questionnaire addressing impairment and risk domains of control is needed.

Physical Activity Before, During, and After Chemotherapy for High-Risk Breast Cancer: Relationships With Survival.

Background: Although physical activity has been consistently associated with reduced breast cancer mortality, evidence is largely based on data collected at one occasion. We examined how pre- and postdiagnosis physical activity was associated with survival outcomes in high-risk breast cancer patients.

Methods: Included were 1340 patients enrolled in the Diet, Exercise, Lifestyle and Cancer Prognosis (DELCaP) Study, a prospective study of lifestyle and prognosis ancillary to a SWOG clinical trial (S0221).

The Women's Circle of Health Follow-Up Study: a population-based longitudinal study of Black breast cancer survivors in New Jersey.

Purpose: The Women's Circle of Health Follow-Up Study is an ongoing longitudinal study of African American/Black breast cancer survivors in New Jersey, specifically designed to evaluate the impact of obesity and related comorbidities on breast cancer survival and health-related quality-of-life in this understudied population. Here, we describe our recruitment and data collection methods and compare characteristics of the overall cohort and the subcohort with follow-up data.

Methods: Newly diagnosed breast cancer cases have been recruited into the study since 2006.

Dietary Supplement Use During Chemotherapy and Survival Outcomes of Patients With Breast Cancer Enrolled in a Cooperative Group Clinical Trial (SWOG S0221).

Purpose: Despite reported widespread use of dietary supplements during cancer treatment, few empirical data with regard to their safety or efficacy exist. Because of concerns that some supplements, particularly antioxidants, could reduce the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy, we conducted a prospective study ancillary to a therapeutic trial to evaluate associations between supplement use and breast cancer outcomes.

Methods: Patients with breast cancer randomly assigned to an intergroup metronomic trial of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and paclitaxel were queried on their use of supplements at registration and during treatment (n =1,134).

Hidden in plain sight: residency coordinators' social support of residents in family medicine residency programs.

Background And Objectives: Social support resources for family medicine residents have increased over the years in response to the challenges of residency training and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements. In all of the discussions of social support, the role of residency coordinators (RCs) has been overlooked. A national survey was conducted to expose and explore the contribution of RCs to the social support of family medicine residents.

Variability in visual segmentation of digitized prostate tissue microarray cores.

Objective: To examine bias associated with human-interactive semi-automated systems key components with machine vision used in quantitative histometry.

Study Design: A standard image set of 20 images was created using 5 nuclei sampled from hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections of benign tissue within a prostate tissue microarray that were rotated through the cardinal directions. Four trained technicians performed segmentation of these images at the start, then at the end, of 3 daily sessions, creating a total analytic set of 480 observations.

Developing a postgraduate program in Indigenous mental health and wellbeing at University of Southern Queensland.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to explain the development of an innovative postgraduate program in Indigenous Australian Mental Health and Well-Being for non-Indigenous health and allied health practitioners.

Methods: The historical background is explored, together with details of the approach to, and the management of, the new program.

Results: The establishment of the new program has been achieved and the interest level in the new directions being undertaken has been gauged as very high.