Utilization and Outcomes in U.S. ICU Hospitalizations.

Objectives: Despite its importance, detailed national estimates of ICU utilization and outcomes remain lacking. We aimed to characterize trends in ICU utilization and outcomes over a recent 12-year period in the United States.

Design/setting: In this longitudinal study, we examined hospitalizations involving ICU care ("ICU hospitalizations") alongside hospitalizations not involving ICU care ("non-ICU hospitalizations") among traditional Medicare beneficiaries using 100% Medicare part A claims data and commercial claims data for the under 65 adult population from 2008 to 2019.

Firearm Injuries In Children And Adolescents: Health And Economic Consequences Among Survivors And Family Members.

More US children and adolescents today die from firearms than any other cause, and many more sustain firearm injuries and survive. The clinical and economic impact of these firearm injuries on survivors and family members remains poorly understood. Using 2007-21 commercial health insurance claims data, we studied 2,052 child and adolescent survivors compared to 9,983 matched controls who did not incur firearm injuries, along with 6,209 family members of survivors compared to 29,877 matched controls, and 265 family members of decedents compared to 1,263 matched controls.

Changes in Prescription Drug and Health Care Use Over 9 Years After the Large Drug Price Increase for Colchicine.

Importance: Prescription drug prices are a leading concern among patients and policy makers. There have been large and sharp price increases for some drugs, but the long-term implications of large drug price increases remain poorly understood.

Objective: To examine the association of the large 2010 price increase in colchicine, a common treatment for gout, with long-term changes in colchicine use, substitution with other drugs, and health care use.

Demographic And Clinical Factors Associated With Long COVID.

Risk factors for postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection ("long COVID") in community-dwelling populations remain poorly understood. Large-scale data, follow-up, comparison groups, and a consensus definition of long COVID are often lacking. Using data from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse on a nationwide sample of commercial and Medicare Advantage enrollees from the period January 2019 through March 2022, we examined demographic and clinical factors associated with long COVID, using two definitions of people who suffer symptoms long after they were first diagnosed with COVID-19 ("long haulers").

Changes in Health Care Spending, Use, and Clinical Outcomes After Nonfatal Firearm Injuries Among Survivors and Family Members : A Cohort Study.

Background: Despite increasing awareness of firearm-related deaths, evidence on the clinical and economic implications of nonfatal firearm injuries is limited.

Objective: To measure changes in clinical and economic outcomes after nonfatal firearm injuries among survivors and their family members.

Design: Cohort study.

Prevalence, Costs, and Consequences of Low-Value Preprocedural Urinalyses in the US.

This cohort study analyzes inpatient and outpatient episodes of procedural and surgical care to assess the prevalence and costs of low-value preprocedural urinalyses in the US from 2007 to 2017.