Treatment Terminations During Radiation Therapy: A 10-Year Experience.

Purpose: Patients undergoing radiation therapy may terminate treatment for any number of reasons. The incidence of treatment termination (TT) during radiation therapy has not been studied. Herein, we present a cohort of TT at a large multicenter radiation oncology department over 10 years.

Detection of in Air Samples by Quantitative PCR.

Detection and quantification of pathogen propagules in the air or other environmental samples is facilitated by culture-independent assays. We developed a quantitative PCR assay for the hop powdery mildew fungus, , for detection of the organism from air samples. The assay uses primers and a TaqMan probe designed to target species-specific sequences in the 28S large subunit of the nuclear ribosomal DNA.

Patient Experience Performance at a Primary Cancer Center Versus Affiliated Community Facilities.

Purpose: Patient experience tools are used throughout health care to evaluate physician and departmental performance. In radiation medicine, these tools are important in evaluating patient-specific metrics throughout their care journey. This study compared patient experience outcomes from a central tertiary cancer program with network clinics in a health care network.

The burden of undertreatment and non-treatment among patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and elevated stroke risk: a systematic review.

Objective: Global treatment guidelines recommend treatment with oral anticoagulants (OACs) for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and an elevated stroke risk. However, not all patients with NVAF and an elevated stroke risk receive guideline-recommended therapy. A literature review and synthesis of observational studies were undertaken to identify the body of evidence on untreated and undertreated NVAF and the association with clinical and economic outcomes.

The IMPact of untReated nOn-Valvular atrial fibrillation on short-tErm clinical and economic outcomes in the US Medicare population: the IMPROVE-AF model.

Background: Despite treatment guidelines recommending the use of oral anticoagulants (OACs) for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and moderate to high risk of stroke (CHADS-VASc score ≥1), many patients remain untreated. A study conducted among Medicare beneficiaries with AF and a CHADS-VASc score of ≥2 found that 51% of patients were not prescribed an OAC despite being eligible for treatment. When left untreated, NVAF poses an enormous burden to society, as stroke events are estimated to cost the US healthcare system about $34 billion each year in both direct medical costs and indirect productivity losses.