Healthcare utilization and costs associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children with and without Down syndrome.

Background: Children with Down syndrome (DS) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are at increased risk of treatment-related morbidity and mortality compared to non-DS-ALL, requiring increased supportive care. We examined the healthcare utilization and costs in DS-ALL patients to inform future evaluations of novel therapies.

Methods: A provincial registry identified all children (1-17 years) diagnosed with B-lineage ALL in Ontario, Canada between 2002 and 2012.

Reinventing the wheel: The incidence and cost implication of duplication of effort in patient education materials development.

Objective: The development of patient education (PE) materials is costly and resource-intensive, and no mechanisms exist for sharing materials across cancer centers/hospitals to limit duplicated effort. The aim of this study was to explore the incidence and cost implication of duplicated PE efforts.

Methods: PE leaders from all (14) cancer centers in Ontario, Canada, submitted their collections of systemic therapy PE materials.

The impact of routine Edmonton symptom assessment system use on receiving palliative care services: results of a population-based retrospective-matched cohort analysis.

Background: In 2007, Cancer Care Ontario began standardised symptom assessment as part of routine care using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS).

Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of ESAS on receipt of palliative care when compared with a matched group of unexposed patients.

Design: A retrospective-matched cohort study examined the impact of ESAS screening on initiation of palliative care services provided by physicians or homecare nurses.

The Glycemic Indices in Dialysis Evaluation (GIDE) study: Comparative measures of glycemic control in diabetic dialysis patients.

The validity of hemoglobin A1c (HgbA1c) is undergoing increasing scrutiny in the advanced CKD/ESRD (chronic kidney disease/end-stage renal disease) population, where it appears to be discordant from other glycemic indices. In the Glycemic Indices in Dialysis Evaluation (GIDE) Study, we sought to assess correlation of HgbA1c with casual glucose, glycated albumin, and serum fructosamine in a large group of diabetic patients on dialysis. From 26 dialysis facilities in the United States, 1758 diabetic patients (hemodialysis = 1476, peritoneal dialysis = 282) were enrolled in the first quarter of 2013.