Detecting Heterogeneous Treatment Effects to Guide Personalized Blood Pressure Treatment: A Modeling Study of Randomized Clinical Trials.

Background: Two recent randomized trials produced discordant results when testing the benefits and harms of treatment to reduce blood pressure (BP) in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Objective: To perform a theoretical modeling study to identify whether large, clinically important differences in benefit and harm among patients (heterogeneous treatment effects [HTEs]) can be hidden in, and explain discordant results between, treat-to-target BP trials.

Design: Microsimulation.

Using benefit-based tailored treatment to improve the use of antihypertensive medications.

Background: Current guidelines for prescribing antihypertensive medications focus on reaching specific blood pressure targets. We sought to determine whether antihypertensive medications could be used more effectively by a treatment strategy based on tailored estimates of cardiovascular disease events prevented.

Methods And Results: We developed a nationally representative sample of American adults aged 30 to 85 years with no history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or severe congestive heart failure using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III.

Don't get sick on the weekend: an evaluation of the weekend effect on mortality for patients visiting US EDs.

Primary Objective: The primary objective of the study is to determine if the mortality for adult patients visiting US emergency departments (EDs) is greater on weekends than weekdays.

Secondary Objectives: The secondary objective of the study is to examine whether patient factors (diagnosis, income, insurance status) or hospital characteristics (ownership, ED volume, teaching status) are associated with increased weekend mortality.

Methods: We used a retrospective cohort analysis of the 2008 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample.