US Real-World Effectiveness Study of Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir in Preventing Hospitalization of High-Risk COVID-19 Patients.

Purpose: We describe nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (NMV/r) effectiveness in preventing hospitalization among COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease.

Methods: An ongoing US population-based observational cohort study with retrospective and prospective collection of national electronic healthcare data collected from the US Optum® deidentified COVID-19 Electronic Health Record dataset during December 22, 2021-July 20, 2022. Participants were ≥12 years old; had a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, COVID-19 diagnosis, or NMV/r prescription; and were at high risk of severe COVID-19 based on demographic/clinical characteristics.

Dietary folate intake and serum klotho levels in adults aged 40-79 years: a cross-sectional study from the national health and nutrition examination survey 2007-2016.

Objective: This study aims to explore the relationship between dietary folate intake and serum Klotho levels in adults from aged 40 to 79 years in the United States, seeking to elucidate the intricacies of their interaction.

Methods: Analyzing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2007 to 2016. The survey research determined folate intake through a 24-h dietary recall and nutrient density modeling, and assessed Klotho levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Comparative safety of conjugated estrogens/bazedoxifene versus estrogen/progestin combination hormone therapy among women in the United States: a multidatabase cohort study.

Objective: To assess the risk of select safety outcomes including endometrial cancer, endometrial hyperplasia, and breast cancer among women using conjugated estrogens/bazedoxifene (CE/BZA) as compared with estrogen/progestin combination hormone therapy (EP).

Methods: We conducted a new-user cohort study in five US healthcare claims databases representing more than 92 million women. We included CE/BZA or EP new users from May 1, 2014, to August 30, 2019.

Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Sewage Treatment Plants between January 2020 and July 2021 in Taiwan.

An outbreak of a new type of coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) began in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, at the end of 2019, and it later spread to other areas of China and around the world. Taiwan reported the first confirmed case from an individual who returned from Wuhan, China, in January 2020 for Chinese New Year. Monitoring microbes in environmental sewage is an important epidemiological indicator, especially for pathogens that can be shed in feces such as poliovirus.

The incidence of stroke among selected patients undergoing elective posterior lumbar fusion: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Although stroke is a rare complication among spinal surgery patients, the recognition of this adverse event is critical given the aging population undergoing surgical procedures. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence of stroke among selected adults undergoing elective posterior lumbar fusion (PLF) during various post-operative risk windows and among different subgroups.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study using a longitudinal electronic healthcare record (EHR) database was conducted from January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2018.

Signal Detection for Recently Approved Products: Adapting and Evaluating Self-Controlled Case Series Method Using a US Claims and UK Electronic Medical Records Database.

Introduction: The Self-Controlled Case Series (SCCS) method has been widely used for hypothesis testing, but there is limited evidence of its performance for safety signal detection.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate SCCS for signal detection on recently approved products.

Methods: A retrospective study covered the period after three recently marketed drugs were launched through to 31 December 2010 using The Health Improvement Network, a UK primary care database, and Optum, a US claims database.

Assessing performance of sequential analysis methods for active drug safety surveillance using observational data.

The routine use of sequential methods is well established in clinical studies. Recently, there has been increasing interest in applying these methods to prospectively monitor the safety of newly approved drugs through accrual of real-world data. However, the application to marketed drugs using real-world data has been limited and work is needed to determine which sequential approaches are most suited to such data.

Computer-assisted expert case definition in electronic health records.

Purpose: To describe how computer-assisted presentation of case data can lead experts to infer machine-implementable rules for case definition in electronic health records. As an illustration the technique has been applied to obtain a definition of acute liver dysfunction (ALD) in persons with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: The technique consists of repeatedly sampling new batches of case candidates from an enriched pool of persons meeting presumed minimal inclusion criteria, classifying the candidates by a machine-implementable candidate rule and by a human expert, and then updating the rule so that it captures new distinctions introduced by the expert.

Evaluating nursing home performance indicators: an illustration exploring the impact of facilities on ADL change.

Purpose: Performance measurement systems for nursing homes assume that facility performance contributes heavily to individual outcomes. This research illustrates how that assumption can be assessed using the change in residents' activities of daily living (ADLs).

Design And Methods: The data used in these analyses were all from residents with both an admission and a quarterly assessment in a sample of all admissions to a randomly chosen 10% of Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing homes operating during 2002.