Publications by authors named "Scott Berkowitz"

Article Synopsis
  • The VOYAGER PAD study found that rivaroxaban 2.5 mg combined with aspirin reduced cardiovascular events but increased bleeding in patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) after revascularization.
  • The study specifically looked at fragile patients, defined by age, weight, and kidney function, and assessed the drug's efficacy and safety for this group.
  • Results showed fragile patients were at greater risk for ischemic events and bleeding, but the effectiveness of rivaroxaban was consistent across both fragile and nonfragile patients.
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  • DAOH (Days Alive Out of Hospital) is a key end point for assessing patient outcomes in atrial fibrillation treatments, but its clinical utility has not been previously explored in trials.
  • The ROCKET AF trial compared the effectiveness of rivaroxaban and warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation, revealing similar DAOH outcomes for both treatments, indicating no significant benefit of one over the other.
  • Overall, low event rates among participants led to a skewed distribution in DAOH measurements, which may explain the lack of treatment differences observed in the study.
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Article Synopsis
  • The VOYAGER PAD trial evaluated the effectiveness and safety of rivaroxaban combined with aspirin versus aspirin alone for patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease undergoing revascularization, with half the participants also on clopidogrel.
  • The study found that rivaroxaban plus aspirin could reduce the occurrence of major thrombotic vascular events significantly but resulted in a higher risk of major bleeding episodes.
  • Benefit-risk analyses indicated a relatively favorable outcome for rivaroxaban; when weighted for clinical importance, there was a high probability (64.4% to 98.7%) that the benefits of using rivaroxaban outweigh the associated risks.
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Anatomy is critical in risk stratification and therapeutic decision making in coronary disease. The relationship between anatomy and outcomes is not well described in PAD. We sought to develop an angiographic core lab within the VOYAGER-PAD trial.

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Background: Prior single-hospital studies have documented barriers to acceptance that hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) face when referred to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

Objective: To examine the impact of OUD on the number of SNF referrals and the proportion of referrals accepted.

Design, Settings, And Participants: A retrospective cohort study of hospitalizations with SNF referrals in 2019 at two academic hospitals in Baltimore, MD.

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Background: Rivaroxaban plus aspirin compared with aspirin alone reduced major cardiac and ischemic limb events after lower extremity revascularization (LER) in the VOYAGER PAD (Vascular Outcomes Study of ASA Along With Rivaroxaban in Endovascular or Surgical Limb Revascularization for Peripheral Artery Disease) trial. The effect has not been described in patients undergoing endovascular LER.

Methods: The VOYAGER PAD trial randomized 6564 patients with symptomatic peripheral artery disease to a double-blinded treatment with 2.

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Objectives: This study evaluated the impact of standardized care protocols, as a part of a quality improvement initiative (J10ohns Hopkins Community Health Partnership, J-CHiP), on hospital readmission rates for patients with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) after being discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

Design: A retrospective study comparing 30-day hospital readmission rates the year before and 2 years following the implementation of the care protocol interventions.

Settings And Participants: Patients discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital or Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center to the participating SNFs diagnosed with CHF and/or COPD.

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Johns Hopkins Medicine underwent a significant evolution with a new Office of Population Health (OPH), inclusive of a hybrid clinical and administrative structure, to optimally align expertise with care delivery functions. Initial priorities included identification of high-risk patients to receive care management, integrated behavioral health, and wraparound supports to address social determinants of health. A cross-functional care team provides multidisciplinary support for primary care practice patient needs, and efforts through the Baltimore Metropolitan Diabetes Regional Partnership have helped accelerate scaling of evidence-based diabetes prevention and management programs across the state.

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United States health systems face unique challenges in transitioning from volume-based to value-based care, particularly for academic institutions. Providing complex specialty and tertiary care dependent on servicing large geographic areas, and concomitantly meeting education and research academic missions may limit the time and resources available for focusing on the care coordination needs of complex local populations. Despite these challenges, academic medicine is well situated to capitalize on the promise of value-based care and to lead broad improvements in both teaching and nonteaching hospitals.

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Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) are at an increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, and those with disease in the lower extremities are at risk of major adverse limb events primarily driven by atherothrombosis. Traditionally, PAD refers to diseases of the arteries outside of the coronary circulation, including carotid, visceral and lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and the heterogeneity of PAD patients is represented by different atherothrombotic pathophysiology, clinical features and related antithrombotic strategies. The risk in this diverse population includes systemic risk of cardiovascular events as well as risk related to the diseased territory (e.

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Background: Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) requiring lower extremity revascularization (LER) have a high risk of adverse limb and cardiovascular events. The results from the VOYAGER PAD (efficacy and safety of rivaroxaban in reducing the risk of major thrombotic vascular events in subjects with symptomatic peripheral artery disease undergoing peripheral revascularization procedures of the lower extremities) trial have demonstrated that rivaroxaban significantly reduced this risk with an overall favorable net benefit for patients undergoing surgical revascularization. However, the efficacy and safety for those treated by surgical bypass, including stratification by bypass conduit (venous or prosthetic), has not yet been described.

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Background: The Clopidogrel and Acetylsalicylic Acid in Bypass Surgery for Peripheral Arterial Disease (CASPAR) trial is the only large, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) versus aspirin in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) after lower extremity revascularization (LER). The trial was neutral for index-graft occlusion/revascularization, amputation or death (hazard ratio [HR] 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.

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Importance: Prior studies have observed an association between the burden of atherosclerotic vascular disease and the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The association is not well described in peripheral artery disease (PAD) after lower extremity revascularization (LER).

Objective: To describe the risk of, factors associated with, and outcomes after VTE, as well as the association of low-dose rivaroxaban plus antiplatelet therapy with VTE after LER.

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Background Despite high female prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD), little is known about sex-based outcomes after lower extremity revascularization (LER) for symptomatic PAD. The effects of rivaroxaban according to sex following LER have not been fully reported. Methods and Results In VOYAGER PAD (Vascular Outcomes Study of ASA [acetylsalicylic acid] Along with Rivaroxaban in Endovascular or Surgical Limb Revascularization for Peripheral Artery Disease), low-dose rivaroxaban versus placebo on a background of aspirin reduced the composite primary efficacy outcome of cardiovascular and limb events in patients with PAD undergoing LER.

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Background: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 200 million people worldwide and is associated with impaired quality of life, increased morbidity, and mortality. Supervised exercise therapy (SET) and lower-extremity revascularization (LER) are both proven strategies to improve patient symptoms. Short and long-term functional outcomes after LER for symptomatic PAD in a large, international cohort have not previously been described.

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Background: Vascular disease burden after lower extremity revascularization (LER) comprises more than the first event, more vascular beds than the local arteries, and more than one clinical event type.

Objectives: Assess total arterial and venous thrombotic burden after LER for symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) and effect of low-dose anticoagulation added to low-dose antiplatelet therapy.

Patients/methods: VOYAGER PAD randomized 6564 symptomatic PAD patients undergoing LER to rivaroxaban 2.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on finding hidden brain problems called covert brain infarcts in patients with unexplained strokes and tested two medications: rivaroxaban and aspirin.
  • Researchers looked at MRI scans of 718 participants to see how many had new brain issues over about 11 months.
  • They found that more patients had covert brain infarcts than actual strokes, and taking rivaroxaban didn’t really help reduce these hidden issues compared to aspirin.
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Background: Paclitaxel drug-coated devices (DCDs) were developed to improve lower extremity revascularization (LER) patency in peripheral artery disease (PAD) but have been associated with long-term mortality.

Objectives: This study assessed DCD safety and effectiveness in LER for PAD.

Methods: VOYAGER PAD (Vascular Outcomes Study of ASA [acetylsalicylic acid] Along with Rivaroxaban in Endovascular or Surgical Limb Revascularization for PAD) randomized patients with PAD who underwent LER to rivaroxaban or placebo.

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Background: Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) are at heightened risk of acute limb ischemia (ALI), a thrombotic event associated with amputation, disability, and mortality. Previous lower extremity revascularization (LER) is associated with increased ALI risk in chronic PAD. However, the pattern of risk, clinical correlates, and outcomes after ALI early after LER are not well-studied, and effective therapies to reduce ALI post-LER are lacking.

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