Long-term economic outcomes of ureteral injury in the United States.

Objectives: Ureteral injuries (UIs) during surgical procedures can have serious consequences for patients. Although UIs can result in substantial clinical burden, few studies report the impact of these injuries on payer reimbursement and patient cost-sharing. This retrospective study evaluated 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year healthcare resource utilization for patients with UIs and estimated patient and payer costs.

Effectiveness and Cost of Stenting in Ureteral Injury in Colorectal Surgeries in the US: 2015 - 2019.

Background: Intraoperative ureteral injury (IUI) during colorectal surgery can have devastating consequences. This study aimed to assess the clinical and economic impact of pre-operative ureteral stenting in colorectal surgeries.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using United States hospital data (October 2015 - December 2019).

Abdominopelvic Surgery: Intraoperative Ureteral Injury and Prophylaxis in the United States, 2015-2019.

Introduction: Preoperative ureteral catheterization/stenting (stenting) and intraoperative diagnostic cystoscopy (cystoscopy) may help prevent or identify intraoperative ureteral injuries (IUIs) during abdominopelvic surgery. In order to provide a comprehensive, single source of data for health care decision makers, this study aimed to catalog the incidence of IUI and rates of stenting and cystoscopy across a wide spectrum of abdominopelvic surgeries.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of United States (US) hospital data (October 2015-December 2019).

Secondary invasive fungal infection in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 in the United States.

Background: Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) have been identified as a complication in patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To date, there are few US studies examining the excess humanistic and economic burden of IFIs on hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Objectives: This study investigated the incidence, risk factors, clinical and economic burden of IFIs in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the United States.

Effectiveness of the GoCheck Kids Vision Screener in Detecting Amblyopia Risk Factors.

Purpose: The GoCheck Kids smartphone photoscreening app (Gobiquity Mobile Health, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA), introduced in 2014, is marketed to pediatricians with little published validation. We wished to evaluate the GoCheck Kids Screener for accuracy in detecting amblyopia risk factors (ARF) using 2013 American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus guidelines.

Design: Validity assessment.

Adherence and Persistence Patterns in Medication Use Among Men With Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms/Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Medication adherence and persistence patterns among patients with lower urinary tract symptoms/benign prostatic hyperplasia (LUTS/BPH) were analyzed. Electronic medical records of patients from the Reliant Medical Group were examined to evaluate adherence and persistence patterns. A total of 1,807 patients with LUTS/BPH were included in the study, and the number of patients at least 50 years of age was 1,748/1,807 (97%).

Effectiveness of a smartphone application for testing near visual acuity.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the discrepancy between the near visual acuity (VA) measurements using the EyeHandBook smartphone application and the conventional method of using the near vision card.

Methods: Using similar environmental/examinational conditions, near VA measurements were obtained and compared using the near vision card and the EyeHandBook app for IPhone 5 from 100 subjects. The obtained data were changed to LogMAR format and the relationship between the two techniques was analyzed by paired sample t-test and scatterplot.

Symptom report and treatment experience of hypogonadal men with and without type 2 diabetes in a United States health plan.

Background: Although hypogonadism (HG) is interrelated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), there is little information about men's experiences with HG, T2DM, and testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). We examined symptoms and TRT use among men with HG, with and without T2DM, who received care within a single United States health plan.

Methods: Men aged ≥ 18 years with HG, with and without T2DM, were identified from the 2008 to 2010 Reliant Medical Group electronic medical record database.

Intersex in the clam Scrobicularia plana (Da Costa): Widespread occurrence in English Channel estuaries and surrounding areas.

Estuarine clams Scrobicularia plana were sampled from 108 intertidal locations around the English Channel and adjacent areas. Although S. plana is believed to be a strict gonochorist, 58% of the populations sampled included intersexed individuals (described as male clams exhibiting ovotestis).

Predictors of self-reported benign prostatic hyperplasia in European men: analysis of the European National Health and Wellness Survey.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify predictors of European men who self-reported being diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (DxBPH) compared to men with moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms [American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUA-SI) score ≥8] who did not self-report a BPH diagnosis (non-DxBPH).

Methods: Data were taken from the 2010 European National Health and Wellness Survey; a cross-sectional, self-administered, Internet-based questionnaire. This analysis included males ≥40 years with DxBPH or without DxBPH, but with AUA-SI ≥8.

Experiences and treatment patterns of hypogonadal men in a U.S. health system.

Objective: To examine self-reported experiences with hypogonadism (HG) and patterns of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in men seeking care in a U.S. healthcare system.

How might immunization rates change if cost sharing is eliminated?

Objectives: There is a debate regarding the effect of cost sharing on immunization, particularly as the Affordable Care Act will eliminate cost sharing for recommended vaccines. This study estimates changes in immunization rates and spending associated with extending first-dollar coverage to privately insured children for four childhood vaccines.

Methods: We used the 2008 National Immunization Survey and peer-reviewed literature to generate estimates of immunization status for each vaccine by age group and insurance type.

Treatment patterns in alpha-blocker therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

This study examined treatment patterns and patient characteristics of men initiating alpha adrenergic blocker therapy (alpha-blocker) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The 2009 Thomson Reuters MarketScan® Database was used to identify the newly initiated alpha-blocker: men ≥40 years old with continuous medical and pharmacy coverage for 12 months before and after alpha-blocker initiation, with no alpha-blocker or 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors in the previous year, and with ≥1 BPH diagnosis within 1 month before and 6 months after alpha-blocker initiation. This study analyzed patient demographics, clinical characteristics, adherence (percentage of men achieving medication possession ratio [MPR] ≥ 0.

Erectile dysfunction with or without coexisting benign prostatic hyperplasia in the general US population: analysis of US National Health and Wellness Survey.

Objective: Erectile dysfunction (ED) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) commonly affect older men. There is limited epidemiology information on coexisting ED and BPH. This study assessed self-reported prevalence of ED with or without a diagnosis of BPH (ED/DxBPH versus ED only) in US men.

Medication adherence and treatment patterns for hypogonadal patients treated with topical testosterone therapy: a retrospective medical claims analysis.

Introduction: There is limited information on adherence to topical testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) among hypogonadal men.

Aim: To determine adherence rates among men treated with topical testosterone gels and to examine factors that may influence adherence, including age, presence of a specific diagnosis, and index dose.

Methods: Included were 15,435 hypogonadal men, from the Thomson Reuters MarketScan Database, who had an initial topical testosterone prescription in 2009 and who were followed for 12 months.

Policy implications of first-dollar coverage: a qualitative examination from the payer perspective.

Objectives: Immunization against potentially life-threatening illnesses for children and adults has proved to be one of the great public health successes of the 20th century and is extremely cost-effective. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes a number of provisions to increase coverage and access to immunizations for the consumer, including a provision for health plans to cover all Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices-recommended vaccines at first dollar, or without cost sharing. In this study, we examined payers' perspectives on first-dollar coverage of vaccines and strategies to improve vaccination rates.

Bioaccumulation surveillance in Milford Haven Waterway.

Biomonitoring of contaminants (metals, organotins, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PCBs) was undertaken in Milford Haven Waterway (MHW) and a reference site in the Tywi Estuary (St Ishmael/Ferryside) during 2007-2008. Bioindicator species encompassed various uptake routes-Fucus vesiculosus (dissolved contaminants); Littorina littorea (grazer); Mytilus edulis and Cerastoderma edule (suspension feeders); and Hediste (=Nereis) diversicolor (sediments). Differences in feeding and habitat preference have subtle implications for bioaccumulation trends though, with few exceptions, contaminant burdens in MHW were higher than the Tywi reference site, reflecting inputs.

Gender differences in the relationships of cardiovascular symptoms and somatosensory amplification to mortality.

Symptoms of angina and dyspnea predict coronary artery disease and death less well in women than in men. Greater somatosensory amplification - a psychosocial propensity to report symptoms of physical discomfort - may lead women to report relatively high levels of angina and dyspnea for reasons unrelated to coronary disease, reducing their associations with mortality. We assessed this hypothesis in a nationally representative survey of U.

Use of emergency departments for conditions related to poor oral healthcare: implications for rural and low-resource urban areas for three states.

Persistent and worsening shortages of oral healthcare providers in rural areas, combined with limited acceptance of Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs, have left many patients without adequate access to dental care. Evidence suggests that such patients seek treatment in emergency departments (EDs) for problems that might have been prevented given adequate oral healthcare. This finding has public policy questions that are explored by this study.

Contraindications to oral contraceptive use among women in the United States, 1999-2001.

Objective: The prescription requirement for oral contraceptives (OCs) is designed to prevent women with contraindications from using OCs, but this system has never been evaluated. This analysis investigates OC use among women who have contraindications.

Methods: We use National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to estimate the prevalence of contraindications among OC users and nonusers.

Contraceptive counseling in managed care: preventing unintended pregnancy in adults.

This study examines contraceptive counseling received by adult women in their managed care plans and the relationship between counseling and women's contraceptive attitudes and practices. Telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of 898 women ages 18 to 44 enrolled in a commercial health maintenance organization (HMO) or point-of-service (POS) health plan. Counseling received in the past 2 years was measured on three dimensions: exposure through any communication channel; content of information; and personalization of discussion.