A pilot randomized clinical trial examining the effects of Qigong on inflammatory status and sleep quality in people with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Neuroinflammation contributes to degeneration of neurons in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). The concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, are often increased in people with PD and are associated with various non-motor symptoms. Qigong exercise is a mind-body practice which has been used as a rehabilitation intervention for people with PD.

Infection Is Not Associated With Plasma or Cryoprecipitate Transfusion Volumes in Trauma: A Retrospective Study Using the National Trauma Data Bank.

Packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion has been shown to increase nosocomial infection risk in the injured population; however, the post-traumatic infectious risk profiles of non-PRBC blood products are less clear. We hypothesized that plasma (fresh frozen plasma [FFP]), platelet (PLT), and cryoprecipitate administration would not be associated with increased rates of nosocomial infections. We performed a retrospective, matched, case-control study utilizing the American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank data for 2019.

Urban Rural Differences on Accessing Patient- Centered Medical Home Among Children With Mental/Developmental Health Conditions/Disorders.

Introduction: To address healthcare spending growth and coordinated primary care, most states in the United States have adopted patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). To evaluate urban rural difference on accessing PCMH among US children, particularly for children with developmental disabilities (DDs) and mental health disorders (MHDs).

Methods: This cross-sectional study used the 2016-2018 National Survey for Children's Health (NSCH).

Variations in Age-Adjusted Prostate Cancer Incidence Rates by Race and Ethnicity After Changes in Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening Recommendation.

Importance: After publication of US Preventive Task Force Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) screening guidelines in 2008 and 2012, there have been documented associations with incidence and stage distributions of prostate cancer. It is unclear if these changes were temporary or differed by age or race and ethnicity.

Objective: To assess the association of 2008 and 2012 PSA guidelines with prostate cancer incidence by age and race and ethnicity in the US.

A Midwest Tri-State Study of Overall Survival in Ovarian Cancer with Adjuvant Chemotherapy.

Background: Overall survival associated with National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) adjuvant chemotherapy treatment guideline using population-based surveillance data is limited. This study examined overall survival and compliance to the NCCN guideline for adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: The Midwest Ovarian Cancer Study was a collaborative project between 3 state cancer registries (Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri), Westat, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Disparities in ovarian cancer survival at the only NCI-designated cancer center in Kansas.

Background: This study examined the impact of geographic distance on survival outcomes for patients receiving treatment for ovarian cancer at the only NCI-designated cancer center (NCI-CC) in Kansas.

Methods: We identified ovarian cancer patients treated at the University of Kansas Cancer Center between 2010 and 2015. Demographic factors and clinical characteristics were abstracted.

The therapeutic efficacy of Qigong exercise on the main symptoms of fibromyalgia: A pilot randomized clinical trial.

Background: Some of the most debilitating symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM) include widespread chronic pain, sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Yet, there is a lack of effective self-management exercise interventions capable of alleviating FM symptoms. The objective of this study is to examine the efficacy of a 10-week daily Qigong, a mind-body intervention program, on FM symptoms.

Can Qigong improve non-motor symptoms in people with Parkinson's disease - A pilot randomized controlled trial?

Non-motor symptoms (NMS) including sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and cognitive decline can significantly impact quality of life in people with PD. Qigong exercise is a mind-body exercise that shows a wide range of benefits in various medical conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of Qigong exercise on NMS with a focus on sleep quality.

Expanding Local Cancer Clinical Trial Options: Analysis of the Economic Impact of the Midwest Cancer Alliance in Kansas.

Purpose: Patients benefit from receiving cancer treatment closer to home when possible and at high-volume regional centers when specialized care is required. The purpose of this analysis was to estimate the economic impact of retaining more patients in-state for cancer clinical trials and care, which might offset some of the costs of establishing broader cancer trial and treatment networks.

Method: Kansas Cancer Registry data were used to estimate the number of patients retained in-state for cancer care following the expansion of local cancer clinical trial options through the Midwest Cancer Alliance based at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Colorectal Cancer Identification Methods Among Kansas Medicare Beneficiaries, 2008-2010.

Introduction: Population-based data are limited on how often colorectal cancer (CRC) is identified through screening or surveillance in asymptomatic patients versus diagnostic workup for symptoms. We developed a process for assessing CRC identification methods among Medicare-linked CRC cases from a population-based cancer registry to assess identification methods (screening/surveillance or diagnostic) among Kansas Medicare beneficiaries.

Methods: New CRC cases diagnosed from 2008 through 2010 were identified from the Kansas Cancer Registry and matched to Medicare enrollment and claims files.

Cigarette Consumption and Cigarette Smoking Prevalence Among Adults in Kansas.

Introduction: Recent tobacco prevention and cessation activities have focused on nonsmoking ordinances and behavioral changes, and in Kansas, the overall prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults has decreased. The objective of this study was to determine whether overall cigarette consumption (mean annual number of cigarettes smoked) in Kansas also decreased.

Methods: Data on cigarette smoking prevalence for 91,465 adult Kansans were obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey for 1999 through 2010.

Low birth weight in Kansas.

Context: Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with infant morbidity and mortality. This is the first study of LBW in Kansas using vital statistics to determine maternal and health care system factors associated with LBW.

Outcomes: Low birth weight.

Role of outpatient physicians in reporting of hematopoietic malignancies for statewide surveillance.

Background: The role of physicians in outpatient setting in reporting of hematopoietic malignancies is not well known.

Objectives: This study described the approaches that Kansas Cancer Registry (KCR) used to ascertain completeness of hematopoietic malignancies reporting at the state level. Our study also examined the role of hematologists, oncologists and primary care physicians (PCP) in outpatient setting in reporting of hematopoietic malignancies.

Prostate-specific antigen and prostate-specific antigen velocity as threshold indicators in 11C-acetate PET/CTAC scanning for prostate cancer recurrence.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify which patient characteristics are associated with the highest likelihood of positive findings on 11C-acetate PET/computed tomography attenuation correction (CTAC) (PET/CTAC) scan when imaging for recurrent prostate cancer.

Methods: From 2007 to 2011, 250 11C-acetate PET/CTAC scans were performed at a single institution on patients with prostate cancer recurrence after surgery, brachytherapy, or external beam radiation. Of these patients, 120 met our inclusion criteria.

Atrial fibrillation following open heart surgery: long-term incidence and prognosis.

Introduction: While early postoperative atrial fibrillation (post op AF) following valve and coronary artery bypass surgery is a known common cause of increased morbidity and mortality, the late recurrence of AF long term in this group of patients has not been well studied.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the late recurrence and predictors of AF in patients undergoing open heart surgery.

Methods: From a prospective cardiovascular surgery registry, 519 patients with no prior history of AF who underwent open heart surgery for cardiac bypass/valvular surgeries between May 2000 and April 2004 were followed until May 2009.

Intrawound Vancomycin Powder Decreases Staphylococcal Surgical Site Infections After Posterior Instrumented Spinal Arthrodesis.

Study Design: A retrospective historical cohort design.

Objective: To determine what effect the addition of intrawound vancomycin powder to the prophylactic regimen of posterior instrumented spinal arthrodesis procedures has had on acute surgical site infections (SSIs).

Summary Of Background Data: SSIs are known complications in instrumented spinal arthrodesis procedures, and are predominately caused by Staphylococcus aureus.

Radiographic and patient-based outcome analysis of different bone-grafting techniques in the surgical treatment of idiopathic scoliosis with a minimum 4-year follow-up: allograft versus autograft/allograft combination.

Background Context: Autograft and allograft have been equally successful in achieving arthrodesis, but whether there is any difference in their effect on patient outcome, especially early, has not been determined.

Purpose: To determine if autograft in addition to allograft is associated with decreased healing period pain, increased early function, or both.

Study Design: This is a retrospective comparative case series.

Should all patients with mild ischemic stroke be excluded from therapeutic stroke trials?

We aimed to investigate stroke etiology in our cohort of patients with mild ischemic stroke (MIS) and to study the effect of stroke etiology on patient outcome. We also studied the effect of intravenous (IV) recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in this cohort. We analyzed patients with MIS who were eligible for IV rt-PA presenting within 3 hours of symptom onset with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≤ 5 admitted from March 2006 through June 2009.

Use of drug-eluting stents as a function of predicted benefit: clinical and economic implications of current practice.

Background: Benefits of drug-eluting stents (DES) in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are greatest in those at the highest risk of target-vessel revascularization (TVR). Drug-eluting stents cost more than bare-metal stents (BMS) and necessitate prolonged dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), which increases costs, bleeding risk, and risk of complications if DAPT is prematurely discontinued. Our objective was to assess whether DES are preferentially used in patients with higher predicted TVR risk and to estimate if lower use of DES in low-TVR-risk patients would be more cost-effective than the existing DES use pattern.

Is there an increased risk of hip fracture in Parkinson's disease? A nationwide inpatient sample.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether people with Parkinson's disease (PD) are overrepresented in a national cohort of hip-fracture admissions.

Background: Frequent falls, combined with a higher rate of osteoporosis in people with PD, should lead to an increased risk of hip fracture.

Methods: This work was a retrospective cohort analysis from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 1988 to 2007, a stratified sample of 20% of U.

Vitamin D deficiency and supplementation and relation to cardiovascular health.

Recent evidence supports an association between vitamin D deficiency and hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, and heart failure. The effect of vitamin D supplementation, however, has not been well studied. We examined the associations between vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D supplementation, and patient outcomes in a large cohort.

Effect of the staging schema on melanoma cancer reporting, 1999 to 2006.

Background: Staging schemas have changed multiple times over the past 10 years.

Objective: We sought to examine the impact of staging schemas on the distribution of stages at diagnosis over time.

Methods: We examined the stage at diagnosis for melanoma cancer cases diagnosed between 1999 and 2006 using data provided by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) and National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) programs.

Association between cutaneous melanoma incidence rates among white US residents and county-level estimates of solar ultraviolet exposure.

Background: Recent US studies have raised questions as to whether geographic differences in cutaneous melanoma incidence rates are associated with differences in solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure.

Objectives: We sought to assess the association of solar UV exposure with melanoma incidence rates among US non-Hispanic whites.

Methods: We assessed the association between county-level estimates of average annual solar UV exposure for 1961 to 1990 and county-level melanoma incidence rates during 2004 to 2006.

Diagnostic blood loss from phlebotomy and hospital-acquired anemia during acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Hospital-acquired anemia (HAA) during acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with higher mortality and worse health status and often develops in the absence of recognized bleeding. The extent to which diagnostic phlebotomy, a modifiable process of care, contributes to HAA is unknown.

Methods: We studied 17,676 patients with AMI from 57 US hospitals included in a contemporary AMI database from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2008, who were not anemic at admission but developed moderate to severe HAA (in which the hemoglobin level declined from normal to <11 g/dL), a degree of HAA that has been shown to be prognostically important.

Subsequent, unplanned spine surgery and life survival of patients operated for neuropathic spine deformity.

Study Design: Retrospective study of a prospectively assembled cohort.

Objective: To characterize the survival from subsequent spine surgery and the life survival of patients treated surgically for severe spinal deformity due to neuropathic diseases.

Summary Of Background Data: Survivorship analysis is widely used to study the natural history of disease processes and of treatments provided, but has very seldom been used to study patients' course after surgery for spinal deformity associated with neuropathic diseases.