Early Post-Therapy Prescription Drug Usage among Childhood and Adolescent Cancer Survivors.

Objective: To describe the patterns of prescription drug use among child and adolescent survivors of cancer in the early post-therapy period compared with matched peers without a cancer history.

Study Design: Using the MarketScan commercial insurance claims database, we performed a retrospective cohort study identifying survivors of pediatric (0-21 years of age at diagnosis) leukemia, lymphoma, central nervous system, bone, or gonadal cancers who completed therapy from 2000 to 2011 and remained insured for 3 years post-therapy. Prescription fills during the first 3 years post-therapy were examined, categorized by drug class, and compared with age-, sex-, and region-matched individuals without cancer.

Early Posttherapy Hospitalizations Among Survivors of Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Long-term survivors of childhood cancers are at increased risk for hospitalization. To test the hypothesis that many treatment-related morbidities are identifiable in the early posttherapy period, we determined the rates and causes for hospitalization among survivors of leukemia and lymphoma during the first 3 years posttherapy. Using a health plan claims database, we identified patients aged 0 to 21 years old treated for leukemia or lymphoma from 2000 to 2010.

Effectiveness of paliperidone palmitate vs haloperidol decanoate for maintenance treatment of schizophrenia: a randomized clinical trial.

Importance: Long-acting injectable antipsychotics are used to reduce medication nonadherence and relapse in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. The relative effectiveness of long-acting injectable versions of second-generation and older antipsychotics has not been assessed.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of the second-generation long-acting injectable antipsychotic paliperidone palmitate with the older long-acting injectable antipsychotic haloperidol decanoate.

Interventions to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder: a systematic review.

Context: Traumatic events are prevalent worldwide; trauma victims seek help in numerous clinical and emergency settings. Using effective interventions to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is increasingly important. This review assessed the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and harms of psychological, pharmacologic, and emerging interventions to prevent PTSD.

Mixed treatment comparison of the treatment discontinuations of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in adults with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Introduction of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) has considerably changed treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over the past decade. Very little information is available on comparative discontinuation rates of the biologics.

Objective: To compare treatment discontinuations for 9 biologic DMARDs in adults with RA.

Behavioral counseling after screening for alcohol misuse in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

Background: Alcohol misuse, which includes the full spectrum from risky drinking to alcohol dependence, is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

Purpose: To evaluate the benefits and harms of behavioral counseling interventions for adolescents and adults who misuse alcohol.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PsycINFO, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and reference lists of published literature (January 1985 through January 2012, limited to English-language articles).

Low-frequency heroin injection among out-of-treatment, street-recruited injection drug users.

In this paper, we explore the understudied phenomenon of "low-frequency" heroin injection in a sample of street-recruited heroin injectors not in drug treatment. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 2,410 active injection drug users (IDUs) recruited in San Francisco, California from 2000 to 2005. We compare the sociodemographic characteristics and injection risk behaviors of low-frequency heroin injectors (low-FHI; one to 10 self-reported heroin injections in the past 30 days) to high-frequency heroin injectors (high-FHI; 30 or more self-reported heroin injections in the past 30 days).

Chapter 11: challenges in and principles for conducting systematic reviews of genetic tests used as predictive indicators.

In this paper, we discuss common challenges in and principles for conducting systematic reviews of genetic tests. The types of genetic tests discussed are those used to 1). determine risk or susceptibility in asymptomatic individuals; 2).

Comparative benefits and harms of second-generation antidepressants for treating major depressive disorder: an updated meta-analysis.

Background: Second-generation antidepressants dominate the management of major depressive disorder (MDD), but evidence on the comparative benefits and harms of these agents is contradictory.

Purpose: To compare the benefits and harms of second-generation antidepressants for treating MDD in adults.

Data Sources: English-language studies from PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts from 1980 to August 2011 and reference lists of pertinent review articles and gray literature.