Comparison of real-world clinical and economic outcomes in patients receiving oral anticoagulants: A retrospective claims analysis.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have become widely used for the prevention of stroke in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF) and for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Warfarin, the standard of care prior to DOACs, requires monitoring and dose adjustment to ensure patients remain appropriately anticoagulated. DOACs do not require monitoring but are significantly more expensive.

Economic assessment of changes to an existing medication therapy management program of a large regional health plan.

Although medication therapy management (MTM) has specific eligibility criteria and is mandated for specific Medicare Part D enrollees, some health plans have expanded MTM eligibility beyond the minimum criteria to include other Medicare Part D enrollees, Medicaid, and commercial health plan patients. Differences exist in the mode of delivery, location of services, type of personnel involved in managing the service, and the subsequent outcomes. The type and intensity of MTM services delivered have evolved with time to more streamlined and robust interventions, necessitating ongoing evaluation of the effect on clinical and economic outcomes.

Impact of Physician Referral to Health Coaching on Patient Engagement and Health Risks: An Observational Study of UPMC's Prescription for Wellness.

Purpose: Evaluate impact of physician referral to health coaching on patient engagement and health risk reduction.

Design: Four-year retrospective, observational cohort study with propensity-matched pair comparisons.

Setting: Integrated delivery and finance system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Transthoracic echocardiography is adequate for intraprocedural guidance of transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: While transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has traditionally been supported intraprocedurally by transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE), transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is increasingly being used. We evaluated echocardiographic imaging characteristics and clinical outcomes in patients who underwent TTE during TAVI (TTE-TAVI).

Methods And Results: A select team of dedicated sonographers and interventional echocardiographers performed TTE-TAVI in 278 patients, all of whom underwent TAVI through transfemoral access.

A Nurse-Initiated Perioperative Pressure Injury Risk Assessment and Prevention Protocol.

Pressure injuries negatively affect patients physically, emotionally, and economically. Studies report that pressure injuries occur in 69% of inpatients who have undergone a surgical procedure while hospitalized. In 2012, we created a nurse-initiated, perioperative pressure injury risk assessment measure for our midwestern, urban, adult teaching hospital.

Effects of exercise on c-reactive protein in healthy patients and in patients with heart disease: A meta-analysis.

Decreases in circulating hsCRP have been associated with increased physical activity and exercise training, although the ability of exercise interventions to reduce hsCRP and which individuals benefit the most remains unclear. This meta-analysis evaluates the ability of exercise to reduce hsCRP levels in healthy individuals and in individuals with heart disease. A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted that included exercise interventions trials from 1995 to 2012.

Adherence to antidepressant medications: a randomized controlled trial of medication reminding in college students.

Objectives: To determine if medication reminding via smartphone app increases adherence to antidepressant medications in college students.

Participants: College students (N = 57) enrolled at a state-funded institution who had a current prescription for an antidepressant and regularly used a smartphone device.

Methods: Participants were randomized to either a reminder group or a control group.

Outcome of acute myeloid leukemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome according to health insurance status.

Background: Age, cytogenetic status, and molecular features are the most important prognostic factors in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of patients with AML or high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) according to insurance status.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed, covering all patients with AML and high-risk MDS evaluated and treated at Akron General Medical Center between 2002 and 2012.

Clinical hypnosis for reduction of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

The belief that postoperative atrial fibrillation (PAF) results from transient autonomic dysfunction suggests that interventions such as clinical hypnosis may reduce the incidence of PAF. To explore this hypothesis, we retrospectively compared outcomes between two groups of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery: 50 consecutive patients who received preoperative hypnoidal explanation of the surgical procedure and 50 case-matched historical controls who received no clinical hypnosis. The patients who received hypnosis were significantly less likely to experience an episode of PAF (P = .