Impact of human papillomavirus vaccination on racial/ethnic disparities in vaccine-type human papillomavirus prevalence among 14-26 year old females in the U.S.

Background: Low human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates early after introduction, particularly among low income and minority adolescents, may have resulted in disparities in vaccine-type HPV prevalence (types 6, 11, 16, 18). The purpose of this study was to examine racial/ethnic variations in HPV prevalence, and evaluate how HPV vaccination has affected vaccine-type HPV prevalence across time.

Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of 6 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data (2003-2014).

Achieving high HPV vaccine completion rates in a pediatric clinic population.

: To evaluate the efficacy of an intervention utilizing patient navigators (PNs) to 1) educate families on human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in a clinic setting and 2) provide personalized reminders for follow-up. : Families with 9-17 year-old children who had no record of completing the HPV vaccination series receiving primary or specialty care in 3 pediatric clinics were approached by PNs between February 1, 2015 and August 31, 2016. Demographic characteristics, visit type, preferred contact method, rates and correlates of completion, and appointments missed were analyzed.

Testosterone replacement therapy and hospitalization rates in men with COPD.

Testosterone deficiency is common in men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and may exacerbate their condition. Research suggests that testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) may have a beneficial effect on respiratory outcomes in men with COPD. To date, however, no large-scale nationally representative studies have examined this association.

Trends in breast cancer mortality by stage at diagnosis among young women in the United States.

Background: Assessing trends in breast cancer survival among young women who are largely unaffected by breast cancer screening will provide important information regarding improvements in the effectiveness of cancer care for breast cancer in the last few decades.

Methods: The cohort for this study consisted of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer between ages 20 and 39 years from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program's 9-registry areas from 1975 to 2015. Trends in the breast cancer incidence rate and survival were assessed among young women.

Disparities in Adolescent and Young Adult Sarcoma Survival: Analyses of the Texas Cancer Registry and the National SEER Data.

Purpose: Examine disparities in survival for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) diagnosed with bone and soft tissue sarcomas in Texas compared with national estimates.

Methods: AYAs with sarcomas diagnosed between 1995 and 2012 at ages 15-39 years were identified from the Texas Cancer Registry (TCR) and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. Patient demographic, treatment, and clinical characteristics were compared between TCR and SEER using chi-squared tests.

Correction: Patients with stage 3 compared to stage 4 liver fibrosis have lower frequency of and longer time to liver disease complications.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Testosterone Prescribing in the United States, 2002-2016.

This study uses commercial claims database data to characterize trends in testosterone prescribing in the United States from 2002 to 2016.

Outcomes and Complications of Balloon and Conventional Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery.

Background Since the Food and Drug Administration approval of balloon sinuplasty (BSP) in 2005, no nationally representative population-based studies have examined the outcomes and adverse events of BSP. Objective To assess the rates of complications and revision surgery in patients who received BSP, functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), or a hybrid procedure. Methods Using one of the nation's largest commercial insurance databases, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of pediatric and adult patients diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis between 2011 and 2014 who underwent BSP, conventional FESS, or a hybrid procedure.

Impact of PAP therapy on hospitalization rates in Medicare beneficiaries with COPD and coexisting OSA.

Objective: Growing evidence supports that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and coexisting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have poor prognosis. This association is described as overlap syndrome. Positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy is now the preferred treatment for OSA.

The Impact of Varying Numbers of Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Doses on Anogenital Warts in the United States: A Database Study.

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of 3 or less quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine doses on anogenital warts in both males and females in the United States.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective database study that included males and females aged 9 to 26 years who received varying numbers of vaccine doses between 2006 and 2015. The primary outcome was the incidence of anogenital warts starting 3 months after the last dose of the HPV vaccine.

Patients with stage 3 compared to stage 4 liver fibrosis have lower frequency of and longer time to liver disease complications.

Background And Aims: Advanced liver fibrosis is an important predictor of liver disease progression and mortality, and current guidelines recommend screening for complications of cirrhosis once patients develop F3 fibrosis. Our study compared liver disease progression and survival in patients with stage 3 (F3) and stage 4 (F4) fibrosis on liver biopsy.

Methods: Retrospective study of patients with F3 or F4 on liver biopsy followed for development of liver disease complications (variceal bleeding, ascites, and hepatic encephalopathy); hepatocellular carcinoma, and survival (overall and transplant free survival).

Readmission Patterns Over 90-Day Episodes of Care Among Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries Discharged to Post-acute Care.

Objective: Examine readmission patterns over 90-day episodes of care in persons discharged from hospitals to post-acute settings.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Acute care hospitals.

Timing and Outcomes of Tracheostomy Performed by Pulmonary and/or Critical Care Physicians.

Background: Although pulmonary and/or critical care (P/CC) physicians perform percutaneous tracheostomy in mechanically ventilated patients, the trends, timing, and outcomes of this procedure have not been well described. This study aims to describe the trends, timing, and outcomes of this procedure.

Methods: Using 5% medicare data, we retrospectively examined a cohort who had tracheostomy performed after initiation of mechanical ventilation during acute hospitalization to describe the timing of tracheostomy placement by pulmonary and/or critical care (P/CC) physicians and associated outcomes.

Heavy Alcohol Use Among Deceased Donors Does Not Impact Recipient Outcomes After Liver Transplantation.

Background: Data on liver transplant (LT) outcomes using deceased donors with heavy drinking (HD) (>2 drinks per day) are scanty.

Methods: Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database (2002-2014), we examined outcomes after LT in adults comparing deceased HD donors with non-HD (ND) donors.

Results: Of 56 182 first LTs performed in the United States for 10 common indications using deceased donors, 47 882 with available information on alcohol use were analyzed.

Development and validation of algorithms to differentiate ductal carcinoma in situ from invasive breast cancer within administrative claims data.

Background: Overtreatment is a common concern for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), but this entity is difficult to distinguish from invasive breast cancers in administrative claims data sets because DCIS often is coded as invasive breast cancer. Therefore, the authors developed and validated algorithms to select DCIS cases from administrative claims data to enable outcomes research in this type of data.

Methods: This retrospective cohort using invasive breast cancer and DCIS cases included women aged 66 to 70 years in the 2004 through 2011 Texas Cancer Registry (TCR) data linked to Medicare administrative claims data.

Differences Between Skilled Nursing Facilities in Risk of Subsequent Long-Term Care Placement.

Objectives: To determine how the risk of subsequent long-term care (LTC) placement varies between skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and the SNF characteristics associated with this risk.

Design: Population-based national cohort study with participants nested in SNFs and hospitals in a cross-classified multilevel model.

Setting: SNFs (N=6,680).

Opioid Prescriptions in Older Medicare Beneficiaries After the 2014 Federal Rescheduling of Hydrocodone Products.

Objectives: To examine how an October 2014 Drug Enforcement Administration policy reclassified hydrocodone product from schedule III to II has affected older adults, who are among the largest consumers of prescription opioids in the United States.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: United States.

Pattern and Adherence to Maintenance Medication Use in Medicare Beneficiaries with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: 2008-2013.

Maintenance medications provide symptomatic relief, improve lung function and reduce the risk of exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Despite their proven benefits, limited information exists on maintenance medication use and adherence among users. We examined the patterns and factors associated with the receipt of and adherence to maintenance medication in individuals with COPD.

Discharge Patterns for Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke Patients Going From Acute Care Hospitals to Inpatient and Skilled Nursing Rehabilitation.

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore variation in acute care use of inpatient rehabilitation facilities and skilled nursing facilities rehabilitation after ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

Design: A secondary analysis of Medicare claims data linked to inpatient rehabilitation facilities and skilled nursing facilities assessment files (2013-2014) was performed.

Results: The sample included 122,084 stroke patients discharged to inpatient or skilled nursing facilities from 3677 acute hospitals.

Metformin use and health care utilization in patients with coexisting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes mellitus.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with persistent systemic inflammation. Anti-inflammatory therapies have been shown to decrease acute exacerbations of COPD. The antidiabetic medication metformin decreases oxidative stress and inflammation and may benefit patients with COPD.

Validation of claims-based algorithms for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Administrative claims studies do not adequately distinguish pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) from other forms of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Our aim is to develop and validate a set of algorithms using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes and electronic medical records (EMR), to identify patients with PAH. From January 2012 to August 2015, the EMRs of patients with ICD-9-CM codes for PH with an outpatient visit at the University of Texas Medical Branch were reviewed.

Adapting the Elixhauser comorbidity index for cancer patients.

Background: This study was designed to adapt the Elixhauser comorbidity index for 4 cancer-specific populations (breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal) and compare 3 versions of the Elixhauser comorbidity score (individual comorbidities, summary comorbidity score, and cancer-specific summary comorbidity score) with 3 versions of the Charlson comorbidity score for predicting 2-year survival with 4 types of cancer.

Methods: This cohort study used Texas Cancer Registry-linked Medicare data from 2005 to 2011 for older patients diagnosed with breast (n = 19,082), prostate (n = 23,044), lung (n = 26,047), or colorectal cancer (n = 16,693). For each cancer cohort, the data were split into training and validation cohorts.

Effects of Age and Sex on Hospital Readmission in Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To investigate the effects of age and sex on 30-, 60-, and 90-day hospital readmission after acute hospital discharge for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Acute hospitals and postacute discharge settings.

Association of Hospitalist Years of Experience With Mortality in the Hospitalized Medicare Population.

Importance: Substantial numbers of hospitalists are fresh graduates of residency training programs. Current data about the effect of hospitalist years of experience on patient outcomes are lacking.

Objective: To describe the association of hospitalist years of experience with 30-day mortality and hospital mortality of their patients.