Caution in Handling Switchers in Pharmacoepidemiologic Studies Estimating Treatment Effects: The Example of Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Real-world evidence assessing dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i)'s risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is conflicting. One study modelling DPP4i as a time varying exposure (TVE) observed a harmful effect in a UK population, while an active-comparator new-user (ACNU) study observed a null effect in a US population. To assess the impact of study design in estimating treatment effect, we implemented both designs in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink population from 2007-2022.

Impact of depressive symptoms on direct medical cost among medicare recipients with knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: Depressive symptoms are prevalent among knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients and may lead to additional medical costs. We compared medical costs in Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) respondents with KOA with and without self-reported depressive symptoms.

Methods: We identified a KOA cohort using ICD-9/10 diagnostic codes in both Part A and Part B claims among community-dwelling MCBS respondents from 2003 to 2019.

Factors associated with use of antibiotic prophylaxis following dental procedures in total joint replacement recipients.

Background: Total joint replacement recipients (TJR) are at risk for prosthetic joint infection (PJI), particularly those with comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: We mailed surveys to 1078 subjects undergoing primary TJR between 2011 and 2016 ​at an academic center. The survey asked about medical, dental, and orthopedic history and use of antibiotics prior to dental appointments.