Influences of the criminal justice system on use of medications for opioid use disorder: a qualitative study.

Background: Legal-involved veterans with opioid use disorder (OUD) have lower receipt of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) than other veterans served at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This qualitative study examined the influence of the criminal justice system on access to MOUD for legal-involved veterans in the U.S.

Feasibility of an electronic patient-facing cancer family history tool in medically underserved populations.

Purpose: We developed an electronic patient-facing family history collection tool including B-RST 3.0, PREMM risk assessments and "limited family knowledge/structure" information designed for primary care settings. We evaluated the tool's performance compared with genetic-counselor-collected information for clinical risk stratification in a population with barriers to access.

Pediatric Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire: Rationale and development of a composite control tool.

Background: Asthma in children is a leading cause of missed school days, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. Approximately 40% of children with asthma experience uncontrolled disease and annual exacerbations. There is a need for a validated composite tool for children, such as the Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire (AIRQ), which was developed to assess current control and predict exacerbations in adolescents and adults with asthma.

Importance of variables from different time frames for predicting self-harm using health system data.

Objective: Self-harm risk prediction models developed using health system data (electronic health records and insurance claims information) often use patient information from up to several years prior to the index visit when the prediction is made. Measurements from some time periods may not be available for all patients. Using the framework of algorithm-agnostic variable importance, we study the predictive potential of variables corresponding to different time horizons prior to the index visit and demonstrate the application of variable importance techniques in the biomedical informatics setting.

Early Maternal Prenatal Cannabis Use and Child Developmental Delays.

Importance: Maternal prenatal cannabis use is associated with adverse neonatal health effects, yet little is known about its association with child developmental outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate associations between maternal prenatal cannabis use in early pregnancy and child early developmental delays.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study included 119 976 children born to 106 240 unique individuals between January 2015 and December 2019 and followed up to aged 5.

Importance of variables from different time frames for predicting self-harm using health system data.

Objective: Self-harm risk prediction models developed using health system data (electronic health records and insurance claims information) often use patient information from up to several years prior to the index visit when the prediction is made. Measurements from some time periods may not be available for all patients. Using the framework of algorithm-agnostic variable importance, we study the predictive potential of variables corresponding to different time horizons prior to the index visit and demonstrate the application of variable importance techniques in the biomedical informatics setting.

Association of chronic opioid therapy and opioid use disorder with COVID-19-related hospitalization and mortality: Evidence from three health systems in the United States.

Objective: Chronic opioid use can lead to detrimental effects on the immune and various organ systems that put individuals prescribed chronic opioid therapy (COT) for pain and those with an opioid use disorder (OUD) at risk for severe COVID-19 disease. We assessed the association of COT and OUD with COVID-19-related hospitalization and death to inform targeted interventions to improve clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients who use opioids.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults ages ≥ 18 with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in 2020 and 2021 from three US health systems.

Endocrine therapy initiation among women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ from 2001 to 2018.

Purpose: Trials demonstrating benefits of tamoxifen for women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) were published > 20 years ago; yet subsequent uptake of endocrine therapy was low. We estimated endocrine therapy initiation in women with DCIS between 2001 and 2018 in a community setting, reflecting more recent years of diagnosis than previous studies.

Methods: This retrospective cohort included adult females ≥ 20 years diagnosed with first primary DCIS between 2001 and 2018, followed through 2019, and enrolled in one of three U.

Blood stored in EDTA tubes provides accurate peanut basophil activation test results for 48 hours.

Background: The peanut basophil activation test (BAT) has demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy with heparinized blood, but its clinical utility is limited by the short stability of samples stored in this anticoagulant.

Objective: Using EDTA anticoagulated blood, these investigations determined if Peanut BAT sample stability can be extended to 2 days, the minimum stability requirement for diagnostic tests currently offered through American reference laboratories.

Methods: Peanut non-allergic control (NAC), peanut IgE sensitized (PS), and peanut allergic (PA) children aged 6 months through 17 years were recruited from members of Kaiser Permanente Southern California.

Group Multimodal Prenatal Care and Postpartum Outcomes.

Importance: An increasing body of evidence suggests equivalent if not improved postpartum outcomes of in-person group prenatal care compared with individual prenatal care. However, research is needed to evaluate outcomes of group multimodal prenatal care (GMPC), with groups delivered virtually in combination with individual in-person office appointments to collect vital signs and conduct other tests compared with individual multimodal prenatal care (IMPC) delivered through a combination of remotely delivered and in-person visits.

Objective: To compare postpartum outcomes between GMPC and IMPC.

Long-term cardiovascular disease risk after anthracycline and trastuzumab treatments in US breast cancer survivors.

Background: Although breast cancer survivors are at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) from treatment late effects, evidence to inform long-term and age-specific cardiovascular surveillance recommendations is lacking.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 10 211 women diagnosed with first primary unilateral breast cancer in Kaiser Permanente Washington or Colorado (aged 20 years and older, survived ≥1 year). We estimated multivariable adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for associations between initial chemotherapy regimen type (anthracycline and/or trastuzumab, other chemotherapies, no chemotherapy [referent]) and CVD risk, adjusted for patient characteristics, other treatments, and CVD risk factors.

End-Of-Life and Palliative Care for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, or Another Diverse Gender Identity Older Adults.

Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for people with serious illnesses and their loved ones. This article introduces considerations including barriers to care, intersectionality, minority stress, microaggressions, and social safety that may impact the experience and openness of people to receive this care. The authors outline tools to address these challenges including trauma-informed care and how to recognize bias and earn trust.

Institutional and Regional Variation in Opioid Prescribing for Hospitalized Infants in the US.

Importance: High-risk infants, defined as newborns with substantial neonatal-perinatal morbidities, often undergo multiple procedures and require prolonged intubation, resulting in extended opioid exposure that is associated with poor outcomes. Understanding variation in opioid prescribing can inform quality improvement and best-practice initiatives.

Objective: To examine regional and institutional variation in opioid prescribing, including short- and long-acting agents, in high-risk hospitalized infants.

Association between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 antibody status and reinfection: A case-control study nested in a Colorado-based prospective cohort study.

Unlabelled: The association between the presence of detectable antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection is not well established. The objective of this study was to determine the association between antibody seronegativity and reinfection.

Methods: Participants in Colorado, USA, were recruited between June 15, 2020, and March 28, 2021, and encouraged to complete SARS-CoV-2 molecular ribonucleic acid (RNA) and serology testing for antibodies every 28 days for 10 months.

Current Trends in Invasive Closure of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Very Low Birth Weight Infants in United States Children's Hospitals, 2016-2021.

Objective: To describe the current practices in invasive patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure (surgical ligation or transcatheter occlusion) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants and changes in patient characteristics and outcomes from 2016 to 2021 among US children's hospitals.

Study Design: We evaluated a retrospective cohort of VLBW infants (birth weight 400-1499 g and gestational age 22-31 weeks) who had invasive PDA closure within 6 months of age from 2016 to 2021 in children's hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information System. Changes in patient characteristics and outcomes over time were evaluated using generalized linear models and generalized linear mixed models.

Risk of second primary cancer among women in the Kaiser Permanente Breast Cancer Survivors Cohort.

Background: Breast cancer survivors are living longer due to early detection and advances in treatment and are at increased risk for second primary cancers. Comprehensive evaluation of second cancer risk among patients treated in recent decades is lacking.

Methods: We identified 16,004 females diagnosed with a first primary stage I-III breast cancer between 1990 and 2016 (followed through 2017) and survived ≥ 1 year at Kaiser Permanente (KP) Colorado, Northwest, and Washington.