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Articles of Interest Alert

March 14, 2008

This weekly compilation of articles appearing in recently released journals and newsletters includes:

Articles funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Articles mentioning or discussing AHRQ staff, activities, and publications/products.
Articles related to AHRQ-funded Evidence-based Practice Centers.
Articles related to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force or Put Prevention into Practice program.
Articles mentioning the National Healthcare Disparities Report and National Healthcare Quality Report.
Other research using AHRQ data or products.

AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles

AIDS Care
Ding L, Landon BE, Wilson IB, et al. The quality of care received by HIV patients without a primary provider. AIDS Care 2008 Jan; 20(1):35-42. [Supported by grant HS10227; uses subject cohort from the AHRQ-sponsored HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS).]

American Journal of Cardiology
Kent DM, Ruthazer R, Griffith JL, et al. A percutaneous coronary intervention-thrombolytic predictive instrument to assist choosing between immediate thrombolytic therapy versus delayed primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute myocardial infarction. Am J Cardiol 2008 Mar 15; 101(6):790-5. [Supported by grant R01 HS08212.]

Archives of Internal Medicine
Smith DH, Kramer JM, Perrin N, et al. A randomized trial of direct-to-patient communication to enhance adherence to beta-blocker therapy following myocardial infarction. Arch Intern Med 2008 Mar 10:168(5):477-83. [Supported by grant 2 U18 HS010391-04.]

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention
Dailey AB, Kasl SV, Holford TR, et al. Neighborhood-level socioeconomic predictors of nonadherence to mammography screening guidelines. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007 Nov; 16(11):2293-303. [Supported by grant R36 HS015686-01.]

Health Affairs
Moy E, Greenberg LG, Borsky AE. Community variation: disparities in health care quality between Asian and white Medicare beneficiaries. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):538-49. [Authors are researchers in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.]

Cohen SB, Clancy CM. AHRQ and data collection. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):586-7. [Responds to article and comments thereon by Berk et al. (Health Aff, 2007), which discusses the history of AHRQ's National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) and Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).]

Injury Prevention
Bossarte RM, Caine ED. Increase in US youth suicide rates 2004. Inj Prev 2008 Feb; 14(1):2-3. [Supported by grant P20 HS15930-02.]

Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Huang ES, Borwn SE, Xhang JX, et al. The cost consequences of improving diabetes care: the community health center experience. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2008 Mar; 34(3):138-46. [Supported by grant U01 HS13635.]

Houchens RL, Elixhauser A, Romano PS. How often are potential patient safety events present on admission? Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2008 Mar; 34(3):154-63. [Supported by contract 290-00-0004; second author is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets; uses AHRQ's PSIs and 2003 HCUP SID data for New York and California.]

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
Brady SS, Gorman-Smith D, Henry DB, et al. Adaptive coping reduces the impact of community violence exposure on violent behavior among African American and Latino male adolescents. J Abnorm Child Psychol 2008 Jan; 36(1);105-15. [Supported by grant HS35415, attributed to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development' no confirmation available in grants databases.]

Journal of Economic and Social Measurement
Cohen SB, Rhoades JA. Estimation of the long term uninsured in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. J Econ Soc Measur 2007; 32(4):235-49. [Authors are director of and researcher in AHRQ's Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, respectively.]

Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery
Russell RT, Feurer ID, Wisawatapnimit P, et al. The effects of physical quality of life, time, and gender on change in symptoms of anxiety and depression after liver transplantation. J Gastrointest Surg 2008 Jan; 12(1):138-44. [Supported by grant R03 HS013036.]

Journal of General Internal Medicine
Goldstein CE, Hebert PL, Sisk JE, et al. Hypertension management in minority communities: a clinician survey. J Gen Intern Med 2008 Jan; 28(1):81-86. [Supported by grant P01 HS10859.]

Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Goldhaber-Fiebert JD, Stout NK, Salomon JA, et al. Cost-effectiveness of cervical cancer screening with human papillomavirus DNA testing and HPV-16, 18 vaccination. J Natl Cancer Inst 2008 Mar 5; 100(5):308-20. [Supported by grant R01 HS015570-01A; cites Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, 2003.]

Mt Sinai Journal of Medicine
Chassin MR, Anderson RM. Quality of care and racial health disparities: a strategic overview. Mt. Sinai J Med 2008 Jan-Feb; 75(1):7-12. [Supported by grant P01 HS10859.]

Sisk JE, Horowitz CR, Wang JJ, et al. The success of recruiting minorities, women, and elderly into a randomized controlled effectiveness trial. Mt. Sinai J Med 2008 Jan-Feb; 75(1):37-43. [Supported by grant R01 HS01402.]

Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
Buekens P, Belizan JM, Jacquerioz FA. Forward: Maternal and childbirth health systematic reviews. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2008 Jan; 22 Suppl 1:1-3. [Summarizes meeting supported by grant R13 HS16273.]

Jacquerioz FA, Belizan JM, Buekens P. Recommendations to increase the impact of maternal and childbirth health systematic reviews in the Americas. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2008 Jan; 22 Suppl 1:61-66. [Presented at meeting supported by grant R13 HS16273.]

Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
West SL, D Aloisio AA, Ringel-Kulka T, et al. Population-based drug-related anaphylaxis in children and adolescents captured by South Carolina Emergency Room Hospital Discharge Database (SCERHDD) (2000-2002). Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 2007 Dec; 16(12):1255-67. [Supported by grant U18 HS010391 to the HMO Research Network Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs).]

Brown JS, Kulldorff M, Chan KA, et al. Early detection of adverse drug events within population-based health networks: application of sequential testing methods. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2007 Dec; 16(12):1275-1284. [Supported by grant 2 U18 HS010397 to the UNC Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs).]

AHRQ-Related Articles

Australian Health Review
Travaglia JF, Braithwaite J. An overview of clinical governance policies, practices and initiatives. Aust Health Rev 2008 Feb; 32(1):10-22. [Includes AHRQ patient safety network Web site in list of recommended reading.]

Archives of Internal Medicine
Jagsi R, Weinstein DF, Shapiro J, et al. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's limits on residents work hours and patient safety. Arch Intern Med 2008 Mar 10:168(5):493-500. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Landrigan et al. (N Engl J Med, 2004).]

Health Affairs
Fisher-Owens SA, Barker JC, Adams S, et al. Giving policy some teeth: routes to reducing disparities in oral health. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):404-12. [Cites AHRQ publications, National Health Care Expenses in the US Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, 2004, Statistical Brief No. 149, 2006, and Health Care Expenses in the United States, 2000, MEPS Research Findings No. 21, 2004.]

Jha AK, Orav EJ, Zheng J, et al. The characteristics and performance of hospitals that care for elderly Hispanic Americans. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):528-37. [Cites articles by Correa de Araujo R (former AHRQ researcher) et al. (Women Health Issues, 2006).]

Hospital Peer Review
CDC: hospitals need to do more to control MRSA. Hosp Peer Rev 2008 Jan; 33(1):5-6,11. [Discusses findings from AHRQ publication Infections with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in U.S. Hospitals, 1993-2005, HCUP Statistical Brief No. 35, 2000.]

JAMA
Diekema DJ, Climo M. Preventing MRSA infections: finding it is not enough. JAMA 2008 Mar 12; 299(10):1190-2. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Pronovost et al. (N Engl J Med, 2006), Saint et al. (Am J Infect Control, 2003), and Stelfox et al. (JAMA, 2003).]

Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Schmitt BP, Hoffstadter L, Greider S, et al. Using patient traffic control to reduce treatment delays for high-risk patients at a VA hospital. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2008 Mar; 34(3):147-53. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Gandhi (Arch Intern Med, 2005) and Poon et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2004).]

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Nichols LO, Chang C, Lummus A, et al. The cost-effectiveness of a behavior intervention with caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. J Am Geriatr Soc 2008 Mar; 56(3):413-20. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Elixhauser et al. (Med Care, 1998).]

Journal of Family Practice
Liu HH, Siegel RE. Patient variables associated with treatment failure in respiratory tract infections. J Fam Pract 2008 Mar; Suppl:S12-18. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Fine et al. (JAMA, 1996).]

Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Vernon SW, del Junco DJ, Tiro JA, et al. Promoting regular mammography screening II: results from a randomized controlled trial in US women veterans. J Natl Cancer Inst 2008 Mar 5; 100(5):347-58. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Yabroff et al. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 1999).]

Milbank Quarterly
Schoeni RF, Freedman VA, Martin LG. Why is late-life disability declining? Milbank Q 2008 Mar; 86(1):47-89. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Moeller, Miller, and Banthin (Health Aff, 2004).]

Tetroe JM, Graham ID, Foy R, et al. Health research funding agencies' support and promotion of knowledge translation: an international study. Milbank Q 2008 Mar; 86(1):125-55. [Acknowledges support from AHRQ center director Jean Slutsky and cites AHRQ publication Translating Research Into Practice (TRIP).]

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)-Related Articles

Archives of Internal Medicine
Williams BA, Lindquist K, Sudore RL, et al. Screening mammography in older women. Arch Intern Med 2008 Mar 10:168(5):514-20. [Cites USPSTF recommendations on screening for breast cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2002.]

Kypri K, Langley JD, Saunders JR, et al. Randomized controlled trial of Web-based alcohol screening and brief intervention in primary care. Arch Intern Med 2008 Mar 10:168(5):530-6. [Cites USPSTF recommendations on screening and behavioral counseling in primary care to reduce alcohol misuse (Ann Intern Med, 2004.]

Family Medicine
Kerns JW, Krist AH, Woolf SH, et al. Patient perceptions of how physicians communicate during prostate cancer screening discussions: a comparison of residents and faculty. Fam Med 2008 Mar; 40(3):181-7. [Cites USPSTF recommendations on prostate cancer screening and shared decision making (Ann Intern Med, 2002 and Am J Prev Med, 2004).]

Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Szpunar S, Williams P, Dagroso D, et al. Improving the documentation of vital signs: a business reengineering efficiency study. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2008 Mar; 34(3):171-8. [Cites AHRQ publication U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), on AHRQ Web site.]

Journal of Family Practice
Carroll JK, Fiscella K, Epstein RM, et al. Getting patients to exercise more: a systematic review of underserved populations. J Fam Pract 2008 Mar; 57(3):170-5. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored evidence review on clinician counseling to improve physical activity (Ann Intern Med, 2002).]

Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles

Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
Matiasek J, Wynia MK. Reconceptualizing the informed consent process at eight innovative hospitals. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2008 Mar; 34(3):127-37. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices, 2001.]

Journal of the National Cancer Institute
del Junco DJ, Vernon SW, Coan SP, et al. Promoting regular mammography screening I: a systematic assessment of validity in a randomized trial. J Natl Cancer Inst 2008 Mar 5; 100(5):333-46. [Cites AHRQ technical review, Criteria for Distinguishing Effectiveness from Efficacy Trials in Systematic Reviews, 2006, and uses the review's criteria to assess the study project's internal and external validity; cites USPSTF recommendation statement, Screening for Breast Cancer, on AHRQ Web site.]

National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR)/National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR)-Related Articles

Health Affairs
Gehlert S, Sohmer D, Sacks T, et al. Targeting health disparities; a model linking upstream determinants to downstream interventions. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):339-49. [Cites NHDR, 2006.]

Meara ER, Richards S, Cutler DM. The gap gets bigger: changes in mortality and life expectancy, by education, 1981-2000. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):350-60. [Notes publication of AHRQ's first NHDR in 2003.]

Hebert PL, Sisk JE, Howell EA. When does a difference become a disparity? Conceptualizing racial and ethnic disparities in health. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):374-82. [Discusses AHRQ's definition of disparities as used in NHDR, 2006.]

Bilhelmer LT, Sisk JE. Collecting adequate data on racial and ethnic disparities in health: the challenges continue. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):383-91. [Cites NHDR, 2006, and discusses the extent of data on the Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) population in the NHDR and MEPS Household Component.]

McGuire TG, Miranda J. New evidence regarding racial and ethnic disparities in mental health: policy implications. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):393-403. [Contrasts AHRQ's definition of disparities (as used in the NHDR and MEPS) with that used by the Institute of Medicine.]

Smedley BD, Moving beyond access: achieving equity in state health care reform. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):447-55. [Cites AHRQ's NHDR, 2006.]

Blendon RJ, Buhr T, Cassidy EF, et al. Disparities in physician care: experiences and perceptions of a multi-ethnic America. Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):507-17. [Cites NHDR, 2006.]

Research By Others Using AHRQ Data or Products

American Journal of Epidemiology
Stranges S, Cappuccio FP, Kandala NB, et al. Cross-sectional versus prospective associations of sleep duration with changes in relative weight and body fat distribution. Am J Epidemiol 2008 Feb 1; 167(3):321-9. [Uses study cohort from Whitehall II study previously funded by AHRQ.]

American Journal of Public Health
Cutrona SL, Woolhandler S, Lasser KE, et al. Characteristics of recipients of free prescription drug samples: a nationally representative analysis. Am J Public Health 2008 Feb; 98(2):284-9. [Uses 2003 MEPS data.]

Annals of Surgery
Chang DC, Handly N, Abdullah F, et al. The occurrence of potential patient safety events among trauma patients: are they random? Ann Surg 2008 Feb; 247(2):327-34. [Uses AHRQs Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) data for 2000-2004 and AHRQ's Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs).]

Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Meguid RA, Brooke BS, Chang DC, et al. Are surgical outcomes for lung cancer resections improved at teaching hospitals? Ann Thorac Surg 2008 Mar; 85(3):1015-25. [Uses data from AHRQ's HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS).]

Critical Care Medicine
Bratton SL, Van Duker H, Statler KD, et al. Lower hospital mortality and complications after pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Crit Care Med 2008 Mar; 36(3):923-7. [Uses data from AHRQ's HCUP Kid's Inpatient Database (KID) for 1997, 2000, and 2003.]

Health Affairs
Gaskin DJ, Spencer CS, Richard P, et al. Do hospitals provide lower-quality care to minorities than to whites? Health Aff 2008 Mar-Apr; 27(2):518-27. [Uses data from AHRQ's HCUP State Inpatient Databases (SID) for 13 states from 2001-2003 and AHRQ's PSIs.]

Journal of the American College of Surgeons
Schilling PL, Davis MM, Albanese CT, et al. National trends in adolescent bariatric surgical procedures and implications for surgical centers of excellence. J Am Coll Surg 2008 Jan; 206(1):1-12. [Uses data from AHRQ's KID for 1997, 2000, and 2003.]

Kemp JA, Zuckerman RS, Finlayson SR. Trends in adoption of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in rural versus urban hospitals. J Am Coll Surg 2008 Jan; 206(1):28-32. [Uses 1988-1997 HCUP NIS data.]

Diggs BS, Mullins RJ, Hedges JR, et al. Proportion of seriously injured patients admitted to hospitals in the US with a high annual injured patient volume: a metric of regionalized trauma care. J Am Coll Surg 2008 Feb; 206(2):212-19. [Uses 1905-2003 HCUP NIS data.]

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
Bass E, French DD, Bradham DD. A national perspective of Medicare expenditures for elderly veterans with hip fractures. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2008 Feb; 9(2):114-19. [Uses AHRQ's Elixhauser comorbidity software, Version 3.1.]

Pediatric Cardiology
Benavidez OJ, Gauvreau K, Bacha, et al. Application of a complication screening method to congenital heart surgery admissions. Pediatr Cardiol 2008 Mar; 29(2):258-65. [Uses data from AHRQ's KID for 2000 and patient safety event identification methodology from AHRQ publication, Advances in Patient Safety: From Research to Implementation, Volume 2, Concepts and Methodology, 2005; cites AHRQ-authored articles by Miller, Elixhauser, and Zhan (Pediatrics, 2003) and Miller and Zhan (Pediatrics, 2004).]

Wound Repair and Regeneration
Fogerty MD, Abumrad NN, Nanney L, et al. Risk factors for pressure ulcers in acute care hospitals. Wound Repair Regen 2008 Jan-Feb; 16(1):11-18. [Uses HCUP NIS data for 2003 and AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software.]

Current as of March 2008

Internet Citation:

Articles of Interest Alert, March 14, 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/articles/art031408.htm