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To determine the impact of evaluative care guideline compliance on surgical intervention for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).From Medicare claims data, we developed a cohort of men new to a urologist with a diagnosis of BPH. We determined urologists' compliance with guideline recommended care (3 months) and their time- and geography-standardized average monthly Medicare expenditures (1 year). At the level of the urologist, we assessed the impact of these measures on the use of surgical therapy within 1 year of the new patient visit.Of 10 248 patients in the cohort, 675 received surgical intervention (6.7%). Guideline compliance (2% received surgery in highest quintile; 11% lowest quintile) was associated with surgical intervention. The results were robust to adjustment for patient and surgeon factors (Guideline Compliance, odds ratio = 0.09; 95% confidence interval = 0.06-0.15, highest to lowest adherence).Urologists who tend to follow the AUA best practice guidelines for BPH evaluation perform surgical interventions on their BPH patients less frequently than urologists who do not follow these guidelines.

To investigate the degree to which expenditures on symptom evaluations vary among urologists and the factors associated with such variation. As the medical and surgical specialists for men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), urologists provide testing to evaluate symptoms and determine therapy.We developed a cohort of men with an initial urologist visit for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) from a 5% sample of Medicare patients (1999-2007) and established a physician level factor, practice style, as a function of average per patient expenditures. We then determined which AUA BPH guideline elements explained variation in quantity and expenditures for BPH testing, and also examined the impact of patient and physician factors on practice style.A nearly 15-fold variation in urologists' average per-patient expenditures existed ($35 to $527 per month; Median $92). Practice styles were associated with physician (P.01 all examined variables) and patient (P.01 for comorbidity, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status) factors. Guideline recommended care was provided at lower rates by the lowest expenditure urologists compared with middle- to highest-intensity urologists (P.01). Practice style variations were attributable mainly to differences in tests characterized by the guidelines as optional and not-recommended (P.01).Expenditures for BPH evaluations vary substantially by geography, practice setting, and experience and are accounted for largely by differences in the use of optional and not-routinely recommended tests. Greater standardization could enhance patient care and reduce health care costs.

To assess the prevalence of and risk factors for urinary (UI) and fecal (FI) incontinence in adults in long-term care (LTC) settings and in the community, the effectiveness of diagnostic methods to identify adults at risk and patients with incontinence, and to review the effectiveness of clinical interventions to reduce the risk of incontinence.MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL, and Cochrane Databases.Observational studies were reviewed to examine the prevalence and incidence of UI and FI and the association with risk factors. The effects of treatments on patient outcomes were analyzed from randomized controlled and multicenter clinical trials. The diagnostic values of the tests were compared from the original epidemiologic studies of different designs. Of the 6,097 articles identified, 1,077 articles were eligible for analysis.The prevalence of UI, FI, and combined incontinence increased with age and functional dependency. Cognitive impairment, limitations in daily activities, and prolonged institutionalization in nursing homes were associated with a higher risk of incontinence. Stroke, diabetes, obesity, poor general health, and comorbidities were associated with UI and FI in community dwelling adults. Parity, anal trauma, and vaginal prolapse in women and urological surgery and radiation for prostate cancer in men are risk factors for UI and FI. Intensive individualized management and rehabilitation programs improved continence status in nursing home residents and adults after stroke. Self-administered behavioral interventions including pelvic floor muscle training with biofeedback and bladder training resolved UI in incontinent women. Electrical stimulation and sacral neuromodulation improved urge UI, but improvement for FI was inconsistent. Tension-free vaginal tape procedures and modified surgical techniques for prolapse to support the bladder neck resolved stress UI in the majority of treated women. Behavioral treatments of FI resulted in small improvements in severity and quality of life related to incontinence. The effects on FI of surgical techniques for hemorrhoids, rectal prolapse, rectal cancer, and anal fissures are not consistent across studies. Surgical interventions in patients with ulcerative colitis resulted in the same rates of fecal continence when compared to each other. The few clinical interventions to treat FI that were tested in well-designed trials had no clear evidence of better effects of the compared treatments. Instrumental outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments did not correlate with patient outcomes. Epidemiologic surveys to detect persons at risk and patients with undiagnosed UI have the same diagnostic value and less cost compared to professional examinations and diagnostic tests. Self-reported questionnaires and scales have unsatisfactory validity to diagnose FI.Epidemiologic surveys are cost-effective ways to estimate the prevalence of UI in large nationally representative population groups. Routine clinical evaluation should include an assessment of the risk factors, symptoms, and signs of incontinence. Pregnant or menopausal women, women with vaginal prolapse, males treated for prostate disease, patients with rectal prolapse, and frail elderly and nursing home residents are high risk groups. Individualized management programs can improve continence in LTC facilities but are hard to sustain. Regular monitoring and documentation of the continence status in relation to implemented continence services should be quality of care indicators for nursing homes. Pelvic floor muscle trainings with biofeedback can resolve incontinence and improve quality of life. Surgery is effective in curing stress UI in females. Clinical interventions for UI in males and for FI in adults need future investigation. A list of research recommendations is offered.

Evaluate treatment options for nonruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA); the relationship of hospital and physician volume to outcomes for endovascular repair (EVAR); affect of patient and AAA factors on outcomes; cost-benefits of treatments.PubMed, Cochrane Library, FDA, and other electronic websites until May 2006. Reference lists and content experts were used to identify additional reports.Randomized controlled trials (RCT) of open surgical repair (OSR), EVAR, or active surveillance, systematic reviews, nonrandomized U.S. trials, and national registries were used to assess clinical outcomes. Volume-outcome articles published after 2000 were reviewed if they reported the relationship between U.S. hospital or physician volume and outcomes, were population-based, and the analysis was adjusted for risk factors. Cost studies included at least 50 EVAR and provided data on costs or charges, and cost-effectiveness analyses.Initial or attained diameter is the strongest known predictor of rupture. The annual risk of rupture is below 1 percent for AAA5.5 cm in diameter. Among medically ill patients unfit for OSR with AAA/=5.5 cm, the risk of rupture may be as high as 10 percent per year. Early/immediate OSR of AAA5.5 cm (two trials n=2,226) did not reduce all-cause mortality compared with surveillance and delayed OSR. Results did not differ according to age, gender, baseline AAA diameter or creatinine concentration. Two RCT with followup of at least 2 years compared EVAR to OSR for AAA/=5.5 cm. EVAR reduced postoperative 30-day mortality compared to OSR (1.6 percent EVAR vs. 4.7 percent OSR, RR = 0.34 [0.17 to 0.65]). Early reduction in all-cause mortality with EVAR disappeared before 2 years. Post-operative complications and reinterventions were higher with EVAR. Quality of life differences were small and disappeared after 3-6 months. One RCT of patients with AAA/=5.5 cm judged medically unfit for OSR (n=338), reported no difference in all-cause mortality or AAA mortality between EVAR and no intervention (HR = 1.21; 95 percent CI 0.87 to 1.69). Forty-eight nonrandomized reports evaluated EVAR. Patient, AAA characteristics, and outcomes were similar to RCT comparing EVAR to OSR. A volume outcome relationship has been shown for OSR, but there are no data adequate to estimate the effect of hospital or physician volume on EVAR outcomes or to identify a volume threshold for policymakers. Immediate OSR for AAA5.5 cm costs more and does not improve long-term survival compared to active surveillance and delayed OSR. The cost effectiveness of EVAR relative to OSR is difficult to determine. However, compared to OSR for AAA/=5.5 cm, EVAR has greater in-hospital costs primarily due to the cost of the prosthesis. EVAR has shorter length of stay, lower 30-day morbidity and mortality but does not improve quality of life beyond 3 months or survival beyond 2 years, and is associated with complications, need for reintervention, long-term monitoring, and higher long-term costs. Compared to no intervention in patients medically unfit for OSR, EVAR costs more and does not improve survival or quality of life.For AAA5.5 cm in diameter, active surveillance with delayed OSR results in equivalent mortality but lesser morbidity and operative costs due to fewer interventions compared to immediate OSR. For AAA/=5.5 cm, EVAR has not been shown to improve long-term survival or health status over OSR though peri-operative outcomes are improved. EVAR does not improve survival in patients who are medically unfit for OSR. EVAR is associated with more complications, need for reintervention, monitoring, and costs compared to OSR or no intervention. U.S. RCT are needed using approved EVAR devices to evaluate patient outcomes.