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BackgroundThis study evaluated the real-world impact of acupuncture on analgesics and healthcare resource utilization among breast cancer survivors.MethodsFrom a United States (US) commercial claims database (25% random sample of IQVIA PharMetrics® Plus for Academics), we selected 18-63 years old malignant breast cancer survivors experiencing pain and ≥ 1 year removed from cancer diagnosis. Using the difference-in-difference technique, annualized changes in analgesics [prevalence, rates of short-term (

ABSTRACT Aim Design Methods Data Sources Results Conclusion Reporting Method Patient or Public Contribution Registration To synthesise the effectiveness of massage therapy for cancer pain, quality of life and anxiety among patients with cancer.Systematic review and meta‐analysis.This review was reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies evaluating the effects of massage therapy on cancer pain, quality of life or anxiety in patients with cancer pain were eligible. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation were used to assess the quality of studies. Outcomes were pooled using standardised mean differences and narratively synthesised when meta‐analysis was not possible.Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, CENTRAL, Google Scholar, ProQuest Theses and Dissertations were searched for English peer‐reviewed studies and grey literature published from inception to 8 January 2024.Thirty‐six RCTs involving 3671 participants were included. Massage therapy significantly improved pain (pooled SMD = −0.51, 95% CI −0.68 to −0.33), quality of life (pooled SMD = 0.48, 95% CI 0.19–0.78 when higher scores indicate better quality of life; pooled SMD = −0.52, 95% CI −0.88 to −0.16 when higher scores indicate poorer quality of life) and anxiety (pooled SMD = −0.38, 95% CI: −0.57 to −0.18) post‐intervention. All outcomes had very low certainty of evidence. Most studies had unclear or high risk of bias.This review found that massage therapy is beneficial to patients with cancer in improving pain, quality of life and anxiety. Healthcare institutions and healthcare professionals should recognise the value of massage therapy to enhance the care of patients with cancer pain.PRISMA guidelines.No Patient or Public Contribution.PROSPERO CRD42023407311. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document discusses the issue of shortages of essential generic drugs in the USA, which hinders patient access to medications like antibiotics and cancer treatments. It highlights the Affordable Drug Manufacturing Act of 2023 as a proposed solution to establish a federal Office of Drug Manufacturing for public production of off-patent drugs with limited competition. The study identifies 24 essential generic drugs with limited competition that were in shortage for a median of 16 months, emphasizing the need for policy reforms to address drug shortages effectively. The research was funded by Arnold Ventures and the Commonwealth Fund, with data availability upon request from the authors. [Extracted from the article]

Introduction: Decisions to prescribe opioids to patients depend on many factors, including illness severity, pain assessment, and patient age, race, ethnicity, and gender. Gender and sex disparities have been documented in many healthcare settings, but are understudied in inpatient general medicine hospital settings. Objective: We assessed for differences in opioid administration and prescription patterns by legal sex in adult patient hospitalizations from the general medicine service at a large urban academic center. Designs, Setting, and Participants: This study included all adult patient hospitalizations discharged from the acute care inpatient general medicine services at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Medical Center at Parnassus Heights from 1/1/2013 to 9/30/2021. Main Outcome and Measures: The primary outcomes were (1) average daily inpatient opioids received and (2) days of opioids prescribed on discharge. For both outcomes, we first performed logistic regression to assess differences in whether or not any opioids were administered or prescribed. Then, we performed negative binomial regression to assess differences in the amount of opioids given. We also performed all analyses on a subgroup of hospitalizations with pain-related diagnoses. Results: Our study cohort included 48,745 hospitalizations involving 27,777 patients. Of these, 24,398 (50.1%) hospitalizations were female patients and 24,347 (49.9%) were male. Controlling for demographic, clinical, and hospitalization-level variables, female patients were less likely to receive inpatient opioids compared to male patents (adjusted OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.82, 0.92) and received 27.5 fewer morphine milligram equivalents per day on average (95% CI - 39.0, - 16.0). When considering discharge opioids, no significant differences were found between sexes. In the subgroup analysis of pain-related diagnoses, female patients received fewer inpatient opioids. Conclusions: Female patients were less likely to receive inpatient opioids and received fewer opioids when prescribed. Future work to promote equity should identify strategies to ensure all patients receive adequate pain management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]