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BACKGROUND: Differences in antibiotic knowledge and attitudes between parents of Medicaid-insured and commercially insured children have been previously reported. It is unknown whether understanding has improved and whether previously identified differences persist. METHODS: A total of 1500 Massachusetts parents with a child <6 years old insured by a Medicaid managed care or commercial health plan were surveyed in spring 2013. We examined antibiotic-related knowledge and attitudes by using χ² tests. Multivariable modeling was used to assess current sociodemographic predictors of knowledge and evaluate changes in predictors from a similar survey in 2000. RESULTS: Medicaid-insured parents in 2013 (n = 345) were younger, were less likely to be white, and had less education than those commercially insured (n = 353), P < .01. Fewer Medicaid-insured parents answered questions correctly except for one related to bronchitis, for which there was no difference (15% Medicaid vs 16% commercial, P < .66). More parents understood that green nasal discharge did not require antibiotics in 2013 compared with 2000, but this increase was smaller among Medicaid-insured (32% vs 22% P = .02) than commercially insured (49% vs 23%, P < .01) parents. Medicaid-insured parents were more likely to request unnecessary antibiotics in 2013 (P < .01). Multivariable models for predictors of knowledge or attitudes demonstrated complex relationships between insurance status and sociodemographic variables. CONCLUSIONS: Misconceptions about antibiotic use persist and continue to be more prevalent among parents of Medicaid-insured children. Improvement in understanding has been more pronounced in more advantaged populations. Tailored efforts for socioeconomically disadvantaged populations remain warranted to decrease parental drivers of unnecessary antibiotic prescribing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine changes in antibiotic-dispensing rates among children in 3 health plans located in New England [A], the Mountain West [B], and the Midwest [C] regions of the United States. METHODS: Pharmacy and outpatient claims from September 2000 to August 2010 were used to calculate rates of antibiotic dispensing per person-year for children aged 3 months to 18 years. Differences in rates by year, diagnosis, and health plan were tested by using Poisson regression. The data were analyzed to determine whether there was a change in the rate of decline over time. RESULTS: Antibiotic use in the 3- to <24-month age group varied at baseline according to health plan (A: 2.27, B: 1.40, C: 2.23 antibiotics per person-year; P < .001). The downward trend in antibiotic dispensing slowed, stabilized, or reversed during this 10-year period. In the 3- to <24-month age group, we observed 5.0%, 9.3%, and 7.2% annual declines early in the decade in the 3 plans, respectively. These dropped to 2.4%, 2.1%, and 0.5% annual declines by the end of the decade. Third-generation cephalosporin use for otitis media increased 1.6-, 15-, and 5.5-fold in plans A, B, and C in young children. Similar attenuation of decline in antibiotic use and increases in use of broad- spectrum agents were seen in other age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic dispensing for children may have reached a new plateau. Along with identifying best practices in low-prescribing areas, decreasing broad-spectrum use for particular conditions should be a continuing focus of intervention efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Antibiotic use rates have declined dramatically since the 1990s. We aimed to determine if, when, and at what level the decline in antibiotic-dispensing rates ended and which diagnoses contributed to the trends. METHODS: Antibiotic dispensings and diagnoses were obtained from 2 health insurers for 3- to <72-month-olds in 16 Massachusetts communities from 2000 to 2009. Population-based antibiotic-dispensing rates per person-year (p-y) were determined according to year (September-August) for 3 age groups. Fit statistics were used to identify the most likely year for a change in trend. Rates for the first and last years were compared according to antibiotic category and associated diagnosis. RESULTS: From 2000-2001 to 2008-2009, the antibiotic-dispensing rate for 3- to <24-month-olds decreased 24% (2.3-1.8 antibiotic dispensings per p-y); for 24- to <48-month-olds, it decreased 18% (1.6-1.3 antibiotic dispensings per p-y); and for 48- to <72-month- olds, it decreased 20% (1.4-1.1 antibiotic dispensings per p-y). For 3- to <48-month-olds, rates declined until 2004-2005 and remained stable thereafter; the downward trend for 48- to <72-month-olds ended earlier in 2001-2002. Among 3- to <24-month-olds, first-line penicillin use declined 26%. For otitis media, the dispensing rate decreased 14% and the diagnosis rate declined 9%, whereas the treatment fraction was stable at 63%. CONCLUSIONS: The downward trend in antibiotic dispensings to young children in these communities ended by 2004-2005. This trend was driven by a declining otitis media diagnosis rate. Continued monitoring of population-based dispensing rates will support efforts to avoid returning to previous levels of antibiotic overuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Documentation in the medical record facilitates the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Few studies have assessed the quality of outpatient medical record documentation, and to the authors' knowledge, none has conclusively determined the correlates of chart documentation. We therefore undertook the present study to measure the rates of documentation of quality of care measures in an outpatient primary care practice setting that utilizes an electronic medical record. Methods: We reviewed electronic medical records from 834 patients receiving care from 167 physicians (117 internists and 50 pediatricians) at 14 sites of a multi-specialty medical group in Massachusetts. We abstracted information for five measures of medical record documentation quality: smoking history, medications, drug allergies, compliance with screening guidelines, and immunizations. From other sources we determined physicians' specialty, gender, year of medical school graduation, and self-reported time spent teaching and in patient care. Results: Among internists, unadjusted rates of documentation were 96.2% for immunizations, 91.6% for medications, 88% for compliance with screening guidelines, 61.6% for drug allergies, 37.8% for smoking history. Among pediatricians, rates were 100% for immunizations, 84.8% for medications, 90.8% for compliance with screening guidelines, 50.4% for drug allergies, and 20.4% for smoking history. While certain physician and patient characteristics correlated with some measures of documentation quality, documentation varied depending on the measure. For example, female internists were more likely than male internists to document smoking history (odds ratio [OR], 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27 - 2.83) but were less likely to document drug allergies (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.35 - 0.75). Conclusions: Medical record documentation varied depending on the measure, with room for improvement in most domains. A variety of characteristics correlated with medical record documentation, but no pattern emerged. Further study could lead to targeted interventions to improve documentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Eight male essential hypertensives underwent 9 weekly 2-hr biofeedback training sessions in which feedback (i.e., lights and tones) was contingent upon decreases in systolic pressure. Three weekly control sessions (with no feedback) preceded feedback training. Outside the laboratory, patients recorded blood pressure 5 times per day both at home and at work. Patients continued monitoring their blood pressure for up to 4 months after termination of feedback training. Both prior to and following the 9 weeks of biofeedback training, patients were given the Category Test (a subtest of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery). Feedback training resulted in significant reductions in blood pressure both within and outside of the laboratory. The reduction in non-laboratory pressure readings persisted for up to 4 months after feedback training was terminated. A significant positive correlation was found between systolic pressure and number of errors on the Category Test given prior to biofeedback training, and between magnitude of decrease in systolic pressure recorded during biofeedback training and improvement in Category Test performance measured subsequent to training. After completion of the study, patients were rated (on the basis of structured interview data obtained following weekly feedback sessions) as to overall level of stress (i.e., general stressfulness of life style, accidents, illnesses, emotional problems, etc.). Patients rated high in overall stress had significantly higher blood pressure readings during the control period. However, magnitude of decrease in blood pressure recorded during feedback training was essentially the same regardless of rated stress level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Eight normal subjects were trained with the aid of EMG feedback to successively increase and decrease the activity of the frontalis muscle on 5 consecutive days. Along with the activity of the frontalis, sternomastoid EMG was recorded from 4 subjects and EMG from both the semispinalis and splenius capitus was recorded from the other 4 subjects. Estimates of the degree of subjective tension or relaxation were obtained following Baseline, Increase Frontalis, and Decrease Frontalis periods on each treatment day. Frontalis EMG activity showed significant increases and decreases relative to baseline levels during appropriate periods. Sternomastoid EMG did not change significantly during either Increase Frontalis or Decrease Frontalis periods. Semispinalis/splenius EMG activity also did not change during Increase Frontalis periods, but increased significantly during Decrease Frontalis periods. Subjects'estimates of subjective tension increased above baseline during increases in frontalis EMG activity, but did not change significantly during decreases in frontalis EMG. These data support the findings of Alexander that changes in frontalis EMG neither generalize to other somatic muscles nor correlate with verbal reports of cognitive tension or relaxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven male essential hypertensives underwent 9 weekly 2-hr biofeedback training sessions in an attempt to produce decreases in blood pressure. Feedback, contingent upon heart beat by heart beat decreases in systolic pressure, was provided by an automated blood pressure monitoring system. The subjects were administered the Category Test (a subtest of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery) both before and after biofeedback training. As controls, 4 male hypertensives underwent 3 weekly sessions in which blood pressure was monitored without feedback being provided. Prior to training, a significant positive correlation was obtained between systolic blood pressure and number of errors made on the Category Test. Biofeedback training produced significant decreases in systolic pressure within sessions and in diastolic pressure between sessions. In the control subjects, no significant changes in pressure were observed. For both systolic and diastolic pressures, significant correlations were obtained between magnitude of decrease during biofeedback training and improvement in Category Test scores subsequent to training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: To assess the association between self-reported racial discrimination and prenatal depressive symptoms among black women. Methods: Our study population consisted of two cohorts of pregnant women: the Asthma Coalition on Community, Environment, and Social Stress project (ACCESS) and Project Viva. We measured self-reported racial discrimination among black women using a modified Experiences of Discrimination scale (score 0–8). We assessed elevated depressive symptoms (EDS) with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (≥13 on a 0–30 scale). Results: Fifty-four percent of ACCESS and 78% of Viva participants reported experiencing racial discrimination. After adjusting for age, marital status, income, education, and nativity, a 1-U increment in Experiences of Discrimination score was associated with 48% increased odds of EDS (odds ratio, 1.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.24–1.76) for ACCESS participants but was not significantly associated among Viva participants (odds ratio, 1.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.92–1.37). In both cohorts, responding to unfair treatment by talking to others was associated with the lowest odds of EDS. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that higher levels of perceived racial discrimination may increase depressive symptoms during pregnancy among U.S. black women. Interventions involving talking to others may aid in reducing the risk of depressive symptoms among black women experiencing higher levels of racial discrimination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) surveillance is time consuming, subjective, inaccurate, and inconsistently predicts outcomes. Shifting surveillance from pneumonia in particular to complications in general might circumvent the VAP definition's subjectivity and inaccuracy, facilitate electronic assessment, make interfacility comparisons more meaningful, and encourage broader prevention strategies. We therefore evaluated a novel surveillance paradigm for ventilator-associated complications (VAC) defined by sustained increases in patients' ventilator settings after a period of stable or decreasing support. Methods: We assessed 600 mechanically ventilated medical and surgical patients from three hospitals. Each hospital contributed 100 randomly selected patients ventilated 2-7 days and 100 patients ventilated >7 days. All patients were independently assessed for VAP and for VAC. We compared incidence-density, duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care and hospital lengths of stay, hospital mortality, and time required for surveillance for VAP and for VAC. A subset of patients with VAP and VAC were independently reviewed by a physician to determine possible etiology. Results: Of 597 evaluable patients, 9.3% had VAP (8.8 per 1,000 ventilator days) and 23% had VAC (21.2 per 1,000 ventilator days). Compared to matched controls, both VAP and VAC prolonged days to extubation (5.8, 95% CI 4.2-8.0 and 6.0, 95% CI 5.1-7.1 respectively), days to intensive care discharge (5.7, 95% CI 4.2-7.7 and 5.0, 95% CI 4.1-5.9), and days to hospital discharge (4.7, 95% CI 2.6-7.5 and 3.0, 95% CI 2.1-4.0). VAC was associated with increased mortality (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-3.2) but VAP was not (OR 1.1, 95% CI 0.5-2.4). VAC assessment was faster (mean 1.8 versus 39 minutes per patient). Both VAP and VAC events were predominantly attributable to pneumonia, pulmonary edema, ARDS, and atelectasis. Conclusions: Screening ventilator settings for VAC captures a similar set of complications to traditional VAP surveillance but is faster, more objective, and a superior predictor of outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The utilization of short-term daily hemodialysis has increased over the last few years, but little is known on its effects on the control of serum phosphate and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) levels. Methods We therefore performed a cross-sectional study to compare FGF23 levels as well as other biochemical variables between 24 patients undergoing short daily hemodialysis using the NxStage System® and 54 patients treated with conventional in-center hemodialysis. FGF23 levels were measured using the second-generation Immutopics® C-terminal assay. Results Short daily hemodialysis patients were younger than patients on conventional hemodialysis but there were no differences between groups in the duration of end-stage renal disease nor in the number of patients with residual renal function. A greater number of short daily hemodialysis patients received vitamin D sterol therapy than did conventional in-center hemodialysis patients while there were no differences in the use of different phosphate binders and calcimimetic therapy between groups. Overall serum calcium, phosphorus and intact parathyroid hormone levels were similar between groups. While serum phosphorus levels correlated with FGF23 concentrations in each group separately [r = 0.522 (P < 0.01) and r = 0.42 (P < 0.01) in short daily and conventional in-center hemodialysis, respectively], FGF23 levels were lower [823 RU/mL (263, 2169)] in the patients receiving short daily hemodialysis than in patients treated with conventional hemodialysis [2521 RU/mL (909, 5556)] (P < 0.01 between groups). Conclusions These findings demonstrate that FGF23 levels are significantly lower in short daily hemodialysis patients and suggest that FGF23 levels may be a more sensitive biomarker of cumulative phosphate burden than single or multiple serum phosphorus determinations in patients treated with hemodialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research which examined the timely detection of localized excess influenza activity across patient prescription, laboratory data and care in northern California. It mentions that the successful identification of clusters of localized influenza activity in addition to background seasonal levels could enhance the situational awareness for public health systems and officials. The authors assessed the performance of 10 kinds of electronic clinical data that can be applied effectively for influenza in 2007 and 2008.

OBJECTIVES. Our aims were (1) to describe rates of suboptimal control and controller medication underuse in a diverse population of children with asthma and (2) to identify potentially modifiable parental behaviors and beliefs associated with these outcomes. METHODS. We conducted telephone interviews with parents of 2- to 12-year-old children with persistent asthma, in a Medicaid plan and a large provider group. Suboptimal control was defined as ≥4 symptom days, ≥1 symptom night, or ≥4 albuterol use days in the previous 2 weeks. Controller medication underuse was defined as suboptimal control and parent report of <6 days/week of inhaled steroid use. Multivariate analyses identified factors that were independently associated with suboptimal control and controller medication underuse. RESULTS. Of the 754 study children, 280 (37%) had suboptimal asthma control; this problem was more common in Hispanic children (51%) than in black (37%) or white (32%) children. Controller medication underuse was present for 133 children (48% of those with suboptimal asthma control and 18% overall). Controller medication underuse was more common among Hispanic (44%) and black (34%) children than white (22%) children. In multivariate analyses, suboptimal control was associated with potentially modifiable factors including low parental expectations for symptom control and high levels of worry about competing household priorities. Controller medication underuse was associated with potentially modifiable factors including parental estimation of asthma control that was discordant with national guidelines and no set time to administer asthma medications. CONCLUSIONS. Deficiencies in asthma control and controller medication use are associated with potentially modifiable parental beliefs, which seem to mediate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in suboptimal control and controller medication underuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. High rates of antibiotic prescribing to children contribute to antibiotic resistance in the community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with other national and state level organizations, have actively promoted more judicious prescribing for children. Objective. We sought to assess changes in the rate of antibiotic prescribing from 1996-2000 in 9 US health plans, patterns of diagnosis and treatment responsible for these trends, and changes in the use of first-line antimicrobial agents. Design/Methods. We analyzed claims data for dispensed medications and physician visits from 9 health plans. Each provided data on 25 000 children aged 3 months to <18 years enrolled between September 1, 1995, and August 31, 2000. Antibiotic dispensings were linked with an ambulatory visit claim to assign diagnosis. Antibiotic dispensings per person-year (antibiotics/p-y) were calculated for the age groups 3 months to <3 years, 3 years to <6 years, and 6 years to <18 years. The contribution of each diagnosis to changes in the overall rate of antibiotic use was determined. Generalized linear mixed models were used to test for trend and assess differences in rates by site. Results. From 1996-2000, antibiotic rates for children 3 months to <3 years decreased from 2.46 to 1.89 antibiotics/ p-y (24%); for children 3 years to <6 years from 1.47 to 1.09 antibiotics/p-y (25%); and for children 6 to <18 years from 0.85 to 0.69 antibiotics/p-y (16%). The reduction varied among health plans from 6% to 39% for children 3 months to <3 years. A decrease in prescriptions for otitis media accounted for 59% of the total decrease, and was primarily accounted for by a decrease in the rate of diagnosis of this... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]