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Background: Few studies have evaluated the use of laparoscopic staplers in robotic procedures (bedside stapling, BS). This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of BS compared with robotic staplers (RS) in bariatric robotic procedures. Methods: Patients who underwent robotic sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass elective procedures between 1/1/2021 and 12/31/2021 were extracted from PINC AI™ Healthcare Data. The following clinical outcomes were compared: blood transfusion, bleeding, anastomotic leak, intensive care unit (ICU) visit, and 30-day readmission, operating room (OR) time, inpatient costs, and length of stay. We evaluated baseline balance in BS and RS and bivariate association between covariates and outcomes using Chi-square or Fisher exact test and t-test or ANOVA. Multivariable general linear mixed models (GLMMs) with respective gamma or binomial distribution and log-link function were used to obtain adjusted outcomes variations between BS and RS. Results: Total of 7268 discharges were included with 1603 (22.1%) BS and 5665 (77.9%) RS cases. RS cases consisted of a higher number of patients who were Hispanic (17.0% vs. 9.4%), had Medicaid (26.9% vs. 19.4%) and underwent sleeve gastrectomy (68.4% vs. 53.5%). Higher proportions of RS cases were done by providers in Northeast region (35.5% vs. 24.3%), smaller size (< 500 beds; 71.1% vs. 52.3%), and teaching hospitals (59.4% vs. 39%). The adjusted outcomes variations demonstrated that patients that had RS were significantly more likely to have blood transfusions, ICU stays, increased ORT (19 min) and costs ($1273). Sensitivity analysis showed similar results, except no significant differences in blood transfusion rates in both groups. Conclusions: Bedside staplers significantly reduce healthcare resource utilization with equivalent effectiveness and fewer ICU stays compared to robotic staplers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The financial protection of the prevention provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) doesn't apply to breast MRI but only to mammography for breast cancer screening. The purpose of the study is to examine the financial burden among women who received breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for screening.Methods: This observational study used the Marketscan database. Women who underwent breast MRI between 2009 and 2017 and had screening mammography within 6 months of the MRI were included. We compared the time trend of the proportion of zero cost-share for women undergoing screening mammography and that for MRI. We quantified out-of-pocket (OOP) costs as the sum of copayment, coinsurance, and deductible and defined zero cost-share as having no OOP cost. We conducted multivariable logistic regression and 2-part model to examine factors associated with zero cost-share and OOP costs of MRI, respectively.Results: During the study period, 16 341 women had a screening breast MRI. The proportion of screening MRI claims with zero cost-share decreased from 43.1% (2009) to 26.2% (2017). The adjusted mean OOP cost for women in high-deductible plans was more than twice the cost for their counterparts ($549 vs $251; 2-sided P < .001). Women who resided in the South in the post-Affordable Care Act era were less likely to have zero cost-share and paid higher OOP costs for screening MRI.Conclusions: Many women are subject to high financial burden when receiving MRI for breast cancer screening. Those enrolled in high-deductible plans and who reside in the South are especially vulnerable financially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chiari malformation type 1 (CM-1) is a common congenital or acquired malformation of the posterior fossa. We aimed to characterize preoperative risk factors, perioperative complications, and postoperative outcomes related to CM-1 surgery in pediatric populations across a nationwide network of pediatric hospitals in the United States (US). Methods: The Children's Hospital Association's Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database was used to examine patients < 21 years old in the US-based nationwide database who underwent inpatient surgery for CM-1 from 2007 to 2015. Data analyzed included patient characteristics, preoperative comorbidities, perioperative outcomes, short-term postoperative surgical and medical complications, and healthcare resource utilization. Results: Among the 5976 patients identified, those age 0–4 years had higher medical and surgical complication rates compared to older patients. Those with pre-existing comorbidity of hydrocephalus had higher odds of 30- and 90-day medical and surgical complications. Those with any complications at 90 days had an increased length of stay and higher healthcare costs compared to those without complications. 6.88% of complications were surgical and 1.67% medical. Patients with medical complications had the longer mean stay and associated costs compared to those with surgical complications (13 vs. 6.9 at 95% CI, and $71,300–94,500 vs. $110,400–195,000 at 95% CI). Conclusions: Use of a US-based national children's hospital database presents outcomes and resource utilization from a multi-institutional, real-world experience in pediatric hospitals. There was a higher risk of perioperative complications in younger patients and those with pre-existing comorbidities, namely hydrocephalus. Understanding preoperative risk factors, perioperative complications, and postoperative outcomes, as well as healthcare utilization and costs, can help target areas for improvement and guide preoperative counseling and risk stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug poisoning is the leading method of suicide-related deaths among females and third among males in the United States. Alcohol can increase the severity of drug poisonings, yet the prevalence of alcohol overdoses in suicide-related drug poisonings ( SRDP) remains unclear. Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample was examined to determine rates of inpatient hospital stays for SRDP and co-occurring alcohol overdoses in adolescents (ages 12-17) and young adults (ages 18-24) between 1999 and 2008. Among adolescents, there were 14,615 hospitalizations for drug poisonings in 2008, of which 72% (10,462) were suicide-related at a cost of $43 million. Rates of SRDP in this age group decreased between 1999 and 2008. The prevalence of co-occurring alcohol overdoses increased from 5% in 1999 to 7% in 2008. Among young adults, there were 32,471 hospitalizations for drug poisonings in 2008, of which 64% (20,746) were suicide-related at a cost of $110 million. Rates of SRDP did not change significantly between 1999 and 2008. The prevalence of co-occurring alcohol overdoses increased from 14% in 1999 to 20% in 2008. Thus, while rates of SRDP decreased for adolescents and remained unchanged for young adults, the prevalence of co-occurring alcohol overdoses increased for both age groups. Such hospitalizations provide important opportunities to employ intervention techniques to prevent further suicide attempts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous epidemiologic studies have suggested that various pregnancy and birth characteristics may be associated with Wilms tumor, a childhood kidney tumor. We evaluated obstetric events and birth characteristics in relation to Wilms tumor using data from a large North American case-control study. Mothers of 521 children with Wilms tumor and 517 controls, frequency matched on child's age and geographic region, provided information about their labor and delivery history and their children's birth characteristics through a detailed computer-assisted telephone interviews. Most obstetric factors were not associated with Wilms tumor, but modest associations were observed for labor induction (OR: 1.4, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.1, 1.8), prenatal vaginal infection (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2, 2.8), and upper respiratory infection (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0, 2.4). Low (<2500 g) and high (>4500 g) birth weight and preterm delivery (<37 weeks completed gestation) were associated with an elevated risk of Wilms tumor, as was neonatal respiratory problems. The association for high birth weight was present only among children with perilobar nephrogenic rests (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.2, 3.9), possibly distinguishing a specific association among a biologically distinct subgroup of Wilms tumor cases. The results of this large study did not support many of the earlier findings of smaller studies. However, additional investigations of the effects of certain obstetric and birth characteristics among more refined tumor subgroups may further our understanding of these factors in relation to Wilms tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The rapidly rising costs of targeted oral anticancer medicines (TOAMs) raise concerns over their affordability. Our goal was to examine recent trends in the uptake of TOAMs among cancer patients with Medicare Part D, the share of TOAM users who reached catastrophic coverage, and the annual spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase., Methods: Using the 5% SEER-Medicare, we included patients age 65 years and older who had one primary cancer diagnosis between 2011 and 2016. We included person-years where patients were enrolled in a Part D plan for the entire year, did not receive the low-income subsidy at any time of the year, and received anticancer systemic therapies. We estimated the trends in the share of patients who used TOAMs, the percentage of TOAM users reaching catastrophic coverage, and the total and patient out-of-pocket spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase in a year., Results: From 2011 to 2016, the uptake of TOAMs among our study population increased from 3.6% to 8.9%. The percentage of non-low-income subsidy TOAM users who reached catastrophic coverage increased from 54.6% to 60.3%. Among those who reached the catastrophic phase, mean total gross spending on TOAMs in the catastrophic phase increased from $16,074 (USD) to $64,233 (USD) and mean patient out-of-pocket spending from $596 (USD) to $2,549 (USD). The mean 30-day total spending increased from $4,011 (USD) to $8,857 (USD), and the mean 30-day out-of-pocket spending from $154 (USD) to $328 (USD)., Conclusion: The high and growing burden from TOAMs highlighted the need for reining in drug prices and capping out-of-pocket spending.

Purpose: The attitudes and expectations of residency program directors (RPDs) regarding nontraditional residency applicants (NTAs) were evaluated., Methods: This was a cross-sectional, survey-based study targeting RPDs of American Society of Health-System Pharmacists-accredited residency programs. A 14-question survey requesting information related to demographics, perceptions of NTAs compared with traditional applicants, advantages and disadvantages of NTAs, and advice for NTAs was administered electronically to RPDs. The primary outcome of this study was to determine RPDs' perceptions of NTAs as suitable residency candidates. The secondary outcome evaluated the rate of NTA acceptance into residency programs and a qualitative assessment of RPDs' advice for NTAs., Results: Of the 1,414 RPDs contacted to participate, 328 (23%) completed the survey. RPDs were primarily affiliated with postgraduate year 1 pharmacy practice (52%) or postgraduate year 2 specialty residencies (30%), and 35% reported having an NTA in their program. Most respondents (87%) reported that NTAs are given equal consideration relative to traditional residency applicants. RPDs rated work experience as the most important quality of an NTA, followed closely by the ability to work with others and teachability. Most (277 [85%]) RPDs agreed that NTAs should possess experiences beyond work experience, such as research, leadership, and community service. The biggest concern regarding NTAs was significant time since graduation prior to application., Conclusion: The majority of RPDs did not perceive NTAs differently from traditional applicants in the selection process of prospective candidates., (© American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2019. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction: Chiari malformation type 1 (CM-1) is a common congenital or acquired malformation of the posterior fossa. We aimed to characterize preoperative risk factors, perioperative complications, and postoperative outcomes related to CM-1 surgery in pediatric populations across a nationwide network of pediatric hospitals in the United States (US)., Methods: The Children's Hospital Association's Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database was used to examine patients < 21 years old in the US-based nationwide database who underwent inpatient surgery for CM-1 from 2007 to 2015. Data analyzed included patient characteristics, preoperative comorbidities, perioperative outcomes, short-term postoperative surgical and medical complications, and healthcare resource utilization., Results: Among the 5976 patients identified, those age 0-4 years had higher medical and surgical complication rates compared to older patients. Those with pre-existing comorbidity of hydrocephalus had higher odds of 30- and 90-day medical and surgical complications. Those with any complications at 90 days had an increased length of stay and higher healthcare costs compared to those without complications. 6.88% of complications were surgical and 1.67% medical. Patients with medical complications had the longer mean stay and associated costs compared to those with surgical complications (13 vs. 6.9 at 95% CI, and $71,300-94,500 vs. $110,400-195,000 at 95% CI)., Conclusions: Use of a US-based national children's hospital database presents outcomes and resource utilization from a multi-institutional, real-world experience in pediatric hospitals. There was a higher risk of perioperative complications in younger patients and those with pre-existing comorbidities, namely hydrocephalus. Understanding preoperative risk factors, perioperative complications, and postoperative outcomes, as well as healthcare utilization and costs, can help target areas for improvement and guide preoperative counseling and risk stratification.

Objectives: The objective of the study is to investigate the association between insurance transitions and healthcare utilization among children with refractory epilepsy., Methods: We applied published algorithms to identify the study cohort of children with a diagnosis of refractory epilepsy who were treated between 10/1/2013 and 9/30/2014 at 36 children's hospitals in the United States. Insurance transition was defined as having any change in the type of primary payer from the first date of diagnosis to the date of the last visit at the same hospital. Univariate and multilevel multivariable analytical methods were used in the study., Results: Among 3488 children hospitalized with refractory epilepsy, rates of insurance transitions at 1, 2, and 5 years of refractory epilepsy diagnosis were 8.1%, 14%, and 29.9%, respectively. Patients whose primary payer at diagnosis was Private or Others were more likely to experience insurance transitions than patients whose primary payer was Medicaid. Younger children were associated with a higher risk of insurance transitions than older children. The high intensity of insurance transitions was associated with a higher number of emergency department and inpatient visits., Conclusions: Insurance transitions interrupted the continuity of medical care for children with refractory epilepsy and were associated with more frequent hospitalizations and emergency department visits, which then translated to higher healthcare costs. Medicaid provided stable insurance coverage and is critically important for these patients and should be the main focus for policies aiming to minimize insurance transitions and optimize healthcare delivery., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric (NSQIP-P) risk calculator was developed based on national data. There have been no studies assessing the risk calculator's performance in pediatric neurosurgery. The authors aimed to evaluate the predictions from the risk calculator compared to our single institution experience in craniosynostosis surgery., Methods: Outcomes from craniosynostosis surgeries performed between 2012 and 2016 at our academic pediatric hospital were evaluated using the NSQIP-P risk calculator. Descriptive statistics were performed comparing predicted 30-day postoperative events and clinically observed outcomes. The performance of the calculator was evaluated using the Brier score and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC)., Results: A total of 202 craniosynostosis surgeries were included. Median age was 0.74 years (range 0.15-6.32); 66% were males. Blood transfusion occurred in 162/202 patients (80%). The following clinical characteristics were statistically correlated with surgical complications: American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification >1 (P < 0.001), central nervous system abnormality (P < 0.001), syndromic craniosynostosis (P = 0.001), and redo operations (P = 0.002). Postoperative events occurred in <3%, including hardware breakage, tracheal-cartilaginous sleeve associated with critical airway, and surgical site infection. The calculator performed well in predicting any complication (Brier = 0.067, ROC = 73.9%), and for pneumonia (Brier = 0.0049, ROC 99%). The calculator predicted a low rate of cardiac complications, venous thromboembolism, renal failure, reintubation, and death; the observed rate of these complications was 0., Conclusions: The risk calculator demonstrated reasonable ability to predict the low number of perioperative complications in patients undergoing craniosynostosis surgery with a composite complications outcome. Efforts to improve the calculator may include further stratification based on procedure-specific risk factors.

Background: Current guidelines emphasize vaccination for influenza and pneumococcus for IBD patients and the avoidance of live virus vaccines for those who are on immunosuppressive (ISS) therapy. Given the recent resurgence of measles and pertussis infections, we assessed the immune status of our IBD population in order to advise about these risks., Methods: We prospectively collected measles and pertussis titers in our IBD patients from February 1-May 1, 2015. Immune status based on standard threshold values was determined: measles antibodies ≤0.8 antibody index (AI) = negative immunity, 0.9-1.1 AI = equivocal immunity and titers ≥1.2 AI = positive immunity. For pertussis immunity, anti-pertussis antibodies ≤5 IU/mL were considered negative immunity. Univariate analysis was performed to examine predictive factors including age, disease duration, and current medical therapies., Results: A total of 122 patients' titers were assessed (77 Crohn's disease, 1 indeterminate colitis, and 45 ulcerative colitis). Sixteen (13.1 %) patients lacked detectable immunity to measles, and four (3 %) had equivocal immunity. Twelve (75 %) of the measles non-immune patients were on ISS therapy versus 65 (64 %) of 102 immune patients (OR 1.7, 95 % CI 0.5-5.9, p = 0.34). Out of 96 patients, 58 (60 %) were not immune to pertussis. Disease duration ≥10 years and age ≥50 were associated with significant lower measles titers., Conclusions: A significant number of our IBD patients lack immunity to measles, and a majority of our IBD patients do not have detectable immunity to pertussis. Importantly, the majority of the measles non-immune patients are on ISS therapy and therefore unable to receive a booster.

OBJECT Research conducted using large administrative data sets has increased in recent decades, but reports on the fidelity and reliability of such data have been mixed. The goal of this project was to compare data from a large, administrative claims data set with a quality improvement registry in order to ascertain similarities and differences in content. METHODS Data on children younger than 12 months with nonsyndromic craniosynostosis who underwent surgery in 2012 were queried in both the Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) and the American College of Surgeons Pediatric National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (Peds NSQIP). Data from published clinical craniosynostosis surgery series are reported for comparison. RESULTS Among patients younger than 12 months of age, a total of 1765 admissions were identified in KID and 391 in Peds NSQIP in 2012. Only nonsyndromic patients were included. The mean length of stay was 3.2 days in KID and 4 days in Peds NSQIP. The rates of cardiac events (0.5% in KID, 0.3% in Peds NSQIP, and 0.4%-2.2% in the literature), stroke/intracranial bleeds (0.4% in KID, 0.5% in Peds NSQIP, and 0.3%-1.2% in the literature), infection (0.2% in KID, 0.8% in Peds NSQIP, and 0%-8% in the literature), wound disruption (0.2% in KID, 0.5% in Peds NSQIP, 0%-4% in the literature), and seizures (0.7% in KID, 0.8% in Peds NSQIP, 0%-0.8% in the literature) were low and similar between the 2 data sets. The reported rates of blood transfusion (36% in KID, 64% in Peds NSQIP, and 1.7%-100% in the literature) varied between the 2 data sets. CONCLUSIONS Both the KID and Peds NSQIP databases provide large samples of surgical patients, with more cases reported in KID. The rates of complications studied were similar between the 2 data sets, with the exception of blood transfusion events where the retrospective chart review process of Peds NSQIP captured almost double the rate reported in KID.

Objective: To examine the impact of demographic factors, including insurance type, family income, and race/ethnicity, on patient age at the time of surgical intervention for craniosynostosis surgery in the US., Study Design: The Kids' Inpatient Database was queried for admissions of children younger than 3 years of age undergoing craniosynostosis surgery in 2009. Descriptive data regarding age at surgery for various substrata are reported. Multivariate regression was used to evaluate the effect of patient and hospital characteristics on the age at surgery., Results: Children with private insurance were, on average, 6.8 months of age (95% CI 6.2-7.5) at the time of surgery; children with Medicaid were 9.1 months old (95% CI 8.4-9.8). White children received surgery at mean age of 7.2 months (95% CI 6.5-8.0) and black and Hispanic children at a mean age of 9.1 months (95% CI 8.2-10.1). Multivariate regression analysis found Medicaid insurance (beta coefficient [B]=1.93, P<.001), black or Hispanic race/ethnicity (B=1.34, P=.022), and having 2 or more chronic conditions (B=2.86, P<.001) to be significant independent predictors of older age at surgery., Conclusion: Public insurance and nonwhite race/Hispanic ethnicity were statistically significant predictors for older age at surgery, adjusted for sex, zip code median family income, year, and hospital factors such as size, type, region, and teaching status. Further research into these disparities is warranted., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Study Design: Cross-sectional study using data from the Health Care Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database., Objective: Blood loss during spinal fusion surgery may lead to the need for transfusion. Preoperative identification of patient-related, procedure-related, or hospital-related risk factors for blood transfusion would allow for implementation of interventions designed to control excessive bleeding., Summary of Background Data: Several studies have analyzed predictors associated with transfusion in spinal fusion. Identified predictors include age, female sex, anemia, comorbidities, number of fusion levels, osteotomy, and greater hospital volume. There have been few studies examining these predictors in children undergoing spinal fusion., Methods: Using Kids' Inpatient Database data, univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (aOR). P values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant., Results: We identified 9538 pediatric hospitalizations (patients <21 yr) with spinal fusion in 2009. Overall, 25.1% were associated with blood transfusion. The following factors were associated with transfusions: female sex (aOR 1.14, P = 0.023), black race (aOR 1.35, P = 0.005), length of hospital stay (aOR 1.03, P < 0.001), anterior approach/lumbar segment (aOR 2.11, P = 0.011) and posterior approach/lumbar segment (aOR 2.75, P < 0.001) compared with anterior approach/cervical segment, midlength fusion (aOR 1.71, P < 0.001), and long length fusion (aOR 2.85, P < 0.001) compared with short length. Higher transfusion rates were observed in patients with complications of fever and hematoma but not wound infection., Conclusion: This study showed significant patient-, procedure-, and hospital-related predictors of allogeneic and autologous blood transfusion in spinal fusion in the pediatric age group. Higher health care resource utilization of length of stay and additional procedures are directed toward care of this transfused subgroup. Therapies to reduce blood loss and transfusion requirement are necessary for this pediatric population., Level of Evidence: 4.

To describe prevalence trends in hospitalized live births affected by placental transmission of alcohol and drugs, as well as prevalence trends among parturient women hospitalized for liveborn delivery and diagnosed with substance abuse problems in the United States from 1999 to 2008. Comparison of the two sets of trends helps determine whether the observed changes in neonatal problems over time were caused by shifts in maternal substance abuse problems. This study independently identified hospitalized live births and maternal live born deliveries from discharge records in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, one of the largest hospital administrative databases. Substance-related diagnosis codes on the records were used to identify live births affected by alcohol and drugs and parturient women with substance abuse problems. The analysis calculated prevalence differences and percentage changes over the 10 years, with Loess curves fitted to 10-year prevalence estimates to depict trend patterns. Linear and quadratic trends in prevalence were simultaneously tested using logistic regression analyses. The study also examined data on costs, primary expected payer, and length of hospital stays. From 1999 to 2008, prevalence increased for narcotic- and hallucinogen-affected live births and neonatal drug withdrawal syndrome but decreased for alcohol- and cocaine-affected live births. Maternal substance abuse at delivery showed similar trends, but prevalence of alcohol abuse remained relatively stable. Substance-affected live births required longer hospital stays and higher medical expenses, mostly billable to Medicaid. The findings highlight the urgent need for behavioral intervention and early treatment for substance-abusing pregnant women to reduce the number of substance-affected live births.

Background: A recent clinical trial concluded that radiation therapy (RT) does not lower the risk of mastectomy and, thus, may be omitted in older women with stage I, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer who undergo conservative surgery (CS). However, it is not known whether this finding applies to patients outside of clinical trials. Accordingly, we used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare observational cohort to determine the effect of RT on the risk of mastectomy among older women with stage I, ER-positive breast cancer., Methods: The authors identified 7403 women ages 70 to 79 years who underwent CS between 1992 and 2002. Claims were used to determine RT status and to identify women who underwent mastectomy subsequent to initial treatment. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the risk of subsequent mastectomy, and Cox regression analysis was used to determine the effect of RT adjusted for clinical-pathologic covariates., Results: At a median follow-up of 7.3 years, the risk of subsequent mastectomy within 10 years of diagnosis was 3.2% for patients who received RT versus 6.3% for patients who did not receive RT (P < .001). In adjusted analyses, RT was associated with a lower risk of mastectomy (hazard ratio, 0.33; 95% confidence interval, 0.22-0.48; P < .001). RT provided no benefit for patients ages 75 to 79 years without high-grade tumors who had a pathologic lymph node assessment (P = .80); however, for all other subgroups, RT was associated with an absolute reduction in risk of mastectomy that ranged from 4.3% to 9.8% at 10 years., Conclusions: Outside of a clinical trial, the receipt of RT after CS was associated with a greater likelihood of ultimate breast preservation for most older women with early breast cancer., (Copyright © 2012 American Cancer Society.)

Objective: Recent reports indicate an increase in rates of hospitalizations for drug overdoses in the United States. The role of alcohol in hospitalizations for drug overdoses remains unclear. Excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs is prevalent in young adults ages 18-24. The present study explores rates and costs of inpatient hospital stays for alcohol overdoses, drug overdoses, and their co-occurrence in young adults ages 18-24 and changes in these rates between 1999 and 2008., Method: Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample were used to estimate numbers, rates, and costs of inpatient hospital stays stemming from alcohol overdoses (and their subcategories, alcohol poisonings and excessive consumption of alcohol), drug overdoses (and their subcategories, drug poisonings and nondependent abuse of drugs), and their co-occurrence in 18- to 24-year-olds., Results: Hospitalization rates for alcohol overdoses alone increased 25% from 1999 to 2008, reaching 29,412 cases in 2008 at a cost of $266 million. Hospitalization rates for drug overdoses alone increased 55%, totaling 113,907 cases in 2008 at a cost of $737 million. Hospitalization rates for combined alcohol and drug overdoses increased 76%, with 29,202 cases in 2008 at a cost of $198 million., Conclusions: Rates of hospitalizations for alcohol overdoses, drug overdoses, and their combination all increased from 1999 to 2008 among 18- to 24-year-olds. The cost of such hospitalizations now exceeds $1.2 billion annually. The steepest increase occurred among cases of combined alcohol and drug overdoses. Stronger efforts are needed to educate medical practitioners and the public about the risk of overdoses, particularly when alcohol is combined with other drugs.

Background: Although intensity modulation of the radiation beam has been shown to lower toxic effects for patients receiving whole-breast irradiation, relatively simple techniques may suffice. It is thus controversial whether such treatment justifies billing for intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)., Methods: We used the claims data to determine billing for IMRT from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare records from 2001 to 2005 for 26,163 women aged 66 years or older with nonmetastatic breast cancer treated with surgery and radiotherapy. The impact of individual covariates (demographic, health services, tumor, and treatment factors) on cost of treatment was assessed using the Wilcoxon two-sample test. Two-sided multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors for IMRT use. Cost of radiation was calculated in 2005 dollars. All statistical tests were two-sided., Results: The number of patients with IMRT billing claims increased from 0.9% (49 of 5196) of patients diagnosed in 2001 to 11.2% (564 of 5020) in 2005. In multivariable analysis, IMRT billing was more likely for patients with left-sided tumors (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16 to 1.45), for those residing in a health service area with high radiation oncologist density (OR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.47 to 3.68), for those treated at freestanding radiation centers (OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.20 to 1.53), or for those residing in regions where the Medicare intermediary allowed breast IMRT (OR = 10.87, 95% CI = 9.26 to 12.76, all P < .001). The mean cost of radiation was $7179 without IMRT and $15 230 with IMRT. IMRT adoption contributed to an increase in the mean cost of breast radiation from $6334 in 2001 to $8473 in 2005., Conclusions: IMRT billing increased 10-fold from 2001 through 2005, contributing to a 33% increase in the cost of breast radiation. These findings suggest that reimbursement policy and practice setting strongly influenced adoption of IMRT billing for breast cancer.

Introduction: The economic burden of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) came into sharp focus when the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence denied coverage (later reversed) of sunitinib for metastatic RCC. Following an updated review of RCC-related economic studies, we supplemented the costs of RCC reported in the literature with estimates from the latest US databases that capture the utilization of several newly approved targeted agents., Method: We conducted analyses using the 1991-2007 SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results)-Medicare and 1996-2007 MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounter (CCAE) and Medicare Supplemental databases, and based our estimates on a prevalent cohort of patients with RCC or kidney cancer constructed from each database. All cost estimates were normalized to $US, year 2009 values. The incremental costing approach was applied to estimate the annual cost of RCC by treatment phases using a prevalent cohort of patients with RCC identified from the 2005 SEER-Medicare database. We used the method of extended estimation equations to estimate the impact of patients' use of targeted therapies on the annual costs of RCC, while controlling for confounding factors such as patients' age, sex, tumour characteristics, co-morbidity and geographic regions. The method was applied to two elderly cohorts of RCC patients identified from the SEER-Medicare and the MarketScan Medicare Supplemental databases and a non-elderly cohort of patients with RCC identified from the MarketScan CCAE database., Results: Compared with the cost of treating an elderly, non-cancer patient in the matched sample, the average cost of treating an elderly patient with RCC was $US11,169 (95% CI 10,683, 11,655) more per year, based on our analyses of the latest SEER-Medicare data. The annual cost to treat patients with RCC who received targeted therapies was 3- to 4-fold greater than the cost to treat patients with RCC who received other therapies. Results from the multivariate analysis showed that, after controlling for potential confounders, the annual medical cost was $US31,000-65,000 higher for RCC patients treated with targeted therapies, with the largest increase observed among the non-elderly patients., Conclusion: The economic burden of RCC is likely to grow with an increasing use of targeted therapies. Future research is needed to understand the impact of various forces on the economic burden of RCC, such as increased disease incidence, use of minimally invasive surgical techniques and more prevalent adoption of emerging targeted therapies.

This study examined socioeconomic differentials in cancer incidence rates during 2000-2005 among children aged 0-19 in the United States. The data on childhood cancers, which were classified by the International Classification of Childhood Cancer, Third Edition (ICCC-3), were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. The socioeconomic status of residential area at diagnosis was estimated by county-level poverty rate in Census 2000, i.e., percentage of persons in the county living below the national poverty thresholds. Counties were categorized as low-, medium-, and high-poverty areas when the poverty rates were <10, 10-19.99, and 20% or higher, respectively. The results showed that medium- and high-poverty counties had lower age-adjusted incidence rates than low-poverty counties for total childhood cancers combined, central nervous system neoplasms (ICCC group III), neuroblastoma (group IV), renal tumors (group VI), and other malignant epithelial neoplasms and malignant melanomas (group XI). When the data were stratified by race, these associations were observed among whites, but not blacks. For leukemia (group I), poor counties had higher incidence rates than affluent counties for whites, but lower rates for blacks. This ecologic study provides perspective on area socioeconomic variations in childhood cancer incidence that warrants further research.