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BackgroundAsthma is a heterogeneous disease. Clinical blood parameters differ by race/ethnicity and are used to distinguish asthma subtypes and inform therapies. Differences in subtypes may explain population-specific trends in asthma outcomes. However, these differences in racial/ethnic minority pediatric populations are unclear.ObjectiveWe investigated the association of blood parameters and asthma subtypes with asthma outcomes and examined population-specific eligibility for biologic therapies in minority pediatric populations.MethodsUsing data from 2 asthma case-control studies of pediatric minority populations, we performed case-control (N = 3738) and case-only (N = 2743) logistic regressions to quantify the association of blood parameters and asthma subtypes with asthma outcomes. Heterogeneity of these associations was tested using an interaction term between race/ethnicity and each exposure. Differences in therapeutic eligibility were investigated using chi-square tests.ResultsRace/ethnicity modified the association between total IgE and asthma exacerbations. Elevated IgE level was associated with worse asthma outcomes in Puerto Ricans. Allergic asthma was associated with worse outcomes in Mexican Americans, whereas eosinophilic asthma was associated with worse outcomes in Puerto Ricans. A lower proportion of Puerto Ricans met dosing criteria for allergic asthma-directed biologic therapy than other groups. A higher proportion of Puerto Ricans qualified for eosinophilic asthma-directed biologic therapy than African Americans.ConclusionsWe found population-specific associations between blood parameters and asthma subtypes with asthma outcomes. Our findings suggest that eligibility for asthma biologic therapies differs across pediatric racial/ethnic populations. These findings call for more studies in diverse populations for equitable treatment of minority patients with asthma.

The article offers information related to a research which examines the effectiveness of the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions on patients with cancer by two oncology nurse researchers including Cecile Lengacher and Gwen Wyatt. Topics discussed include mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and symptom management, effect of CAM in breast cancer treatment and survey related to complementary health approaches in Americans.

The article talks about the role played by nurses in guiding patients and caregivers to manage their oral treatments safely. Topics discussed include oncology treatment, safety outside of the infusion center, oncology nurses' role in educating patients about safe handling, and the side effects of oral agents. Also mentioned is the need to ensure patient adherence to oral therapies. INSETS: ADD TO YOUR REFERENCE LIBRARY THESE TWO NEW BOOKS THAT ADDRESS...;ONLINE COURSE PREPARES YOU TO SAFELY CARE FOR PATIENTS....

The article focuses on oncology nurses Katie McGrath-Studniarz and Nancy Walrafen who offer guides to graduate oncology nurses on how to handle patients. According to McGrath-Studniarz, building confidence in graduate nurses is very important and states that the graduates should have a higher degree or certification. Walrafen states about the points that can help a nurse in becoming a successful oncology nurse preceptor.

The article offers information on the guidelines of cancer screening and focuses on prevention rather than treatment. The Lifetime Cancer Screening and Prevention Centre in Tampa, Florida focus on the screening and education for breast, cervical and skin cancer. The major focus is on the early detection and prevention of cancer. INSETS: Cancer Screening for LGBT Populations;Making Sense of Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines.

The article focues on the role of oncology nurse navigators in serving patients with all cancer diagnoses and treatment plans in the U.S. Breast navigator Karen Schwaderer says that she provides care coordination, patient education, and support preassessment and postbiopsy recovery. Nurse navigator Michelle Sargraves notes that she works in an outpatient clinic setting with a focus on the care of patients with a diagnosis of head and neck cancer receiving radiation therapy.

The article discusses various issues related to prescription drug abuse. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2011 report, three out of four people misuse painkillers prescribed to someone else. It refers to the study conducted by Oliver, J. and colleagues, on safe ways of disposing leftover opioids by patients. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Diversion Control, reports prescription monitoring programs being implemented by various U.S. states.

The article discusses the impact of comorbidities i.e. co-occurring diseases, in treatment of cancer. It mentions that comorbidities impact the cancer behavior and patient's treatment tolerance ability, referring to frequent relapsing shown by diabetic patients suffering with colon cancer. It discusses various diseases, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and type II diabetes, which act as risk factors for cancer. It states that comorbidities are better predictor of cancer treatment, than age.

In this article, the author emphasizes that the oncology nurses should advocate for and support patients. She mention about an annual needs-based assessment survey conducted by her as of December 2013 on nursing member who wanted to do community service projects. She shares her experiences of offering community services to the community event Gail Parkins Ovarian Cancer 5K (5000) Run. She discusses the program KAPS for Kids for inpatient and outpatient pediatric oncology clinics.

The article focuses on the impact of drug shortages, sequestration and government shutdown in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the future of drug development. It mentions about a research conducted by the National Institutes of Health in March 2013 on the budget related to chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer. It reports that the government shutdown greatly impacts the future of drug development.

The article focuses on the new standards for oncology nursing and care implemented by the American College of Surgeon (ACOS) in the U.S. It mentions that the new standards focus on patient centered needs and quality of care. It reports that ACOS designed the standards into five areas including program management, clinical services and continuum of care.

The article informs of the challenges faced by oncology nurse practitioners while practicing to the full extent of license.

The article focuses on progress of the government's effort in fighting cancer in the U.S. It chronicles the history of the National Cancer Act, which was signed by former President Richard Nixon to improve awareness in cancer disease and collaboration among government agencies to help battle the disease. It also mentions the growth of survival rates in the country due to the help of how the government and the medical sector discuss and treat the disease.

The author reflects on her passion of using running her way of raising awareness of cancer survivorship in the U.S.

Background: The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) is a frequently used mortality predictor based on a scoring system for the number and type of patient comorbidities health researchers have used since the late 1980s. The initial purpose of the CCI was to classify comorbid conditions, which could alter the risk of patient mortality within a one-year time frame. However, the CCI may not accurately reflect risk among American Indians because they are a small proportion of the U.S. population and possibly lack representation in the original patient cohort. A motivating factor in calibrating a CCI for American Indians is that this population, as a whole, experiences a greater burden of comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic health conditions, than the rest of the U.S. population., Methods: This study attempted to modify the CCI to be specific to the American Indian population utilizing the data from the still ongoing The Strong Heart Study (SHS) - a multi-center population-based longitudinal study of cardiovascular disease among American Indians.A one-year survival analysis with mortality as the outcome was performed using the SHS morbidity and mortality surveillance data and assessing the impact of comorbidities in terms of hazard ratios with the training cohort. A Kaplan-Meier plot for a subset of the testing cohort was used to compare groups with selected mCCI-AI scores., Results: A total of 3,038 Phase VI participants from the SHS comprised the study population for whom mortality and morbidity surveillance data were available through December 2019. The weights generated by the SHS participants for myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and high blood pressure were greater than Charlson's original weights. In addition, the weights for liver illness were equivalent to Charlson's severe form of the disease. Lung cancer had the greatest overall weight derived from a hazard ratio of 8.308., Conclusions: The mCCI-AI was a statistically significant predictor of one-year mortality, classifying patients into different risk strata X 2 (8, N = 1,245) = 30.56 (p = .0002). The mCCI-AI exhibited superior performance over the CCI, able to discriminate between participants who died and those who survived 73% of the time., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests.