Biomedical subjects

Atar Baer

Publications and source records attributed to Atar Baer.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Collection and integration of clinical data for surveillance.

OBJECTIVE: The syndromic surveillance project at Public Health-Seattle & King County incorporates several data sources, including emergency department and primary care visit data collected and normalized through an automated mechanism. We describe significant changes made in this "second generation" of our system to improve data quality while complying with privacy and state public health reporting regulations. METHODS/RESULTS: The system uses de-identified visit and patient numbers to assure data accuracy, while shielding patient identity. Presently, we have 124,000 basic visit records (used to generate stratified denominators), and 29,000 surveillance records, from four emergency departments and a primary care clinic network. The system is capable of producing syndrome-clustered data sets for analysis. DISCUSSION: We have incorporated data collection techniques such as automated querying, report parsing, and HL7 electronic data interchange. We are expanding the system to include greater population coverage, and developing an understanding how to implement data collections more rapidly at individual hospital sites, as well as how best to prepare the data for analysis.

Bioterrorism↗

PubMed2002

Liquid-based Papanicolaou smears without a transformation zone component: should clinicians worry?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether ThinPrep smears without versus those with a transformation zone component were more likely to have falsely negative cytology findings. METHODS: Women aged 18-50 (N = 4389) attended one of three Planned Parenthood clinics between 1997 and 2001 for screening by ThinPrep Papanicolaou and polymerase chain reaction-based human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing. Women with 1) any cytologic abnormality, 2) high-risk HPV types, and 3) a random sample with normal Papanicolaou and negative HPV tests were offered repeat cytology, colposcopy, and biopsy. Cytology and biopsy diagnoses at the colposcopy visit were reviewed according to the presence (n = 3689) or absence (n = 700) of a transformation zone component at screening. RESULTS: Among women with normal cytology at screening, histologic detection of at least cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (odds ratio 1.3, 95% confidence interval 0.5, 3.3) at colposcopy did not differ significantly between transformation zone-positive and zone-negative smears. Histologically confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 was detected more often among smears lacking a transformation zone component (odds ratio 2.0, confidence interval 1.0, 3.8). Transformation zone-negative smears were more common among older women, current oral contraceptive users, those past the 14th day of their last menstrual period, and those negative for high-risk HPV types. CONCLUSION: Absence of a transformation zone component in a screening ThinPrep Papanicolaou test was not associated with missed high-grade lesions. Based upon our data, we do not recommend repeat screening of reproductive-aged women with negative liquid-based tests and no cytologic evidence of a transformation zone component.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Maternal, delivery, and perinatal characteristics associated with cryptorchidism: a population-based case-control study among births in Washington State.

BACKGROUND: The etiology of cryptorchidism is largely unknown. To identify maternal, perinatal, and delivery characteristics associated with cryptorchidism at birth, we conducted a population-based case-control study using Washington State birth certificates linked to birth hospitalization records. METHODS: We identified 2,395 cases of cryptorchidism among male infants born in Washington State during 1986-1996, and, for comparison, we randomly selected four controls per case (N = 9,580), frequency-matched by year of birth. RESULTS: Infant characteristics associated with cryptorchidism included low birth weight (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.3-1.8), small size for gestational age (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.6-2.2), and breech presentation (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.4-2.1). In addition to cryptorchidism, cases were more likely to have another type of congenital malformation (OR = 3.7; 95% CI = 3.2-4.2), particularly digestive (OR = 6.8; 95% CI = 3.7-12.7) or genitourinary (OR = 4.1; 95% CI = 3.0-5.6). Maternal and pregnancy characteristics associated with cryptorchidism included nulliparity (OR = 1.2; 95% CI = 1.1-1.3), maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.2; 95% CI = 1.1-1.4), and the following pregnancy complications: oligohydramnios (OR = 1.8; 95% CI = 1.3-2.6), placental abnormality (OR = 1.3; 95% CI = 1.0-1.8), and pregnancy-induced hypertension (OR = 1.6; 95% CI = 1.4-1.9). Odds ratios were similar when the analysis was restricted to term infants. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that factors affecting fetal growth and development may increase the risk of cryptorchidism.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Obtaining sensitive data through the Web: an example of design and methods.

Several studies have suggested that the quality of coital data from diaries is superior to that collected by retrospective questionnaires. By collecting data over short intervals of time, diaries can present a more comprehensive picture of exposure, while minimizing the potential for recall bias. Despite these advantages, paper diaries have limited use because of their expense and difficulty of implementation. Web-based data collection offers the opportunity to make improvements to the quality of epidemiologic exposure measurement by providing privacy and convenience to study participants while reducing costs associated with questionnaire administration and allowing for real-time data processing. We adapted coital diaries for Web-based data collection in a study of transmission rates of genital human papillomavirus infection among young adults. University women complete an online sexual behavior questionnaire ("diary") every 2 weeks over a 3-year follow-up period; men complete a single online sexual behavior questionnaire ("journal"). In this paper we describe the design, methodology and implementation issues that emerge in conducting a Web-based epidemiologic study. We also discuss compliance, as well as methods for assuring appropriate security, confidentiality and privacy.

Adolescent↗