Biomedical subjects

Neil R Powe

Publications and source records attributed to Neil R Powe.

98 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Adverse clinical outcomes associated with short stature at dialysis initiation: a report of the North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Study.

OBJECTIVE: We examined whether height less than the 1% for age (z score <-2.5) at dialysis initiation predicts adverse clinical outcomes for children with kidney failure. DESIGN: National cohort study of children initiating dialysis, followed for a minimum of 1 month to a maximum of 8 years. SETTING: Voluntary consortium of pediatric nephrology centers across the United States and Canada in the North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Study. PATIENTS: Two thousand three hundred six patients </=21 years old initiated on dialysis between 1992 and 2000. Outcome Measures. School attendance, transplant wait listing, hospitalization rates, and survival. RESULTS: Although there were no differences in transplant wait listings, school-aged children with short stature were less likely to be attending school full-time than were their counterparts with more normal height, even if medically capable. Short-stature patients have significantly more hospital days per month of dialysis follow-up than those patients with better growth (mean: 1.92 vs 1.58; median: 0.73 vs 0.44 hospital days per month of follow-up). Cox proportional hazards regression analyses show that children with height <1% for age have a twofold higher risk of death than those with more normal height, even after controlling for patient age, race, gender, cause of end-stage renal disease, wait list status, and dialysis modality. CONCLUSIONS: Poor growth during chronic renal insufficiency leading to short stature at dialysis initiation is a marker for a more complicated clinical course for children with kidney failure. Aggressive nutritional support and early referral to a nephrologist to optimize growth may improve long-term outcomes for children with chronic kidney disease.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2000

Validation of comorbid conditions on the end-stage renal disease medical evidence report: the CHOICE study. Choices for Healthy Outcomes in Caring for ESRD.

Since 1995, the Medical Evidence Report for end-stage renal disease (Form 2728) has been used nationally to collect information on comorbid conditions. To date, these data have not been validated. A national cross-sectional study of 1005 incident dialysis patients (734 hemodialysis and 271 peritoneal dialysis) enrolled between October 1995 and June 1998 was conducted using clinical data to validate 17 comorbid conditions on Form 2728. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each condition. The relationship between patient characteristics and sensitivity was assessed in multivariate analysis. Sensitivity was fairly high (0.67 to 0.83) for HIV disease, diabetes, and hypertension; intermediate (0.40 to 0.52) for peripheral vascular disease, neoplasm, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease, coronary artery disease, cardiac arrest, and congestive heart failure; and poor (<0.36) for dysrhythmia, ambulation status, pericarditis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and smoking. Sensitivity did not change significantly over calendar time. The sensitivity of Form 2728 averaged across all 17 conditions was 0.59 (95% confidence interval, 0.43 to 0.75). The average sensitivity was 0.10 greater in peritoneal dialysis than hemodialysis patients. 0.11 greater in diabetic patients than nondiabetic patients, and 0.04 less with each added comorbid condition. The specificity was very good for hypertension (0.91) and excellent (>0.95) for the other 16 conditions. Comorbid conditions are significantly underreported on Form 2728, but diagnoses are not falsely attributed to patients. Scientific research, quality of care comparisons, and payment policies that use Form 2728 data should take into account these limitations. Considerable effort should be expended to improve Form 2728 coding if it is to provide accurate estimates of total disease burden in end-stage renal disease patients.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.↗

PubMed2000

Impact of gender on access to the renal transplant waiting list for pediatric and adult patients.

While the public and policy-makers place a priority on equity in the organ allocation process, several studies suggest that women may be less likely than men to receive a renal transplant. However, the cause of this disparity and whether it exists among children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are unknown. To address these issues, two nationally representative cohorts of incident patients were examined: (1) 7594 adults with ESRD onset between 1986 and 1993 for whom detailed data were available from the medical record on health status; and (2) 3217 patients <20 yr old who developed ESRD between 1988 and 1993. Patients were followed from initiation of dialysis for up to 10 yr until first activation on the United Network of Organ Sharing renal transplant waiting list. Access to the list for female and male patients with ESRD was compared using Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical factors. Crude rates of wait-listing per 100 person-years of ESRD were lower for female patients than male patients in both the pediatric (28.89 versus 34.18) and adult (3.94 versus 6.54) populations. Despite adjustment for numerous confounding factors, this gender-based disparity persisted in multivariate analysis. Among children with ESRD, female patients were 14% less likely to be listed than male patients (relative hazard [RH] 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78 to 0.93), and in the adult group, women were 18% less likely to be activated for transplant than men (RH 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.93). These findings suggest that female patients of all ages with ESRD face barriers in being activated for cadaveric renal transplantation. Greater attention to this issue is necessary to improve equity in the organ allocation system and potentially improve the outcomes of female patients with ESRD.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The association between women's health information use and health care visits.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of the type of information sources used on health services use. METHODS: Population-based random-digit dialing survey of 498 women, between December 1999 and January 2000, on use of health information sources and health visits. RESULTS: After adjustment for sociodemographic and medical factors, use of print health media and computer-based resources was associated with 1.9 and 1.6 more visits, respectively compared to non-use (Regression coefficients 1.9; [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.1, 3.7] and 1.6; [95% CI 0.3, 3.0]). CONCLUSIONS: Print health media and computer-based sources are associated with a higher number of health care visits.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Characteristics of primary care visits for individuals with severe mental illness in a national sample.

Individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) are at risk for inadequate general medical and preventive care, but little is known about their visits for primary care. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of primary care physician visits from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) 1993-1998 and compared visit characteristics for patients with and without SMI. SMI was defined from ICD-9 diagnoses and medications. Primary care visits for patients with SMI were more likely to be return visits, were longer, and were more likely to have scheduled follow-up than for patients without SMI. Obesity, diabetes, and smoking were reported approximately twice as frequently in visits for patients with SMI compared to patients without SMI. The percent of visits with preventive counseling and counseling targeted at chronic medical conditions was similar for both groups. Likely appropriate to their complex needs, patients with SMI using primary care tend to have more return visits, longer time with the physician and are more often scheduled for follow-up care; their preventive counseling appears similar to non-SMI visits.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Race and trust in the health care system.

OBJECTIVE: A legacy of racial discrimination in medical research and the health care system has been linked to a low level of trust in medical research and medical care among African Americans. While racial differences in trust in physicians have been demonstrated, little is known about racial variation in trust of health insurance plans and hospitals. For the present study, the authors analyzed responses to a cross-sectional telephone survey to assess the independent relationship of self-reported race (non-Hispanic black or non-Hispanic white) with trust in physicians, hospitals, and health insurance plans. METHODS: Respondents ages 18-75 years were asked to rate their level of trust in physicians, health insurance plans, and hospitals. Items from the Medical Mistrust Index were used to assess fear and suspicion of hospitals. RESULTS: Responses were analyzed for 49 (42%) non-Hispanic black and 69 (58%) non-Hispanic white respondents (N=118; 94% of total survey population). A majority of respondents trusted physicians (71%) and hospitals (70%), but fewer trusted their health insurance plans (28%). After adjustment for potential confounders, non-Hispanic black respondents were less likely to trust their physicians than non-Hispanic white respondents (adjusted absolute difference 37%; p=0.01) and more likely to trust their health insurance plans (adjusted absolute difference 28%; p=0.04). The difference in trust of hospitals (adjusted absolute difference 13%) was not statistically significant. Non-Hispanic black respondents were more likely than non-Hispanic white respondents to be concerned about personal privacy and the potential for harmful experimentation in hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns of trust in components of our health care system differ by race. Differences in trust may reflect divergent cultural experiences of blacks and whites as well as differences in expectations for care. Improved understanding of these factors is needed if efforts to enhance patient access to and satisfaction with care are to be effective.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Referral of patients to specialists: factors affecting choice of specialist by primary care physicians.

BACKGROUND: We wanted to determine the importance of factors in primary care physicians' choice of specialist when referring patients and to compare importance ratings by physicians' race and sex. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional study design, we surveyed a stratified national sample of 1,252 primary care physicians serving adults to include equal numbers of black women, white women, black men, and white men. We assessed the percentage of physicians rating each of 17 items to be of major importance in choosing a specialist and compared importance ratings by physicians' race and sex. RESULTS: The response rate was 59.1%. Medical skill, appointment timeliness, insurance coverage, previous experience with the specialist, quality of specialist communication, specialist efforts to return patient to primary physician for care, and the likelihood of good patient-specialist rapport were of major importance to most respondents. Compared with black physicians, white physicians were more likely to rate previous experience with the specialist (65% vs 55%, P = .05) and board certification (41% vs 29%, P < .05) to be of major importance. White physicians were somewhat less likely than black physicians (17% vs 26%, P = .06) to rate patient convenience to be of major importance. Compared with male physicians, female physicians were more likely to rate the patient's insurance status to be of major importance (60% vs 44%, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Primary care physicians serving adults consider several factors to be of major importance when choosing a specialist. The importance of patient convenience, previous experience with the specialist, specialist board certification, and insurance coverage accepted by specialist varied by physicians' race and sex. A better understanding of factors important to a diverse physician workforce may help to improve the referral process.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical management of primary hyperparathyroidism and thresholds for surgical referral: a national study examining concordance between practice patterns and consensus panel recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether 1990 guidelines established by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the optimal management (surgical versus nonsurgical) of patients with asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) are known and followed by endocrinologists. METHODS: We surveyed endocrinologists in the United States who were randomly selected in 1998 from two endocrine societies. Endocrinologists were asked about management of asymptomatic patients with PHPT, awareness of NIH recommendations, practice demographics, and annual PHPT case volume. We classified endocrinologists into either low-volume (<12 cases of PHPT per year) or high-volume (> or = 12 cases per year) physicians. RESULTS: Of 374 eligible physicians, 146 (39%) responded to our survey. In comparison with nonrespondents, respondents were of similar age, sex, years in practice, and geographic location profiles; this finding suggested minimal nonresponse bias. More high-volume physicians than low-volume physicians were aware of the NIH guidelines (75% versus 50%; P<0.01). Management of asymptomatic patients was similar between volume groups; overall, 39% of patients were referred for surgical treatment. Nevertheless, considerable variation in management existed; 7% of all physicians referred > or = 90% of their asymptomatic patients for surgical treatment, whereas 31% referred < or = 10%. Adherence to monitoring guidelines for nonsurgically managed patients ranged widely, depending on the specific recommendation (from 6% of physicians obtaining creatinine clearance assessments every 6 months to 78% of physicians ordering serum calcium measurements every 6 months). Surgical referral practices also varied substantially, with 25% of all physicians referring a 40-year-old patient with PHPT when hypercalcemia was mild (< or = 1 mg/dL above normal), 39% when hypercalcemia was moderate, and 31% when hypercalcemia was severe (>1.5 mg/dL above normal). Of the responding physicians, 4% reported that hypercalcemia alone was not sufficient justification to refer a patient for surgical intervention. Higher PHPT case volume was not associated with differences in surgical referral. CONCLUSION: Suboptimal awareness of the 1990 NIH panel recommendations and the substantial variation in clinical management of PHPT indicate that newer NIH guidelines developed in 2002 must be more widely disseminated and strongly recommended if practice patterns are to be influenced and clinical outcomes improved.

Adult↗