Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Colon Cancer, Gastrointestinal Disease, JAMA / 03.02.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jordan J. Karlitz, MD Staff Gastroenterologist Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System Associate Professor, Division of Gastroenterology Director, GI Hereditary Cancer and Genetics Program, Tulane University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Currently, there is debate over whether average-risk colorectal cancer screening should begin at age 45 or 50. Given this controversy, we sought to conduct a colorectal cancer incidence rate analysis by yearly-age, as opposed to age range blocks (i.e. 30-39, 40-49 etc.) as has been done in the past. We believed that this type of "high definition" analysis would allow a better understanding of incidence rates of those approaching or at screening in age.  We were particularly interested in the transition from age 49 to 50 as this is when average risk screening has historically been recommended.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Dartmouth, JAMA, Pharmaceutical Companies, Primary Care / 27.01.2020

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Steven Woloshin, MD, MS Professor of Medicine and Community and Family Medicine Professor, The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Industry spends more on detailing visits and free samples than any other form of prescription drug marketing.  There is good evidence that these activities can lead to more use of expensive new drugs over equally effective cheaper options.  Given these concerns there have been efforts by some hospitalls and practices to restrict these forms of marketing. We asked physicians in group practices delivering primary care about how often pharmaceutical reps visit their practice and whether they have a free sample closet.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Opiods, Surgical Research / 30.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sunil Agarwal, MD Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network Ann Arbor, MI MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Excess opioid prescribing after surgery often leads to misuse and diversion into the community. To prevent excessive prescribing for acute pain, 31 states have implemented legislation that limits the duration of opioid prescriptions. Our study examined the effect of prescribing limits and postoperative opioid prescribing on surgical patients in Massachusetts and Connecticut, the first two states to implement opioid prescribing limits for acute pain after the CDC guidelines were released.  (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Sleep Disorders / 28.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Margaret Moline, PhD Lemborexant International Program Lead and Global Medical Lead Executive Director, Neurology Business Group Eisai, Inc.  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? This study, called SUNRISE 1, is one of two pivotal Phase 3 studies in the lemborexant clinical development program that supported the recent FDA approval of DAYVIGO (lemborexant).
  • On December 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved DAYVIGO (lemborexant) 5 mg and 10 mg, an orexin receptor antagonist indicated for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia, which is characterized by difficulties with sleep onset and/or sleep maintenance.1
  • DAYVIGO will be commercially available following scheduling by the DEA, which is expected to occur within 90 days.
  • SUNRISE 1 was a one-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled, multi-center, parallel-group clinical trial in adult female patients age 55 and older and male patients 65 years and older who met DSM-5 criteria for insomnia disorder. Patients were randomized to placebo (n=208), lemborexant 5 mg (n=266) or 10 mg (n=269), or active comparator (n=263) once nightly.1
  • The primary efficacy endpoint was the mean change in log-transformed latency to persistent sleep (LPS; defined as the number of minutes from lights off to the first 10 consecutive minutes of non-wakefulness) from baseline to end of treatment (Days 29/30), as measured by overnight polysomnography (PSG) monitoring.1
  • The pre-specified secondary efficacy endpoints in Study 2 were the mean change from baseline to end of treatment (Days 29/30) in sleep efficiency (SEF) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) measured by PSG.1
  • SUNRISE 1, lemborexant 5 mg and 10 mg demonstrated statistically significant superiority on the primary efficacy measure, LPS, compared to placebo. lemborexant 5 mg and 10 mg demonstrated statistically significant improvement in SEF and WASO compared to placebo.1
  • The effects of lemborexant at the beginning of treatment were generally consistent with later timepoints.
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Author Interviews, Heart Disease / 20.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Shiwani Mahajan, MBBS Postdoctoral Associate Yale/YNHH Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) New Haven, CT 06510  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although the mortality rates among patients hospitalized for myocardial infarction (MI) have seen a decreasing trend, patients with MI continue to have a delayed presentation to the hospital and a large number of them die before reaching the hospital. One critical aspect of lowering mortality associated with MI is ensuring timely access to lifesaving emergency cardiac care, for which prompt recognition of symptoms of a MI and appropriate rapid emergency response are crucial. As such, in this study, we used nationally representative data to estimate awareness of 5 common symptoms of a MI (including chest pain or discomfort; shortness of breath; pain or discomfort in arms or shoulders; feeling weak or lightheaded; and jaw or neck or back pain), and the appropriate response to a MI (i.e. calling emergency medical services), among adults in the US. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brain Injury, Exercise - Fitness, JAMA / 18.12.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: John Breck, DO,  CAQSM Medical Services at University of Colorado, Boulder MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: To date, most concussion research has focused on sport-related concussion, though it is known that a substantial number of concussions occur outside of participating in sport. Focusing solely on sport-related concussion may result in an underestimation of the underlying incidence and prevalence of concussion in the general population and leads to the widely held perception that most concussions are sport-related. An understudied population at risk for concussion are United States undergraduate college students.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Cannabis, JAMA / 05.10.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Hongying (Daisy) Dai, PhD Associate Professor Department of Biostatistics | College of Public Health University of Nebraska Medical Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Although marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug at the Federal level, as of June 2019, 33 states and the District of Columbia have legalized one or more forms of marijuana; 11 states and the District of Columbia have approved both medical and recreational uses. Public opinion on marijuana has changed dramatically over the last two decades and support for legalization has doubled since 2010. However, very little is known about the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among adults with medical conditions. This study analyzed the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to report the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among adults with self-reported medical conditions.  (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Lung Cancer, Vaccine Studies / 28.09.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Naomi E Aronson, MD, FIDA, FACP Professor and Director, Infectious Diseases Division Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Bethesda, MD  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: BCG is a live attenuated mycobacteria vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis which has been reported to have associated nonspecific effects such as treatment of diabetes, bladder cancer, prevention of severe respiratory infections in children, and suppressed autoimmune responses. In earlier reports in the 1970s, results of epidemiologic studies were divided as to whether BCG vaccine was associated with subsequent rates of malignancy, specifically leukemia (protective) and non Hodgkins lymphoma (higher rates). To further evaluate these observations we studied cancer data collected in the 60 year follow up of a controlled trial of BCG in American Indian/ Alaska Native schoolchildren. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Genetic Research / 28.09.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lara Puhlmann, PhD student International Max Planck Research School NeuroCom Research Group Social Stress and Family Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Studies are increasingly investigating ways to influence the length of telomeres (i.e., protective chromosomal caps), with the aim of improving a person’s health and aging trajectory. There is evidence that telomere length can change faster than previously thought, possibly taking just one to six months of mental or physical training to elongate. However, the broader biological implications of such short-term change in telomere length remain unclear.  (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics / 13.09.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elizabeth Walshe, PhD Research Post-Doctoral Fellow Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) Children's Hospital of Philadelphia   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Motor vehicle crashes are a major public health concern and are the leading cause of death for adolescents in the US and other countries. Much of the research into why young driver crash rates are so high has focused on the role of driving experience and skills. But even among equally novice drivers, crash risk is still higher for younger novice drivers (17 year old new drivers have a higher crash risk than 20 year old new drivers). This suggests that crashes are related to development, and this is the focus of our research. We know from the field of neuroscience that the frontal lobe of the brain is still developing across adolescence and into adulthood along with some cognitive abilities. One of these cognitive abilities, called working memory is particularly important for managing complex tasks, such as driving. It allows us to monitor and update information in the moment (e.g. monitor and update information about the environment and the vehicle), and attend to multiple subtasks simultaneously (like multitasking to control the steering and speed, as well as other vehicle controls, perhaps while talking to a passenger or listening to the radio). Working memory has been shown to develop later, and at different rates for different people: some teens develop at a faster rate, and some teens develop a little later, even as late as the mid-twenties. In parallel, while crash rates are high for teen drivers, we also know that not all teen drivers crash. So what is it about those who do crash? Could this be related to their developing working memory? That question is what motivated this study. (more…)
Author Interviews, Emergency Care, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 09.09.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Amresh D Hanchate, PhD Research Assistant Professor Department of Medicine, School of Medicine Boston University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: National guidelines require EMS transportation to the nearest suitable hospital. To what extent this occurs and whether this varies by the race and ethnicity of the patient is unknown since there is little to no prior research on destination patterns of EMS-transported patients to hospitals. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, FDA, Vaccine Studies / 14.08.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Graca Dores MD MPH US Food and Drug Administration Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Office of Biostatistics and Epidemiology Division of Epidemiology Silver Spring, Maryland Oklahoma City, OK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly explain what Sipuleucel-T is used for?  Response: Sipuleucel-T was the first therapeutic vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2010.  It is indicated for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC; prostate cancer that spreads while an individual is on hormone-blocking therapy).  During the preparation of this product, the patient’s cells are collected (leukapheresis), sent for processing to generate a dose of patient-specific vaccine, and then administered intravenously back to the patient.  This process is repeated approximately every two weeks for a total of three doses. Except for the pre-marketing clinical trials that were reviewed during the sipuleucel-T approval process, post-marketing studies that have evaluated the safety profile of sipuleucel-T are scarce. Therefore, we used the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database to summarize the adverse events reported to FDA by industry, medical professionals, and consumers.  We also assessed whether sipuleucel-T and specific adverse events (product-event pairs) were reported more than expected compared to all other drug/biologic-adverse event pairs in the FAERS database. (more…)
Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Geriatrics, JAMA / 05.06.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Teresa Liu-Ambrose, PT, PhD Canada Research Chair (Tier II), Physical Activity, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Director, Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory University of British Columbia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response:  Falls in older adults are the third-leading cause of chronic disability and the leading cause of hospitalization for adults over age 65. Older adults who experience multiple falls are at increased risk for disability, loss of independence, and even death. How to best prevent falls in this high risk group is not well established.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Emory, Heart Disease, JAMA, Pediatrics, Sugar / 19.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jean A. Welsh, RN, MPH, PhD Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics Emory University Wellness Department, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Atlanta, Georgia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As the evidence has accumulated regarding the health risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages, I’ve wondered about fruit juices.  Though they have a kind of healthy halo, their main ingredients are the same as sugar-sweetened beverages, sugar and water.  We know that young children drink a lot of fruit juice, and I’ve wondered if older children and adults might switch to drinking more as concern grows about soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Opiods, Primary Care, University of Michigan / 11.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Pediatrics Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Doctor and pharmacy shopping is a high-risk behavior in which patients obtain opioid prescriptions from multiple prescribers and fill them at multiple pharmacies. Because this behavior is associated with a high risk of overdose death, there have been many efforts to help clinicians detect doctor and pharmacy shopping among patients prescribed opioids. For example, 49 states have a prescription drug monitoring program that provides information on patients’ prior controlled substance prescriptions. In contrast, there has been little attention to the possibility that patients prescribed opioids may have family members who are engaged in opioid doctor and pharmacy shopping. Such family members may divert opioids prescribed to patients because of their access to these opioids. (more…)
Author Interviews, Opiods, Pain Research / 06.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jan Klimas, PhD, MSc Senior Postdoctoral Fellow BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) Vancouver, BC MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Some individuals prescribed opioid analgesic medications for pain develop opioid use disorder. So, much research has been conducted to develop strategies to identify patients who can be safely prescribed opioid analgesics. However, this research has not been critically reviewed through rigorous quality assessment. This study therefore sought to identify signs, symptoms & screening tools to identify patients with pain who can be safely prescribed opioids  (more…)
Author Interviews, Infections, JAMA / 01.05.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Nicholas B. DeFelice, PhD Department of Environmental Medicine & Public Health Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, New York MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Effective allocation of public health resources during an outbreak is complicated and often reactive. Thus, it is important that we develop quantitative tools that can accurately and rapidly forecast the progression of an outbreak and provide decision support. Recently, several advancements have been made in the realm of infectious disease forecasting: it is a field that is growing in exciting directions. However, for these forecasting tools to work in real time, we must understand how the forecasting apparatus and observational network work in real time to ensure they are sufficient to support accurate operational predictions. We previously showed that accurate and reliable forecasts of West Nile virus outbreaks can be made using surveillance data and a mathematical model representing the interactions between birds, mosquitoes and risk of human spillover. This model system was able to retrospectively forecast mosquito infection rates prior to the week of peak mosquito infection, and to forecast accurately the seasonal total number of human West Nile virus cases prior to when the majority of cases were reported. For this study, we were interested in the data flow process and the question of whether appropriate infrastructure is in place to support real time forecasting. If this forecast system were made operational in real time, public health officials would have an evidence-based decision-support tool to help 1) actively target control of infected mosquito populations (i.e., larviciding and adulticiding), 2) alert the public to future periods of elevated West Nile virus spillover transmission risk, and 3) identify when to intensify blood donor screening. (more…)
Author Interviews, Biomarkers, Multiple Sclerosis / 30.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Bernhard Hemmer MD PhD Director of the Neurology Clinic Technische Universität München  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The course of multiple sclerosis (MS) is still highly unpredictable and reliable markers to predict disability progression are largely missing. We found that patients with a high IgG Index, which means that the produce large amount of IgG within the CNS, have a higher risk of disease worsening during the first 4 years. I would consider patients with an elevated IgG index at a higher risk to run a more severe disease course. The marker could be used together with others to guide treatment decisions after multiple sclerosis diagnosis. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Genetic Research, JAMA, Technology / 30.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Steven J.M. Jones, Professor, FRSC, FCAHS Co-Director & Head, Bioinformatics Genome Sciences Centre British Columbia Cancer Research Centre Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Jasleen Grewal, BSc.Genome Sciences CentreBritish Columbia Cancer Research CentreVancouver, British Columbia, CanadaJasleen Grewal, BSc. Genome Sciences Centre British Columbia Cancer Research Centre Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Cancer diagnosis requires manual analysis of tissue appearance, histology, and protein expression. However, there are certain types of cancers, known as cancers of unknown primary, that are difficult to diagnose based purely on their appearance and a small set of proteins. In our precision medicine oncogenomics program, we needed an accurate approach to confirm diagnosis of biopsied samples and determine candidate tumour types for where the primary site of the cancer was uncertain.  We developed a machine learning approach, trained on the gene expression data of over 10,688 individual tumours and healthy tissues, that has been able to achieve this task with high accuracy. Genome sequencing offers a high-resolution view of the biological landscape of cancers. RNA-Seq in particular quantifies how much each gene is expressed in a given sample. In this study, we used the entire transcriptome, spanning 17,688 genes in the human genome, to train a machine learning method for cancer diagnosis. The resultant method, SCOPE, takes in the entire transcriptome and outputs an interpretable confidence score from across a set of 40 different cancer types and 26 healthy tissues.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, Heart Disease, JAMA, Toxin Research / 29.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Monica Lind, PhD, Professor, Environmental toxicologist Occupational and Environmental Medicine Uppsala University Hospital Visiting adress: Dag Hammarskjölds väg 60 Uppsala Sweden MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Previous studies in workers exposed to very high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have suggested hazardous health effects. However, circulating PCB levels are detected in almost all indivuduals in industrialized countries, but the health effects of moderately elevated levels as seen in the general population are not well established. We investigated levels of PCBs in around 1,000 individuals, all aged 70 years, randomly chosen from the City of Uppsala, Sweden. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Lymphoma, Occupational Health, Toxin Research / 23.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com interview with: Sylvain Lamure, MD, Hematologist, Principal Investigator Pascale Fabbro-Peray, MD, PhD , Epidemiologist, Senior Investigator University of Montpellier, France MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Occupational exposure to pesticides is a well-documented associated factor for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The main biological mechanisms of both pesticides and chemotherapy are genotoxicity and reactive oxygen species generation. Cellular adaptation among patients exposed to low doses of genotoxic and oxidative compounds might hinder chemotherapy efficiency in lymphoma patients. T hus, we have investigated the association of occupational exposure with response to immunochemotherapy and survival in the subgroup of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, whose treatment is standardized. (more…)
Author Interviews, Diabetes, JAMA, Technology / 18.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Associate Professor Josip Car MD, PhD, DIC, MSc, FFPH, FRCP (Edin)​ Associate Professor of Health Services Outcomes Research,​ Director, Health Services Outcomes Research Programme and Director Centre for Population Health Sciences Principal Investigator, Population Health & Living Laboratory  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In 2018, almost 8% of people with diabetes who owned a smartphone used a diabetes app to support self-management. Currently, most apps are not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We downloaded and assessed 371 diabetes self-management apps, to see if they provided evidence-based decision support and patient education.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Gender Differences, Heart Disease, JAMA, Johns Hopkins, Women's Heart Health / 14.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Erin D. Michos, MD, MHS, FACC, FAHA, FASE Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology Associate Director of Preventive Cardiology Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Victor Okunrintemi, MD, MPH Department of Internal Medicine East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Women are less physically active than men on average, and the lack of regular physical activity has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and poorer health outcomes. Although recommendations encouraging regular physical activity has been in place for decades, we do not know how much of these recommendations are met, particularly among high risk women with established cardiovascular disease for secondary prevention. This study was therefore designed with the aim of describing the 10-year trends for the proportion of women with cardiovascular disease who do not meet these recommend physical activity levels, overall and by key sociodemographic groups, and the associated cost implications. (more…)
Author Interviews, Epilepsy, Genetic Research, JAMA, Pediatrics / 12.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ahmad Abou Tayoun, PhD Clinical Molecular Geneticist Director of the Genetics Laboratory Al Jalila Children’s United Arab Emirates MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: In this study, we provide data in favor of using an exome-based testing approach, where parental samples can be readily accessible, for early onset epilepsy patients. The exome test includes all coding genes in the human genome. Although we perform exome sequencing on those patients, we demonstrate that a first tier analysis should include targeted interpretation of ~100 genes strongly associated with the disease. This analysis provides diagnoses in ~11% of the patients. Follow up parental testing on a limited number of patients (n=15) that had inconclusive results, revealed de novo (new mutations) variant status, leading to upgrade to positive reports in 7 patients and adding ~5% to the overall diagnostic yield. (more…)
ADHD, Author Interviews, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics, Pharmacology / 08.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Angela Lupattelli, PhD School of Pharmacy University of Oslo MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Between 1-4% of pregnant women take at least once a benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic medication during the course of gestation. These medications are generally used intermittently in pregnancy, mainly for treatment of anxiety disorders and sleeping problems, which are not uncommon conditions among pregnant women. However, data regarding the safety of benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic in pregnancy on child longer-term development are sparse. For instance, studies on child motor skills are only available up to toddler age, and little is known in relation to other child developmental domains. So, there is an urgent need to better understand whether prenatal use of benzodiazepine and/or a z-hypnotic medication may pose detrimental longer-term child risks. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Kidney Disease / 08.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Matthew T James MD, PhD Assistant Professor University of Calgary  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The Acute Kidney Disease and Disorders (AKD) criteria from the KDIGO Acute Kidney Injury guidelines identified many patients who do not meet existing criteria for Chronic Kidney Disease or Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), and the majority of AKD events occured in the community rather than hospital setting. This study characterized the frequency and outcome for patients with AKD (without  AKI) as well as AKD with CKD from among over 1.1 million adults  residing in Alberta Canada who received  kidney function testing and were followed for up to 8 years. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, General Medicine, Hospital Readmissions, JAMA, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 02.04.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Teryl K. Nuckols, MD Vice Chair, Clinical Research Director, Division of General Internal Medicine Cedars-Sinai Medical Center  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Healthcare policymakers have long worried that value-based payment programs unfairly penalize hospitals treating many African-American patients, which could worsen health outcomes for this group. For example, policy experts have suspected that the Medicare Hospital Readmission Reduction Program unevenly punishes institutions caring for more vulnerable populations, including racial minorities. They've also feared that hospitals might be incentivized to not give patients the care they need to avoid readmissions. The study Investigators wanted to determine whether death rates following discharges increased among African-American and white patients 65 years and older after the Medicare Hospital Readmission Reduction Program started. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, OBGYNE, Pediatrics / 31.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Abhay K Lodha MD, DM, MSc Department of Pediatrics Alberta Health Services   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There is no physiological rationale for clamping the umbilical cord immediately after birth. In moderate (32+0 weeks-33+6 weeks) and late preterm infants (34+0 to 36+6), delayed cord clamping reduces the need for blood transfusions, leads to circulatory stability and improves blood pressure. However, the information on the association of delayed cord clamping with outcomes for extremely low gestational age neonates (22-28 weeks of gestation) is limited. (more…)
Author Interviews, JAMA, Smoking, Tobacco Research / 29.03.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Jidong Huang, PhD Associate Professor Department of Health Policy & Behavioral Sciences School of Public Health, Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: The US tobacco market has been transformed in the past decade by a rapid increase in awareness and use of e-cigarettes among youth and adults. This transformation has been accelerated in recent years by the emergence of new generations of e-cigarettes, such as JUUL e-cigarettes. The exponential growth in e-cigarettes has prompted a renewed interest in the tobacco harm reduction approach, which aims to rapidly curbing the smoking epidemic by encouraging smokers to switch to low risk tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes. There is an ongoing debate about whether the scientific evidence on the health risks of e-cigarettes in comparison with combustible cigarettes has been accurately communicated to the public. Large representative surveys are needed to examine how the public perceives the health risk of e-cigarettes and how their perception change over time. (more…)
Author Interviews, Opiods / 25.02.2019

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mathew Vinhhoa Kiang, PhD Postdoctoral Research Fellow Primary Care and Outcomes Research Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, California MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Nationally, opioid-related mortality has continued to climb for decades and resulted in over 42,000 deaths in 2016 — more than the number of deaths from car accidents or firearms. However, there are substantial differences across states and by opioid type. We sought to systematically describe these differences by examining state-level opioid mortality by opioid type. Deaths from synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, are rapidly increasing in the eastern half of the US. Specifically, 28 states have synthetic opioid mortality rates that are more than doubling every two years. Twelve of those states already have high levels of synthetic opioid mortality — above 10 deaths per 100,000. Lastly, the opioid epidemic has reached our nation's capital — Washington DC has the fastest rate of increase, more than tripling every year, and a high opioid mortality rate. (more…)