Research Activities, February 2010, No. 354

Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Nonsurgical method for diagnosing breast cancer is safe and nearly as effective as surgical biopsy

Patient Safety and Quality

Vaccines with names that look and sound alike can lead to vaccination errors
Nonphysicians can be trained to assess residents' competence in catheter insertion

Disparities/Minority Health

Blacks express more concerns about telemedicine than Hispanics
Immigrant labor negatively affects natives' health insurance coverage

Health Care Costs and Financing

Health care costs of obesity are passed off to obese workers
Medicare reimbursement changes lessen regional disparities for home health services

Outcomes/Effectiveness Research

Being overweight prior to transplant surgery slows improvement in the physical functioning of liver transplant patients
COPD drug triad associated with reduced death and hospitalization rates
Demographic and health factors influence the type of prostate cancer screening received by men over age 40
Patients who are treated with empathy during office visits get over colds faster

Chronic Disease

Many patients with coronary artery disease who could benefit from cardiac rehabilitation are not referred for this treatment
Computerized tomography angiography may help determine appropriate treatment for stroke patients

Mental Health

Many unhealthy people remain happy because they adapt to their medical conditions
Medicaid drug restrictions may lead to adverse events for psychiatric patients

Child/Adolescent Health

Children with cerebral palsy who undergo gait assessment before surgery are less likely to need additional surgery later
Pneumonia vaccine has not increased dangerous methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in children
Youth with HIV/AIDS and conduct disorder are less likely to use or adhere to antiretroviral therapy
Only one-third of adolescents are screened for emotional health during routine physicals

Emergency Care

Primary care doctors often don't know that a child sought care for asthma in the emergency department
ICU scoring system better predicts the risk of death for trauma patients
Trauma triage system tends to overestimate injury severity
Use of bedside ultrasound by hospital emergency departments is not yet common practice in California

End-of-Life Care

Doctors typically agree with surrogates' decisions on care

Rural Health

Rural residents depend on physician offices for their osteoporosis testing

Agency News and Notes

Emergency departments treat 3.5 million crash victims a year
One in 13 U.S. adults report access to specialists to be a "big problem"

Announcements

AHRQ releases new health literacy tool

Research Briefs

Research Briefs
Visit the AHRQ Patient Safety Network Web Site