Category: Statistics

J Clin Neurophysiol. 2024 Jun 25. doi: 10.1097/WNP.0000000000001100. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Direct-wave (D-wave) neuromonitoring is a direct measure of corticospinal tract integrity that detects potential injury during spinal cord surgery. Epidural placement of electrodes used for D-wave measurements can result in high electrical impedances resulting in substantial signal noise that can compromise signal interpretation. Subdural electrode placement may offer a solution.

METHODS: Medical records for consecutive patients with epidural and subdural D-wave monitoring were reviewed. Demographic and clinical information including preoperative and postoperative motor strength were recorded. Neuromonitoring charts were reviewed to characterize impedances and signal amplitudes of D-waves recorded epidurally (before durotomy) and subdurally (following durotomy). Nonparametric statistics were used to compare epidural and subdural D-waves.

RESULTS: Ten patients (50% women, median age 50.5 years) were analyzed, of which five patients (50%) were functionally independent (modified McCormick grade ≤ II) preoperatively. D-waves were successfully acquired by subdural electrodes in eight cases and by epidural electrodes in three cases. Subdural electrode placement was associated with lower impedance values (P = 0.011) and a higher baseline D-wave amplitude (P = 0.007) relative to epidural placement. No association was observed between D-wave obtainability and functional status, and no adverse events relating to subdural electrode placement were encountered.

CONCLUSIONS: Subdural electrode placement allows successful D-wave acquisition with accurate monitoring, clearer waveforms, and a more optimal signal-to-noise ratio relative to epidural placement. For spinal surgeries where access to the subdural compartment is technically safe and feasible, surgeons should consider subdural placement when monitoring D-waves to optimize clinical interpretation.

PMID:38916920 | DOI:10.1097/WNP.0000000000001100

J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2024 Jun 25:ocae127. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocae127. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Author name incompleteness, referring to only first initial available instead of full first name, is a long-standing problem in MEDLINE and has a negative impact on biomedical literature systems. The purpose of this study is to create an Enhanced Author Names (EAN) dataset for MEDLINE that maximizes the number of complete author names.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The EAN dataset is built based on a large-scale name comparison and restoration with author names collected from multiple literature databases such as MEDLINE, Microsoft Academic Graph, and Semantic Scholar. We assess the impact of EAN on biomedical literature systems by conducting comparative and statistical analyses between EAN and MEDLINE’s author names dataset (MAN) on 2 important tasks, author name search and author name disambiguation.

RESULTS: Evaluation results show that EAN improves the number of full author names in MEDLINE from 69.73 million to 110.9 million. EAN not only restores a substantial number of abbreviated names prior to the year 2002 when the NLM changed its author name indexing policy but also improves the availability of full author names in articles published afterward. The evaluation of the author name search and author name disambiguation tasks reveal that EAN is able to significantly enhance both tasks compared to MAN.

CONCLUSION: The extensive coverage of full names in EAN suggests that the name incompleteness issue can be largely mitigated. This has significant implications for the development of an improved biomedical literature system. EAN is available at https://zenodo.org/record/10251358, and an updated version is available at https://zenodo.org/records/10663234.

PMID:38916911 | DOI:10.1093/jamia/ocae127

JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jun 3;7(6):e2417048. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17048.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:38916896 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17048

JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jun 3;7(6):e2417107. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17107.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Centralizing deceased organ donor management and organ recovery into donor care units (DCUs) may mitigate the critical organ shortage by positively impacting donation and recipient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To compare donation and lung transplant outcomes between 2 common DCU models: independent (outside of acute-care hospitals) and hospital-based.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This is a retrospective cohort study of Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network deceased donor registry and lung transplant recipient files from 21 US donor service areas with an operating DCU. Characteristics and lung donation rates among deceased donors cared for in independent vs hospital-based DCUs were compared. Eligible participants included deceased organ donors (aged 16 years and older) after brain death, who underwent organ recovery procedures between April 26, 2017, and June 30, 2022, and patients who received lung transplants from those donors. Data analysis was conducted from May 2023 to March 2024.

EXPOSURE: Organ recovery in an independent DCU (vs hospital-based DCU).

MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was duration of transplanted lung survival (through December 31, 2023) among recipients of lung(s) transplanted from cohort donors. A Cox proportional hazards model stratified by transplant year and program, adjusting for donor and recipient characteristics was used to compare graft survival.

RESULTS: Of 10 856 donors in the starting sample (mean [SD] age, 42.8 [15.2] years; 6625 male [61.0%] and 4231 female [39.0%]), 5149 (primary comparison group) underwent recovery procedures in DCUs including 1466 (28.4%) in 11 hospital-based DCUs and 3683 (71.5%) in 10 independent DCUs. Unadjusted lung donation rates were higher in DCUs than local hospitals, but lower in hospital-based vs independent DCUs (418 donors [28.5%] vs 1233 donors [33.5%]; P < .001). Among 1657 transplant recipients, 1250 (74.5%) received lung(s) from independent DCUs. Median (range) duration of follow-up after transplant was 734 (0-2292) days. Grafts recovered from independent DCUs had shorter restricted mean (SE) survival times than grafts from hospital-based DCUs (1548 [27] days vs 1665 [50] days; P = .04). After adjustment, graft failure remained higher among lungs recovered from independent DCUs than hospital-based DCUs (hazard ratio, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.28-2.65).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this retrospective analysis of national donor and transplant recipient data, although lung donation rates were higher from deceased organ donors after brain death cared for in independent DCUs, lungs recovered from donors in hospital-based DCUs survived longer. These findings suggest that further work is necessary to understand which factors (eg, donor transfer, management, or lung evaluation and acceptance practices) differ between DCU models and may contribute to these differences.

PMID:38916893 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.17107

JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jun 3;7(6):e2418468. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18468.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes drastic changes to an individual’s physical health that may be associated with the ability to work.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the association of SCI with individual earnings and employment status using national administrative health databases linked to income tax data.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a retrospective, national, population-based cohort study of adults who were hospitalized with cervical SCI in Canada between January 2005 and December 2017. All acute care hospitalizations for SCI of adults ages 18 to 64 years were included. A comparison group was constructed by sampling from individuals in the injured cohort. Fiscal information from their preinjury years was used for comparison. The injured cohort was matched with the comparison group based on age, sex, marital status, province of residence, self-employment status, earnings, and employment status in the year prior to injury. Data were analyzed from August 2022 to January 2023.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The first outcome was the change in individual annual earnings up to 5 years after injury. The change in mean yearly earnings was assessed using a linear mixed-effects differences-in-differences regression. Income values are reported in 2022 Canadian dollars (CAD $1.00 = US $0.73). The second outcome was the change in employment status up to 5 years after injury. A multivariable probit regression model was used to compare proportions of individuals employed among those who had experienced SCI and the paired comparison group of participants.

RESULTS: A total of 1630 patients with SCI (mean [SD] age, 47 [13] years; 1304 male [80.0%]) were matched to patients in a preinjury comparison group (resampled from the same 1630 patients in the SCI group). The mean (SD) of preinjury wage earnings was CAD $46 000 ($48 252). The annual decline in individual earnings was CAD $20 275 (95% CI, -$24 455 to -$16 095) in the first year after injury and CAD $20 348 (95% CI, -$24 710 to -$15 985) in the fifth year after injury. At 5 years after injury, 52% of individuals who had an injury were working compared with 79% individuals in the preinjury comparison group. SCI survivors had a decrease in employment of 17.1 percentage points (95% CI, 14.5 to 19.7 percentage points) in the first year after injury and 17.8 percentage points (14.5 to 21.1 percentage points) in the fifth year after injury.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, SCI was associated with a decline in earnings and employment up to 5 years after injury for adults aged 18 to 64 years in Canada.

PMID:38916890 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18468

JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jun 3;7(6):e2418475. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18475.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Prostate cancer is a prevalent disease among men worldwide, exhibiting substantial heterogeneity in presentation and outcomes influenced by various factors, including race and ethnicity. Disparities in incidence, stage at diagnosis, and survival rates have been observed between Black men and those of other races and ethnicities.

OBJECTIVE: To compare prostate cancer outcomes between Black men and men with other race (Asian, Hispanic, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, White, Multiracial, and Other) in a universal health care system, with race and ethnicity self-reported.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This was a prospective, observational cohort study of men diagnosed with prostate cancer between June 1, 2014, and August 28, 2023, who self-identified race and ethnicity. Participants included men who had been prospectively enrolled in the Alberta Prostate Cancer Research Initiative from the 2 major urology referral centers in Alberta (University of Alberta and University of Calgary). All men with prostate cancer enrolled in the initiative were included.

EXPOSURE: Race and ethnicity.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the stage and grade of prostate cancer at diagnosis. Further outcomes included age and prostate-specific antigen level at diagnosis, initial treatment modality, time from diagnosis to initial treatment, and prostate cancer-specific, metastasis-free, and overall survivals.

RESULTS: A total of 6534 men were included; 177 (2.7%) were Black, and 6357 (97.3%) had another race or ethnicity. Men who identified as Black were diagnosed with prostate cancer at an earlier age (mean [SD], 62.0 [8.2] compared with 64.6 [7.7] years; P < .001) and had a lower Charlson Comorbidity Index rating (14% compared with 7% ≤ 1; P < .001) compared with men of other races. Men who identified as Black had similar prostate-specific antigen levels at diagnosis, TNM category (74% vs 74% with T1-T2; P = .83) and Gleason Grade Group (34% compared with 35% Gleason Grade Group 1; P = .63). Black men had similar rates of prostate cancer-specific (hazard ratio [HR], 1.10; 95% CI, 0.41-2.97; P = .85), metastasis-free (HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.42-1.46; P = .44), and overall (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.25-1.24; P = .15) survival.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings of this cohort study suggest that Black men, despite being diagnosed at a younger age, experience comparable prostate cancer outcomes compared with men of other races.

PMID:38916889 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18475

JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jun 3;7(6):e2419137. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.19137.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) communities experience disproportionate levels of violence, yet due to limitations in measuring TGD identity, few state-representative estimates are available.

OBJECTIVE: To assess gender identity differences in experiences of violence among adults.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional data from the 2023 California Violence Experiences (CalVEX) survey, weighted to provide state-representative estimates, was used to assess associations between gender identity and past-year experiences of violence among adults 18 years and older. Data were analyzed from June to December 2023.

EXPOSURE: Gender identity (cisgender women, cisgender men, transgender women, transgender men, and nonbinary individuals).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Experience of physical violence (including physical abuse and threat or use of a weapon), sexual violence (verbal sexual harassment, homophobic or transphobic slurs, cyber and physically aggressive sexual harassment, and forced sex), and intimate partner violence (IPV; emotional, physical, or sexual violence) using age-adjusted logistic regression.

RESULTS: In total 3560 individuals (weighted cumulative response rate, 5%) completed the 2023 CalVEX survey, with 1978 cisgender women, 1431 cisgender men, 35 transgender women, 52 transgender men, and 64 nonbinary respondents (mean [SD] age, 47.1 [17.5] years; 635 [17%] were Asian, 839 [37%] were Hispanic, and 1159 [37%] were White). Past-year physical violence was reported by 22 transgender men (43%), 9 transgender women (24%), and 9 nonbinary respondents (14%). Past-year sexual violence was reported by 23 transgender men (42%), 11 transgender women (14%), and 31 nonbinary respondents (56%). Compared with cisgender women, transgender women and transgender men had greater risk of past-year physical violence (any form) (transgender women adjusted incidence rate ratio [AIRR], 6.7; 95% CI, 2.5-18.2; transgender men AIRR, 9.7; 95% CI, 5.3-17.7), as well as past-year IPV (any form) (transgender women AIRR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.3-8.0; transgender men AIRR, 6.7; 95% CI, 4.0-11.3). Relative to cisgender women, transgender men (AIRR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.7-5.1) and nonbinary respondents (AIRR, 3.3; 95% CI, 2.1-5.2) had greater risk of past-year sexual violence (any form).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this survey study of adults in California, results showed that TGD individuals, especially transgender men, are at higher risk of experiencing all forms of violence relative to cisgender women. Results highlight the need for gender-affirming violence prevention and intervention services as well as policies that protect TGD individuals from discriminatory violence.

PMID:38916887 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.19137

Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2024 Jun 3;13(6):19. doi: 10.1167/tvst.13.6.19.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We sought to develop and evaluate a practical framework that supports structurally enhanced perimetric examinations.

METHODS: Two perimetric strategies were compared: standard Zippy Estimation through Sequential Testing (ZEST) procedure, a traditional visual field test with population-based prior distributions, and structural-ZEST (S-ZEST), enhanced with individual optical coherence tomography data to determine the starting parameters. The integration and collection of data was facilitated by a bespoke application developed in Shiny R (R Studio). The test was implemented using the Open Perimetry Interface on the Compass perimeter (CentreVue-iCare, Italy). The strategies were evaluated via simulations and on 10 visually healthy participants. The usability of the application was assessed in a simulated environment with 10 test users.

RESULTS: In simulations, the S-ZEST improved test speed in patients with glaucoma. In the practical implementation, there was a statistically significant decrease in the testing time (approximately 26%) and in the number of presentations per test with S-ZEST (P < 0.001). The structure-function relationship was similar between the two strategies. The time taken for users to complete the sequence of actions on the application was 52.9 ± 11.5 seconds (mean ± standard deviation).

CONCLUSIONS: Structurally enhanced perimetric examination can significantly improve test time in healthy subjects and can be delivered through a user-friendly interface. Further testing will need to assess feasibility and performance of S-ZEST in patients with glaucoma.

TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: We have developed a user-friendly web application based within the Shiny environment for R, which implements an automated extraction of optical coherence tomography data from raw files and performs real-time calculations of structural features to inform the perimetric strategy.

PMID:38916881 | DOI:10.1167/tvst.13.6.19

J Clin Neurophysiol. 2024 Jun 25. doi: 10.1097/WNP.0000000000001085. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The prognostic significance of tailored resection guided with intraoperative electrocorticography (iECoG) in frontal lobe epilepsy surgery has not been fully elucidated.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze influence of preresection and postresection iECoG patterns on long-term seizure control of adults with frontal lobe epilepsy undergoing epilepsy surgery.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 27 patients undergoing epilepsy surgery from two centers with preresection and postresection iECoG and reported clinical variables, preresection and postresection iECoG patterns, and outcome using the Engel Outcome Scale. Descriptive statistics, Kaplan-Meier, the logistic regression model, and analysis of variance tests were used.

RESULTS: Fifteen males (55.6%), a mean and mode follow-up after surgery of 43 (range 2-117) and 19 months, respectively. At 6 months, seizure frequency outcome according to Engel Scale was I 74.1% (20/27), II 7.4% (2/27), III 3.7% (1/27), and IV 14.8% (4/27). We found that 51.9% (14/27) and 40.8% (11/27) of patients without residual epileptiform discharges in postresective iECoG become seizure-free at 6 and 12 months of follow-up, respectively, compared with other postresective iECoG patterns.

CONCLUSIONS: Disregarding the presence of lack of residual epileptiform discharges (interictal epileptiform discharges) after resection, Engel I outcome was seen between 74.1% and 63% at 6- and 12-month postresection follow-up, suggesting the outcome might be in relation with other factors.

PMID:38916879 | DOI:10.1097/WNP.0000000000001085

J Nurs Educ. 2024 Jun 21:1-4. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20240422-05. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Social determinants of health (SDOH) cause significant burden on individuals living with acute and chronic disease. There are meaningful data to support screening for social needs, yet implementation limitations exist in the clinical setting. Incorporating SDOH education into nurse practitioner (NP) curriculum provides a framework for bringing these concepts into clinical practice. As NP education transitions from concept-based to competency-based instruction, NP programs across the nation are tasked with ensuring socially competent, practice-ready NPs.

METHOD: To help students understand the impact of SDOH in an applied way, a multisemester clinical and didactic dyad approach to SDOH competency was implemented.

RESULTS: NP students (N = 521) in three separate cohorts completed the SDOH project between 2019 and 2021. Statistically significant results (p > .001) demonstrated increased knowledge related to SDOH in the clinical setting.

CONCLUSION: Equipping NP students with SDOH competencies empowers them to optimize health, improve patient outcomes, and promote health equity. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.].

PMID:38916854 | DOI:10.3928/01484834-20240422-05