Utility of Fecal Calprotectin in Evaluation of Chronic Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Primary Care

Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a marker of intestinal inflammation. Data are limited on utility of routine FC testing in pediatric primary care. Participants 0 to 18 years old who had an FC test in the years 2010-2014 were retrospectively identified. Those with less than a year of follow-up or a prior diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were excluded. In all, 84% (689/822) had normal FC; no participant with normal FC was diagnosed with IBD in the subsequent 12 months. Also, 16% (133/822) had elevated FC, and 31% of those (42/133) were diagnosed with IBD. FC values for IBD and non-IBD groups were 1084 µg/g (interquartile range [IQR] = 514.4-2000) and 27.05 µg/g (IQR = 15.6-62.6; P < .001), respectively. Abdominal pain was the primary indication. In this cohort, sensitivity of FC for IBD is 100%, and specificity is 88%. The FC test can be an excellent tool in the primary care setting to exclude IBD and avoid unnecessary referrals and colonoscopies.

Exploring barriers to the receipt of necessary medical care among cancer survivors under age 65 years

PURPOSE

With increasing cancer care costs and greater patient cost-sharing in the USA, understanding access to medical care among cancer survivors is imperative. This study aims to identify financial, psychosocial, and cancer-related barriers to the receipt of medical care, tests, or treatments deemed necessary by the doctor or patient for cancer among cancer survivors age < 65 years.

METHODS

We used data on 4321 cancer survivors aged 18-64 years who completed the 2012 LIVESTRONG Survey. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify risk factors associated with the receipt of necessary medical care, including sociodemographic, financial hardship, debt amount, caregiver status, and cancer-related variables.

RESULTS

Approximately 28% of cancer survivors were within 1 year, and 43% between 1 and 5 years, since their last treatment at the time of survey. Nearly 9% of cancer survivors reported not receiving necessary medical care. Compared to survivors without financial hardship, the likelihood of not receiving necessary medical care significantly increased as the amount of debt increased among those with financial hardship (RRFinancial hardship w/< $10,000 debt = 1.94, 95% CI 1.55-2.42, and RR RRFinancial hardship w/≥ $10,000 debt = 3.41, 95% CI 2.69-4.33, p < 0.001). Survivors who reported lack of a caregiver, being uninsured, and not receiving help understanding medical bills were significantly more likely to not receive necessary medical care.

CONCLUSION

We identified key financial and insurance risk factors that may serve as significant barriers to the receipt of necessary medical care among cancer survivors age < 65 in the USA IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: The majority of cancer survivors reported receiving medical care either they or their doctors deemed necessary. However, identifying potentially modifiable barriers to receipt of necessary medical cancer care among cancer survivors age < 65 is imperative for developing interventions to ensure equitable access to care and reducing cancer disparities.

CHARTing a Path to Pragmatic Tobacco Treatment Research

INTRODUCTION

It is important to consider the degree to which studies are explanatory versus pragmatic to understand the implications of their findings for patients, healthcare professionals, and policymakers. Pragmatic trials test the effectiveness of interventions in real-world conditions; explanatory trials test for efficacy under ideal conditions. The Consortium of Hospitals Advancing Research on Tobacco (CHART) is a network of seven NIH-funded trials designed to identify effective programs that can be widely implemented in routine clinical practice.

METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis of CHART trial study designs was conducted to place each study on the pragmatic-explanatory continuum. After reliability training, six raters independently scored each CHART study according to ten PRagmatic Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary (PRECIS) dimensions, which covered participant eligibility criteria, intervention flexibility, practitioner expertise, follow-up procedures, participant compliance, practitioner adherence, and outcome analyses. Means and SDs were calculated for each dimension of each study, with lower scores representing more pragmatic elements. Results were plotted on "spoke and wheel" diagrams. The rating process and analyses were performed in October 2014 to September 2015.

RESULTS

All seven CHART trials tended toward the pragmatic end of the spectrum, although there was a range from 0.76 (SD=0.23) to 1.85 (SD=0.58). Most studies included some explanatory design elements.

CONCLUSIONS

CHART findings should be relatively applicable to clinical practice. Funders and reviewers could integrate PRECIS criteria into their guidelines to better facilitate pragmatic research. CHART study protocols, coupled with scores reported here, may help readers improve the design of their own pragmatic trials.

Health and economic effects from linking bedside and outpatient tobacco cessation services for hospitalized smokers in two large hospitals: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Extended smoking cessation follow-up after hospital discharge significantly increases abstinence. Hospital smoke-free policies create a period of 'forced abstinence' for smokers, thus providing an opportunity to integrate tobacco dependence treatment, and to support post-discharge maintenance of hospital-acquired abstinence. This study is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (1U01HL1053231).

METHODS/DESIGN

The Inpatient Technology-Supported Assisted Referral study is a multi-center, randomized clinical effectiveness trial being conducted at Kaiser Permanente Northwest (KPNW) and at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) hospitals in Portland, Oregon. The study assesses the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of linking a practical inpatient assisted referral to outpatient cessation services plus interactive voice recognition (AR + IVR) follow-up calls, compared to usual care inpatient counseling (UC). In November 2011, we began recruiting 900 hospital patients age ≥18 years who smoked ≥1 cigarettes in the past 30 days, willing to remain abstinent postdischarge, have a working phone, live within 50 miles of the hospital, speak English, and have no health-related barriers to participation. Each site will randomize 450 patients to AR + IVR or UC using a 2:1 assignment strategy. Participants in the AR + IVR arm will receive a brief inpatient cessation consult plus a referral to available outpatient cessation programs and medications, and four IVR follow-up calls over seven weeks postdischarge. Participants do not have to accept the referral. At KPNW, UC participants will receive brief inpatient counseling and encouragement to self-enroll in available outpatient services. The primary outcome is self-reported thirty-day smoking abstinence at six months postrandomization for AR + IVR participants compared to usual care. Additional outcomes include self-reported and biochemically confirmed seven-day abstinence at six months, self-reported seven-day, thirty-day, and continuous abstinence at twelve months, intervention dose response at six and twelve months for AR + IVR recipients, incremental cost-effectiveness of AR + IVR intervention compared to usual care at six and twelve months, and health-care utilization and expenditures at twelve months for AR + IVR recipients compared to UC.

DISCUSSION

This study will provide important evidence for the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of linking hospital-based tobacco treatment specialists' services with discharge follow-up care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01236079.