Necessity of Clinical Information in Surgical Pathology

1999 ◽  
Vol 123 (7) ◽  
pp. 615-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raouf E. Nakhleh ◽  
Gordon Gephardt ◽  
Richard J. Zarbo
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Data ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Surgical Pathology ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Malignant Neoplasms ◽  
Anatomic Site ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Inadequate Information

Abstract Objectives.—To examine the frequency and nature of problems caused by inadequate clinical data provided on surgical pathology requisition forms. Design.—Participants in the 1996 Q-Probes voluntary quality improvement program of the College of American Pathologists were asked to document prospectively all surgical pathology cases with inadequate information. Inadequate clinical information was defined as the pathologist's need for additional clinical information before a diagnosis could be rendered, regardless of the amount of information already present on the requisition slip. Cases that had no clinical information on a requisition slip were not counted if the lack of history did not hinder diagnosis. The study concluded when 3 months had elapsed or 40 surgical pathology cases were documented. The following data were recorded for each case: anatomic site, type of procedure, nature of disease, method of obtaining additional information, importance of obtained information, and the length of delay in the final diagnosis. Participants.—Three hundred forty-one laboratories, 322 of which were from the United States. Results.—A total of 5594 cases (0.73%) required additional clinical information for diagnosis (10th through 90th percentile range, 3.01% to 0.08%). Institutions with greater average occupied bedsize, a greater number of cases accessioned per year, and a greater number of pathologists had a lower percentage of cases with inadequate clinical data (P < .05). Sixty-eight percent of these cases had no delay in completion of a case, 16.2% had a delay of 1 day or less, and 15.1% of cases were delayed more than 1 day. In 59.4% of cases, the additional clinical information obtained confirmed the initial diagnostic impression. In 25.1%, the information was not relevant to the pathologic diagnosis. In 6.1% there was a substantial change in the diagnosis or a revised report was issued, and in 2.2% no additional information could be obtained. Specific anatomic sites that correlated with a higher rate of changed diagnoses or revised reports in cases with inadequate information included the small bowel, the bronchus/lung, and the ovary. Resection specimens were also significantly associated with a higher rate of changed diagnoses or revised reports when additional information was obtained, as were malignant neoplasms and therapy-induced changes. Conclusions.—This study establishes an aggregate rate of cases with inadequate clinical information for diagnosis (0.73%) and documents the extent of problems caused by inadequate clinical information. The criticality of appropriate clinical information provided to the pathologist is identified for specific anatomic sites and disease processes and is reflected in changed diagnoses or revised reports.

Surgical Pathology–Based Outcomes Assessment of Breast Cancer Early Diagnosis

2001 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-331
Author(s):  
Raouf E. Nakhleh ◽  
Richard J. Zarbo
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Health Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Surgical Pathology ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Breast Cancers ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Clinical Method

Abstract Objective.—To develop breast cancer outcomes data relating pathologic tumor variables at diagnosis with clinical method of detection. Design.—Anatomic pathologists assessed 30 consecutive breast cancers at each institution, resulting in an aggregate database of 4232 breast cancers. Setting.—Hospital-based laboratories from the United States (98%), Canada, Australia, and Belgium. Participants.—One hundred ninety-nine laboratories in the 1999 College of American Pathologists Q-Probes voluntary quality improvement program. Main Outcome Measures.—Pathologic variables indicative of favorable outcomes included percentage of carcinomas detected at the in situ stage, tumors ≤1 cm in diameter, and invasive cancers with lymph nodes negative for metastases. Results.—All outcomes measures, including percent in situ carcinomas (26.9% vs 13.8%), tumor size ≤1 cm (57.8% vs 36.5%), and lymph node–negative status (77.8% vs 64%), were more favorable when tumors were detected by screening mammography (P < .001) compared to all other detection methods. Conclusions.—This study demonstrates an opportunity for pathologists to develop outcomes information of interest to health care organizations, providers, patients, and payers by integrating routine oncologic surgical pathology and clinical breast cancer detection data. Such readily obtained interim outcomes data trended and benchmarked over time can demonstrate the relative clinical efficacy of preventive breast care provided by health care systems long before mortality data are available.

scholarly journals Workflow Differences Affect Data Accuracy in Oncologic EHRs: A First Step Toward Detangling the Diagnosis Data Babel

2020 ◽  
pp. 529-538
Author(s):  
Franck Diaz-Garelli ◽  
Roy Strowd ◽  
Virginia L. Lawson ◽  
Maria E. Mayorga ◽  
Brian J. Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Clinical Data ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Data Reuse ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Cancer Center ◽  
Anatomic Site ◽  
Secondary Analyses ◽  
Logistic Regressions

PURPOSE Diagnosis (DX) information is key to clinical data reuse, yet accessible structured DX data often lack accuracy. Previous research hints at workflow differences in cancer DX entry, but their link to clinical data quality is unclear. We hypothesized that there is a statistically significant relationship between workflow-describing variables and DX data quality. METHODS We extracted DX data from encounter and order tables within our electronic health records (EHRs) for a cohort of patients with confirmed brain neoplasms. We built and optimized logistic regressions to predict the odds of fully accurate (ie, correct neoplasm type and anatomic site), inaccurate, and suboptimal (ie, vague) DX entry across clinical workflows. We selected our variables based on correlation strength of each outcome variable. RESULTS Both workflow and personnel variables were predictive of DX data quality. For example, a DX entered in departments other than oncology had up to 2.89 times higher odds of being accurate ( P < .0001) compared with an oncology department; an outpatient care location had up to 98% fewer odds of being inaccurate ( P < .0001), but had 458 times higher odds of being suboptimal ( P < .0001) compared with main campus, including the cancer center; and a DX recoded by a physician assistant had 85% fewer odds of being suboptimal ( P = .005) compared with those entered by physicians. CONCLUSION These results suggest that differences across clinical workflows and the clinical personnel producing EHR data affect clinical data quality. They also suggest that the need for specific structured DX data recording varies across clinical workflows and may be dependent on clinical information needs. Clinicians and researchers reusing oncologic data should consider such heterogeneity when conducting secondary analyses of EHR data.

Racial and Sex Disparities in Trauma Outcomes Based on Geographical Region

2020 ◽  
pp. 000313482096006
Author(s):  
William Q. Duong ◽  
Areg Grigorian ◽  
Cyrus Farzaneh ◽  
Jeffry Nahmias ◽  
Theresa Chin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trauma Patients ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Trauma Outcomes ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Hospital Access ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
Sex Disparities ◽  
Male Patients

Objectives Disparities in outcomes among trauma patients have been shown to be associated with race and sex. The purpose of this study was to analyze racial and sex mortality disparities in different regions of the United States, hypothesizing that the risk of mortality among black and Asian trauma patients, compared to white trauma patients, will be similar within all regions in the United States. Methods The Trauma Quality Improvement Program (2010-2016) was queried for adult trauma patients, separating by U.S. Census regions. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed for each region, controlling for known predictors of morbidity and mortality in trauma. Results Most trauma patients were treated in the South (n = 522 388, 40.7%). After risk adjustment, black trauma patients had a higher associated risk of death in all regions, except the Northeast, compared to white trauma patients. The highest associated risk of death for blacks (vs. whites) was in the Midwest (odds ratio [OR] 1.30, P < .001). Asian trauma patients only had a higher associated risk of death in the West (OR 1.39, P < .001). Male trauma patients, compared to women, had an increased associated risk of mortality in all four regions. Discussion This study found major differences in outcomes among different races within different regions of the United States. There was also both an increased rate and associated risk of mortality for male patients in all regions. Future prospective studies are needed to identify what regional differences in trauma systems including population density, transport times, hospital access, and other trauma resources explain these findings.

scholarly journals Appendiceal adenocarcinoma found by surgery for acute appendicitis is associated with older age

BMC Surgery ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Skendelas ◽  
Victor S. Alemany ◽  
Vincent Au ◽  
Devika Rao ◽  
John McNelis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Acute Appendicitis ◽  
Incidental Finding ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Operative Therapy ◽  
Operative Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Common Procedure ◽  
Appendiceal Neoplasms

Abstract Background Appendectomy for acute appendicitis is the most common procedure performed emergently by general surgeons in the United States. The current management of acute appendicitis is increasingly controversial as non-operative management gains favor. Although rare, appendiceal neoplasms are often found as an incidental finding in the setting of appendectomy. Criteria and screening for appendiceal neoplasms are not standardized among surgical societies. Methods The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database was queried for all patients who underwent appendectomy over a 9-year period (2010–2018). Over the same time period, patients who underwent appendectomy in two municipal hospitals in The Bronx, New York City, USA were reviewed. Results We found a 1.7% incidence of appendiceal neoplasms locally and a 0.53% incidence of appendiceal tumors in a national population sample. Both groups demonstrated an increased incidence of appendiceal carcinoma by age. This finding was most pronounced after the age of 40 in both local and national populations. In our study, the incidence of appendiceal tumors increased with each decade interval up to the age of 80 and peaked at 2.1% in patients between 70 and 79 years. Conclusions Appendiceal adenocarcinomas were identified in patients with acute appendicitis that seem to be associated with increasing age. The presence of an appendiceal malignancy should be considered in the management of older patients with acute appendicitis before a decision to embark on non-operative therapy.

History and Trends in Clinical Information Systems in the United States

2001 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Staggers ◽  
Cheryl Bagley Thompson ◽  
Rita Snyder-Halpern
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Clinical Information Systems

scholarly journals The Laboratory Diagnosis of HIV Infections

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Fearon
Keyword(s):  
Point Of Care ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Hiv Infections ◽  
Laboratory Diagnosis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Antibody Testing ◽  
Diagnostic Laboratory ◽  
Laboratory Results

HIV diagnostic testing has come a long way since its inception in the early 1980s. Current enzyme immunoassays are sensitive enough to detect antibody as early as one to two weeks after infection. A variety of other assays are essential to confirm positive antibody screens (Western blot, polymerase chain reaction [PCR]), provide an adjunct to antibody testing (p24 antigen, PCR), or provide additional information for the clinician treating HIV-positive patients (qualitative and quantitative PCR, and genotyping). Most diagnostic laboratories have complex testing algorithms to ensure accuracy of results and optimal use of laboratory resources. The choice of assays is guided by the initial screening results and the clinical information provided by the physician; both are integral to the laboratory's ability to provide an accurate laboratory diagnosis. Laboratories should also provide specific information on specimen collection, storage and transport so that specimen integrity is not compromised, thereby preserving the accuracy of laboratory results. Point of Care tests have become increasingly popular in the United States and some places in Canada over the past several years. These tests provide rapid, on-site HIV results in a format that is relatively easy for clinic staff to perform. However, the performance of these tests requires adherence to good laboratory quality control practices, as well as the backup of a licensed diagnostic laboratory to provide confirmation and resolution of positive or indeterminate results. Laboratory quality assurance programs and the participation in HIV proficiency testing programs are essential to ensure that diagnostic laboratories provide accurate, timely and clinically relevant laboratory results.

scholarly journals Combining a convolutional neural network with autoencoders to predict the survival chance of COVID-19 patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahime Khozeimeh ◽  
Danial Sharifrazi ◽  
Navid Hoseini Izadi ◽  
Javad Hassannataj Joloudari ◽  
Afshin Shoeibi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Data ◽  
Data Augmentation ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Ct Images ◽  
Classification Performance ◽  
Survival Chance ◽  
Average Accuracy ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Aided Diagnosis ◽  
Augmentation Procedure

AbstractCOVID-19 has caused many deaths worldwide. The automation of the diagnosis of this virus is highly desired. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown outstanding classification performance on image datasets. To date, it appears that COVID computer-aided diagnosis systems based on CNNs and clinical information have not yet been analysed or explored. We propose a novel method, named the CNN-AE, to predict the survival chance of COVID-19 patients using a CNN trained with clinical information. Notably, the required resources to prepare CT images are expensive and limited compared to those required to collect clinical data, such as blood pressure, liver disease, etc. We evaluated our method using a publicly available clinical dataset that we collected. The dataset properties were carefully analysed to extract important features and compute the correlations of features. A data augmentation procedure based on autoencoders (AEs) was proposed to balance the dataset. The experimental results revealed that the average accuracy of the CNN-AE (96.05%) was higher than that of the CNN (92.49%). To demonstrate the generality of our augmentation method, we trained some existing mortality risk prediction methods on our dataset (with and without data augmentation) and compared their performances. We also evaluated our method using another dataset for further generality verification. To show that clinical data can be used for COVID-19 survival chance prediction, the CNN-AE was compared with multiple pre-trained deep models that were tuned based on CT images.

Volunteers: An Effective Medium for Delivering Therapeutic Lifestyle Interventions

2021 ◽  
pp. 089011712110625
Author(s):  
Lillian M. Kent ◽  
Paul M. Rankin ◽  
Darren P. Morton ◽  
Rebekah M. Rankin ◽  
Roger L. Greenlaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Lifestyle Modification ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Blood Lipid ◽  
The United States ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Improvement Program ◽  
Blood Lipid Profile

Purpose Lifestyle modification programs have been shown to effectively treat chronic disease. The Coronary Health Improvement Program has been delivered by both paid professional and unpaid volunteer facilitators. This study compared participant outcomes of each mode in the United States. Design Pre-/post-analysis of CHIP interventions delivered between 1999 and 2012. Setting Professional-delivered programs in Rockford Illinois 1999-2004 and volunteer-delivered programs across North America 2005-2012. Subjects Adults ≥21 years (professional programs N = 3158 34.3% men, mean age = 54.0 ± 11.4 years; volunteer programs N = 7115 33.4% men, mean age = 57.4 ± 13.0 years). Measures Body mass index, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), blood lipid profile (total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein), and fasting plasma glucose. Analysis Analysis of Covariance, with adjustment for age, gender, BMI change and baseline biometric and effect sizes. Results The professional-delivered programs achieved significantly greater reductions in BMI (.4%, P < .001) and HDL (1.9%, P < .001) and the volunteer-delivered programs achieved greater reductions in SBP (1.4%, P < .001), DBP (1.1%, P < .001), TC (1.4%, P = .004), LDL (2.3%, P < .001), TG (4.0%, P = .006), and FPG (2.7%, P < .001). However, the effect size differences between the groups were minimal (Cohen’s d .1-.2). Conclusions Lifestyle modification programs have been shown to effectively treat chronic disease. The Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) lifestyle intervention has been delivered by both paid professional and unpaid volunteer facilitators. This study compared selected chronic disease biometric outcomes of participants in each mode in the United States. It found volunteer-delivered programs do not appear to be any less effective than programs delivered by paid professionals, which is noteworthy as volunteers may provide important social capital in the combat of chronic disease.

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Neighborhood Environmental Survey: Study Motivation and Results

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (1) ◽  
pp. 5815-5827
Author(s):  
Sean Doyle ◽  
Donald Scata ◽  
James Hileman
Keyword(s):  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Federal Aviation Administration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Aircraft Noise ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Environmental Survey ◽  
Additional Information

As part of the agency's broader noise research program, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has undertaken a multi-year research effort to quantify the impacts of aircraft noise exposure on communities around commercial service airports in the United States (U.S.). The overall goal of the study was to produce an updated and nationally representative civil aircraft dose-response curve; providing the relationship between annoyance and aircraft noise exposure around U.S. airport communities. To meet this goal, the FAA sponsored a research team to help design and conduct a national survey, known as the Neighborhood Environmental Survey (NES). By assessing the results of the NES through both internal review and input from public comment, the FAA seeks to better inform its noise research priorities and noise policies. This paper will outline the FAA's motivation to conduct the NES as well as how its findings will help inform ongoing work to address aircraft noise concerns. Additional information describing the noise methodology and survey methodology are provided in companion papers.

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