Utilization of and Outcomes Associated with Intravascular Ultrasound during Deep Venous Stent Placement among Medicare Beneficiaries

PurposeTo evaluate temporal trends, practice variation, and associated outcomes with the use of intravascular ultrasound (US) during deep venous stent placement among Medicare beneficiaries.Materials and MethodsAll lower extremity deep venous stent placement procedures performed between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019 among Medicare beneficiaries were included. Temporal trends in intravascular US use were stratified by procedural setting and physician specialty. The primary outcome was a composite of 12-month all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalization, or repeat target vessel intervention. The secondary outcome was a composite of 12-month stent thrombosis, embolization, or restenosis.ResultsAmong the 20,984 deep venous interventions performed during the study period, 15,184 (72.4%) utilized intravascular US. Moderate growth in intravascular US use was observed during the study period in all clinical settings. There was a variation in the use of intravascular US among all operators (median, 77.3% of cases; interquartile range, 20.0%–99.2%). In weighted analyses, intravascular US use during deep venous stent placement was associated with a lower risk of both the primary (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69–0.76; P < .001) and secondary (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.27–0.39; P < .001) composite end points.ConclusionsIntravascular US is frequently used during deep venous stent placement among Medicare beneficiaries, with further increase in use from 2017 to 2019. The utilization of intravascular US as part of a procedural strategy was associated with a lower cumulative incidence of adverse outcomes after the procedure, including venous stent thrombosis and embolization.     

Changes in the National Endovascular Management of Femoropopliteal Arterial Disease: An Analysis of the 2011–2019 Medicare Data

PurposeTo describe national trends in the utilization of endovascular approaches (including balloon angioplasty, atherectomy, and stent placement) for the management of femoropopliteal peripheral arterial disease (PAD).Materials and MethodsThe Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary dataset containing 100% of Part B claims was interrogated for years 2011–2019. The Current Procedural Terminology codes specific for femoropopliteal angioplasty, stent placement, and atherectomy were used to create summary statistics for utilization by year, place of service (hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, and office-based laboratory), and provider specialty (cardiology, radiology, and surgery).ResultsThe use of atherectomy increased from 34,732 (33%) procedures in 2011 to 75,435 (53%) procedures in 2019, and atherectomy became the dominant treatment strategy for femoropopliteal PAD. The relative utilization of stent placement (36,793 [35%] to 28,899 [20%]) and angioplasty only (34,398 [32%] to 38,228 [27%]) decreased concomitantly from 2011 to 2019. By 2019, the use of atherectomy was twofold higher in office-based laboratories than in the outpatient hospital setting (44,767 and 20,901, respectively). Treatment strategy varied by provider specialty in 2011 when cardiologists used atherectomy most frequently (17,925 [43%]), whereas radiologists used angioplasty alone (5,928 [6%]) and surgeons stented (18,009 [37%]) most frequently. By 2019, all specialties utilized atherectomy most frequently (29,564 [59%] for cardiology, 10,912 [58%] radiology, and 33,649 [47%] surgery).ConclusionsThe national approach to endovascular management of femoropopliteal PAD has changed since 2011 toward an implant-free strategy, including a multifold increase in the use of atherectomy. Discordant rates of atherectomy use between the ambulatory hospital and office-based settings highlight the need for comparative effectiveness studies to guide management.     

WHO药品预认证微生物实验室质量管理的要求与思考

目的:介绍世界卫生组织(WHO)对药品微生物检测实验室的预认证要求,推动我国药品检测质量管理体系的完善和发展。方法:从预认证实验室应遵循的质量管理原则出发,对照我国实验室ISO/IEC 17025体系要求,分析药品微生物检测实验室在质量管理中的不足。结果:预认证实验室更多地采纳了《药品生产质量管理规范》(GMP)的质量管理理念,而我国药品微生物检测实验室在记录与数据可靠性、基于风险的变更控制和偏差调查等方面的应用与实施还存在较大差距。结论:我国药品微生物检测实验室应学习和借鉴国内外GMP的质量管理经验,不断更新理念,改进质量管理体系,更多地以风险评估方式保障检测数据的可靠性。     

The place of therapy: between lab and field in the psychoanalytic office

This article builds on recent scholarship in medicine, science and technology illuminating the role of place and materiality in medical work. Drawing on ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews with US psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers, I examine how the therapy office shapes psychoanalytic psychotherapists’ efforts to understand their patients’ unconscious conflicts. The concepts of ‘laboratory’ and ‘field’ frame my discussion of the material set up of the clinical room and the relational practices it fosters. I show that psychoanalytic practitioners try to approximate ‘laboratory conditions’ that insulate patients’ problems from their everyday contexts and ensure a sense of stability. I also demonstrate that these clinicians’ work depends on revealing personal preferences in the therapy room and fostering therapeutic relationships that resemble those in patients’ everyday lives, making the office akin to the ‘field’. The office thus becomes epistemically productive through therapists’ management of the paradoxical relationship between laboratory and field.     

Routine Laboratory Testing Every 4 Versus Every 6 Weeks for Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis: A Quality Improvement Project

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COVID-19 and hematology findings based on the current evidences: A puzzle with many missing pieces

In December 2019, a new type of coronavirus was detected for the first time in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. According to the reported data, the emerging coronavirus has spread worldwide, infecting more than fifty-seven million individuals, leading to more than one million deaths. The current study aimed to review and discuss the hematological findings of COVID-19. Laboratory changes and hematologic abnormalities have been reported repeatedly in COVID-19 patients. WBC count and peripheral blood lymphocytes are normal or slightly reduced while these indicators may change with the progression of the disease. In addition, several studies demonstrated that decreased hemoglobin levels in COVID-19 patients were associated with the severity of the disease. Moreover, thrombocytopenia, which is reported in 5%-40% of patients, is known to be associated with poor prognosis of the disease. COVID-19 can present with various hematologic manifestations. In this regard, accurate evaluation of laboratory indicators at the beginning and during COVID-19 can help physicians to adjust appropriate treatment and provide special and prompt care for those in need.