IMPORTANCE Several studies have assessed the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening and diagnosis rates. However, this has not been evaluated for prostate biopsy and prostate cancer (PC) diagnosis in an equal-access health care system. OBJECTIVE To determine the association of the pandemic with prostate biopsy and PC diagnosis rates among Black vs White patients in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VAHCS). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis cohort study included a retrospective analysis of all prostate biopsies performed on patients in the VAHCS without a preexisting PC diagnosis between January 2018 and March 2021. The base population included all living male patients who had at least 1 visit to the VAHCS during the 3 years prior to each month of the study. EXPOSUREThe COVID-19 pandemic. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe main outcomes were the number of prostate biopsies and PC diagnoses by month. The influence of the pandemic on prostate biopsy volume and the incidence of PC diagnoses was modeled using an interrupted time-series analysis. Poisson generalized linear models were fitted to project the expected number of prostate biopsies and PC diagnoses had there been no pandemic interruption. Additional models were used to test for differences by race. RESULTSPrior to the pandemic (January 2018 through February 2020), monthly biopsy numbers among 51 606 included men ranged between 1230 and 1695, of which 56% to 60% of results were positive for PC. The estimated number of missed PC diagnoses from March 2020 through March 2021 ranged from 97 cases (October 2020: 752 cases expected, 655 cases observed) to 573 cases (April 2020: 794 cases expected, 221 cases observed). Prior to the pandemic, biopsy rates were statistically significantly higher among Black vs White men (incidence rate ratio, 2.25; 95% CI, 2.06-2.46; P < .001). There was no change in biopsy rates associated with race at the onset of the pandemic nor during the recovery period from March 2020 to March 2021. Similar trends were observed for PC diagnosis rates. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEResults of this cohort study demonstrate that during the COVID-19 pandemic, prostate biopsy and PC diagnosis rates decreased, particularly during the peak of the pandemic. However, there were no statistically significant changes in rates by race.
Intratracheal injection is a traditional technique used in small animal studies of highly contagious airborne pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. However, current techniques of intratracheal injection generally involve procedures that pose a risk of incident injury and infection for researchers, and may also cause collateral damage to experimental animals during the installation process. Here we describe an intratracheal injection method that was enabled by a three dimensional printing of a custom platform. This updated technique improved the overall ergonomics of intratracheal injection in mice, minimizing the risk of human injury and implementing the 3R (replacement, reduction and refinement) principle in mouse infection studies.
Background One challenge in transgender research is reliably identifying patients through electronic medical records data, as there is no universal transgender International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code, but rather multiple ICD codes that can be used. Aim To explore the sensitivity and specificity of 5 commonly used ICD codes to identify transgender patients overall and transgender women specifically (assigned male sex at birth) by using data from the Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest integrated health system in the United States. Methods Patients aged ≥18 years were identified via ICD-9 codes 302.5 and 302.6 (Ninth Revision) and ICD-10 codes F64.0, F64.8, and F64.9 (Tenth Revision) using VA health records from 2000 to 2021 and stratified by bilateral orchiectomy status. Outcomes Detailed chart review was performed on 32 randomly selected patients for each code (half with and half without orchiectomy) to confirm transgender status and to perform descriptive analyses. Results For each ICD code, rates of confirmed transgender status ranged from 88% to 100% for those with and without an orchiectomy, with the majority being transgender women (consistent with most veterans being assigned male sex at birth). Most transgender women (66%-100%) were undergoing estrogen gender-affirming therapy. The majority of provider-driven entries of transgender status took place from 2011 to 2020, with 75% of entries made from 2011 to 2020, consistent with increased recognition and societal acceptance of this population. False negatives were detected at a rate of 15%. Based upon these 5 ICD codes alone, we estimate that the VA has records for 9,449 to 10,738 transgender individuals. Clinical Implications All 5 codes are very sensitive in identifying transgender patients, and the combination of these codes with orchiectomy is extremely sensitive in identifying transgender women, specifically. Strengths and Limitations Major strengths of the study are the use of universal ICD codes and a large patient sample size that spans health records nationally and across multiple decades, potentially making our data more generalizable. The main limitation of this study is that subanalyses were performed on a limited number of patients, which prevented us from capturing all false positives and thus from calculating specificity for each code. Similarly, our true negatives were derived from a small, random subset of the population; as such, our calculation for specificity is an estimate. Conclusion This study highlights a novel method to identify transgender women and paves the way for further research.
Background: Challenges in identifying microsatellite instability (MSI)/mismatch repair (MMR)–tested colorectal carcinoma (CRC) patients in electronic health records have led to gaps in the understanding of MSI-high/deficient mismatch repair prevalence. Methods: An algorithm to identify MSI-/MMR-tested Veterans Affairs patients was developed and an observational study of adult CRC patients with MSI/MMR testing from 2010 to 2018 was undertaken. Results: An optimized model to identify MSI-/MMR-tested patients yielded high positive predictive value (89.0%) and specificity (97.8%). The authors observed MSI-high/deficient mismatch repair CRC in 54 of 291 patients (18.6%); highest frequencies were observed in Stages II (25.9%) and III (22.6%) and lowest in Stage IV (5.8%). Conclusions: In this real-world study, the authors proposed a novel method of identifying MSI-/MMR-tested patients. Further validation and refinement of this model, and study in a larger CRC cohort, is warranted.
92 Background: Oligometastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (omHSPC) represents an advanced prostate cancer subset where metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) and prostate radiation therapy (RT) may improve clinical response and outcomes; however, there is a lack of published data on the epidemiology, clinical outcomes, and current treatment patterns. As such, we conducted a study to better characterize de novo omHSPC in the United States Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VA). Methods: This observational retrospective cohort study utilized chart abstracted data from the VA electronic medical record, as well as data from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse, a central repository of VA patient medical records. We randomly selected 400 men diagnosed with de novo mHSPC from 1/2015-12/2020. omHSPC was defined as up to 5 bone, lymph node, and/or visceral (excluding liver) metastases in total, identified by conventional imaging (bone scan, CT, and/or MRI). We estimated prevalence, described treatment patterns and used Kaplan-Meier methods to estimate overall survival (OS) and time to castration resistance from date of mHSPC diagnosis. The log rank test was used to compare differences in outcomes between omHSPC and non-omHSPC groups. Results: Of the 400 men with de novo mHSPC, 76 (19%) had omHSPC by conventional imaging. Men with omHSPC and non-omHSPC were similar in age, race, Gleason grade group, comorbidities, and metastatic site (bone and lymph node being most common). Men with non-omHSPC had a higher median PSA at mHSPC diagnosis (147.0) than omHSPC (38.3). The percentage of men on first-line (1L) novel hormonal therapy (NHT) use (most commonly abiraterone or enzalutamide) was similar between groups in the 1L setting (22.4% (omHSPC) vs 20.4% (non-omHSPC)), but the percentage of men on a 1L chemotherapy regimen was lower in omHSPC (5.3%) vs. non-omHSPC (13.6%). Overall, there was a higher percentage of men treated with MDT or prostate RT in omHSPC (13.2%) vs non-omHSPC cases (2.5%). Median OS in months (mos) was higher in men with omHSPC (55.3 mos, 95% CI 35.9-79.0) vs. non-omHSPC (25.9 mos, 95% CI 20.5-31.7, p=0.002). Median time to castration resistance was also longer in omHSPC (not reached [NR], 95% CI 42.2-NR) vs. non-omHSPC (29.3 mos, 95% CI 23.7-36.1, p=0.0014). Conclusions: Our study provides real-world insight into the prevalence, treatment patterns and clinical outcomes for omHSPC using a nationally representative VA sample. Approximately 1 in 5 men with de novo mHSPC were oligometastatic, and OS in men with omHSPC was more than double that of non-omHSPC. Although more men with omHSPC compared to non-omHSPC received potential curative therapy, the percentage was still relatively low. Future studies are warranted as several clinical trials are investigating the potential for prolonged responses with aggressive, multimodal therapy inclusive of systemic and local therapies.
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