Recognition, diagnostic practices, and cancer outcomes among patients with unintentional weight loss (UWL) in primary care

OBJECTIVES

Identify the incidence, rate of physician recognition, diagnostic practices and cancer outcomes for unintentional weight loss (UWL).

METHODS

We completed a secondary analysis of structured and unstructured EHR data collected from adult patients between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021. We used four common definitions to define UWL, excluding patients with known causes of weight loss, intentional weight loss, and pregnancy. Unstructured physicians' notes were used to identify both intentional weight loss (e.g. dieting) as well as physician recognition of UWL. Cancer outcomes were identified within 12 months of UWL using diagnostic codes. Physician actions (lab tests, etc.) in response to UWL were identified through manual chart review.

RESULTS

Among 29,494 established primary care patients with a minimum of two weight measurements in 2020 and in 2021, we identified 290 patients who met one or more criteria for UWL (1 %). UWL was recognized by physicians in only 60 (21 %). UWL was more common and more likely to be recognized among older patients. Diagnostic practices were quite variable. A complete blood count, complete metabolic profile, and thyroid stimulating hormone level were the three most common tests ordered in response to UWL. Five patients were diagnosed with cancer within 12 months of UWL (3 in whom UWL was recognized; two in whom it was not.).

CONCLUSIONS

Unintentional weight loss is poorly recognized across a diverse range of patients. A lack of research-informed guidance may explain both low rates of recognition and variability in diagnostic practices.

Reproducible variability: assessing investigator discordance across 9 research teams attempting to reproduce the same observational study

OBJECTIVE

Observational studies can impact patient care but must be robust and reproducible. Nonreproducibility is primarily caused by unclear reporting of design choices and analytic procedures. This study aimed to: (1) assess how the study logic described in an observational study could be interpreted by independent researchers and (2) quantify the impact of interpretations' variability on patient characteristics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Nine teams of highly qualified researchers reproduced a cohort from a study by Albogami et al. The teams were provided the clinical codes and access to the tools to create cohort definitions such that the only variable part was their logic choices. We executed teams' cohort definitions against the database and compared the number of subjects, patient overlap, and patient characteristics.

RESULTS

On average, the teams' interpretations fully aligned with the master implementation in 4 out of 10 inclusion criteria with at least 4 deviations per team. Cohorts' size varied from one-third of the master cohort size to 10 times the cohort size (2159-63 619 subjects compared to 6196 subjects). Median agreement was 9.4% (interquartile range 15.3-16.2%). The teams' cohorts significantly differed from the master implementation by at least 2 baseline characteristics, and most of the teams differed by at least 5.

CONCLUSIONS

Independent research teams attempting to reproduce the study based on its free-text description alone produce different implementations that vary in the population size and composition. Sharing analytical code supported by a common data model and open-source tools allows reproducing a study unambiguously thereby preserving initial design choices.

411. Characterization of Antibiotic Prophylaxis Prior to Trans Rectal Ultrasound Guided Prostate Needle Biopsy (TRUS PNB): A 5-Year Nationwide Study among Patients in the United States Veterans Health Administration

Background

Prophylactic antibiotics are used prior to TRUS PNB to reduce risk for infectious complications such as UTI, prostatitis, epididymitis, orchitis, bacteremia and sepsis. Fluoroquinolones have been commonly used for prophylaxis, however, the incidence of post TRUS PNB infections caused by fluoroquinolone resistant Escherichia coli has increased. The purpose of this study was to characterize the prophylaxis agents used nationwide in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) prior to TRUS PNB.

Methods

We conducted a review of records of all patients undergoing TRUS PNB in the VHA database from January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2018. We collected data about outpatient oral prophylaxis antibiotics, inpatient injectable antibiotics and microbiology results from rectal swabs and urine cultures performed within 90 days prior to the procedure.

Results

Of 153,055 patients undergoing prostate biopsy between January 1st, 2013 and December 31st, 2018, 27.6% (n=42,319) had urine cultures and 3.9% (n=5,294) had rectal swab cultures done within the 90-day window prior to the procedure. Among these who had urine and rectal swabs culture, 3.0% (n=1,292) and 20.1% (n=1,062) were positive for E. coli, respectively; 40.2% of E. coli isolates recovered from urine and 89.6% recovered from rectal swabs were resistant to fluoroquinolones. Table 1 shows the frequencies and percentages of oral prophylactic agents administered within the 90 days prior to the procedure and injectable antibiotics administered on the day of the procedure.

Frequency and percentage of oral prophylactic agents administered within the 90 days prior to the procedure and injectable antibiotics administered on the day of the procedure

Frequency and percentage of oral prophylactic agents administered within the 90 days prior to the procedure and injectable antibiotics administered on the day of the procedure

Conclusion

Despite the high rate of recovery of fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli in pre-procedure urine and rectal swabs, oral fluoroquinolones remained the most frequently used prophylactic agents prior to TRUS PNB. This inadequate prophylactic coverage may increase the risk of infectious complications following prostate biopsy.

Disclosures

Elie Saade, MD, MPH, FIDSA, Janssen: Advisor/Consultant.

An informatics infrastructure to catalyze cancer control research and practice

PURPOSE

A disconnect often exists between those with the expertise to manage and analyze complex, multi-source data sets, and the clinical, social services, advocacy, and public health professionals who can pose the most relevant questions and best apply the answers. We describe development and implementation of a cancer informatics infrastructure aimed at broadening the usability of community cancer data to inform cancer control research and practice; and we share lessons learned.

METHODS

We built a multi-level database known as The Ohio Cancer Assessment and Surveillance Engine (OH-CASE) to link data from Ohio's cancer registry with community data from the U.S. Census and other sources. Space-and place-based characteristics were assigned to individuals according to residential address. Stakeholder input informed development of an interface for generating queries based on geographic, demographic, and disease inputs and for outputting results aggregated at the state, county, municipality, or zip code levels.

RESULTS

OH-CASE contains data on 791,786 cancer cases diagnosed from 1/1/2006 to 12/31/2018 across 88 Ohio counties containing 1215 municipalities and 1197 zip codes. Stakeholder feedback from cancer center community outreach teams, advocacy organizations, public health, and researchers suggests a broad range of uses of such multi-level data resources accessible via a user interface.

CONCLUSION

OH-CASE represents a prototype of a transportable model for curating and synthesizing data to understand cancer burden across communities. Beyond supporting collaborative research, this infrastructure can serve the clinical, social services, public health, and advocacy communities by enabling targeting of outreach, funding, and interventions to narrow cancer disparities.

Cardiovascular conditions in persons with multiple sclerosis, neuromyelitis optica and transverse myelitis

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular conditions are associated with poorer outcomes in multiple sclerosis (MS). Whether the burden of cardiovascular conditions differs between those with demyelinating disease and unaffected controls is not clear. The objective of this study is to investigate the burden and age of onset of cardiovascular conditions in a US population with MS, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), or transverse myelitis (TM) to unaffected controls adjusting for likely confounders.

METHODS

Using a case-control study design, we compared the burden of self-reported diabetes mellitus type 2, heart disease, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension in cases with MS (N = 1,548), NMOSD (N = 306), and TM (N = 145) to controls (N = 677), adjusting for demographics, smoking history, obesity, family history of individual cardiovascular conditions, and presence of other cardiovascular conditions. The age of onset for individual cardiovascular conditions were also compared between cases and controls.

RESULTS

MS cases were 48% more likely to have ever had hypertension than controls (p = 0.01). The prevalence of other cardiovascular conditions did not differ across cases and controls. There were also no differences in the age of cardiovascular disease onset between cases and controls.

CONCLUSION

Cardiovascular conditions are as common in those with demyelinating diseases compared to unaffected individuals, with hypertension being more common among those with MS.