A quasi-experimental test of an intervention to increase the use of thiazide-based treatment regimens for people with hypertension

BACKGROUND: Despite recent high-quality evidence for their cost-effectiveness, thiazides are underused for controlling hypertension. The goal of this study was to design and test a practice-based intervention aimed at increasing the use of thiazide-based antihypertensive regimens. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was carried out in general medicine ambulatory practices of a large, academically-affiliated Veterans Affairs hospital. The intervention group consisted of the practitioners (13 staff and 215 trainees), nurses, and patients (3,502) of the teaching practice; non-randomized concurrent controls were the practitioners (31 providers) and patients (18,292) of the non-teaching practices. Design of the implementation intervention was based on Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations model. Over 10.5 months, intervention teams met weekly or biweekly and developed and disseminated informational materials among themselves and to trainees, patients, and administrators. These teams also reviewed summary electronic-medical-record data on thiazide use and blood pressure (BP) goal attainment. Outcome measures were the proportion of hypertensive patients prescribed a thiazide-based regimen, and the proportion of hypertensive patients attaining BP goals regardless of regimen. Thirty-three months of time-series data were available; statistical process control charts, change point analyses, and before-after analyses were used to estimate the intervention's effects. RESULTS: Baseline use of thiazides and rates of BP control were higher in the intervention group than controls. During the intervention, thiazide use and BP control increased in both groups, but changes occurred earlier in the intervention group, and primary change points were observed only in the intervention group. Overall, the pre-post intervention difference in proportion of patients prescribed thiazides was greater in intervention patients (0.091 vs. 0.058; p = 0.0092), as was the proportion achieving BP goals (0.092 vs. 0.044; p = 0.0005). At the end of the implementation period, 41.4% of intervention patients were prescribed thiazides vs. 30.6% of controls (p < 0.001); 51.6% of intervention patients had achieved BP goals vs. 44.3% of controls (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This multi-faceted intervention appears to have resulted in modest improvements in thiazide prescribing and BP control. The study also demonstrates the value of electronic medical records for implementation research, how Rogers' model can be used to design and launch an implementation strategy, and how all members of a clinical microsystem can be involved in an implementation effort

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Evaluation of StrepB Carrot Broth versus Lim Broth for Detection of Group B Streptococcus Colonization Status of Near-Term Pregnant Women▿

The performance of StrepB Carrot Broth (SCB) versus group B Lim broth (LIM) for detection of group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization status in near-term pregnant women (35 to 37 weeks of gestation) was evaluated. Dually collected vaginal/rectal swabs from 279 women enrolled from a single large maternity clinic were analyzed. Fifty (18%) women were colonized by GBS according to both methods. SCB had excellent diagnostic performance compared to LIM, with sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 92%, 100%, 100%, and 98.3%, respectively. Improved diagnostic efficiency due to direct reporting of GBS cases based on an orange color change in the SCB decreased overall labor and material costs

Comparison of the RealTime HIV-1, COBAS TaqMan 48 v1.0, Easy Q v1.2, and Versant v3.0 assays for Determination of HIV-1 Viral Loads in a Cohort of Canadian Patients with Diverse HIV Subtype Infections▿

HIV clinics in Canada provide care to an increasing number of patients born outside of Canada with HIV-1 non-B subtype infections. Because the Easy Q HIV-1 v1.2 assay (EQ; bioMérieux) failed to detect some non-B subtype infections, a multiassay HIV-1 viral load (VL) study was conducted with patients with diverse HIV subtype infections. Patients were enrolled from the Southern Alberta HIV Clinic (SAC), Calgary, Alberta, Canada (n = 349) and the McGill HIV Clinic (MHC), Montreal, Quebec, Canada (n = 20) and had four or five tubes of blood drawn for testing by EQ and three other commercial HIV VL assays: (i) the Versant 3.0 HIV-1 test, with the Versant 440 instrument (branched DNA [bDNA]; Siemens), (ii) the RealTime HIV-1 test, with the m2000rt instrument (m2000rt; Abbott Molecular Diagnostics), and (iii) the COBAS AmpliPrep TaqMan HIV-1 48 test (CAP-CTM; Roche Molecular Diagnostics). Blood was processed according to the individual manufacturer's requirements and stored frozen at −86°C. The HIV subtype was known for patients who had undergone HIV genotypic resistance testing (Virco, Belgium). Data analyses were done using standard statistical methods within Stata 9.0 (StataCorp, College Station, TX). A total of 371 samples were tested on 369 patients, of whom 291 (81%) had a Virco genotype result of B (195; 53%) or non-B (96; 26%) subtypes A to D and F to K, as well as circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) (i.e., CRF01_AE and CRF02_AG). Most (58/78; 74%) patients of unknown subtype were recent African emigrants who likely have non-subtype B infection. Overall bias was small in pairwise Bland-Altman plots, but the limits of agreement between assays were wide. Discordant viral load results occurred for 98 samples and were due to missing values, false negatives, and significant underquantification that varied by HIV subtype. Results were obtained for all 371 samples with m2000rt, but for only 357 (97%) with CAP-CTM, 338 (92%) with EQ, and 276 (75%) with bDNA due to errors/equipment failures. False-negative results (nondetection of viral RNA versus other assay results) occurred for all platforms, as follows: for m2000rt, 8 (2%) [B(4) and non-B(4) subtypes], CAP-CTM, 9 (2.5%) [B(6) and non-B(3) subtypes]; EQ, 20 (6%) [B(7) and non-B(13) subtypes]; bDNA, 5 (2%) [B(1) and C(4)]. EQ and bDNA had the highest rates of underquantification by ≥1.0 log10 copies/ml, mainly for HIV non-B subtypes. Performance significantly varied between HIV VL platforms according to subtype. HIV viral diversity in the population being tested must be considered in selection of the viral load platform

Incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of Fusobacterium species bacteremia

Background: Fusobacterium species (spp.) bacteremia is uncommon and has been associated with a variety of clinical presentations. We conducted a retrospective, population based study to determine the relative proportion of species in this genus causing bacteremia and the risk factors for infection and adverse clinical outcomes. Methods: All cases of Fusobacterium spp. bacteremia detected at a regional microbiology laboratory serving outpatient and acute care for a population of approximately 1.3 million people over 11 years were identified from a computerized database. Clinical data on these cases was extracted from an administrative database and analyzed to determine underlying risk factors for and outcomes of infection. Results: There were 72 incident cases of Fusobacterium spp. bacteremia over the study period (0.55 cases/100,000 population per annum). F. nucleatum was the most frequent species (61%), followed by F. necrophorum (25%). F. necrophorum bacteremia occurred in a younger population without underlying comorbidities and was not associated with mortality. F. nucleatum bacteremia was found in an older population and was associated with underlying malignancy or receiving dialysis. Death occurred in approximately 10% of F. nucleatum cases but causality was not established in this study. Conclusions: Fusobacterium spp. bacteremia in our community is uncommon and occurs in approximately 5.5 cases per million population per annum. F. necrophorum occurred in an otherwise young healthy population and was not associated with any mortality. F. nucleatum was found primarily in older patients with chronic medical conditions and was associated with a mortality of approximately 10%. Bacteremias from other Fusobacterium spp. were rare.</p