Biology Commons^™

Questionable Validity Of The Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection Metric Used For Value-Based Purchasing, Lindsay E. Calderon, Kevin T. Kavanagh, Mara K. Rice

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) occur in 290,000 US hospital patients annually, with an estimated cost of $290 million. Two different measurement systems are being used to track the US health care system's performance in lowering the rate of CAUTIs. Since 2010, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) metric has shown a 28.2% decrease in CAUTI, whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention metric has shown a 3%-6% increase in CAUTI since 2009. Differences in data acquisition and the definition of the denominator may explain this discrepancy. The AHRQ metric analyzes chart-audited data and reflects both catheter …

The Relationship Between Tort Reform And Medical Utilization, Kevin T. Kavanagh, Lindsay Calderon, Daniel Saman

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

NTRODUCTION: The hidden cost of defensive medicine has been cited by policymakers as a significant driving force in the increase of our nation's health-care costs. If this hypothesis is correct, one would expect that states with higher levels of tort reform will have a decrease in Medicare utilization and that medical utilization will decrease after tort reform is enacted.

METHODS: State-level reimbursement data for years 1999 to 2010 (the last year available) was obtained from the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. Medical tort rankings for the 50 states were obtained from the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and correlated with state …

The Use Of Surveillance And Preventative Measures For Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infections In Surgical Patients, Kevin T . Kavanagh, Lindsay Calderon, Daniel Saman, Said Abusalem

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) found that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with up to 375,000 infections and 23,000 deaths in the United States. It is a major cause of surgical site infections, with a higher mortality and longer duration of care than Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. A multifactorial bundled approach is needed to control this epidemic, with single interventions unlikely to have a significant impact on attenuating MRSA infection rates.
Active surveillance has been studied in a wide range of surgical patients, including surgical intensive care and non-intensive care units; cardiac, vascular, orthopedic, obstetric, head and …

Much Work Still To Be Done To Prevent Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections, Kevin T. Kavanagh, Lindsay Calderon, Daniel Saman

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI) are all too common and often fatal events. To estimate the number of preventable CLABSIs, the authors analyzed SIR (Standardized Infection Ratio) and the number of CLABSI data from Hospital Com-pare. Several studies have suggested that an SIR of 0.35 may be achievable. If all institutions were able to perform at this level, then almost 50% of CLABSI would be prevented.

Smooth Muscle-Specific Expression Of Calcium-Independent Phospholipase A2 (Ipla2 ) Participates In The Initiation And Early Progression Of Vascular Inflammation And Neointima Formation, Shu Liu, Zhongwen Xie, Qingwei David Zhao, Huan Pang, John Turk, Lindsay E. Cormier, Wen Su, Guogang Zhao, Haifei Xu, Ming Gong, Zhenheng Guo

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

Background: The role of iPLA 2 β as a regulator of inflammatory signaling and neointima formation is unknown.

Result: Smooth muscle-specific expression of iPLA 2 β exacerbates proinflammatory cytokine production, macrophage infiltration, and neointima formation.

Conclusion: Smooth muscle-specific iPLA 2 β participates in the initiation and early progression of vascular inflammation and neointima formation.

Significance: iPLA 2 β may represent a novel therapeutic target for attenuating vascular inflammation and restenosis.