Article
Clinical Neurology
George Thomas, Sydney Bornstein, Kevin Cho, Raj D. Rao
Summary: This study analyzed trends in medical industry payments to spine surgeons and all physicians from 2014 to 2019, finding that while payments to all physicians increased, payments to spine surgeons decreased, largely due to decreasing payments from the top eight device manufacturers with the highest level of surgeon payments.
Article
Orthopedics
Peter B. White, Cesar Iturriaga, Nicholas Frane, Matthew J. Partan, Uche Ononuju, Michael A. Mont, Adam Bitterman
Summary: This study found a nonsignificant increasing trend in payments to adult reconstruction-trained orthopedic surgeons, as well as an increasing number of surgeons receiving payments. There were increasing trends in median payment per surgeon for education and entertainment expenses, but a decreasing trend for honoraria payments. The majority of the top 5 companies had nonsignificant trends in their payments.
JOURNAL OF ARTHROPLASTY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Deborah C. Marshall, Elizabeth S. Tarras, Kenneth Rosenzweig, Sue S. Yom, Jona Hattangadi-Gluth, James Murphy, Deborah Korenstein, Susan Chimonas
Summary: The study found that since the implementation of the Open Payments program, payments to radiation oncologists have significantly increased in both amount and frequency, while decreasing for medical oncologists and other hospital-based physicians. This indicates a trend of differentiation in industry payments among different groups of physicians.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY BIOLOGY PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Oncology
April L. Metzger, Adams Kusi Appiah, Christopher M. Wright, Vikram Jairam, Arya Amini, Henry S. Park, James W. Welsh, Charles R. Thomas, Vivek Verma, Ethan B. Ludmir
Summary: Financial conflicts of interest (FCOIs) may bias oncologic randomized clinical trials (RCTs), with investigators receiving substantial amounts of payments potentially influencing trial outcomes. Analysis shows that higher payments were associated with certain types of trials and medical specialties, highlighting the need for thorough scrutiny to ensure trial integrity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2021)
Article
Surgery
Brittany G. Sullivan, Fares Al-Khouja, Margaret Herre, Morgan Manasa, Alexander Kreger, Jessica Escobar, Andreea Dinicu, Ariana Naaseh, Farideh Dehkordi-Vakil, Michael Stamos, Alessio Pigazzi, Mehraneh D. Jafari
Summary: This study found that male physicians received significantly higher payments from the highest-grossing medical industry companies compared with female physicians. This disparity persisted across all medical specialties and academic ranks. The health care industry gender payment gap continued to increase from 2013 to 2019, with a wider compensation gap in 2019.
Article
Ophthalmology
Praneeth Kalva, Akash Kakkilaya, Priya Mekala, Irina Kim Cavdar, Monica Patel, Karanjit S. Kooner
Summary: This study analyzes the trends and characteristics of research payments reported from industry to ophthalmologists from 2014 to 2020. The results demonstrate the increasing importance of industry funding in ophthalmology research, with a significant increase in funding over the years. Despite the unequal distribution, industry-funded research in ophthalmology covers a wide range of areas.
JAMA OPHTHALMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
SooYoung H. VanDeMark, Mia R. Woloszyn, Laura A. Christman, Michael H. Gatusky, Warren S. Lam, Stephanie S. Tilberry, Brian J. Piper
Summary: This study revealed that contributors to point-of-care databases received nearly $78 million from pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers, and these payments were often not disclosed in association with contributed content.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Aimen Vanood, Aryana Sharrak, Patrick Karabon, Daniel K. Fahim
Summary: The Open Payments Database, established in 2013, aims to address financial conflicts of interest between physicians and the medical industry. This study evaluated the first 5 years of the database in neurosurgery, finding that a small percentage of industry-sponsored research funding goes to neurosurgeons, with a significant portion going to a small group of individuals.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Janessa M. Graves, Julia A. Dilley, Lucia Terpak, Ashley Brooks-Russell, Jennifer M. Whitehill, Tracy A. Klein, Erica Liebelt
Summary: The study analyzed epidemiologic trends in kratom-related exposures among older adults reported to U.S. poison centers from 2014 to 2019. It found an increasing trend of kratom use among older adults over the years, highlighting the potential risks that healthcare providers and older adult patients should be aware of.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Anju Murayama, Kenji Nakano, Sae Kamamoto, Masaya Sato, Hiroaki Saito, Tetsuya Tanimoto, Akihiko Ozaki
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the trend in nonresearch payments made by the industries to infectious disease physicians in the United States since the launch of the Open Payments Database and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed a decrease in the total amount of payments and the number of physicians accepting payments since the inception of the database, and a significant decrease in nonresearch payments due to the pandemic. However, there was a slight increase in payments and the number of physicians accepting payments after the onset of the pandemic.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Mihir Khunte, Anthony Zhong, Xiao Wu, Seyedmehdi Payabvash, Dheeraj Gandhi, Howard P. Forman, Ajay Malhotra
Summary: This study analyzed the distribution of industry payments to radiologists and found that between 2016 and 2020, industry payments were highly concentrated among a small group of radiologists. The majority of payments were in the form of gifts, and there was a significant disparity in payment amount and frequency between the top 5% and bottom 95% groups.
ACADEMIC RADIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Orthopedics
Robert J. Burkhart, Alexander J. Acuna, Kevin Y. Zhu, Atul F. Kamath
Summary: This study evaluated the cost-to-charge ratios (CCR) for orthopaedic surgery services provided to Medicare beneficiaries in the United States and found that the CCRs were low and variable. These findings can inform price transparency policies and prevent the limitation of care for vulnerable populations due to low CCRs.
JOURNAL OF BONE AND JOINT SURGERY-AMERICAN VOLUME
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Joyce L. Woo, Alex Butler, Natalie Jayaram, Tara Karamlou, Damien LaPar, Brett R. Anderson
Summary: Industry payments within the congenital heart community vary based on hospital reputation and provider experience, with higher payments seen at top-ranked hospitals and more experienced providers. Understanding these biases is important for governing conflicts of interest and maintaining a balance with industry relationships in clinical innovation.
ANNALS OF THORACIC SURGERY
(2021)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Andrew R. Kolarich, Sharon Pang, Alex J. Solomon, Ryan W. England, Christos Georgiades
Summary: Total consulting fees to interventional radiologists increased significantly between 2014 and 2018, driven by both the increased number of physicians paid consulting fees and the increased average payment amount.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Hongying Dai, Athena K. Ramos, Babalola Faseru, Jennie L. Hill, Steven Y. Sussman
Summary: The study found significant disparities in youth e-cigarette use patterns across different racial/ethnic groups. From 2014 to 2019, dual use and occasional use decreased significantly among racial/ethnic groups except for non-Hispanic Blacks, while frequent use and flavored e-cigarette use increased among non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics/Latinos, and non-Hispanic others.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Rheumatology
Manuel Francisco Ugarte-Gil, Graciela S. Alarcon, Zara Izadi, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Cristina Reategui-Sokolova, Ann Elaine Clarke, Leanna Wise, Guillermo J. Pons-Estel, Maria Jose Santos, Sasha Bernatsky, Sandra Lucia Euzebio Ribeiro, Samar Al Emadi, Jeffrey A. Sparks, Tiffany Y-T Hsu, Naomi J. Patel, Emily L. Gilbert, Maria O. Valenzuela-Almada, Andreas Jonsen, Gianpiero Landolfi, Micaela Fredi, Tiphaine Goulenok, Mathilde Devaux, Xavier Mariette, Viviane Queyrel, Vasco C. Romao, Graca Sequeira, Rebecca Hasseli, Bimba Hoyer, Reinhard E. Voll, Christof Specker, Roberto Baez, Vanessa Castro-Coello, Hernan Maldonado Ficco, Edgard Torres Reis Neto, Gilda Aparecida Aparecida Ferreira, Odirlei Andre Andre Monticielo, Emily Sirotich, Jean Liew, Jonathan Hausmann, Paul Sufka, Rebecca Grainger, Suleman Bhana, Wendy Costello, Zachary S. Wallace, Lindsay Jacobsohn, Tiffany Taylor, Clairissa Ja, Anja Strangfeld, Elsa F. Mateus, Kimme L. Hyrich, Loreto Carmona, Saskia Lawson-Tovey, Lianne Kearsley-Fleet, Martin Schaefer, Pedro M. Machado, Philip C. Robinson, Milena Gianfrancesco, Jinoos Yazdany
Summary: The severity of COVID-19 outcomes in individuals with SLE is associated with factors such as gender, age, steroid dosage, comorbidities, and the activity of SLE.
ANNALS OF THE RHEUMATIC DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Rheumatology
Matthew J. Koster, Cynthia S. Crowson, Rachel E. Giblon, Jane M. Jaquith, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Eric L. Matteson, Cornelia M. Weyand, Kenneth J. Warrington
Summary: This study investigated the use of baricitinib in patients with relapsing giant cell arteritis (GCA) and found it was well tolerated, allowing for discontinued use of glucocorticoids in most patients. Larger randomized clinical trials are necessary to further evaluate the efficacy of JAK inhibition in GCA.
ANNALS OF THE RHEUMATIC DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Ali Duarte-Garcia, Cynthia S. Crowson, Rozalina G. McCoy, Jeph Herrin, Veronica Lam, Michael S. Putman, Joseph S. Ross, Eric L. Matteson, Nilay D. Shah
Summary: Payments from pharmaceutical companies to rheumatologists are associated with increased probability of prescribing and Medicare spending.
MAYO CLINIC PROCEEDINGS
(2022)
Article
Rheumatology
Ali Duarte-Garcia, Mehmet Hocaoglu, Shirley-Ann Osei-Onomah, Jesse Y. Dabit, Rachel E. Giblon, Charles G. Helmick, Cynthia S. Crowson
Summary: The study found that the incidence of SLE was higher when classified by the EULAR/ACR criteria compared to the ACR97 and SLICC criteria. The EULAR/ACR criteria also classified patients earlier than the ACR97 criteria, but similarly to the SLICC criteria.
Article
Rheumatology
Jesse Y. Dabit, Mehmet Hocaoglu, Kevin G. Moder, Andrew J. Barkmeier, Wendy M. Smith, Thomas J. O'Byrne, Cynthia S. Crowson, Ali Duarte-Garcia
Summary: This study aimed to estimate the risk of HCQ retinopathy among incident users in the community. HCQ retinopathy risk at 10 years of use was found to be lower compared to previous estimations, with a significant increase in risk associated with higher doses and cumulative doses of HCQ. Aim for HCQ dose control at <5 mg/kg to reduce the risk of retinopathy.
Article
Rheumatology
Maria O. Valenzuela-Almada, Mehmet Hocaoglu, Jesse Y. Dabit, Shirley-Ann Osei-Onomah, Matthew L. Basiaga, Amir B. Orandi, Rachel E. Giblon, Kamil E. Barbour, Cynthia S. Crowson, Ali Duarte-Garcia
Summary: This study characterized the incidence and prevalence of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and found that the diagnosis rate of SLE in childhood was around 9% among all SLE patients. Further studies are needed to understand the epidemiology of childhood-onset SLE in minority populations.
ARTHRITIS CARE & RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Rheumatology
Richard Conway, Alyssa A. Grimshaw, Maximilian F. Konig, Michael Putman, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Leslie Yingzhijie Tseng, Diego M. Cabrera, Yu Pei Eugenia Chock, Huseyin Berk Degirmenci, Eimear Duff, Bugra Han Egeli, Elizabeth R. Graef, Akash Gupta, Patricia Harkins, Bimba F. Hoyer, Arundathi Jayatilleke, Shangyi Jin, Christopher Kasia, Aneka Khilnani, Adam Kilian, Alfred H. J. Kim, Chung Mun Alice Lin, Candice Low, Laurie Proulx, Sebastian E. Sattui, Namrata Singh, Jeffrey A. Sparks, Herman Tam, Manuel F. Ugarte-Gil, Natasha Ung, Kaicheng Wang, Leanna M. Wise, Ziyi Yang, Kristen J. Young, Jean W. Liew, Rebecca Grainger, Zachary S. Wallace, Evelyn Hsieh
Summary: This study indicates that individuals with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) have a higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and an increased mortality rate compared to those without RMDs.
ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATOLOGY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Rheumatology
Ali Duarte-Garcia, Jinoos Yazdany
JOURNAL OF RHEUMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Rheumatology
Manuel F. Ugarte-Gil, Graciela S. Alarcon, Andrea M. Seet, Zara Izadi, Anna D. Montgomery, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Emily L. Gilbert, Maria O. Valenzuela-Almada, Leanna Wise, Jeffrey A. Sparks, Tiffany Y. -T. Hsu, Kristin M. D'Silva, Naomi J. Patel, Emily Sirotich, Jean W. Liew, Jonathan S. Hausmann, Paul Sufka, Rebecca Grainger, Suleman Bhana, Zachary Wallace, Lindsay Jacobsohn, Anja Strangfeld, Elsa F. Mateus, Kimme L. Hyrich, Laure Gossec, Loreto Carmona, Saskia Lawson-Tovey, Lianne Kearsley-Fleet, Martin Schaefer, Pedro M. Machado, Philip C. Robinson, Milena Gianfrancesco, Jinoos Yazdany
Summary: A study on individuals with SLE in the US found that Black and Hispanic patients had higher odds of experiencing more severe COVID-19 outcomes compared to White patients, which may be attributed to socioeconomic and health disparities.
ARTHRITIS CARE & RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Rheumatology
Ruth Fernandez-Ruiz, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Noelle A. Rolle, Sebastian E. Sattui, Didem Saygin, Sharon Dowell, Swetha A. Alexander, Bharat Kumar, Maria Danila, Namrata Singh
ARTHRITIS & RHEUMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Rheumatology
Connor Pedersen, Shannon Tai, Erin Valley, Kathryn Henry, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Shikha Singla, Michael Putman
Summary: This study aims to describe the proportion of unpublished randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in rheumatic diseases and identify factors associated with publication. Results showed that a high proportion of published trials were phase 3 RCTs (57.1% vs 28.6% unpublished) or had a positive primary outcome (64.9% vs 25.7% unpublished). This highlights the issue of unpublished RCTs in rheumatology and the association between publication and positive outcomes.
Review
Rheumatology
Christie M. Bartels, April Jorge, Candace H. Feldman, JoAnn Zell, Bonnie Bermas, Claire E. H. Barber, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Shivani Garg, Leah Haseley, Shraddha Jatwani, Tracy Johansson, Alex Limanni, Wendy Rodgers, Brad H. Rovin, Yesenia Santiago-Casas, Lisa G. Suter, April Barnado, Jennifer Ude, Alfredo Aguirre, Jing Li, Gabriela Schmajuk, Jinoos Yazdany
Summary: This study aimed to develop measurable digital quality measure statements for clinical care in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using a consensus method. A panel of SLE experts reviewed guidelines and extracted quality constructs to generate evidence-based quality measure statements. Through a Delphi process, three top-ranked statements on hydroxychloroquine use, glucocorticoid reduction, and kidney monitoring were selected for further specification and testing.
ARTHRITIS CARE & RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Rheumatology
Maria A. Stevens, Hayley J. Dykhoff, Vanessa L. Kronzer, Elena Myasoedova, John M. Davis, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Cynthia S. Crowson
Summary: Multimorbidity has a greater impact on women with RA, while men are more likely to have cardiovascular-related conditions. These findings suggest that research, clinical practice, and policies related to rheumatic diseases should take into account the variation in care needs by sex and gender.
Article
Rheumatology
Gabriel Figueroa-Parra, Jose A. Meade-Aguilar, Cassondra A. Hulshizer, Tina M. Gunderson, Alanna M. Chamberlain, Uma Thanarajasingam, Kurt J. Greenlund, Kamil E. Barbour, Cynthia S. Crowson, Ali Duarte-Garcia
Summary: The study aimed to assess the prevalence and incidence of multimorbidity and its association with the SLICC/ACR damage index (SDI) among patients with SLE. The results showed that patients with SLE were more likely to have multimorbidity, both before and after the onset of the disease. Multimorbidity was driven by both SDI-related and unrelated conditions.
Article
Rheumatology
Katie Henry, Desh Nepal, Erin Valley, Connor Pedersen, Ali Duarte-Garcia, Michael Putman
Summary: This study examined the impact of comparative efficacy randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on rheumatology guidelines and found that their influence is relatively low. The majority of cited RCTs evaluated biologic/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, with a minority using a head-to-head design. Only a small percentage of recommendations had a high level of evidence support.
ACR OPEN RHEUMATOLOGY
(2022)