Repeated measures regression mixture models.

Regression mixture models are one increasingly utilized approach for developing theories about and exploring the heterogeneity of effects. In this study we aimed to extend the current use of regression mixtures to a repeated regression mixture method when repeated measures, such as diary-type and experience-sampling method, data are available. We hypothesized that additional information borrowed from the repeated measures would improve the model performance, in terms of class enumeration and accuracy of the parameter estimates. We specifically compared three types of model specifications in regression mixtures: (a) traditional single-outcome model; (b) repeated measures models with three, five, and seven measures; and (c) a single-outcome model with the average of seven repeated measures. The results showed that the repeated measures regression mixture models substantially outperformed the traditional and average single-outcome models in class enumeration, with less bias in the parameter estimates. For sample size, whereas prior recommendations have suggested that regression mixtures require samples of well over 1,000 participants, even for classes at a large distance from each other (classes with regression weights of .20 vs. .70), the present repeated measures regression mixture models allow for samples as low as 200 participants with an increased number (i.e., seven) of repeated measures. We also demonstrate an application of the proposed repeated measures approach using data from the Sleep Research Project. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Health and demographic discriminators of an insomnia identity and self-reported poor quantitative sleep.

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors that most saliently characterize the profile of individuals who complain of chronic insomnia, with or without quantitative sleep impairment. DESIGN: Community-dwelling adults reported on their demographics and functioning via questionnaires and completed 2 weeks of sleep diaries. SETTING: Shelby County in the Memphis, TN, area. PARTICIPANTS: Population-based sample, stratified by sex and age to maximally represent sleep and health across the life span. MEASUREMENTS: Participants were classified into 4 groups according to whether or not they endorsed a chronic insomnia complaint and whether they demonstrated good or poor quantitative sleep on diaries. Discriminant analysis determined which of the following variables significantly maximized spread among the sleep groups: age, sex, race, body mass index, household education, number of medications, frequency of substance use, number of medical conditions, depression, anxiety, fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and daytime insomnia impact. RESULTS: On the most powerful discriminant function, participants with more medical conditions, greater depression and anxiety, and older age were more likely to complain of chronic insomnia than to not complain and, within these levels, to have poor rather than good quantitative sleep. A second function found African Americans particularly likely to be noncomplaining poor sleepers compared to Whites. CONCLUSIONS: Findings make progress in clarifying the profile of individuals who self-identify as having chronically poor sleep. Notably, general depression and anxiety surpassed sleep-related daytime impairment measures in discriminating complaining sleepers. Negativistic self-appraisals driving diffuse psychological symptoms may thus be viable intervention targets for reducing persistent insomnia complaints independently of sleep-specific concerns.

Psychometric evaluation of the nursing child assessment teaching (NCAT) scale in a community-based sample.

The effect of the mother-child relationship on long-term child development has received research attention for decades. Because the quality and quantity of mother-infant interactions have been established as important predictors of the child's development, early identification of areas in the relationship requiring support and intervention is essential for promoting positive child outcomes. The Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCAT) is an instrument long used to quantify the quality of interaction in the mother-child relationship during the first 36 months of a child's life. While the NCAT has been shown to be a reliable and valid instrument, limited evidence exists of the theoretical congruence between the Barnard Model it is based on and the NCAT scale. The psychometric properties of the NCAT scale and subscales were examined using item response theory in relation to characteristics of interactions in the Barnard Model using data collected during a clinic visit at 12 months of infant age in a sample of mothers and children (N = 1,121 dyads) from a community-based sample in Shelby County, TN. In this secondary analysis, descriptive statistics, reliabilities, and factor loadings for the NCAT were obtained using confirmatory factor analysis and augmented to form multiple indicators, multiple causes models, linking demographic predictors of the mothers and children to the NCAT subscales. Results supported scale abbreviation and theoretical congruence with the Barnard Model, which may provide researchers and practitioners with a more concise, reliable way of measuring maternal-child interaction in community settings.

Maternal and Child Characteristics Associated With Mother-Child Interaction in One-Year-Olds.

Mothers' interactions with their young children have predicted later child development, behavior, and health, but evidence has been developed mainly in at-risk clinical samples. An economically and racially diverse sample of pregnant women who were not experiencing a high-risk pregnancy were recruited to participate in a community-based, longitudinal study of factors associated with child cognitive and social-emotional development during the first 3 years. The purpose of the present analysis was to identify associations between the characteristics of 1125 mothers and their 1-year-olds and the mothers' and children's scores on the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS). A multivariable approach was used to identify maternal and child characteristics associated with NCATS scores and to develop prediction models for NCATS total and subscale scores of mothers and children. Child expressive and receptive communication and maternal IQ, marital status, age, and insurance predicted NCATS Mother total score, accounting for 28% of the score variance. Child expressive communication and birth weight predicted the NCATS Child total score, accounting for 4% of variance. Child's expressive communication and mother's IQ and marital status predicted NCATS mother-child total scores. While these findings were similar to reports of NCATS scores in at-risk populations, no previous teams examined all of the mother and child characteristics included in this analysis. These findings support the utility of the NCATS for assessing mother-child interaction and predicting child outcomes in community-based, non-clinical populations. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Insomnia Complaint Versus Sleep Diary Parameters: Predictions of Suicidal Ideation.

The purpose of this study was to determine which aspects of insomnia best predict suicidal ideation (SI). Participants were grouped according to whether they complained of insomnia and whether their sleep would be characterized as poor or good by applying quantitative criteria for insomnia to their sleep diary data. Analyses revealed that insomnia complaint was more strongly associated with SI than was poor sleep. These findings suggest that patients who complain of insomnia, regardless of the presence or absence of poor sleep, may be at greater risk for suicide than those who are content with their sleep.

Variability in self-reported normal sleep across the adult age span.

OBJECTIVES: Illustrate the importance of examining within- and between-person differences in sleep across the adult age span. METHOD: Two weeks of sleep diary data were analyzed for 592 normal sleepers ranging in age from 20 to 96 years. Variability in total sleep time (TST), number of nighttime awakenings (NWAK), sleep-onset latency (SOL), and wake-time after sleep onset (WASO) were examined overall and by age, sex, and race utilizing multilevel models and multiple regression. RESULTS: Night-to-night differences in sleep within the same individual generally exceeded differences between individuals for TST, SOL, and WASO. The amount of intraindividual variability in TST and NWAK decreased with older age. Further, the degree of reduction in variability in TST associated with age depended on sex and race, with young black females showing the greatest variability. In general, females tended to have more intraindividual variability in SOL and NWAK than males, while race differences were complicated by high variability between blacks. DISCUSSION: To truly assess and understand individual differences in the sleep of older adults, future research needs to take into account night-to-night variability (including what makes sleep vary from one night to the next), in addition to average sleep.

Hopelessness mediates the relation between insomnia and suicidal ideation.

INTRODUCTION: A growing body of literature indicates that insomnia is related to suicidality. However, the mechanism through which insomnia correlates with suicide risk is unclear. The goal of the present research was to determine whether hopelessness, a robust predictor of suicidality, mediates the relation between insomnia and suicidal ideation (SI). METHODS: The present study used archival data from community-dwelling adults. Participants (n = 766) completed a Health Survey, two weeks of daily sleep diaries, and five measures of daytime functioning, including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). BDI item 2 was used to assess hopelessness, and BDI item 9 was used to assess SI. Criteria from the DSM-5 as well as quantitative criteria were used to identify participants with insomnia (n = 135). RESULTS: The analyses revealed that hopelessness is a significant mediator of the relation between insomnia and SI. After adding depression as an additional mediator, hopelessness remained a significant predictor of SI. CONCLUSION: The present research suggests the need for clinicians to routinely screen clients who have insomnia for hopelessness and SI, and to treat hopelessness when it is present. Further research should address the limitations in this sample and should also consider other potential mediators of the insomnia-SI link.

Epidemiology of bedtime, arising time, and time in bed: analysis of age, gender, and ethnicity.

This study investigated the epidemiology of bedtime (BT), arising time (AT), and time in bed (TIB) as a function of age, gender, and ethnicity. Sleep diary data were analyzed for 746 randomly selected community participants. This sample was comprised of 364 men (48.8%) and 382 women (51.2%), 532 Caucasians (71.3%) and 214 African Americans (28.7%), and participant ages ranged from 20 to 98 years. Regression analyses showed a main effect of age on subjective BT, AT, and TIB. The addition of gender and ethnicity to the regression model added significant variance for TIB, but not BT or AT. In general, BT declined across the lifespan, but AT showed a quadratic pattern that peaked in young adulthood, was stable in the middle years, and peaked again in the later years. This age-related combination of BT and AT resulted in greater TIB for older adults than other age groups. Women spent significantly greater TIB than men, and African Americans spent significantly more TIB than Caucasians. These results suggest that there are distinct behavioral sleep patterns associated with age and, in the case of TIB, gender and ethnicity. These patterns may have significant clinical implications, particularly with respect to age.

Psychological treatment of hypnotic-dependent insomnia in a primarily older adult sample.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) in hypnotic-dependent, late middle-age and older adults with insomnia. METHOD: Seventy volunteers age 50 and older were randomized to CBT plus drug withdrawal, placebo biofeedback (PL) plus drug withdrawal, or drug withdrawal (MED) only. The CBT and PL groups received eight, 45 min weekly treatment sessions. The drug withdrawal protocol comprised slow tapering monitored with about six biweekly, 30 min sessions. Assessment including polysomnography (PSG), sleep diaries, hypnotic consumption, daytime functioning questionnaires, and drug screens collected at baseline, posttreatment, and 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: Only the CBT group showed significant sleep diary improvement, sleep onset latency significantly decreased at posttreatment. For all sleep diary measures for all groups, including MED, sleep trended to improvement from baseline to follow-up. Most PSG sleep variables did not significantly change. There were no significant between group differences in medication reduction. Compared to baseline, the three groups decreased hypnotic use at posttreatment, down 84%, and follow-up, down 66%. There was no evidence of withdrawal side-effects. Daytime functioning, including anxiety and depression, improved by posttreatment. Rigorous methodological features, including documentation of strong treatment implementation and the presence of a credible placebo, elevated the confidence due these findings. CONCLUSIONS: Gradual drug withdrawal was associated with substantial hypnotic reduction at posttreatment and follow-up, and withdrawal side-effects were absent. When supplemented with CBT, participants accrued incremental self-reported, but not PSG, sleep benefits.

Predictors of perceived sleep quality among men and women with insomnia.

The present study determined which self-reported sleep variables and daytime impairment measures are most closely associated with sleep quality ratings (SQR) in men and women with insomnia. The participants were 137 people with insomnia, 56 men and 81 women. Multiple regression found that for men, sleep efficiency best predicted SQR, explaining 26.9% of variance. A similar analysis was conducted for women. After race was entered as a covariate, number of awakenings and total sleep time were significant predictors of SQR. Collectively, race, number of awakenings, and total sleep time explained 35.7% of variance. This suggests that the middle-of-the-night experience predicts sleep quality rating in women with insomnia, whereas the full night experience predicts sleep quality ratings in men with insomnia.

Methods and baseline characteristics of a randomized trial treating early childhood obesity: the Positive Lifestyles for Active Youngsters (Team PLAY) trial.

There are few effective obesity interventions directed towards younger children, particularly young minority children. This paper describes the design, intervention, recruitment methods, and baseline data of the ongoing Positive Lifestyles for Active Youngsters (Team PLAY) study. This randomized controlled trial is designed to test the efficacy of a 6-month, moderately intense, primary care feasible, family-based behavioral intervention, targeting both young children and their parent, in promoting healthy weight change. Participants are 270 overweight and obese children (ages 4 to 7 years) and their parents, who were recruited from a primarily African American urban population. Parents and children were instructed in proven cognitive behavioral techniques (e.g. goal setting, self-talk, stimulus control and reinforcement) designed to encourage healthier food choices (more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and less concentrated fats and sugar), reduce portion sizes, decrease sweetened beverages and increase moderate to vigorous physical activity engagement. The main outcome of this study is change in BMI at two year post enrollment. Recruitment using reactive methods (mailings, TV ads, pamphlets) was found to be more successful than using only a proactive approach (referral through physicians). At baseline, most children were very obese with an average BMI z-score of 2.6. Reported intake of fruits and vegetables and minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity engagement did not meet national recommendations. If efficacious, Team PLAY would offer a model for obesity treatment directed at families with young children that could be tested and translated to both community and primary care settings.

Thyroid function and 3,3'-diiodothyronine sulfate cross-reactive substance (compound W) in maternal hyperthyroidism with antithyroid treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To test whether the serial measurement of maternal levels of compound W, a 3,3'-diiodothyronine sulfate cross-reactive substance, can serve as a potential indicator of fetal thyroid function in pregnant women receiving antithyroid medication. METHODS: Compound W was measured repeatedly in serum of pregnant women with hyperthyroidism treated with antithyroid medication. Free thyroxine levels of mothers and serum thyroid-stimulating hormone levels of 1-day-old neonates were analyzed by local clinical or state laboratories. RESULTS: Use of minimal antithyroid medication impaired the progressive increase of compound W seen in euthyroid mothers during pregnancy. At term, depressed compound W levels in maternal serum were found in 7 of 22 pregnancies; in 1 case, maternal compound W was suppressed and newborn thyroid-stimulating hormone was elevated. Seven mothers with treated hyperthyroidism failed to show an increase in serum levels of compound W after midterm. CONCLUSION: Normal progression of maternal serum compound W may be an index of normal fetal thyroid development in mothers with hyperthyroidism treated with necessary antithyroid medication.

Association between report of insomnia and daytime functioning.

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between reports of insomnia and daytime functioning was investigated using hierarchical regression. The presence or absence of a report of insomnia was the predictor of primary interest. A number of covariates were included in the model: demographic variables, health variables, and quantitative sleep parameters. METHODS: Data were collected from a community sample in the Memphis, Tennessee area. Data from 734 volunteers, ranging in age from 20 to 96years were analyzed. The sample included 235 individuals who reported having chronic insomnia and 499 individuals who reported no sleep problems. Participants completed a 2-week sleep diary, a battery of daytime functioning questionnaires, and a medical disorders checklist. Demographic information was also collected. The daytime functioning assessment included the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Insomnia Impact Scale, and the Fatigue Severity Scale. The hierarchical regression model included four sets. The first three sets consisted of 18 variables capturing demographic, health, and sleep diary parameters. The fourth set included a single dichotomous variable representing the presence or absence of a report of insomnia. RESULTS: Reports of insomnia were a significant predictor of all five daytime functioning measures, which is consistent with previous research. We also showed that reports of insomnia were able to uniquely explain a significant amount of variability in self-reported daytime functioning after controlling for demographics, health, and sleep diary variables. The pattern of individual variables that reached significance in the first three sets varied depending on which daytime functioning measure was predicted, however, age, the presence of pain, the presence of mental health problems, SOL, and WASO were the most commonly significant predictors of poor daytime functioning from these sets across measures. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals' perceptions of their sleep are related to differences in their reported daytime functioning, which are not accounted for by demographic factors, health surveys, or quantitative sleep assessments. Reports of insomnia may be related to a set of common cognitive factors among individuals who report having insomnia which cause them to be distressed with their sleep and increase their dissatisfaction with daytime functioning. Relevance of the findings to insomnia research and clinical management are discussed.

Endovascular management of iliac rupture during endovascular aneurysm repair.

BACKGROUND: Inadequate iliac artery diameter, calcification, and tortuosity are associated with increased incidence of iliac injury during abdominal (EVAR) and thoracic endovascular aneurysm repair (TEVAR). Despite careful preoperative assessment and use of iliac conduits, inadvertent iliac rupture is a source of morbidity and mortality. This report details our single-center, 10-year experience with intraoperative iliac artery rupture and describes a successful endovascular salvage technique. METHODS: All patients undergoing EVAR and TEVAR between August 1997 and June 2008 were reviewed. Computed tomography (CT) measurements of access vessels were obtained for all patients. The smallest diameter of the external or common iliac artery was used to determine suitability for access based on the instructions for use for each device. Patients who underwent repair of a procedure-related iliac artery rupture were identified. Outcomes among patients who did not have an access vessel rupture (nonruptured group) and those who did (ruptured group) were compared. Patency of the endovascular iliac repair is reported. RESULTS: During the study period, 369 EVARs and 67 TEVARs were performed. Eleven iliac conduits were used, all during TEVAR (16%). There were 18 ruptured iliac arteries in 17 patients; 11 EVAR patients (2.98%) sustained iliac rupture vs six TEVAR patients (8.9%). One EVAR patient was converted to open repair. Seventeen ruptures in 16 patients were successfully treated with endovascular stent graft placement. Iliac rupture was more likely to occur during TEVAR (8.9%) than EVAR (2.98%; P = .0239, Fisher exact test). Significantly more women were in the ruptured group (76% vs 19%; P < .0001, Fisher exact test). Patients in the ruptured group had longer lengths of stay (7.6 vs 5.1 days; P = .0895, t test), no 30-day mortality, but a procedure-related mortality of 11.8%. In the nonrupture group, 30-day mortality was 6.6% (4 of 61) and 2.8% (10 of 358) for TEVAR and EVAR, respectively, and procedure-related mortality was 9.8% (6 of 61) and 3.1% (11 of 358). For endovascular repair of iliac rupture, primary and primary-assisted patency was 88.2% and 94.1%, respectively, with median follow-up of 40 months (range 10-115 months). CONCLUSION: Iliac rupture during EVAR or TEVAR can be successfully managed with endovascular stent grafting. Higher mortality and length of stay associated with iliac artery rupture confirm that there is no substitute for prevention. Access vessels of all patients undergoing EVAR should be examined closely for suitability. The threshold for using an iliac conduit, especially in women undergoing TEVAR, should be low.

Timing of antimicrobial prophylaxis and the risk of surgical site infections: results from the Trial to Reduce Antimicrobial Prophylaxis Errors.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the optimal timing for surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (AMP). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: National AMP guidelines should be supported by evidence from large contemporary data sets. METHODS: Twenty-nine hospitals prospectively obtained information on AMP from 4472 randomly selected cardiac, hip/knee arthroplasty, and hysterectomy cases. Surgical site infections (SSIs) were ascertained through routine surveillance, using National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance system methodology. The association between the prophylaxis timing and the occurrence of SSI was assessed using conditional logistic regression (conditioning on hospital). RESULTS: One-hundred thirteen SSI were detected in 109 patients. SSI risk increased incrementally as the interval of time between antibiotic infusion and the incision increased (overall association between timing and infection risk P = 0.04). When antibiotics requiring long infusion times (vancomycin and fluoroquinolones) were excluded, the infection risk following administration of antibiotic within 30 minutes prior to incision was 1.6% compared with 2.4% associated with administration of antibiotic between 31 to 60 minutes prior to surgery (OR: 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-3.04). The infection risk increased as the time interval between preoperative antibiotic and incision increased or if the antibiotic was first infused after incision. Intraoperative redosing (performed in only 21% of long operations) appeared to reduce SSI risk in operations lasting more than 4 hours (OR of 3.08 with no redosing; 95% confidence interval 0.74-12.90), but only when the preoperative dose was given correctly. CONCLUSIONS: These data from a large multicenter collaborative study confirm and extend previous observations and show a consistent relationship between the timing of AMP and SSI risk with a trend toward lower risk occurring when AMP with cephalosporins and other antibiotics with short infusion times were given within 30 minutes prior to incision.

Perinatal outcomes in pregnancies managed with antenatal insulin glargine.

We compared perinatal outcomes in pregnancies in which insulin glargine was used in the management of patients with pregnancies in which standard insulin therapy was used at a single institution. A retrospective analysis of 114 pregnant patients with diabetes (pregestational or gestational) managed at a single center between January 2004 and August 2006 was undertaken. Sixty-five patients managed with insulin glargine were compared with 49 patients managed with neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin. Both groups were also treated with short-acting insulin (either regular, lispro, or aspart insulin). Maternal age, parity, prepregnancy weight, body mass index, duration of diabetes, hemoglobin A (1C) (at entry and final recorded) and gestational age at entry were similar for each group (glargine and NPH). Thirty patients had gestational diabetes (18 glargine and 12 NPH); there were no differences in numbers of patients in higher-order White's classification between the two groups. Cesarean section for obstetric reasons included labor abnormalities, malpresentation, fetal distress, and suspected macrosomia. There were no differences in gestational age at delivery, birth weight, preeclampsia, or frequency of cesarean section (total or for obstetric reasons). The frequency of shoulder dystocia was higher in the NPH group. Regarding neonatal outcomes, gestational age at delivery, birth weight, Apgar scores, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, respiratory distress syndrome, hypoglycemia, and congenital anomalies were similar between the two groups. From this retrospective analysis, no adverse maternal or neonatal effects were seen from maternal administration of insulin glargine. A larger multicenter study is needed to confirm these findings. This preliminary report suggests that use of insulin glargine during pregnancy can be considered if maternal metabolic control is suboptimal using the standard split-mix regimen.

Loop diuretic use and fracture in postmenopausal women: findings from the Women's Health Initiative.

BACKGROUND: The relationship of loop diuretics to bone mineral density (BMD), falls, and fractures in postmenopausal women has not been established. METHODS: We examined whether loop diuretics are associated with changes in BMD, falls, and fractures in women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative. We included the 133,855 women (3411 users and 130,444 nonusers of loop diuretics) who were enrolled in the WHI from October 29, 1993 to December 31, 1998 and determined incident falls and fractures for a mean of 7.7 years. Women who had BMD measurements at baseline and at year 3 (300 users and 9124 nonusers of loop diuretics) were also examined. RESULTS: After adjustment for covariates, no significant association was found between ever use of loop diuretics and total (hazard ratio [HR], 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.19), hip (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.91-1.60), and clinical vertebral fractures (HR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.92-1.48) and falls (1.02; 0.96-1.08). An increased risk was found for other clinical fractures (1.16; 1.01-133) and total fractures (1.16; 1.03-1.31) with more than 3 years' use of loop diuretics. The BMD changes were not associated with loop diuretic use. CONCLUSIONS: After adjustment for confounding variables, no significant association was found between ever use of loop diuretics and changes in BMD, falls, and fractures. Loop diuretics were used by women in poor health who were already at risk for fractures. However, prolonged use of loop diuretics was associated with higher fracture risk in postmenopausal women.

The effect of a quality improvement collaborative to improve antimicrobial prophylaxis in surgical patients: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Quality improvement collaboratives are used to improve health care quality, but their efficacy remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of a quality improvement collaborative on preoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis. DESIGN: Longitudinal cluster randomized trial, with the quality improvement collaborative as the intervention. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: 44 acute care hospitals, each of which randomly sampled approximately 100 selected surgical cases (cardiac, hip or knee replacement, and hysterectomy) at both the baseline and remeasurement phases. INTERVENTION: All hospitals received a comparative feedback report. Hospitals randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 22) participated in a quality improvement collaborative comprising 2 in-person meetings led by experts, monthly teleconferences, and receipt of supplemental materials over 9 months. MEASUREMENTS: Change in the proportion of patients receiving at least 1 antibiotic dose within 60 minutes of surgery (primary outcome) and change in the proportions of patients given any antibiotics, given antibiotics for 24 hours or less, given an appropriate drug, and given a single preoperative dose and receipt of any of the 5 measures (secondary outcome). RESULTS: The groups did not differ in the change in proportion of patients who received a properly timed antimicrobial prophylaxis dose (-3.8 percentage points [95% CI, -13.9 to 6.2 percentage points]) after adjustment for region, hospital size, and surgery type. Similarly, the groups did not differ in individual measures of antibiotic duration; use of appropriate drug; receipt of a single preoperative dose; or an all-or-none measure combining timing, duration, and selection. LIMITATIONS: Hospitals volunteered for the effort, thereby resulting in selection for participants who were motivated to change. Implementation of the surgical infection prevention measure reporting requirements by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission may have motivated improvement in prophylaxis performance. CONCLUSION: At a time of heightened national attention toward measures of antimicrobial prophylaxis performance, the trial did not demonstrate a benefit of participation in a quality improvement collaborative over performance feedback for improvement of these measures.

Fracture risk in men with congestive heart failure risk reduction with spironolactone.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether spironolactone use is associated with fractures in men with congestive heart failure (CHF). BACKGROUND: In rats with aldosteronism, spironolactone preserves skeletal strength. However, in humans, the relationship of spironolactone to fractures is not known. METHODS: The medical records of all male patients with CHF from 1999 to 2005 treated at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Memphis, Tennessee, were reviewed (n = 4,735). Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals of having a fracture associated with spironolactone use were estimated using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: We identified 167 cases with a single-incident fracture and matched these by age and race to 668 control subjects without fractures. After adjustment for covariates, spironolactone use was inversely associated with total fracture (odds ratio: 0.575; 95% confidence interval: 0.346 to 0.955, p = 0.0324). CONCLUSIONS: The use of spironolactone is inversely associated with fractures in men with CHF.

Psychometric evaluation of the Beck anxiety inventory: a sample with sleep-disordered breathing.

This study aimed to document the psychometric properties of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) within a population with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), given concerns about overlapping symptomatology between anxiety and sleep apnea. Results supported good internal consistency and convergent and discriminant validity for the BAI and a single-factor solution for men, women, and the total sample. Women had higher scores than men, and discriminant analyses differentiated men from women based on item responses. The BAI has acceptable reliability and validity within a SDB population, supporting its use as a gauge of anxiety severity in individuals with SDB. This is a preliminary study to measure anxiety severity in SDB; future research is needed to determine the utility of the BAI as a diagnostic screener.