News Archive

A metric typically used to determine doses of warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation, international normalized ratio (INR), was once thought to be a potential indicator of future risk levels for bleeding or thrombotic events. However, research published recently in JAMA Cardiology by the DCRI’s Sean Pokorney, MD, MBA, suggests that historical INR values may not be the most accurate predictor of future events.

Molecular diagnostic assays have transformed the field of infectious diseases, allowing for swift and sensitive detection of organisms previously challenging to diagnose, but it can be difficult to study how these new tests perform. Members of the Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG), which is facilitated by the DCRI, recently conducted a study of several assays used to detect extragenital gonorrhea and Chlamydia trachomatis. They say their latest research will help to quell the transmission of these infections and could change the landscape for how diagnostic tests are studied.

Investigators were unsure how they would use genetic information to choose treatment choices, then often failed to follow through on their pre-stipulated plan to use this information.

Researchers examined clinical factors at the time of a patient’s enrollment in the IPF-PRO registry that might predict lung transplant or death.

While heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, relatively few of these patients receive a referral to palliative care, focusing on quality of life and value-based treatment

DCRI researchers found that heart failure patients are much more likely to take a guideline-recommended medication if they are started on the drug while still in the hospital.

Hospitals that perform the highest volume of transcatheter-aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures have significantly lower mortality rates than centers that do fewer of the minimally invasive surgeries, according to an analysis by a collaboration that included the DCRI. The finding, published April 3 in the New England Journal of Medicine, comes as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is reconsidering the procedure’s coverage parameters, which established a center’s volume as a key criterion for reimbursement.

While most Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have committed to continue participating in the recently overhauled flagship Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), physician-led ACOS are leaving at a higher rate than in 2017, new research from the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and Leavitt Partners shows. Highlights of this research were published this month in Health Affairs. The DCRI’s Donald Taylor, PhD, is one of the study’s authors.

When comparing ischemic endpoints, no significant difference was found between patients who received ticagrelor and patients who received clopidogrel.

New research shows that although racial disparities have diminished in recent years, gender disparities are still common.