Circ Cardiovasc Qual
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Circ Cardiovasc Qual · Sep 2014
Association between success rate and citation count of studies of radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: possible evidence of citation bias.
The preferential citation of studies with the highest success rates could exaggerate perceived effectiveness, particularly for treatments with widely varying published success rates such as radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. ⋯ Among studies of radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, high success rate was independently associated with citation count, which may indicate citation bias. To readers of the literature, radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation could be perceived to be more effective than the data supports. These findings may have implications for a wide variety of novel cardiovascular therapies.
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Circ Cardiovasc Qual · Sep 2014
Assessment of the completeness and accuracy of case ascertainment in the Michigan Stroke Registry.
Accurate case ascertainment is essential for clinical registries to be valid and representative. We assessed case ascertainment in the Michigan Stroke Registry by linking to a statewide hospital discharge database (Michigan Inpatient Database [MIDB]). ⋯ Among registry hospitals, these results revealed relatively high levels of completeness and accuracy. Matching registry data to hospital discharge data identified hospitals that changed their case ascertainment method to a case sampling approach. This study illustrates the value of monitoring case ascertainment in stroke registries using external data sources.
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Circ Cardiovasc Qual · Sep 2014
Improving quality measurement for anticoagulation: adding international normalized ratio variability to percent time in therapeutic range.
Among patients receiving warfarin, percent time in therapeutic range (TTR) and international normalized ratio (INR) variability predict adverse events individually. Here, we examined what is added to the prediction of adverse events by using both measures together. ⋯ Unstable anticoagulation predicts warfarin adverse effects independent of TTR. Moreover, knowledge about anticoagulation stability further stratifies the risk for adverse events at given levels of TTR.