Ann B. Nattinger

Geographic Variation in the Use of Breast-Conserving Treatment for Breast Cancer

BACKGROUND In the past decade there has been an increase in the use of treatment designed to conserve the breast for women with breast cancer. The extent to which such treatment has been adopted in various regions of the country and whether characteristics of hospitals and patients predict its use is not known, however. METHODS We used national data on Medicare claims for inpatient care provided in 1986 to study 36,982 women 65 to 79 years of age, who had local or regional breast cancer and underwent either mastectomy or breast-conserving treatment (local excision, quadrantectomy, or subtotal mastectomy). Information about the hospitals at which these women were treated was obtained from an American Hospital Association survey. RESULTS Of the 36,982 women, 12.1 percent had breast-conserving surgery and 87.9 percent had a mastectomy. The frequency of breast-conserving surgery ranged from 3.5 percent to 21.2 percent in various states. The highest rate of use was in the Middle Atlantic states (20.0 percent) and New England (17.2 percent), and the lowest was in the East South Central states (5.9 percent) and the West South Central states (7.3 percent). Breast-conserving treatment was used more often in urban than in rural areas, in teaching hospitals than in nonteaching hospitals, in large hospitals than in small hospitals, and in hospitals with on-site radiation therapy or geriatric services than in others. Most of the geographic variation persisted after adjustment for the characteristics of hospitals and patients for which data were available. CONCLUSIONS There is substantial geographic variation in the use of breast-conserving surgery, which cannot be explained by differences in hospital characteristics. Hospital characteristics that were independently redictive of greater use of breast-conserving surgery were the size of the metropolitan area, the status of the institution as a teaching hospital, and the availability of radiation therapy and geriatric services.

Predictive Factors and Outcomes in Endoscopic Sinus Surgery for Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Purpose: To assess objective and quality of life (QOL) outcomes before and after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and to determine preoperative factors that predict surgical outcome in these patients.

Generalizability of the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results registry population: Factors relevant to epidemiologic and health care research

To assess the generalizability of the population included in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) tumor registries to the overall United States population, we compared the population of the 198 SEER counties to the population of the 2882 non-SEER counties regarding sociodemographic factors, physician availability, and availability of pertinent hospital resources. The population residing within the SEER areas is more affluent, has lower unemployment, and is substantially more urban than the remainder of the U.S. population (p < 0.001 for each). The SEER areas have fewer general and family practice physicians, but more total nonfederal physicians, general internists, and specialists relevant to cancer care. SEER areas have fewer Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals accredited hospitals, hospital beds, and hospitals with CT scanners, but more hospitals with bone marrow transplantation. The differences between the SEER population and the remainder of the United States, especially SEERs higher socioeconomic status and more urban population, should be considered when generalizing from SEER to the entire country.

Frequency or Probability? A Qualitative Study of Risk Communication Formats Used in Health Care

Background . The communication of probabilistic outcomes is an essential aspect of shared medical decision making. Methods . The authors conducted a qualitative study using focus groups to evaluate the response of women to various formats used in the communication of breast cancer risk. Findings . Graphic discrete frequency formats using highlighted human figures had greater salience than continuous probability formats using bar graphs. Potential biases in the estimation of risk magnitude were associated with the use of highlighted human figures versus bar graphs and the denominator size in graphics using highlighted human figures. The presentation of uncertainty associated with risk estimates caused some to loose trust in the information, whereas others were accepting of uncertainty in scientific data. Conclusion . The qualitative study identified new constructs with regard to how patients process probabilistic information. Further research in the clinical setting is needed to provide a theoretical justification for the format used when presenting risk information to patients.

Relation between appropriateness of primary therapy for earlystage breast carcinoma and increased use of breast-conserving surgery

BACKGROUND Breast-conserving surgery is a more complex treatment than mastectomy, because a separate incision is needed for axillary lymph-node dissection, and postoperative radiotherapy is necessary. We postulated that adoption of this therapy into clinical practice might have led to discrepancies between the care recommended and that received. METHODS We used records of the US national Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results tumour registry to study 144,759 women aged 30 years and older who underwent surgery for early-stage breast cancer between 1983 and 1995. We calculated the proportion undergoing at least the minimum appropriate primary treatment (defined, in accordance with the recommendations of a National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference in 1990, as total mastectomy with axillary node dissection or breast-conserving surgery with axillary node dissection and radiotherapy) during each 3-month period. FINDINGS The proportion of women receiving appropriate primary therapy fell from 88% in 1983-89 to 78% by the end of 1995. This decline was observed in all subgroups of age, race, stage, and population density. Of all women in the cohort, the proportion undergoing an inappropriate form of mastectomy remained stable at about 2.7% throughout the study period. The proportion undergoing an inappropriate form of breast-conserving surgery (omission of radiotherapy, axillary node dissection, or both) increased from 10% in 1989 to 19% at the end of 1995. INTERPRETATION Although most women undergo appropriate care, the appropriateness of care for early-stage breast cancer in the USA declined from 1990 to 1995. Because the proportion of all women who were treated by breast-conserving surgery increased, and because this approach was more likely than was mastectomy to be applied inappropriately, the proportion of all women having inappropriate care increased.

The influence of black race and socioeconomic status on the use of breast-conserving surgery for medicare beneficiaries

This study explores the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) and black race on the use of breast‐conserving surgery (BCS) as opposed to mastectomy for early stage breast carcinoma.

Accuracy and completeness of Medicare claims data for surgical treatment of breast cancer

BACKGROUND Although a number of studies have used Medicare claims data to study trends and variations in breast cancer treatment, the accuracy and completeness of information on surgical treatment for breast cancer in the Medicare data have not been validated. OBJECTIVES This study assessed the accuracy and completeness of Medicare claims data for breast cancer surgery to determine whether Medicare claims can serve as a source of data to augment information collected by cancer registries. METHODS We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Cancer Registry-Medicare data and compared Medicare claims on surgery with the surgery recorded by the SEER registries for 23,709 women diagnosed with breast cancer at > or =65 years of age from 1991 through 1993. RESULTS More than 95% of women having mastectomies according to the Medicare data were confirmed by SEER. For breast-conserving surgery, 91% of cases were confirmed by SEER. The Medicare physician services claims and inpatient claims were approximately equal in accuracy on type of surgery. The Medicare outpatient claims were less accurate for breast-conserving surgery. In terms of completeness, when the 3 claims sources were combined, 94% of patients receiving breast cancer surgery according to SEER were identified by Medicare. CONCLUSIONS The combined Medicare claims database, which includes the inpatient, outpatient, and physician service claims, provides valid information on surgical treatment among women known to have breast cancer. The claims are a rich source of data to augment the information collected by tumor registries and provide information that can be used to follow long-term outcomes of Medicare beneficiaries.

Effect of nurse case management on the treatment of older women with breast cancer.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of nurse case management on the treatment of older women with breast cancer.

Persistent differences in sociodemographic determinants of breast conserving treatment despite overall increased adoption.

Background. Use of breast-conserving treatment (BCT) has previously demonstrated variability by sociodemographic factors. Objective. To determine whether variation in use of BCT by age, race, county income, county education, and population density declined between 1983 and 1996. Design. Trends in use of BCT over time were modeled with logistic regression. Setting. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results national tumor registry data. Patients. Population-based cohort of 158,496 women with local or regional stage breast cancer. Main Outcome Measure. Receipt of BCT. Results. Use of BCT increased overall, and among all subgroups of age, county income, county education, population density, and race. There was no decline in age-related variation in use of BCT over time. However, older women were less likely to undergo BCT including radiotherapy (RT) and lymph node dissection (LND), and were more likely to undergo BCT omitting RT and/or LND. Variation in use of BCT by county income persisted, with women residing in poorer counties less likely to undergo BCT, whether accompanied by RT and LND. Variation in overall use of BCT by county education also persisted. Although women residing in better-educated counties were more likely to undergo BCT accompanied by RT and LND, they were not more likely to undergo BCT omitting RT, LND, or both. No decline in variation by population density occurred, with women residing in urban areas more likely to use BCT whether accompanied by RT and LND. Conclusions. Sociodemographic differences in BCT use have persisted over time. The increased overall adoption of BCT has not led to consistency in use of this treatment.

Quality of Primary Care and Subsequent Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization

OBJECTIVE. Our objective was to determine whether parent-reported, high-quality primary care was associated with decreased nonurgent pediatric emergency department utilization. METHODS. A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data for a cohort of children from the 2000–2001 and 2001–2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey panels was performed. Baseline parent-reported quality of primary care with respect to family-centeredness, timeliness, and realized access (a measure of the childs ability to receive necessary care and referrals) was assessed by using composite scores from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. The primary outcomes were the numbers of subsequent nonurgent and urgent emergency department visits per child. RESULTS. Of 8823 children included, 70.0% rated family-centeredness, 88.2% rated realized access, and 55.6% rated timeliness as high quality. After adjustment for demographic factors and health status, high-quality family-centeredness was associated with a 42% reduction in nonurgent emergency department visits for publicly insured children and a 49% reduction for children ≤2 years of age. Greater realized access was associated with a 44% reduction in nonurgent emergency department visits for children 3 to 11 years of age and a 56% reduction for children ≥12 years of age. Greater realized access was also associated with decreased nonurgent emergency department visits for publicly and privately insured children (37% and 35%, respectively). There was no significant association between timeliness and nonurgent emergency department utilization, nor was any quality-of-care domain associated with urgent emergency department utilization. CONCLUSIONS. Parent-reported, high-quality family-centeredness and a high level of realized access to primary care were associated with decreased subsequent nonurgent emergency department visits for children. Parent reports of health care quality in these domains provide important complementary information on health care quality.