Action required: Please refresh your browser
We have recently implemented some changes that require a hard refresh of your browser: Please hold down the CTRL-key and press the F5 key.
After a successful hard refresh, this message should not appear anymore.
More details about this topic are available here »
| MMF Systems, Inc.: Million Patient Study Questions Use of Two Common Pre-surgical Tests | ||
| By: PR Newswire Association LLC. - 23 Sep 2015 | Back to overview list |
|
NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A study*, conducted in part by MMF Systems, Inc., published on August 11, 2015 by Capoor et al.** suggests that a significant percentage of two common pre-surgical tests performed in the U.S. may be unnecessary. The tests evaluated were Prothrombin Time (PT) and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT); the study found that they were ordered unnecessarily in 94.3% and 99.9% of cases respectively. The research sought to bring the availability of big data together with applied comparative effectiveness research, and its authors believe that it encompasses the largest prospective sample of surgical patients ever assembled. The sample included 1,053,472 consecutive patients from 27 medical facilities enrolled from 2009 to 2012, and complete data were gathered for a subset of 65% of those patients (N = 682,049). The results showed that both the PT test, which evaluates the patient's blood for clotting ability, and aPTT, performed primarily to determine if heparin (blood thinning) therapy is effective, are routinely used as screening tests. This is despite the fact these tests were intended primarily to be diagnostic and, say the authors, there is no rationale to indicate their use in routine screens. The use of any unnecessary screening test raises concerns about the costs of such testing as well as the consequences of false positive results. The authors believe that as the U.S. continues to struggle with healthcare issues and providers fight to rein in costs, re-evaluation of routine practices is crucial. Research in recent years has estimated that 20% to 30% of total American healthcare expenditures may be unnecessary; furthermore, over-diagnosis of disease seems to be a modern epidemic in high-income countries. A comprehensive review of 146 medical practices found that 40% of the practices recommended when new were halted after being evaluated more closely. In many cases the practices were simply unhelpful, and some were found to substantially increase patient costs without improving outcomes. * Citation: Capoor MN, Stonemetz JL, Baird JC, Ahmed FS, Awan A, Birkenmaier C, et al. (2015) Prothrombin Time and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time Testing: A Comparative Effectiveness Study in a Million-Patient Sample. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0133317. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0133317 ** Authors are: Manu N. Capoor, Jerry L. Stonemetz, John C. Baird, Fahad S. Ahmed, Ahsan Awan, Christof Birkenmaier, Mario A. Inchiosa Jr., Steven K. Magid, Kathryn McGoldrick, Ernesto Molmenti, Sajjad Naqvi, Stephen D. Parker, S. M. Pothula, Aryeh Shander, R. Grant Steen, Michael K. Urban, Judith Wall, Vincent A. Fischetti For more information Contact: SOURCE MMF Systems, Inc. 
|
||
|
|
||
 | Back to overview list | |