AHRQ

New findings suggest that dietary calcium and magnesium affect the risk of esophageal cancer; if confirmed in interventional studies, they could inform dietary modifications to reduce the burden of this cancer. Read More

Julia Phillippi, PhD, CNM, has received a K08 Career Development Award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Phillippi, a Vanderbilt University School of Nursing assistant professor and certified nurse-midwife, will use the three-year, $399,374 mentored award to conduct a randomized trial of an interdisciplinary team-based maternity care model and examine the preferences of patients and providers. Read More

Impaired swallowing — dysphagia — affects 3 percent of hospital inpatients, who have longer hospital stays and are more likely to require post-acute care services. Read More

Removing tonsils modestly reduced throat infections in the short term in children with moderate obstructive sleep-disordered breathing or recurrent throat infections, according to a systematic review conducted by the Vanderbilt Evidence-based Practice Center for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Read More

Robert Dittus, M.D., MPH, Executive Vice President, Public Health and Health Care for Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), has been named to the National Advisory Council of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Read More

Children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs), such as conduct disorder, are most likely to benefit from psychosocial interventions that include a parental component alone or in combination with other interventions, according to a newly published systematic review by Vanderbilt researchers. Read More

Joe B. (Bill) Putnam Jr., M.D., Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and chair of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, and colleague Felix Fernandez, M.D., assistant professor of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, have received a grant to investigate the most effective forms of surgery to treat lung cancer patients. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers this week reported updated findings regarding the benefits of behavior-focused therapies for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have demonstrated in two studies that metformin-based treatments delay the onset and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared with other treatments for diabetes. Read More

Patient-centered outcomes research is the focus of a $3.3 million, five-year, institutional K12 training grant awarded to Vanderbilt University Medical Center by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Read More

Despite studies that show that many adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders are being prescribed medications, there is almost no evidence to show whether these medications are helpful in this population. Read More

Pregnant women who have had prior preterm births may avoid a subsequent early birth if given progestogens, which are natural or synthetic forms of progesterone, a female hormone that naturally increases during pregnancy, a Vanderbilt analysis shows. Read More

A Vanderbilt study shows that a class of drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases does not increase the chance of hospitalization for serious infection. Read More

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medications do not increase the risk for heart disease or heart attack in children and young adults, according to a Vanderbilt study of 1.2 million patients taking drugs including Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta and Strattera between 1998 and 2005. Read More

Changes in blood levels of the sex hormone estradiol may provide a clinically useful predictor of death in critically ill or injured patients. Read More