Biomedical subjects

R K Severson

Publications and source records attributed to R K Severson.

75 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Infant cancer in the U.S.: histology-specific incidence and trends, 1973 to 1992.

BACKGROUND: Many cancers in infants demonstrate unique epidemiologic, clinical, and genetic characteristics compared with cancers in older children. Few epidemiologic reports, however, have focused on this important age group. METHODS: Population-based data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program were used to estimate relative frequency, incidence rates, and average annual percentage change of rates among children in their first year of life (infants) who were diagnosed with a malignant neoplasm from 1973 to 1992 (N = 1461). RESULTS: The greatest proportion of cases (12%) was diagnosed during the first month of life, with extracranial neuroblastoma accounting for 35% of this total. Overall, the average annual incidence rate was 223/1,000,000 infants. Extracranial neuroblastoma was the most common infant malignancy (58/1,000,000 infants per year), followed by leukemias (37/1,000,000), brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumors (34/1,000,000), and retinoblastoma (27/1,000,000). White infants had a 32% higher incidence rate than black infants. The average annual percentage increase in rates for all cancer from 1973 to 1992 was 2.9% (95% CI: 1.9%, 3.8%). For neoplasms with at least 100 cases, increasing trends were greatest for retinoblastoma (4.6%), CNS (4.1%), and extracranial neuroblastoma (3.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Incidence rates increased notably over the study period. Future studies should consider the unique presentation of infants with cancer when developing new hypotheses related to cancer etiology and gene-environment interactions.

Black or African American↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Use of a template to improve documentation and coding.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Accurate assignment of evaluation and management (E&M) codes is a challenge for physicians. Having guidelines close at hand during patient visits might improve appropriateness and accuracy of E&M coding. We developed a template based on a clinical prediction rule for group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) pharyngitis to improve documentation and coding decisions. METHODS: Fifty office visits for sore throat were documented using templates and were compared with 50 sore throat visits that were documented using progress notes. We counted history and physical examination items and compared the level of service charged to the level of service supported by the note. RESULTS: Significantly more history of present illness and physical examination items were recorded on templates. Decisions related to treatment for patients with a low probability of GABHS were also improved by the templates. Templates had no effect on billing and coding errors. CONCLUSIONS: The template resulted in more-thorough documentation but had no effect on coding and billing errors relative to progress notes.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption by parents of children with acute myeloid leukemia: an analysis within morphological subgroups--a report from the Childrens Cancer Group.

Data from a case-control study of childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) including 187 matched case-control pairs were examined for evidence of associations between parental cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption and the subsequent development of childhood AML. The cases were stratified by French-American-British morphology in order to evaluate potential differences in risk based on this classification system. There was little evidence of any association between cigarette smoking by parents during the index pregnancy and childhood AML. There was some evidence of an increased risk of AML among children who were diagnosed at or before 2 years of age and whose mothers reported consuming alcohol during their pregnancies (odds ratio, 3.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.23 to 8.35). This finding appeared to be especially pronounced for AML with a monocytic component (M4/M5) (odds ratio, 9.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.25 to 394.5), but a cautious interpretation of these data are advised because of the small number of subjects included in this subgroup analysis. Since this is one of the first case-control studies to evaluate specific French-American-British subtypes of AML, these results may be viewed as generating hypotheses. It is suggested that future studies of childhood AML include: (a) a sufficient number of cases to permit an evaluation of the morphological classification of the cases; and (b) additional questions on the alcohol consumption of the mother during the time of her pregnancy with the index child.

Acute Disease↗