Estimating the Causal Effect of Double-Blind Peer Review for a Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine Journal.

Background: Double-blind peer review (DBPR; reviewers masked to author identities and vice versa) aims to reduce biases. The effectiveness of DBPR has not been studied in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep journals.

Research Question: What was the causal effect on bias of DBPR at CHEST?

Study Design And Methods: From January 2020 to June 2022, CHEST and Annals of the American Thoracic Society (AATS) used single-blind peer review (reviewers concealed from authors only); in July 2022, CHEST switched to DBPR.

Two Weeks Versus One Week of Maximal Patient-Intensivist Continuity for Adult Medical Intensive Care Patients: A Two-Center Target Trial Emulation.

Objectives: To compare outcomes for 2 weeks vs. 1 week of maximal patient-intensivist continuity in the ICU.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Rural-Urban Differences in Mortality among Mechanically Ventilated Patients in Intensive and Intermediate Care.

Intermediate care (also termed "step-down" or "moderate care") has been proposed as a lower cost alternative to care for patients who may not clearly benefit from intensive care unit admission. Intermediate care units may be appealing to hospitals in financial crisis, including those in rural areas. Outcomes of patients receiving intermediate care are not widely described.

Hospital factors that influence ICU admission decision-making: a qualitative study of eight hospitals.

Purpose: Some hospitals in the United States (US) use intensive care 20 times more than others. Since intensive care is lifesaving for some but potentially harmful for others, there is a need to understand factors that influence how intensive care unit (ICU) admission decisions are made.

Methods: A qualitative analysis of eight US hospitals was conducted with semi-structured, one-on-one interviews supplemented by site visits and clinical observations.

Development and Retention of Early-Career Clinician-Scientists through a Novel Peer Mentorship Program: Multidisciplinary Intensive Care Research Workgroup.

Background: Early-career clinician-scientists often leave academic medicine, but strong mentorship can help facilitate retention. Beyond the traditional dyadic mentor-mentee relationship, formal peer mentoring provides a rich means to augment career development and foster independence.

Objective: To describe a model for early-career peer mentorship and the retention of participating early-career clinician-scientists in academic medicine.

Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Author Sex and Manuscript Acceptance Rates among Pulmonary and Critical Care Journals.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected women more than men and may influence the publication of non-COVID-19 research. To evaluate whether the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with changes in manuscript acceptance rates among pulmonary/critical care journals and sex-based disparities in these rates. We analyzed first, senior, and corresponding author sex (female vs.

Development and Reporting of Prediction Models: Guidance for Authors From Editors of Respiratory, Sleep, and Critical Care Journals.

Prediction models aim to use available data to predict a health state or outcome that has not yet been observed. Prediction is primarily relevant to clinical practice, but is also used in research, and administration. While prediction modeling involves estimating the relationship between patient factors and outcomes, it is distinct from casual inference.

Changes in coding of pneumonia and impact on the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program.

Objective: To evaluate whether changes in diagnosis assignment explain reductions in 30-day readmission for patients with pneumonia following the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP).

Data Sources: 100 percent MedPAR, 2008-2015.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study of Medicare discharges in HRRP-eligible hospitals.

Intensive care use and mortality among patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction: retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of intensive care unit (ICU) admission on mortality among patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: 1727 acute care hospitals in the United States.

Utilization of Intensive Care Unit Nutrition Consultation Is Associated With Reduced Mortality.

Background: The aim of this project was to investigate the prevalence of nutrition consultation (NC) in U.S. intensive care units (ICUs) and to examine its association with patient outcomes.

Medicaid Expansion and Mechanical Ventilation in Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Heart Failure.

The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion has led to increased access to chronic disease care among newly insured adults. Despite this, its effects on clinical outcomes, particularly for patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart failure, are uncertain. To assess whether Medicaid expansion was associated with changes in mechanical ventilation rates among hospitalized patients with heart failure, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Trends in Hospital Utilization After Medicaid Expansion.

Background: Medicaid expansion was associated with an increase in hospitalizations funded by Medicaid. Whether this increase reflects an isolated payer shift or broader changes in case-mix among hospitalized adults remains uncertain.

Reseearch Design: Difference-in-differences analysis of discharge data from 4 states that expanded Medicaid in 2014 (Arizona, Iowa, New Jersey, and Washington) and 3 comparison states that did not (North Carolina, Nebraska, and Wisconsin).

Electronic "Sniffer" Systems to Identify the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Background: The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) results in substantial mortality but remains underdiagnosed in clinical practice. Automated ARDS "sniffer" systems, tools that can automatically analyze electronic medical record data, have been developed to improve recognition of ARDS in clinical practice.

Objectives: To perform a systematic review examining the evidence underlying automated sniffer systems for ARDS detection.

Patient-centered Outcomes Research in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine. An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report.

Patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) represents a paradigm shift in research methods aimed to create the body of evidence that supports clinical practice and informs health care decisions. PCOR integrates patients and other key stakeholders including family members, policy makers, clinicians, and patient advocates and advocacy groups as research partners throughout all stages of the research process. The importance of PCOR has received increased recognition, yet there is little evidence available to help guide researchers interested in the design and conduct of PCOR.

Appraising the Evidence Supporting Choosing Wisely® Recommendations.

Despite the growing enthusiasm surrounding the Choosing Wisely® campaign, little is known regarding the evidence underlying these recommendations. We extracted references for all 320 recommendations published through August, 2014, including the 10 adult and pediatric recommendations published by the Society for Hospital Medicine. We then categorized each item by evidence strength, and then assessed a sample of referenced clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) using the validated Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument.

Interobserver Reliability of the Berlin ARDS Definition and Strategies to Improve the Reliability of ARDS Diagnosis.

Background: Failure to reliably diagnose ARDS may be a major driver of negative clinical trials and underrecognition and treatment in clinical practice. We sought to examine the interobserver reliability of the Berlin ARDS definition and examine strategies for improving the reliability of ARDS diagnosis.

Methods: Two hundred five patients with hypoxic respiratory failure from four ICUs were reviewed independently by three clinicians, who evaluated whether patients had ARDS, the diagnostic confidence of the reviewers, whether patients met individual ARDS criteria, and the time when criteria were met.