Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Drug Shortage Impacts Patient Receipt of Induction Treatment.

Hedlund NG, Isgor Z, Zwanziger J, Rondelli D, Crawford SY, Hynes DM, Powell LM. Drug Shortage Impacts Patient Receipt of Induction Treatment. Health services research. 2018 Dec 1; 53(6):5078-5105.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Examine the impact of the 2011 shortage of the drug cytarabine on patient receipt and timeliness of induction treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective cohort was utilized to examine odds of receipt of inpatient induction chemotherapy and time to first dose across major (N  =  105) and moderate (N  =  316) shortage time periods as compared to a nonshortage baseline (N  =  1,147). DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: De-identified patient data from 2008 to 2011 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) were linked to 2007-2013 Medicare claims and 2007-2013 Hospital Characteristics. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Compared to prior nonshortage time period, patients diagnosed during a major drug shortage were 47 percent less likely (p  <  .05) to receive inpatient chemotherapy within 14 days of diagnosis. Patients who were younger, had a lower Charlson Comorbidity score, and for whom AML was a first primary cancer were prioritized across all periods. CONCLUSIONS: Period of major shortage of a generic oncolytic, without an equivalent therapeutic substitute, reduced timely receipt of induction chemotherapy treatment. More favorable economic and regulatory policies for generic drug suppliers might result in greater availability of essential, older generic drug products that face prolonged or chronic shortage.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.