Dual Biologic Therapy Induces Remission in Refractory Crohn's Disease With Vedolizumab and Ustekinumab.

Background: Despite advancements in the therapeutic armamentarium for Crohn's disease (CD), biologic and small molecule monotherapies are associated with sub-optimal response and remission rates. Utilizing dual biologic therapy (DBT) holds the potential to increase efficacy in the treatment of refractory or partially responsive CD. Evidence pertaining to this strategy remains limited.

Body mass index as a prognostic indicator of overall survival in glioblastoma: A systematic review and meta analysis.

Background: Many previous studies have investigated the prognostic value of body mass index (BMI) for GBM outcomes with varying results. We present a comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis investigating BMI as a prognostic value in GBM.

Methods: A systematic review of literature on adult patients with GBM published between 1999 and 2023 was conducted within OVID Medline, Pubmed, and Scopus.

Improvement in cranial neuropathies following stereotactic radiotherapy as primary treatment for skull base meningiomas.

Purpose: Many patients with skull base meningiomas (SBMs) develop cranial neuropathies, though there is a paucity in literature regarding cranial neuropathy improvement following treatment. This is even more profound when isolating for patients who received stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) as their primary treatment without additional open surgery. Our goal was to investigate the effect of SRT on cranial neuropathies secondary to SBMs and identify predictors of favourable treatment response.

Policy Changes to Improve Service Access: Best Practices for Researchers Engaging With Criminal Justice Partners.

The Texas Christian University Hub of the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network Project includes a partnership with state criminal justice (CJ) agencies with the goal of impacting state- and local-level policies and practices that will lead to increased access to and retention in community-based substance use treatment services among parole clients. This article outlines how we successfully fostered policy changes and includes a five-step process for how researchers can bridge the gap between research and CJ agencies to implement similar changes. This process included the use of various strategies to support the justice partners in their efforts to implement changes within their organization.

Compliance with social norms in the face of risks: Delineating the roles of uncertainty about risk perceptions versus risk perceptions.

Social norms are often considered as behavioral guidelines to mitigate health and environmental risks. However, our understanding of the magnitude of their impact on risk-mitigating behaviors and how perceptions of risks affect the magnitude remains limited. Given the increasing importance of understanding factors influencing behavioral responses to health and environmental risks, this research examines whether the relationship between social norms and behavioral intention to mitigate health and environmental risks is a function of (1) risk perceptions and (2) uncertainty about risk perceptions.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and uncontrolled trials reporting on the use of checkpoint blockers in patients with cancer and pre-existing autoimmune disease.

Background: Cancer patients with autoimmune disease have been excluded from randomized trials of immune checkpoint blockers (ICBs). We conducted a systematic review of observational studies and uncontrolled trials including cancer patients with pre-existing autoimmune disease who received ICBs.

Methods: We searched 5 electronic databases through November 2023.

Perilunate Dislocations: Cadaveric Model K-Wire Versus Compression Staple Fixation.

Purpose: Repair of perilunate dislocations requires stabilization of the carpal bones, although there is limited research on the preferred method(s) of stabilization. We compared the biomechanical characteristics of K-wire versus staple fixation of scapholunate (SL) and lunotriquetral (LT) intervals in the wrist.

Methods: After creating a grade IV instability model, 20 cadaver wrists were randomized into 2 stabilization model groups using K-wires or surgical staples across the SL and LT intervals.

Profiling of serum factors associated with skin and soft tissue infections as a foundation for biomarker identification.

Background: People living in close quarters, such as military trainees, are at increased risk for skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), especially those caused by methicillin-resistant (MRSA). The serum immune factors associated with the onset of SSTI are not well understood.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study of SSTIs, enrolling US Army trainees before starting military training and following up for 14 weeks.

Gender disparities among speakers at major spine conferences.

Purpose: To examine ten-year trends in gender representation in speaking roles at major spine conferences.

Background Context: Medical conferences play an important role in career opportunities. There is little analysis on gender representation of major spine conferences despite several studies demonstrating gender disparities within spine surgery.

Predictors of Transfemoral Access Site Complications in Neuroendovascular Procedures: A large Single-Center Cohort Study.

Objective: The transfemoral (TF) route has historically been the preferred access site for endovascular procedures. However, despite its widespread use, TF procedures may confer morbidity as a result of access site complications. The aim of this study is to provide the rate and predictors of TF access site complications for neuroendovascular procedures.

Endoscopic ultrasound-directed transgastric ERCP (EDGE): A multicenter US study on long-term follow-up and fistula closure.

Endoscopic ultrasound-directed transgastric ERCP (EDGE) is a safe and efficacious procedure to treat pancreaticobiliary diseases in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). This multicenter study aimed to determine the long-term outcomes of EDGE focusing on fistula persistence rates and post-procedure weight change. Information about patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass anatomy who underwent EDGE between 2015 and 2021 from 10 institutions was captured in a registry.

Moderators of peak respiratory exchange ratio during exercise testing in children and adolescents with Fontan physiology.

Objectives: Many patients with Fontan physiology are unable to achieve the minimum criteria for peak effort during cardiopulmonary exercise testing. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of physical activity and other clinical predictors related to achieving peak exercise criteria, signified by respiratory exchange ratio ≥ 1.1 in youth with Fontan physiology.

Another Wrinkle with Age: Aged Collagen and Intra-peritoneal Metastasis of Ovarian Cancer.

Background: Age is the most significant risk factor for ovarian cancer (OvCa), the deadliest gynecologic malignancy. Metastasizing OvCa cells adhere to the omentum, a peritoneal structure rich in collagen, adipocytes, and immune cells. Ultrastructural changes in the omentum and the omental collagen matrix with aging have not been evaluated.

Conversion of No-Show Patients to Telehealth in a Primary Medicine Clinic.

No-shows in primary care clinics prevent patients from receiving essential care and decrease clinic productivity. The COVID-19 pandemic forced physicians to adjust to telemedicine as a necessary method to provide care. In this study no-show patients were converted to telehealth visits thereby allowing physicians to care for their patients and maintain hospital revenue.

Digital biosensor for human cerebrospinal fluid detection with single-use sensing strips.

Leakage of human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) caused by trauma or other reasons presents exceptional challenges in clinical analysis and can have severe medical repercussions. Conventional test methods, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunofixation electrophoresis testing, typically are performed at a few clinical reference laboratories, which may potentially delay proper diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, medical imaging can serve as a secondary diagnosis tool.

Nasal microbiota evolution within the congregate setting imposed by military training.

The human microbiome is comprised of a complex and diverse community of organisms that is subject to dynamic changes over time. As such, cross-sectional studies of the microbiome provide a multitude of information for a specific body site at a particular time, but they fail to account for temporal changes in microbial constituents resulting from various factors. To address this shortcoming, longitudinal research studies of the human microbiome investigate the influence of various factors on the microbiome of individuals within a group or community setting.

Artery of Percheron Infarction: A Case Report of Bilateral Thalamic Stroke Presenting with Acute Encephalopathy.

The artery of Percheron (AOP) is a relatively rare anatomic variant in which a solitary arterial trunk branches from the proximal segment of the posterior cerebral artery and provides arterial supply to the paramedian region of the thalami bilaterally and often to the rostral part of the midbrain. Occlusion of the artery of Percheron results in bilateral paramedian thalamic infarcts with and without midbrain involvement. Recognition of this condition as an acute stroke may be challenging due to various nonlocalized clinical presentations, given the wide range of neurological functions subserved by the thalamus.

Triiodothyronine (T3), inflammation and mortality risk in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Objectives: To study the relationship between serum-free T3 (FT3), C-reactive protein (CRP) and all-cause mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Design: Prospective multicentre longitudinal cohort study.

Methods: Between December 2014 and December 2016, thyroid function and CRP were analysed in AMI (both ST-elevation (STEMI) and non-ST-elevation) patients from the Thyroxine in Acute Myocardial Infarction study.

An Evaluation of Gaming-Related Harms in Relation to Gaming Disorder and Loot Box Involvement.

The specific nature of harm and functional impairment in the context of gaming disorder (GD) has received limited attention. In this study, we present one of the first concerted attempts to measure the types and degree of harm experienced by people displaying signs of problem gaming. Attempts were made to assess the extent to which types of harm were attributable to gaming as opposed to other factors.