Publications by authors named "Charles E McCulloch"

Background: Neonatal seizures are common with acute brain injury. Up to 25% of survivors develop postneonatal epilepsy. We hypothesized postneonatal epilepsy diagnosed by age 24 months would increase risk for early markers of neurobehavioral disorders than acute provoked neonatal seizures alone.

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Background: Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in diabetes and hypertension outcomes persist in the United States (U.S.), and worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Background: Nephrology is one of the pediatric subspecialties with the largest workforce shortage in the US. Waitlist registration is one of the first steps towards kidney transplantation and is facilitated by pediatric nephrologists. The objective of this study was to determine whether state-level density of pediatric nephrologists is associated with access to waitlisting (primary outcome) or kidney transplantation (secondary outcome) in children with kidney failure.

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Objective: School-based interventions encouraging children to replace sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with water show promise for reducing child overweight. However, students with child food insecurity (CFI) may not respond to nutrition interventions like children who are food-secure.

Design: The Water First cluster randomized trial found that school water access and promotion prevented child overweight and increased water intake.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Results showed that 65% of the children had abnormal sleep scores, and around 27% screened positive for sleep-disordered breathing, with higher occurrences in those with cerebral palsy or epilepsy.
  • * The findings suggest a significant relationship between sleep issues and parental anxiety/depression, emphasizing the importance of early screening and treatment for sleep disorders to potentially improve outcomes for these children.
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  • Sarcoidosis is a complex disease with various outcomes, and this study aims to explore the trends in mortality among U.S. Veterans diagnosed with the condition from 2004 to 2022, focusing on demographics and geographic differences.
  • The research used electronic health records to analyze data from 23,745 Veterans, finding that all-cause mortality increased by 4.7% annually and was significantly higher in Black Veterans compared to White Veterans.
  • Factors such as older age, male sex, Black race, and living in the Northeast increased mortality risk, while socioeconomic status did not significantly change mortality trends in the subgroup analysis.
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Background: Adequate water intake is associated with improved cognitive and physical performance, prevention of dental caries, and overweight and obesity. However, access to free drinking water in schools remains inadequate. Water First, a school-based intervention promoting water consumption, was shown effective in preventing overweight, yet its costs have not been quantified.

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  • - The study assessed how children's BMI-z scores and prevalence of overweight/obesity changed in San Francisco during and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the impact of school closures and differing city policies on child health.
  • - Researchers analyzed data from 15,401 children aged 4-17, comparing time periods before and during the pandemic, finding significant increases in both BMI-z scores and the rates of overweight/obesity during the school closure period.
  • - The youngest children, those with public insurance, and minority groups (Black, Latino, Asian) experienced the most pronounced increases in BMI-z scores during the pandemic, suggesting greater vulnerability in these populations.
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Importance: Patient to staff ratios vary across US dialysis facilities and have been associated with patient outcomes in older adults.

Objective: To determine whether patient to nurse or patient to social worker staff ratios are associated with access to kidney transplant for adolescents and young adults.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective cohort study including patients aged 12 to 30 years who started dialysis between 2005 and 2019 at 8490 US facilities according to the US Renal Data System, the national end-stage kidney disease registry.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates whether intensive blood pressure (BP) control can be safely achieved for patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) using remote monitoring and medication adjustment.
  • In a pilot randomized trial involving 108 patients with advanced CKD and hypertension, participants were assigned to either a lower target systolic BP (<120 mmHg) or a less intensive target.
  • Results showed that the intensive BP group achieved a significantly lower mean clinic systolic BP without a notable increase in safety risks, though the small sample size raises questions about the robustness of the findings.
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Purpose: Racial and ethnic healthcare disparities require innovative solutions. Patient portals enable online access to health records and clinician communication and are associated with improved health outcomes. Nevertheless, a digital divide in access to such portals persist, especially among people of minoritized race and non-English-speakers.

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Importance: Preterm birth (PTB) (gestational age <37 weeks) is a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity in the US and is marked by racial and ethnic and socioeconomic inequities. Further research is needed to elucidate the association of risk and protective factors with trends in PTB rates and with related inequities.

Objective: To describe the association of PTB rates with inequities as well as related risk and protective factors over the past decade in a US population-based cohort.

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Objectives: To investigate the association between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based ligamentum teres lesions (LTL) and structural hip degeneration.

Methods: Bilateral 3-T hip MRIs of participants (n = 93 [36 men]; mean age ( ± SD) 51 years ± 15.4) recruited from the community and the orthopedic clinic of a single medical center were included.

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Article Synopsis
  • * The objective of the study is to implement and evaluate a multicondition clinical pathway intervention in community hospitals, focusing on evidence-based practices for the mentioned conditions.
  • * A hybrid trial design will be used, involving a randomized control group, with primary outcomes measured over 2 years, and results expected to be reported after March 2025.
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Background: Acute declines in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) occur commonly after starting angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Whether declines in eGFR that occur after simultaneously starting angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors with other antihypertensive agents modifies the benefits of these agents on cardiovascular outcomes is unclear.

Methods And Results: We identified predictors of acute declines in eGFR (>15% over 3 months) during randomization to benazepril plus amlodipine versus benazepril plus hydrochlorothiazide in the ACCOMPLISH (Avoiding Cardiovascular Events through Combination Therapy in Patients Living with Systolic Hypertension) trial.

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Background: In patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), the effects of initiating treatment with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) or angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) on the risk for kidney failure with replacement therapy (KFRT) and death remain unclear.

Purpose: To examine the association of ACEi or ARB treatment initiation, relative to a non-ACEi or ARB comparator, with rates of KFRT and death.

Data Sources: Ovid Medline and the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration Clinical Trials Consortium from 1946 through 31 December 2023.

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Background: Scalable PTSD screening strategies must be brief, accurate and capable of administration by a non-specialized workforce.

Methods: We used PTSD as determined by the structured clinical interview as our gold standard and considered predictors sets of (a) Posttraumatic Stress Checklist-5 (PCL-5), (b) Primary Care PTSD Screen for the DSM-5 (PC-PTSD) and, (c) PCL-5 and PC-PTSD questions to identify the optimal items for PTSD screening for public sector settings in Kenya. A logistic regression model using LASSO was fit by minimizing the average squared error in the validation data.

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Objective: While risk factors for osteoarthritis (OA) are well known, it is not well understood why certain individuals maintain high mobility and joint health throughout their life while others demonstrate OA at older ages. The purpose of this study was to assess which demographic, clinical and MRI quantitative and semi-quantitative factors are associated with preserving healthy knees in older individuals.

Methods: This study analyzed data from the OA Initiative (OAI) cohort of individuals at the age of 65 years or above.

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Key Points: Renin-angiotensin system inhibition was favorable for risk of kidney failure (compared with 0% decline with use of placebo or other agents) up to declines in eGFR of 13% over a 3-month period. Relation between eGFR decline after renin-angiotensin system inhibitor initiation and risk of outcomes was stronger in the first 2 years of follow-up and waned over time.

Background: Declines in GFR occur commonly when renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors are started.

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Background: Evidence links lifestyle factors with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We report the first randomized, controlled clinical trial to determine if intensive lifestyle changes may beneficially affect the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early dementia due to AD.

Methods: A 1:1 multicenter randomized controlled phase 2 trial, ages 45-90 with MCI or early dementia due to AD and a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score of 18 or higher.

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Background: Improving perinatal mental health and care experiences and preventing adverse maternal and infant outcomes are essential prenatal care components, yet existing services often miss the mark, particularly for low-income populations. An enhanced group prenatal care program, "Glow! Group Prenatal Care and Support," was developed in California's Central Valley in response to poor perinatal mental health, disrespectful care experiences, and high rates of adverse birth outcomes among families with low incomes.

Methods: Engaging Mothers & Babies; Reimagining Antenatal Care for Everyone (EMBRACE) is a pragmatic, two-arm, randomized, comparative-effectiveness study designed to assess depression (primary outcome), the experience of care (secondary outcome), and preterm birth (exploratory outcome) among Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program)-eligible pregnant and birthing people, comparing those assigned to Glow! Group Prenatal Care and Support (Glow/GC) with those assigned to enhanced, individual prenatal care through the California Department of Public Health's Comprehensive Perinatal Services Program (CPSP/IC).

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Background: Approximately 10% of people with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) have brain vascular malformations (VMs). Few reports describe de novo brain VM formation. International HHT Guidelines recommend initial brain VM screening upon HHT diagnosis in children but do not address rescreening.

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