Publications by authors named "Cindy M Liu"

Objective: Successfully educating urgent care patients on appropriate use and risks of antibiotics can be challenging. We assessed the conscious and subconscious impact various educational materials (informational handout, priming poster, and commitment poster) had on urgent care patients' knowledge and expectations regarding antibiotics.

Design: Stratified Block Randomized Control Trial.

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Objective: Urgent care centers (UCCs) have reported high rates of antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections. Prior UCC studies have generally been limited to single networks. Broadly generalizable stewardship efforts targeting common diagnoses are needed.

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Air-liquid interface (ALI) culture can differentiate airway epithelial cells to recapitulate the respiratory tract in vitro. Here, we present a protocol for isolating and culturing nasal epithelial cells from turbinate tissues for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We describe steps to overcome challenges of imaging fragile cultures, detect the production of mucus, and quantify intracellular virus post-SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Background: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are increasingly frequent, burdening healthcare systems worldwide. As pathogens acquire resistance to all known antibiotics - i.e.

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Objective: To explore the source, message, channel, and receiver effects on patient concern for antibiotic resistance, willingness to reduce antibiotic use, and expectations for an antibiotic prescription in a prepandemic sample.

Methods: We used data reported from a national cross-sectional survey of adults who had visited an urgent care center within the last year. Data were collected from April 4 to April 9, 2017.

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Within the penile microbiome, bacteria associated with seroconversion, immunology, and cells (BASIC species) enhance HIV susceptibility in heterosexual uncircumcised men by inducing foreskin inflammation and HIV target cell recruitment. This phase 1/2 clinical trial randomizes HIV-uninfected Ugandan men (n = 125) to either oral tinidazole, topical metronidazole, topical clindamycin, or topical hydrogen peroxide to define impact on ex vivo foreskin HIV susceptibility, penile immunology, and BASIC species density. Antimicrobials are well tolerated, and 116 (93%) participants complete the protocol.

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This retrospective cohort study estimated the association between prescription receipt and provider 5-star rating for adult visits with upper respiratory infections in a national telemedicine practice with active antibiotic stewardship initiatives. The odds of a 5-star rating were higher for visits with an antibiotic or nonantibiotic prescription and longer visits.

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Purpose Of Review: The penile microbiome has been linked to local inflammation and increased risk for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. This review explores recent studies of this emerging area of HIV research.

Recent Findings: The male urogenital tract supports multiple distinct niches, where their associated microbiome are shaped by abiotic (e.

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Background: This study aimed to characterise the infant penile (coronal sulcus) microbiome and the effects of early infant male circumcision (EIMC), following a standard surgical method (Mogen Clamp) and a non-surgical alternative (ShangRing).

Methods: We collected coronal sulcus swabs at baseline and on days 7 and 14 post-circumcision from infants assigned to receive EIMC by Mogen Clamp (n = 15) or ShangRing (n = 15), in a randomised trial in Rakai and Kakuuto, Uganda. We used 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing and broad-coverage qPCR to characterise the infant penile microbiome and assess the effects of EIMC in both study arms.

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is the leading cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children and adults. The gastrointestinal tract is the primary reservoir of uropathogenic , which can be acquired from a variety of environmental exposures, including retail meat. In the current study, we used a novel statistical-genomic approach to estimate the proportion of pediatric UTIs caused by foodborne zoonotic strains.

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Article Synopsis
  • In places like Cambodia, where sanitation is poor, bacteria can easily spread between humans and animals, worsening the problem of antibiotic resistance.
  • The study found similar patterns of antibiotic resistance in humans and animals in Cambodia, highlighting the need for better control at the human-animal interface to combat this issue effectively, particularly in lower and middle-income countries.
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Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) reduces HIV acquisition by at least 60%, but the determinants of HIV susceptibility in foreskin tissues are incompletely understood. Flow cytometry is a powerful tool that helps us understand tissue immune defenses in mucosal tissue like the inner foreskin, but foreskin flow cytometry has only been validated using fresh tissue samples. This restricts immune analyses to timepoints immediately after surgical acquisition and hinders research in this area.

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Problem: HIV susceptibility is linked to the penile immune milieu (particularly IL-8 levels) and microbiome. The effects of insertive vaginal sex itself on penile immunology and microbiota are not well described.

Method Of Study: We compared the immune milieu and microbiology of the coronal sulcus (CS) and distal urethra in 47 uncircumcised Ugandan men reporting ever (n = 42) or never (n = 5) having had vaginal intercourse.

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Background: Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the oral microbiome are associated with oropharyngeal cancer. However, population-based data on the association of oral microbiome with oral HPV infection are limited.

Method: A cross-sectional analysis of 5496 20-59-year-old participants in the 2009-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was performed.

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Article Synopsis
  • Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131), particularly its drug-resistant H30R variant, is a serious global health issue, and its relationship with gut bacteria is not well understood.
  • A study performed fecal swab surveillance on veterans and their families from 2014 to 2018 to examine how the gut microbiome influences the presence of ST131-H30R, using advanced bacterial sequencing techniques.
  • Findings revealed that specific gut bacteria, like Collinsella and Alistipes, are associated with the presence and persistence of ST131-H30R infections, highlighting potential microbiome-targeted strategies for reducing these dangerous pathogens.
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Article Synopsis
  • A one-health approach suggests new insights into the transmission of pathogenic bacteria responsible for serious infections in humans, which primarily originate from food animals.
  • Research analyzing over 3,100 samples reveals that approximately 8% of extraintestinal infections, mainly urinary tract infections, are linked to foodborne zoonotic strains, which show similar disease severity as non-foodborne strains.
  • Specific lineages of these foodborne strains, ST131-22 and ST58, display high virulence, and this study's methods could help identify and mitigate risks from these strains in future public health efforts.
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Objective: Urgent care (UC) clinicians frequently prescribe inappropriate antibiotics for upper respiratory illnesses. In a national survey, pediatric UC clinicians reported family expectations as a primary driver for prescribing inappropriate antibiotics. Communication strategies effectively reduce unnecessary antibiotics while increasing family satisfaction.

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We studied how patient beliefs regarding the need for antibiotics, as measured by expectation scores, and antibiotic prescribing outcome affect patient satisfaction using data from 2,710 urgent-care visits. Satisfaction was affected by antibiotic prescribing among patients with medium-high expectation scores but not among patients with low expectation scores.

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Background: Overuse of antibiotics contributes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and is a growing threat to human health worldwide. Previous work suggests a link between antimicrobial use in poultry and human AMR extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (E coli) urinary tract infections (UTIs). However, few US-based studies exist, and none have comprehensively assessed both foodborne and environmental pathways using advanced molecular and spatial epidemiologic methods in a quasi-experimental design.

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Dolosigranulum pigrum-a lactic acid bacterium that is increasingly recognized as an important member of the nasal microbiome. Currently, there are limited rapid and low-cost options for confirming D. pigrum isolates and detecting D.

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Background: Disease control relies on pathogen identification and understanding reservoirs. Staphylococcus aureus infection prevention is based upon decades of research on colonization and infection, but diminishing returns from mitigation efforts suggest significant knowledge gaps. Existing knowledge and mitigation protocols are founded upon culture-based detection, with almost no information about pathogen quantities.

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Purpose Of Review: Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is a surgical procedure that reduces HIV acquisition risk by almost two-thirds. However, global implementation is lagging, in part due to VMMC hesitancy. A better understanding of the mechanism(s) by which this procedure protects against HIV may increase acceptance of VMMC as an HIV risk reduction approach among health care providers and their clients.

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Objective: Previous studies have reported high rates of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions in urgent care (UC). Specific prescribing patterns for the most common diagnoses are not known. The aim of the study is to determine the diagnoses for which antibiotics are prescribed in pediatric UC settings.

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Background: Outpatient antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory conditions is highest in urgent care settings; however, this has not been studied among pediatric urgent cares. The objective of this study was to evaluate pediatric urgent care providers' perceptions of antibiotic stewardship.

Methods: Members of the Society for Pediatric Urgent Care were recruited via email to participate in a quality improvement antibiotic stewardship project.

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Globally, most Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV) transmission occurs through vaginal-penile sex (heterosexual transmission). The local immune environment at the site of HIV exposure is an important determinant of whether exposure during sex will lead to productive infection, and the vaginal and penile immune milieus are each critically shaped by the local microbiome. However, there are key differences in the microbial drivers of inflammation and immune quiescence at these tissue sites.

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