"I'm not gonna be able to do anything about it, then what's the point?": A broad group of stakeholders identify barriers and facilitators to HCV testing in a Massachusetts jail.

Background: Despite national guidelines promoting hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing in prisons, there is substantial heterogeneity on the implementation of HCV testing in jails. We sought to better understand barriers and opportunities for HCV testing by interviewing a broad group of stakeholders involved in HCV testing and treatment policies and procedures in Massachusetts jails.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with people incarcerated in Middlesex County Jail (North Billerica, MA), clinicians working in jail and community settings, corrections administrators, and representatives from public health, government, and industry between November 2018-April 2019.

Implementation of a Patient-Provider Agreement to Improve Healthcare Delivery for Patients With Substance Use Disorder in the Inpatient Setting.

Objectives: Inpatient healthcare delivery to people who use drugs is an opportunity to provide acute medical stabilization and offer treatment for underlying substance use disorder (SUD). The process of delivering quality healthcare to people with SUD can present challenges.

Methods: We convened a group of stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities for improving healthcare safety and employee satisfaction when providing inpatient care to people with SUD.

Hospitalization outcomes of people who use drugs: One size does not fit all.

People with opioid use disorder (OUD) have worse hospital outcomes and higher healthcare costs. There are rising reports of people with OUD also using other classes of drugs, however patterns of substance use have not been evaluated for differential effects on hospital outcomes. We performed a data-analysis of the Healthcare Utilization Project's National Readmissions Database, examining the effects of patterns of substance use, age, gender, and diagnosis on the outcomes of Against Medical Advice (AMA) discharges and 30-day readmissions.

"You're kind of at war with yourself as a nurse": Perspectives of inpatient nurses on treating people who present with a comorbid opioid use disorder.

Background: In the midst of an opioid epidemic, health care workers are encountering an increasing number of patients who have opioid use disorder in addition to complex social, behavioral and medical issues. Of all the clinicians in the hospital, nurses spend the most time with hospitalized patients who have opioid use disorder, yet there has been little research exploring their experiences in caring for this population. The objective of this study was to assess the attitudes, perceptions, and training needs of nurses in the inpatient setting when caring for patients who have opioid use disorder.

Impact of Substance Use Disorder on Midterm Mortality After Valve Surgery for Endocarditis.

Background: Fueled by the burgeoning opioid epidemic, valve surgeries for substance use disorder-related infective endocarditis (SUD-IE) are increasing. The impact of substance use disorder on postvalve replacement morbidity needs further investigation.

Methods: We queried The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database for all valve surgeries for infective endocarditis at Tufts Medical Center (2002-2016) and collected demographic and disease-related data, including timing of mortality subclassified as short-term (<6 months including operative), midterm (6 months to 5 years), and extended-term (>5 years).

Efficacy of Epicutaneous Immunotherapy in Children With Milk-Induced Eosinophilic Esophagitis.

Background & Aims: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is caused by an immune response to specific food allergens. There are no approved therapies beyond avoidance of the allergen(s) or treatment of inflammation. Epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) reduces features of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease in mice and pigs.

The Burden of Untreated HCV Infection in Hospitalized Inmates: a Hospital Utilization and Cost Analysis.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is highly prevalent in incarcerated populations. The high cost of HCV therapy places a major burden on correctional system healthcare budgets, but the burden of untreated HCV is not known. We investigated the economic impact of HCV through comparison of length of stay (LOS), frequency of 30-day readmission, and costs of hospitalizations in inmates with and without HCV using a 2004-2014 administrative claims database.

Increased Mortality and Reoperation Rates After Treatment for Septic Arthritis of the Knee in People Who Inject Drugs: Nationwide Inpatient Sample, 2000-2013.

Background: The United States has a growing opioid epidemic impacting all aspects of health care including orthopaedic surgery. Septic arthritis of the knee is a condition commonly encountered by orthopaedic surgeons related to opioid and injection drug use (IDU). Changes in the frequency of hospitalizations for IDU-related septic arthritis and differences in septic arthritis patient outcomes according to IDU status in the setting of the burgeoning opioid epidemic are unknown.

HIV Clustering in Mississippi: Spatial Epidemiological Study to Inform Implementation Science in the Deep South.

Background: In recent years, more than half of new HIV infections in the United States occur among African Americans in the Southeastern United States. Spatial epidemiological analyses can inform public health responses in the Deep South by identifying HIV hotspots and community-level factors associated with clustering.

Objective: The goal of this study was to identify and characterize HIV clusters in Mississippi through analysis of state-level HIV surveillance data.

Sex work, injection drug use, and abscesses: Associations in women, but not men.

Background: Abscesses commonly occur among people who inject drugs (PWID). However, whether the risks are comparable between males and females, and the impact of sex work on abscess risk is unclear. The goal of this study was to examine the contemporary associations of gender and sex work with the risk of abscesses in PWID.

Hepatitis C virus seroprevalence and prevalence of chronic infection in the adult population in Ireland: a study of residual sera, April 2014 to February 2016.

Robust data on hepatitis C virus (HCV) population prevalence are essential to inform national HCV services. In 2016, we undertook a survey to estimate HCV prevalence among the adult population in Ireland. We used anonymised residual sera available at the National Virus Reference Laboratory.

Temporal Patterns and Drug Resistance in CSF Viral Escape Among ART-Experienced HIV-1 Infected Adults.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) viral escape is an increasingly recognized clinical event among HIV-1-infected adults. We analyzed longitudinal data and drug-resistance mutations to characterize profiles of HIV-1-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy with discordant CSF and plasma HIV-1 RNA levels.

Methods: Forty-one cases of CSF escape defined as detectable CSF HIV-1 RNA when plasma levels were undetectable, or HIV-1 RNA >0.