Comparison of management options for specific antibody deficiency.

Specific antibody deficiency is a primary immunodeficiency characterized by normal immunoglobulins with an inadequate response to polysaccharide antigen vaccination. This disease can result in recurrent infections, the most common being sinopulmonary infections. Treatment options include clinical observation, prophylactic antibiotic therapy, and immunoglobulin supplementation therapy, each with limited clinical data about their efficacy.

Factor structure and measurement invariance of the Revised Brief Addiction Monitor.

There are currently 2 versions of the Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM) being widely used within Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and other treatment settings: the BAM, which entails use of discrete response options for all items, and the revised version, the BAM-R, which consists of the same items but uses continuous response options for several of the items. There is also conflicting evidence about the factor structure of the original BAM, with a 4-factor structure proposed by 1 study that refutes a 3-factor structure proposed from the original study of the measure. The BAM-R is widely administered in substance use treatment settings across the country and is overtaking the discrete BAM as the preferred instrument, although little research has examined the factor structure or longitudinal performance of this version of the measure.

Self-reported hearing difficulty and its association with general, cognitive, and psychosocial health in the state of Arizona, 2015.

Background: Hearing loss is among the leading causes of disability in persons 65 years and older worldwide and is known to have an impact on quality of life as well as social, cognitive, and physical functioning. Our objective was to assess statewide prevalence of self-reported hearing ability in Arizona adults and its association with general health, cognitive decline, diabetes and poor psychosocial health.

Methods: A self-report question on hearing was added to the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone-based survey among community-dwelling adults aged > 18 years (n = 6462).

Reducing Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema (BCRL) Through Prospective Surveillance Monitoring Using Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (BIS) and Patient Directed Self-Interventions.

Background: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a chronic progressive disease that results from breast cancer treatment and nodal surgery. NCCN guidelines support baseline measurements with prospective assessment for early diagnosis and treatment. We sought to determine if baseline measurement with bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) and serial postoperative evaluations provide early detection amenable to conservative interventions that reduce BCRL.