Search interest in alleged COVID-19 treatments over the pandemic period: the impact of mass news media.

Background: Understanding how individuals obtain medical information, especially amid changing guidance, is important for improving outreach and communication strategies. In particular, during a public health emergency, interest in unsafe or illegitimate medications can delay access to appropriate treatments and foster mistrust in the medical system, which can be detrimental at both individual and population levels. It is thus key to understand factors associated with said interest.

Epidemiologic Analysis of a Postelimination Measles Outbreak in Central Ohio, 2022-2023.

Importance: Postelimination outbreaks threaten nearly a quarter century of measles elimination in the US. Understanding these dynamics is essential for maintaining the nation's measles elimination status.

Objective: To examine the demographic characteristics and transmission dynamics of the 2022 to 2023 central Ohio measles outbreak.

An Overview of the Strategies to Boost SARS-CoV-2-Specific Immunity in People with Inborn Errors of Immunity.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has heightened concerns about immunological protection, especially for individuals with inborn errors of immunity (IEI). While COVID-19 vaccines elicit strong immune responses in healthy individuals, their effectiveness in IEI patients remains unclear, particularly against new viral variants and vaccine formulations. This uncertainty has led to anxiety, prolonged self-isolation, and repeated vaccinations with uncertain benefits among IEI patients.

Development of a predictive algorithm for patient survival after traumatic injury using a five analyte blood panel.

Severe trauma can induce systemic inflammation but also immunosuppression, which makes understanding the immune response of trauma patients critical for therapeutic development and treatment approaches. By evaluating the levels of 59 proteins in the plasma of 50 healthy volunteers and 1000 trauma patients across five trauma centers in the United States, we identified 6 novel changes in immune proteins after traumatic injury and further new variations by sex, age, trauma type, comorbidities, and developed a new equation for prediction of patient survival. Blood was collected at the time of arrival at Level 1 trauma centers and patients were stratified based on trauma level, tissues injured, and injury types.

Bronchiectasis-associated infections and outcomes in a large, geographically diverse electronic health record cohort in the United States.

Background: Bronchiectasis is a pulmonary disease characterized by irreversible dilation of the bronchi and recurring respiratory infections. Few studies have described the microbiology and prevalence of infections in large patient populations outside of specialized tertiary care centers.

Methods: We used the Cerner HealthFacts Electronic Health Record database to characterize the nature, burden, and frequency of pulmonary infections among persons with bronchiectasis.

Stuck in pandemic uncertainty: a review of the persistent effects of COVID-19 infection in immune-deficient people.

Background: People who are immune-deficient/disordered (IDP) are underrepresented in COVID-19 studies. Specifically, there is limited research on post-SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes, including viral persistence and long-term sequelae in these populations.

Objectives: This review aimed to examine the published literature on the occurrence of persistent SARS-CoV-2 positivity, relapse, reinfections, variant coinfection, and post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in IDP.

COVID-19 risk perception and vaccine acceptance in individuals with self-reported chronic respiratory or autoimmune conditions.

Background: COVID-19 disproportionately affects those with preexisting conditions, but little research has determined whether those with chronic diseases view the pandemic itself differently - and whether there are differences between chronic diseases. We theorized that while individuals with respiratory disease or autoimmune disorders would perceive greater threat from COVID-19 and be more supportive of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), those with autoimmune disorders would be less likely to support vaccination-based interventions.

Methods: We conducted a two-wave online survey conducted in February and November 2021 asking respondents their beliefs about COVID-19 risk perception, adoption and support of interventions, willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and reasons for vaccination.

Machine Learning in Infectious Disease for Risk Factor Identification and Hypothesis Generation: Proof of Concept Using Invasive Candidiasis.

Background: Machine learning (ML) models can handle large data sets without assuming underlying relationships and can be useful for evaluating disease characteristics, yet they are more commonly used for predicting individual disease risk than for identifying factors at the population level. We offer a proof of concept applying random forest (RF) algorithms to -positive hospital encounters in an electronic health record database of patients in the United States.

Methods: -positive encounters were extracted from the Cerner database; invasive infections were laboratory-positive sterile site infections.

Incidence of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Infection, by Ethnic Group, Hawaii, USA, 2005-2019.

To further clarify differences in the risk for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary infection (NTM-PI) among ethnic populations in Hawaii, USA, we conducted a retrospective cohort study among beneficiaries of Kaiser Permanente Hawaii (KPH). We abstracted demographic, socioeconomic, clinical, and microbiological data from KPH electronic health records for 2005-2019. An NTM-PI case-patient was defined as a person from whom >1 NTM pulmonary isolate was obtained.

Evaluation of viral load in patients with Ebola virus disease in Liberia: a retrospective observational study.

Background: Viral load in patients with Ebola virus disease affects case fatality rate and is an important parameter used for diagnostic cutoffs, stratification in randomised controlled trials, and epidemiological studies. However, viral load in Ebola virus disease is currently estimated using numerous different assays and protocols that were not developed or validated for this purpose. Here, our aim was to conduct a laboratory-based re-evaluation of the viral loads of a large cohort of Liberian patients with Ebola virus disease and analyse these data in the broader context of the west Africa epidemic.

Long-term antibiotic exposure promotes mortality after systemic fungal infection by driving lymphocyte dysfunction and systemic escape of commensal bacteria.

Antibiotics are a modifiable iatrogenic risk factor for the most common human nosocomial fungal infection, invasive candidiasis, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We found that antibiotics enhanced the susceptibility to murine invasive candidiasis due to impaired lymphocyte-dependent IL-17A- and GM-CSF-mediated antifungal immunity within the gut. This led to non-inflammatory bacterial escape and systemic bacterial co-infection, which could be ameliorated by IL-17A or GM-CSF immunotherapy.

CFTR modulator use and risk of nontuberculous mycobacteria positivity in cystic fibrosis, 2011-2018.

Background: People with cystic fibrosis are at increased risk of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) disease. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulators are associated with reduced lung infection with pathogens like and . This association has not been studied with NTM.

The 6-minute walk test predicts mortality in a pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteria-predominant bronchiectasis cohort.

Background: Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung condition frequently associated with nontuberculous mycobacteria pulmonary (NTM) disease. Persons with these conditions are at increased risk of mortality. Patient reported outcome (PRO) instruments and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) have been shown to predict mortality for several lung conditions, but these measures have not been fully evaluated for bronchiectasis and NTM.

Environmental predictors of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) sputum positivity among persons with cystic fibrosis in the state of Florida.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic human pathogens that are commonly found in soil and water, and exposure to these organisms may cause pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial disease. Persons with cystic fibrosis (CF) are at high risk for developing pulmonary NTM infections, and studies have shown that prolonged exposure to certain environments can increase the risk of pulmonary NTM. It is therefore important to determine the risk associated with different geographic areas.

Missing diagnoses of congenital cytomegalovirus infection in electronic health records for infants with laboratory-confirmed infection.

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a leading cause of non-genetic sensorineural hearing loss and neurodevelopmental disabilities among US children. Studies using administrative healthcare databases have identified infants with congenital CMV using diagnostic codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth and Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification. Using Cerner Health Facts deidentified electronic health records, we assessed the sensitivity of CMV diagnostic codes among infants with laboratory confirmed congenital CMV infection (i.

Antibody responses to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in individuals with various inborn errors of immunity.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is recommended in patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEIs); however, little is known about immunogenicity and safety in these patients.

Objective: We sought to evaluate the impact of genetic diagnosis, age, and treatment on antibody response to COVID-19 vaccine and related adverse events in a cohort of patients with IEIs.

Methods: Plasma was collected from 22 health care worker controls, 81 patients with IEIs, and 2 patients with thymoma; the plasma was collected before immunization, 1 to 6 days before the second dose of mRNA vaccine, and at a median of 30 days after completion of the immunization schedule with either mRNA vaccine or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine.

SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence and Drug Use in Trauma Patients from Six Sites in the United States.

In comparison to the general patient population, trauma patients show higher level detections of bloodborne infectious diseases, such as Hepatitis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In comparison to bloodborne pathogens, the prevalence of respiratory infections such as SARS-CoV-2 and how that relates with other variables, such as drug usage and trauma type, is currently unknown in trauma populations. Here, we evaluated SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and antibody isotype profile in 2,542 trauma patients from six Level-1 trauma centers between April and October of 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Impact of Corticosteroids on Secondary Infection and Mortality in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients.

Background: Corticosteroids are part of the treatment guidelines for COVID-19 and have been shown to improve mortality. However, the impact corticosteroids have on the development of secondary infection in COVID-19 is unknown. We sought to define the rate of secondary infection in critically ill patients with COVID-19 and determine the effect of corticosteroid use on mortality in critically ill patients with COVID-19.

Association Between Caseload Surge and COVID-19 Survival in 558 U.S. Hospitals, March to August 2020.

Background: Several U.S. hospitals had surges in COVID-19 caseload, but their effect on COVID-19 survival rates remains unclear, especially independent of temporal changes in survival.

Orally delivered MK-4482 inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in the Syrian hamster model.

The COVID-19 pandemic progresses unabated in many regions of the world. An effective antiviral against SARS-CoV-2 that could be administered orally for use following high-risk exposure would be of substantial benefit in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Herein, we show that MK-4482, an orally administered nucleoside analog, inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in the Syrian hamster model.

COVID-19 risk perception and vaccine acceptance in individuals with chronic disease.

Background: COVID-19 disproportionately affects those with preexisting conditions, but little research has determined whether those with chronic diseases view the pandemic itself differently - and whether there are differences between chronic diseases. We theorized that while individuals with respiratory disease or autoimmune disorders would perceive greater threat from COVID-19 and be more supportive of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), those with autoimmune disorders would be less likely to support vaccination-based interventions.

Methods: We conducted a two-wave online survey conducted in February and November 2021 asking respondents their beliefs about COVID-19 risk perception, adoption and support of interventions, willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and reasons for vaccination.

Extrapulmonary Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infections in Hospitalized Patients, United States, 2009-2014.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause pulmonary and extrapulmonary infections in susceptible persons. To characterize the epidemiology of skin and soft tissue (SST) and disseminated extrapulmonary infections caused by NTM in the United States, we used a large electronic health record database to examine clinical, demographic, and laboratory data for hospitalized patients with NTM isolated from extrapulmonary sources during 2009-2014. Using all unique inpatients as the denominator, we estimated prevalence and summarized cases by key characteristics.