Using Telehealth to Increase Lung Cancer Screening Referrals for At-Risk Veterans in Rural Communities.

Background: At-risk rural veterans have low rates of lung cancer screening (LCS). This proof-of-principle quality improvement project aimed to determine whether a telehealth intervention would increase referrals for at-risk veterans living in the rural upper Midwest and attending a smoking cessation program to LCS with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) of the chest.

Methods: Sixty-eight of 74 LCS-eligible rural veterans who self-enrolled in a smoking cessation program were contacted by telephone.

Nasal Cannula Dislodgement During Sleep in Veterans Receiving Long-term Oxygen Therapy for Hypoxemic Chronic Respiratory Failure.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is highly prevalent in male veterans. Long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) can effectively reduce all-cause mortality in these patients, but the effects of nasal cannula dislodgement (NCD) during sleep have not been well studied.

Methods: This study sought to determine whether veterans receiving LTOT for hypoxemic chronic respiratory failure (CRF) due to COPD reported NCD while they slept and, if so, its impact on hospitalizations for COPD exacerbations.

Neighborhood-level deprivation and survival in lung cancer.

Background: Despite recent advances in lung cancer therapeutics and improving overall survival, disparities persist among socially disadvantaged populations. This study aims to determine the effects of neighborhood deprivation indices (NDI) on lung cancer mortality. This is a multicenter retrospective cohort study assessing the relationship between NDI and overall survival adjusted for age, disease stage, and DNA methylation among biopsy-proven lung cancer patients.

Short-term treatment with cholestyramine increases long-acting anticoagulant rodenticide clearance from rabbits without affecting plasma vitamin K1 levels or blood coagulation.

Administration of high-dose vitamin K1 (VK1) overcomes coagulopathy and bleeding elicited by acute poisoning with long-acting anticoagulant rodenticides (LAARs). However, long-term (months) treatment is required due to long LAAR biological half-lives that may lead to poor compliance and recurrent coagulopathy. The half-lives of LAARs are extended by slow metabolism, and similar to warfarin, are thought to undergo enterohepatic recirculation.

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Phenotyping: An Unmet Educational Need of Healthcare Providers.

Background: Diagnosing alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1ATD) involves two-step laboratory testing, determination of serum alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT) level and phenotyping if A1AT < 100 mg/dL. Whether these guidelines are effectuated in clinical practice is uncertain. To begin to address this issue, we determined whether A1AT phenotyping is performed in patients with serum A1AT 57 - 99 mg/dL at our institution.

From Acute Infection to Prolonged Health Consequences: Understanding Health Disparities and Economic Implications in Long COVID Worldwide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a growing number of patients experiencing persistent symptoms and physiological changes after recovering from acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, known as Long COVID. Long COVID is characterized by recurring symptoms and inflammation across multiple organ systems. Diagnosis can be challenging, influenced by factors like demographics, comorbidities, and immune responses.

Home Oxygen After Hospitalization for COVID-19: Results From the Multi-Center OXFORD Study.

Background: In the first months of the pandemic, prior to the introduction of proven-effective treatments, 15-37% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were discharged on home oxygen. After proven-effective treatments for acute COVID-19 were established by evidence-based guidelines, little remains known about home oxygen requirements following hospitalization for COVID-19.

Methods: This was a retrospective, multi-center cohort study of subjects hospitalized for COVID-19 between October 2020-September 2021 at 3 academic health centers.

Risk of 30-Day All-Cause Readmission in Interstitial Lung Disease Patients after COVID-19: National-Level Data.

Hospital readmission within 30 days poses challenges for healthcare providers, policymakers, and patients because of its impact on care quality, costs, and outcomes. Patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) are particularly affected by readmission, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and reduced quality of life. Because small sample sizes have hindered previous studies, this study seeks to address this gap in knowledge by examining a large-scale dataset.

Presence of variable extrathoracic airflow limitation in patients with a negative methacholine challenge test.

Purpose: Determine whether variable extrathoracic airflow limitation (VEAL) is observed in patients with negative methacholine challenge tests (MCT).

Methods: Electronic medical records of patients undergoing MCT at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center between January 2017 and December 2019 were reviewed. Only patients with negative MCT were selected.

Modulating microbiome-immune axis in the deployment-related chronic diseases of Veterans: report of an expert meeting.

The present report summarizes the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) field-based meeting titled "Modulating microbiome-immune axis in the deployment-related chronic diseases of Veterans." Our Veteran patient population experiences a high incidence of service-related chronic physical and mental health problems, such as infection, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), various forms of hematological and non-hematological malignancies, neurologic conditions, end-stage organ failure, requiring transplantation, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We report the views of a group of scientists who focus on the current state of scientific knowledge elucidating the mechanisms underlying the aforementioned disorders, novel therapeutic targets, and development of new approaches for clinical intervention.

Vaccination in the Era of Immunosuppression.

Patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRDs) are at increased risk for severe infections. Vaccine responses and safety profiles may differ between AIIRD patients and the general population. While patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRDs) often experience diminished humoral responses and reduced vaccine efficacy, factors such as the type of immunosuppressant medications used and the specific vaccine employed contribute to these outcomes.

Diagnosis of Indolent and Infections as Risk Factors for Cholangiocarcinoma: An Unmet Medical Need.

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma is a highly aggressive cancer of the biliary tract epithelium. This form of cancer is prevalent in Asia, and recent reports show that its incidence is relatively rare but increasing in the United States. Although risk factors for cholangiocarcinoma have yet to be elucidated, a growing body of literature suggests chronic infection of genetically susceptible individuals with the food-borne zoonotic trematodes () and () may play a role.

Corrigendum: Reproducibility and rigor in rheumatology research.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.

Promoting lung cancer screening of high-risk patients by primary care providers.

Background: Lung cancer screening (LCS) with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) of the chest of eligible patients remains low. Accordingly, augmentation of appropriate LCS referrals by primary care providers (PCPs) was sought.

Methods: The quality improvement (QI) project was performed between April 2021 and June 2022.

Myo1e overexpression in lung adenocarcinoma is associated with increased risk of mortality.

This study aims to perform a comprehensive genomic analysis to assess the influence of overexpression of MYO1E in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and whether there are differences in survival and mortality risk in NSCLC patients depending on both DNA methylation and RNA expression of MYO1E. The DNA methylation probe cg13887966 was inversely correlated with MYO1E RNA expression in both LUAD and LUSC subpopulations showing that lower MYO1E RNA expression was associated with higher MYO1E DNA methylation. Late stages of lung cancer showed significantly lower MYO1E DNA methylation and significantly higher MYO1E RNA expression for LUAD but not for LUSC.

Reproducibility and rigor in rheumatology research.

The pillars of scientific progress in rheumatology are experimentation and observation, followed by the publication of reliable and credible results. These data must then be independently verified, validated, and replicated. Peer and journal-specific technical and statistical reviews are paramount to improving rigor and reproducibility.