Evaluating Patient-Reported Outcome Measure Collection and Attainment of Substantial Clinical Benefit in Total Joint Arthroplasty Patients.

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are important markers of postsurgical outcomes following total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Recent policies by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will require hospitals to achieve at least 50% postoperative PROM collection rates in order to qualify for their full annual payment in fiscal year 2028. This study aimed to: (1) quantify provider PROMs collection rates for TJA patients; (2) compare mean improvements in postoperative PROMs in TJA patients; (3) identify the proportion of TJA patients achieving substantial clinical benefit (SCB); and (4) identify factors associated with TJA patient completion of matched PROMs and achievement of SCB at one year.

The influence of urbanization and water reclamation plants on fecal indicator bacteria and antibiotic resistance in the Los Angeles River watershed: A case study with complementary monitoring methods.

Urban land use and water reclamation plants (WRPs) can impact fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in coastal watersheds. However, there is a lack of studies exploring these effects on the US West Coast. Additionally, there is limited research using a complementary approach across culture-, qPCR-, and metagenomics-based techniques for characterizing environmental AMR.

Complications and revision rates after total shoulder arthroplasty are similar between patients with and without diabetes mellitus.

Purpose: There is wide variability in the conclusions of studies examining the effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on outcomes of shoulder arthroplasty (SA). The objective of this study was to determine if there are differences in complication profiles between patients with DM and those without undergoing anatomic and reverse total SA.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing SA in a single center from January 2014 to December 2019 was performed.

Environmental sustainability in cardiovascular practice: current challenges and future directions.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with a substantial amount of health-care resources targeted towards its diagnosis and management. Environmental sustainability in cardiovascular care can have an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution and could be beneficial for improving health metrics and societal well-being and minimizing the cost of health care. In this Review, we discuss the motivations and frameworks for sustainable cardiovascular care with an emphasis on the reduction of the climate-related and environmental effects of cardiovascular care.

Photoactivated rose bengal mitigates a fibrotic phenotype and improves cutaneous wound healing in full-thickness injuries.

Healing of deep cutaneous wounds often results in detrimental sequelae, including painful and debilitating scars. Current therapies for full-thickness injuries that target specific phases of wound healing have moderate success; however, full resolution remains incomplete and negative consequences persist if skin homeostasis is not achieved. Photoactivated molecules can modulate cellular responses by generating reactive oxygen species and may provide a novel therapeutic option to improve wound healing.

Spatial co-occurrence of firearm homicides and opioid overdose deaths in Chicago by level of COVID-19 mortality, 2017-2021.

Background: Firearm homicide and opioid overdoses were already leading causes of death in the U.S. before both problems surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changing the default meal option at university events to reduce harmful environmental impacts: Six randomized controlled trials.

Animal agriculture is a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful environmental impacts, which underscores the need to shift away from the consumption of animal-based products. One promising nudge intervention is making plant-based meals the default option, so we tested this approach at six different university events across four academic institutions for effecting sustainable dietary change. Event attendees pre-selected their meal on one of two randomly assigned RSVP forms: one with a plant-based default and one with a meal with meat default.

Daily heat and mortality among people experiencing homelessness in 2 urban US counties, 2015-2022.

High and low daily ambient temperatures are associated with higher mortality in the general population. People experiencing homelessness (PEH) are thought to be particularly vulnerable, but there is almost no direct evidence available. We examined the temperature-mortality association among PEH in 2 populous, urban counties in hot-climate regions of the United States, focusing on heat effects.

Evaluating Firearm Violence After New Jersey's Cash Bail Reform.

Importance: Reducing the pretrial detention population has been a cornerstone of movements to end mass incarceration. Across many US cities, there are ongoing public debates on policies that would end pretrial detention due to the inability to afford bail, with some raising concerns that doing so would increase community violence.

Objective: To evaluate changes in firearm violence after New Jersey's 2017 bail reform policy that eliminated financial barriers to avoiding pretrial detention.

Community-Academic Partnership to Assess the Role of Physical Disinvestment on Firearm Violence in Toledo, OH.

Reversing physical disinvestment, e.g., by remediating abandoned buildings and vacant lots, is an evidence-based strategy to reduce urban firearm violence.

Post-traumatic stress disorder in burn patients - A large database analysis.

Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) afflicts a significant portion of burn patients. This study aims to analyze the morbidity, prevalence, and treatment of PTSD in the burn population.

Methods: Using the TriNetX database, we identified burned patients > 18 years of age without (A) or with (B) a PTSD diagnosis.

Comparing the Effectiveness of Glucocorticoids in Preventing Hypertrophic Scar Diagnosis in Burn Patients.

: The prevalence of hypertrophic scarring after a burn is approximately 70%. Despite advances in burn management, there is currently no gold standard treatment to reduce or prevent its occurrence. Glucocorticoids are frequently given to patients early after burns for other therapeutic purposes and have been shown to induce scar regression.

Death by the minute: Inequities in trauma care for victims of firearm violence.

Background: Gunshot wounds (GSWs) remain a significant source of mortality in the United States. Timely delivery of trauma care is known to be critical for survival. We sought to understand the relationship of predicted transport time and death after GSW.

Pre-existing skin diseases as predictors of post-burn pruritus.

Background: Post-burn pruritus (PBP) has been shown to adversely affect burn patients' quality of life. However, the predictors of PBP are not known. We hypothesize a pre-existing pruritic skin diagnosis is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes following a burn injury.

Costs of Summer Youth Employment to Prevent Violence: an Analysis and Implementer's Tool.

Gun homicide rates have risen 35% across the USA since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. One promising intervention to prevent violent crime is summer youth employment programs (SYEPs), which provide youth with meaningful workplace experiences, prosocial engagements, and developmental opportunities during the summer months, when many otherwise lack structure. This paper presents a cost analysis of violence prevention-focused SYEPs to help implementers understand the costs generally and in their own community contexts-to advocate for adoption and secure funding of, effectively budget for, and successfully implement SYEPs.

Vacant Building Removals Associated with Relative Reductions in Violent and Property Crimes in Baltimore, MD 2014-2019.

Vacant and abandoned buildings are common features in many post-industrial US cities, and are consistent predictors of violence. Demolition programs are regularly employed as an urban land use policy to stabilize housing markets and mitigate public health problems including violence. The objective of this research was to examine the effect of vacant building removals on violent and property crimes in Baltimore, MD from 2014 to 2019.

Cost minimization analysis of short-duration antiviral prophylaxis for hepatitis C positive donor kidney transplants.

Background: Trials describing 4-12 week courses of direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs) to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission from infected donors to uninfected kidney transplant recipients (D+/R-transplants), may be limited in application by costs and delayed access to expensive DAAs. A short prophylactic strategy may be safer and cost-effective. Here, we report a cost minimization analysis using the health system perspective to determine the least expensive DAA regimen, using available published strategies.

Assessing the Gun Violence Archive as an Epidemiologic Data Source for Community Firearm Violence in 4 US Cities.

Importance: Firearm injury is a major public health burden in the US, and yet there is no single, validated national data source to study community firearm violence, including firearm homicide and nonfatal shootings that result from interpersonal violence.

Objective: To assess the validity of the Gun Violence Archive as a source of data on events of community firearm violence and to examine the characteristics of individuals injured in shootings.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional observational study compared data on community firearm violence from the Gun Violence Archive with publicly available police department data, which were assumed to be the reference standard, between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2020.

Curbing the Epidemic of Community Firearm Violence after the Decision.

The Supreme Court's decision in undermines the ability of cities and states to regulate firearms safety. Nonetheless, we remain hopeful that firearm violence can decline even after the decision. Several promising public health approaches have gained broader adoption in recent years.