Mental and Physical Health-Related Quality of Life Following Military Polytrauma.

Introduction: The long-term impact of deployment-related trauma on mental and physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among military personnel is not well understood. We describe the mental and physical HRQoL among military personnel following deployment-related polytrauma after their discharge from the hospital and examine factors associated with HRQoL and longitudinal trends.

Materials And Methods: The U.

Mitigating COVID-19 Vaccine Waste Through a Multidisciplinary Inpatient Vaccination Initiative.

A multidisciplinary team at a tertiary care Veterans Health Administration medical center created a standardized process to identify medically stable inpatients, to notify inpatient staff of available COVID-19 vaccine doses, and to coordinate inpatient vaccine administration. The team's goals were to mitigate vaccine waste while safely vaccinating as many patients as possible. Using a unique set of exclusion criteria and clinical judgment, a quality improvement team reviewed patients admitted to medicine teams to determine medical stability.

Inpatient versus outpatient intravenous diuresis for the acute exacerbation of chronic heart failure.

Background: We established an IV outpatient diuresis (IVOiD) clinic and conducted a quality improvement project to evaluate safety, effectiveness and costs associated with outpatient versus inpatient diuresis for patients presenting with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) to the emergency department (ED).

Methods: Patients who were clinically diagnosed with ADHF in the ED, but did not have high-risk features, were either diuresed in the hospital or in the outpatient IVOiD clinic. The dose of IV diuretic was based on their home maintenance diuretic dose.

Universal masking to control healthcare-associated transmission of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Objectives: To assess extent of a healthcare-associated outbreak of severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and to evaluate the effectiveness of infection control measures, including universal masking.

Design: Outbreak investigation including 4 large-scale point-prevalence surveys.

Setting: Integrated VA healthcare system with 2 facilities and 330 beds.

Urinary Tract Infections after Combat-Related Genitourinary Trauma.

We examined clinical outcomes among combat casualties with genitourinary injuries after blast trauma. Characteristics, clinical care, urologic complications, and infections for subjects enrolled in the Trauma Infectious Disease Outcomes Study (TIDOS) were collected from Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sources. Logistic regression identified predictors for urinary tract infections (UTIs) after genitourinary trauma.

Infectious Complications After Deployment Trauma: Following Wounded US Military Personnel Into Veterans Affairs Care.

Background: Infectious complications related to deployment trauma significantly contribute to the morbidity and mortality of wounded service members. The Trauma Infectious Disease Outcomes Study (TIDOS) collects data on US military personnel injured in Iraq and Afghanistan in an observational cohort study of infectious complications. Patients enrolled in TIDOS may also consent to follow-up through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibition and Head and Neck Cancer Recurrence and Death in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the effect of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) therapy on the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC) recurrence or HNC-attributable death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA patients with HNC were assembled from the US national Veterans' Affairs (VA) administrative databases, and diagnoses confirmed and data collected by electronic medical record review. The cohort was divided into those treated with non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (nbDMARDs) versus TNF inhibitors (TNFi) after a diagnosis of HNC.

Serious bleeding events due to warfarin and antibiotic co-prescription in a cohort of veterans.

Background: Antibiotics may interact with warfarin, increasing the risk for significant bleeding events.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of veterans who were prescribed warfarin for 30 days without interruption through the US Department of Veterans Affairs between October 1, 2002 and September 1, 2008. Antibiotics considered to be high risk for interaction with warfarin include: trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX), ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, metronidazole, fluconazole, azithromycin, and clarithromycin.

Myocardial infarction risk among patients with fractures receiving bisphosphonates.

Objective: To determine if bisphosphonates are associated with reduced risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Patients And Methods: A cohort of 14,256 veterans 65 years or older with femoral or vertebral fractures was selected from national administrative databases operated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs and was derived from encounters at Veterans Affairs facilities between October 1, 1998, and September 30, 2006. The time to first AMI was assessed in relationship to bisphosphonate exposure as determined by records from the Pharmacy Benefits Management Database.

Greater variability in kidney function is associated with an increased risk of death.

Intra-individual variability in kidney function is a common phenomenon; however, predictors of kidney function variability and its prognostic significance are not known. To examine this question, we assembled a cohort of 51,304 US veterans with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 ml/min at the end of the study period and who had at least two eGFR measurements during the previous 3 years. Variability in kidney function was defined for each patient as the coefficient of variation of the regression line fitted to all outpatient measures of eGFR during this time frame.

Daptomycin compared to vancomycin for the treatment of osteomyelitis: a single-center, retrospective cohort study.

Background: Osteomyelitis (OM) is a serious infection with high rates of recurrence. Vancomycin has been used for decades in the treatment of OM, but, despite adequate dosing, 30% to 50% of patients experience infection recurrence within 12 months. Daptomycin, a novel lipopetide antibiotic, is also active against resistant gram-positive organisms, but there is little published about its efficacy and tolerability in the treatment of OM.

Increased body mass index is associated with improved survival in United States veterans with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Purpose: Obesity increases the risk of death from many malignancies, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). In diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common form of NHL, the association between body mass index (BMI) at diagnosis and survival is unclear.

Patients And Methods: We evaluated the association between BMI at diagnosis and overall survival in a retrospective cohort of 2,534 United States veterans diagnosed with DLBCL between October 1, 1998 and December 31, 2008.

Mental health disorders and the risk of AIDS-defining illness and death in HIV-infected veterans.

Objective: Mental health comorbidities are common in HIV-infected veterans and can impact clinical outcomes for HIV. We examined the impact of mental health diagnoses on progression to AIDS-defining illness (ADI) and death in a large cohort of HIV-infected veterans who accessed care between 2001 and 2006.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using the national Veterans Health Administration (VHA) HIV Clinical Case Registry.

Risk of non-melanoma skin cancer in a national cohort of veterans with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To determine the incidence of and risk factors for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in a national cohort of veterans with RA.

Methods: We examined skin cancer risk in a cohort of 20 648 patients with RA derived from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) national administrative databases. The cohort was divided into two medication groups: patients treated with non-biologic and TNF-α antagonist DMARDs.

TNF-α antagonist use and risk of hospitalization for infection in a national cohort of veterans with rheumatoid arthritis.

Medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may confer an increased risk of infection. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of veterans with RA followed in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs health care system from October 1998 through September 2005. Risk of hospitalization for infection associated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α antagonists therapy was measured using an extension of Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for demographic characteristics, comorbid illnesses, and other medications used to treat RA.

Tumor necrosis factor-α blockade, cardiovascular outcomes, and survival in rheumatoid arthritis.

The effect of TNF-α blockade on the risk of cardiovascular outcomes and long-term survival in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not known. We assembled a cohort of 20,811 (75,329 person-years) U.S.

Rate of kidney function decline associates with mortality.

The effect of rate of decline of kidney function on risk for death is not well understood. Using the Department of Veterans Affairs national databases, we retrospectively studied a cohort of 4171 patients who had rheumatoid arthritis and early stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD; estimated GFR 45 to 60 ml/min) and followed them longitudinally to characterize predictors of disease progression and the effect of rate of kidney function decline on mortality. After a median of 2.

An observational study of musculoskeletal pain among patients receiving bisphosphonate therapy.

Objective: To seek evidence for the association of bisphosphonate use with diffuse musculoskeletal pain (MSKP) in a large national cohort, controlling for conditions associated with MSKP.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective cohort study enrolled all US veterans aged 65 years or older with a vertebral or hip fracture who were treated for at least 1 year between October 1, 1998, and September 30, 2006 (N=26,545). All International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnostic codes, demographics, and pharmaceutical data were obtained from national databases.

Acute infective endocarditis.

Acute infective endocarditis is a complex disease with changing epidemiology and a rapidly evolving knowledge base. To consistently achieve optimal outcomes in the management of infective endocarditis, the clinical team must have an understanding of the epidemiology, microbiology, and natural history of infective endocarditis, as well as a grasp of guiding principles of diagnosis and medical and surgical management. The focus of this review is acute infective endocarditis, though many studies of diagnosis and treatment do not differentiate between acute and subacute disease, and indeed many principles of diagnosis and management of infective endocarditis for acute and subacute disease are identical.

Current recommendations in the management of osteomyelitis of the hand and wrist.

Management of osteomyelitis of the hand and wrist is a multidisciplinary and individualized process. A rational approach to management includes careful consideration of the pathogenesis, microbiology, diagnostic options, and surgical and medical treatment of this disease.

Herpes zoster risk factors in a national cohort of veterans with rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Herpes zoster occurs more commonly in patients taking immunosuppressive medications, although the risk associated with different medications is poorly understood.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 20,357 patients who were followed in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system and treated for rheumatoid arthritis from October 1998 through June 2005. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine risk factors for herpes zoster and herpes zoster-free survival.

Infectious complications following endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: an automated surveillance system for detecting postprocedure bacteremia.

We have developed an automated surveillance system to detect bloodstream infection (BSI) occurring after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). We retrospectively applied this automated surveillance tool to all patients who underwent ERCP at out institution between July 2004 and April 2006 to determine the baseline rates of BSI after ERCP and identify the epidemiology of the pathogens. A total of 2052 ERCPs were performed during the study period; 46 BSIs occurred within 30 days after ERCP (overall rate of post-ERCP BSI, 2.

Association between 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer sequence groups of Mycobacterium avium complex and pulmonary disease.

Organisms within the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) may have differential virulence. We compared 33 subjects with MAC pulmonary disease to 75 subjects with a single positive culture without disease. M.