Publications by authors named "Kristen St John"

Ketamine is a versatile anesthetic that has been widely used off-label to treat a variety of indications. Esketamine, a derivative of ketamine, is FDA-approved to treat treatment-resistant depression. This report compares statewide prescription ketamine and esketamine trends.

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Background: In 2021, over 80,000 fatal overdoses occurred in the United States. Since 2020, the federal government has enacted multiple regulatory changes around buprenorphine prescribing for opioid use disorder (OUD) to increase access to buprenorphine. This study aims to explore trends in buprenorphine treatment initiation pre- and post-public health emergency to evaluate changes in the context of X-waiver relaxations and telehealth allowances.

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Article Synopsis
  • During the Zika Virus Response by the CDC, birth defects surveillance was adapted to track issues potentially linked to Zika virus infections in pregnant women from January 2016 to June 2017 across 22 U.S. states and territories.
  • Researchers categorized areas by their level of Zika transmission and calculated the prevalence of brain and eye defects per 10,000 live births, finding significant increases in areas with widespread transmission.
  • Nine specific birth defects showed notably higher prevalence in regions with extensive Zika spread, particularly intracranial calcifications and chorioretinal abnormalities, suggesting that ongoing monitoring of certain defects could be beneficial.
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Background And Aims: Opioids biosurveillance is a new approach to public health surveillance of non-fatal overdoses that relies upon laboratory analysis of residual biospecimens from hospitals treating opioids overdoses. In Rhode Island (RI), USA, hospitals report suspected opioid overdoses to the Department of Health. Residual specimens associated with these overdoses are submitted to the State Health Laboratories for further characterization.

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To assess costs of video and traditional in-person directly observed therapy (DOT) for tuberculosis (TB) treatment to health departments and patients in New York City, Rhode Island, and San Francisco, California. We collected health department costs for video DOT (VDOT; live and recorded), and in-person DOT (field- and clinic-based). Time-motion surveys estimated provider time and cost.

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Article Synopsis
  • * From January 2016 to June 2017, the CDC studied over 2 million live births and identified 3,359 cases of birth defects that may be linked to Zika virus, with a prevalence rate of 1.7 per 1,000 live births.
  • * In regions with widespread Zika transmission, birth defects increased significantly, peaking at 5.6 per 1,000 live births in early 2017, indicating a fourfold rise compared to the same period the previous year.
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Prevalence of gastroschisis, a serious birth defect of the abdominal wall resulting in some of the abdominal contents extending outside the body at birth, has been increasing worldwide (1,2). Gastroschisis requires surgical repair after birth and is associated with digestive and feeding complications during infancy, which can affect development. Recent data from 14 U.

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Background: Partner notification services (PNS) are highly effective in reducing transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We assessed outcomes of PNS before and after integration of an on-site disease intervention specialist (DIS) at a publicly-funded STD clinic.

Methods: From August 2014 to December 2015, patients testing positive for infectious syphilis or gonorrhea at the Rhode Island STD Clinic were referred to on-site DIS for partner notification.

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Oceanic sediments from long cores drilled on the Lomonosov ridge, in the central Arctic, contain ice-rafted debris (IRD) back to the middle Eocene epoch, prompting recent suggestions that ice appeared in the Arctic about 46 million years (Myr) ago. However, because IRD can be transported by icebergs (derived from land-based ice) and also by sea ice, IRD records are restricted to providing a history of general ice-rafting only. It is critical to differentiate sea ice from glacial (land-based) ice as climate feedback mechanisms vary and global impacts differ between these systems: sea ice directly affects ocean-atmosphere exchanges, whereas land-based ice affects sea level and consequently ocean acidity.

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The history of the Arctic Ocean during the Cenozoic era (0-65 million years ago) is largely unknown from direct evidence. Here we present a Cenozoic palaeoceanographic record constructed from >400 m of sediment core from a recent drilling expedition to the Lomonosov ridge in the Arctic Ocean. Our record shows a palaeoenvironmental transition from a warm 'greenhouse' world, during the late Palaeocene and early Eocene epochs, to a colder 'icehouse' world influenced by sea ice and icebergs from the middle Eocene epoch to the present.

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