Decrease in provider stigma is associated with improved quality health indicators among individuals receiving methadone in primary care centers in Ukraine.

Introduction: People who inject drugs experience poor health and social outcomes which improve with opioid agonist therapies like methadone, yet provider stigma may influence healthcare utilization. In Ukraine, integrating methadone into primary care centers (PCCs) provides an opportunity to examine provider stigma and its impact on patient outcomes.

Methods: This sub-analysis included patients randomized to receive methadone in PCCs as part of an implementation trial in which the control group received methadone in specialty addiction clinics in Ukraine.

Primary Care Guidance for Providers of Care for Persons With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: 2024 Update by the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART) have made it possible for persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to live a lifespan approaching that of people without HIV, without progressing to AIDS or transmitting HIV to sexual partners or infants. There is, therefore, increasing emphasis on maintaining health throughout the lifespan. To receive optimal medical care and achieve desired outcomes, persons with HIV must be consistently engaged in care and able to access uninterrupted treatment, including ART.

Design and implementation of a Type-2 hybrid, prospective randomized trial of opioid agonist therapies integration into primary care clinics in Ukraine.

Introduction: Ukraine has high HIV prevalence, concentrated among people who inject drugs (PWID), mostly of opioids. Maintenance on opioid agonist therapies (OAT) is the most effective evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder. As PWID experience high morbidity and mortality from preventable and treatable non-communicable diseases, international agencies recommend integrating OAT into primary care centers (PCC).

HIV Activist Identity, Commitment, and Orientation Scale (HAICOS): Psychometric Evaluation to Assess Clinician's Propensity Towards HIV Activism in Malaysia.

HIV activism has a long history of advancing HIV treatment and is critical in dismantling HIV-related stigma. This study evaluated the psychometric quality of the HIV Activist Identity, Commitment, and Orientation Scale (HAICOS) to assess clinicians' propensity towards HIV activism in Malaysia. From November 2022 to March 2023, 74 general practitioners and primary care physicians in Malaysia participated in the study.

Perspectives on benefits and risks of creation of an "injection drug use" billing code.

People with substance use disorder (SUD) face barriers to prevention and treatment services, increasing risk for hospitalization and death. Injection drug use (IDU) can lead to an increased risk of overdose and infections. However, identifying people who inject drugs (PWID) within healthcare systems is challenging.

Nine-year substance use treatment outcomes with buprenorphine for opioid use disorder in a federally qualified health center.

Background: Prescribing medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in primary care helps meet treatment demand, but few studies examine long-term treatment retention among medically-underserved primary care patients.

Methods: This 9-year retrospective study assessed overall retention at 6 months, and yearly up to 9 years, among 1451 patients with at least 6 months of buprenorphine prescription data from a federally-qualified health center (FQHC). We also examined whether patients who had gaps in treatment (>14 days without medication) later returned to care.

Primary Hepatic Neuroendocrine Tumor: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumors (PHNETs) are extremely rare and account for about 0.3% of all neuroendocrine tumor cases. Resection is usually difficult because they are usually diagnosed in the late stages.

Integrating methadone into primary care settings in Ukraine: effects on provider stigma and knowledge.

Introduction: Stigma has undermined the scale-up of evidence-based HIV prevention and treatment. Negative beliefs influence clinicians' discriminatory behaviour and ultimately have wide-ranging effects across the HIV prevention and treatment continuum. Stigma among clinicians can be mitigated in several ways, including through interpersonal contact.

The role of 18 F-FDG-PET/CT in the management of differentiated thyroid cancer.

Introduction: In previous literature, 18 F-FDG-PET/ CT imaging significantly impacted differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) therapy. Low thyroglobulin (Tg) levels and negative Iodine-131 (131I) whole-body scan (WBS), along with negative 18 F-FDG-PET/ CT, suggested a lesser likelihood of active illness. Positive 18 F-FDG-PET/CT findings, however, were associated with a variety of signs of local recurrence and regional or distant metastases in patients with suspected WBS.

Photobiomodulation self-treatment at home after rotator cuff arthroscopic repair accelerates improvement in pain, functionality, and quality of life: A double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial.

Objective: To determine whether self-applied photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy at home, following rotator cuff arthroscopic surgery (RCAS) can accelerate improvement in patient-reported outcomes within the first 6 months postsurgery.

Methods: This study was a prospective, double-blind, sham-controlled, randomized clinical trial (NCT04593342). Patients (n = 50, age 55 ± 7 years, male:female 29:21) who underwent primary RCAS were randomized to receive active (n = 22) or sham (n = 28) PBM devices (B-Cure Laser Pro, Erica B-Cure LASER Ltd.

Design, implementation and preliminary results of a type-2 hybrid cluster-randomized trial of integrating screening and treatment for major depressive disorder into specialty clinics providing opioid agonist therapies in Ukraine.

Introduction: Ukraine has a high prevalence of co-occurring disorders (COD), defined as having both substance use (SUD) and psychiatric disorders. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder among people with SUD. People with COD experience poor health outcomes, and international agencies propose integrated COD care.

Heavy metals accumulation in soil and uptake by barley (Hordeum vulgare) irrigated with contaminated water.

Impacts of nine heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, K, Fe, Mn, and Zn) contamination in irrigation water on the soil, shoots, and roots of barely were investigated. Due to freshwater shortages, the use of available and inexpensive urban wastewater with input from local industrial factories containing heavy metals in irrigation is still practiced in the Middle East including Palestine. Barely was grown in plastic pots filled with sandy soil irrigated with simulated treated wastewater during two growing seasons.

"I want the doctors to know that I am as bright as a candle": : Experiences with and Hopes for Doctor Interactions Among Malaysian Key Populations and People Living with HIV.

Stigma in healthcare settings is a pernicious barrier to HIV prevention and treatment in contexts with strong HIV-related structural stigma. Previous work has documented substantial stigma towards key populations and people living with HIV (PLWH) among Malaysian doctors. The perspectives of Malaysian key populations and PLWH, however, remain understudied.

Acceptability and Feasibility of Online, Asynchronous Photovoice with Key Populations and People Living with HIV.

Photovoice is an action-oriented qualitative method involving photography and story-telling. Although photovoice yields a powerful form of data that can be leveraged for research, intervention, and advocacy, it has arguably been underutilized within HIV research. Online, asynchronous photovoice methods represent a promising alternative to traditional in-person methods, yet their acceptability and feasibility with key populations and people living with HIV (PLWH) have yet to be explored.

Barriers and Facilitators to Implementing Project ECHO in Malaysia During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In Malaysia, HIV is concentrated among key populations who experience barriers to care due to stigma and healthcare discrimination. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased barriers to healthcare. Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a transformative tele-education strategy that could improve HIV prevention and treatment.

Extra-Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (EGIST) in the Pelvis Mimicking Retroperitoneal Sarcoma.

Extra-gastrointestinal stromal tumors (EGISTs) are rare mesenchymal tumors accounting for less than 1% of total gastrointestinal tumors. They tend to be aggressive and have a poor prognosis. Unfortunately, there is a lack of data or controversial data due to its scarcity.

Principles for Ending Human Immunodeficiency Virus as an Epidemic in the United States: A Policy Paper of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medical Association.

While we have the tools to achieve this goal, the persistent barriers to healthcare services experienced by too many individuals will need to be addressed to make significant progress and improve the health and quality of life of all people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The necessary structural changes require actions by federal, state, and local policymakers and range from ensuring universal access to healthcare services to optimizing care delivery to ensuring a robust and diverse infectious diseases and HIV workforce. In this article, we outlines 10 key principles for policy reforms that, if advanced, would make ending the HIV epidemic in the United States possible and could have much more far-reaching effects in improving the health of our nation.

Emerging Lessons and Policy Options for Sexually Transmitted Infection Telehealth Payment: A Narrative Review.

Long before the SARS-CoV-2 (hereafter COVID-19) pandemic, sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and control was underresourced in the United States, leading to large and sustained increases in reportable STIs and harmful sequelae of these infections. The abrupt disruption associated with the national shutdown of many public services in early 2020 forced STI clinics and programs to rapidly adopt new models of care, including the greatly increased use of telehealth services. Federal policy makers took actions to relax many requirements in Medicare and other programs that previously impeded the use of telehealth.

Rectal specimen self-collection for chlamydia and gonorrhea screening: a cross-sectional feasibility study at a community health center.

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk for extra-genital sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Without extra-genital screening, many chlamydia and gonorrhea infections would be missed among MSM. Yet, many barriers exist to extra-genital testing, and, in particular, to rectal collection.

Cell viability of novel composite hydrogels loaded with hydroxyapatite for oral and maxillofacial bone regeneration.

The development of hydrogels for maxillofacial bone regeneration holds vast potential. However, some challenges need to be addressed to further their application in clinical settings. One challenge is optimizing cell viability.

A giant mesenteric fibromatosis adherent to the appendix and colonic wall, case report.

Background: Mesenteric fibromatosis, is a rare neoplasm arising usually from the bowel mesentery, with intermediate behavior and local invasion potential. They can be sporadic or related to multiple factors contributions. They usually presents as an asymptomatic growth of intraabdominal mass, and can reach a large diameter before symptoms appearance.

Splenoptosis in young female, case report.

Background: Splenoptosis is an uncommon disorder defined as the dislodgment of the spleen from its anatomical location in the left hypochondrium to another location in the intraabdominal cavity. This migration is the result of laxity or absence of the ligaments that fix the spleen to surrounding structures. Splenoptosis is either diagnosed after it causes symptoms, or incidentally using different imaging modalities.

Innovations in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Care Delivery During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: Policies to Strengthen the Ending the Epidemic Initiative-A Policy Paper of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association.

The goal of the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative is to reduce new infections in the United States by 90% by 2030. Success will require fundamentally changing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and care delivery to engage more persons with HIV and at risk of HIV in treatment. While the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic reduced in-person visits to care facilities and led to concern about interruptions in care, it also accelerated growth of alternative options, bolstered by additional funding support.