Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Encounters in a United States Uniformed Service Female Beneficiary Population.

Introduction: We sought to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trends in chlamydia, gonorrhea, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) encounter rates within the Military Health System.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional study queried electronic health records of 18- to 44-year-old female active duty service members and dependents during the pre-pandemic period (January 2018-February 2020), pandemic period 1 (March 2020-March 2021), and pandemic period 2 (April 2021-April 2022). We calculated monthly chlamydia, gonorrhea, and PID encounter rates using ICD-10 codes.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Delivery of Congenital Syphilis Care in the Military Health System.

Introduction: Congenital syphilis (CS) case rates have increased significantly in the United States over the past 20 years, accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing rates may relate to access to care but have not been evaluated in a fully-insured population, such as the Military Health System.

Materials And Methods: We performed a repeated monthly cross-sectional study of CS cases and total encounters (care rates) using the queried Military Health System database.

Trends in Well-Child Visits and Routine Vaccination among Children of U.S. Military Members: An Evaluation of the COVID-19 Pandemic Effects.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted administration of healthcare including well-child visits and routine vaccinations. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic disruption on childhood health maintenance: well-child visits and scheduled vaccinations. We queried the TRICARE Management Activity's Military Health System (MHS) database for outpatient well-child visits and vaccinations for all children 0 to 23 months of age eligible for TRICARE healthcare.

Pediatric Infectious Diseases Encountered During Wartime-Part 1: Experiences and Lessons Learned From Armed Conflict in the Modern Era.

Purpose Of Review: Armed conflicts occur globally, with some regions experiencing heightened instability for many years. A better understanding of the infectious disease impact on children in armed conflict will allow aid organizations to anticipate and mitigate the most serious problems.

Recent Findings: Armed conflicts are estimated to have caused approximately 30 million civilian deaths during the past 27 years, with two-thirds occurring in women and children.

Tele-TB: Using TeleMedicine to Increase Access to Directly Observed Therapy for Latent Tuberculosis Infection.

Introduction: Treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) decreases risk of progression to active tuberculosis. Traditional treatment regimens required either daily isoniazid for 9 months, with historically poor compliance, or 12-week directly observed therapy (DOT) with isoniazid and rifapentine, with improved compliance but additional challenges of coordinating weekly clinic visits, further complicated if patients must travel a great distance for care.

Materials And Methods: Our referral area is complicated by congested traffic often resulting in one-way commutes, which can exceed 2 hours.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Report on Managing the Hyperinflammation.

The novel human coronavirus of 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has quickly swept throughout the entire world. As the ongoing pandemic has spread, recent studies have described children presenting with a multisystem inflammatory disorder sharing the features of Kawasaki disease (KD) and toxic shock syndrome, now named Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). These cases report a similar phenotype of prolonged fever, multisystem involvement, and biomarkers demonstrating marked hyperinflammation that occurs temporally in association with local community spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Comparable Disease Severity by Influenza Virus Subtype in the Acute Respiratory Infection Consortium Natural History Study.

Introduction: Since the influenza A/H1N1 pandemic of 2009 to 2010, numerous studies have described the clinical course and outcome of the different subtypes of influenza (A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B). A recent systematic literature review concluded that there were no appreciable differences in either clinical presentation or disease severity among these subtypes, but study parameters limit the applicability of these results to military populations. We sought to evaluate differences in disease severity among influenza subtypes in a cohort of healthy, primarily outpatient adult U.

Health Maintenance Deficits in a Fully Insured Population of Adolescents With Chronic Medical Conditions.

The current national monitoring of routine wellness care and vaccine uptake does not provide data on health maintenance among pediatric populations with chronic medical conditions. In this case-control study that analyzes wellness visits and vaccine uptake among adolescents, ages 16 to 18 years, we identified 938 without (controls) and 74 with (cases) 1 of 12 specific chronic medical conditions. The PPSV23 (23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine) is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for these 12 conditions and served as a measure of uptake for medically indicated vaccines.

Risk Factors for Community-Associated Clostridium difficile Infection in Children.

Objective: To characterize the medication and other exposures associated with pediatric community-associated Clostridium difficile infections (CA-CDIs).

Study Design: We performed a case-control study using billing records from the US military health system database. CA-CDI cases included children 1-18 years of age with an outpatient International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnostic code for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) from 2001 to 2013.

Type-specific clinical characteristics of adenovirus-associated influenza-like illness at five US military medical centers, 2009-2014.

Background: Adenovirus is a recognized cause of influenza-like illness (ILI). The proportion of ILI attributable to adenovirus is not known. Moreover, knowledge gaps remain with respect to the epidemiologic, virologic, and clinical characteristics of adenovirus-associated ILI among otherwise healthy individuals.

Zika virus: A primer for clinicians.

The ongoing outbreak of Zika virus infection that began in South America and Central America in 2014 is worrisome because of associations with fetal microcephaly and with Guillain-Barré syndrome. Here we summarize what has happened and what is known so far. As the outbreak continues to evolve, we urge clinicians to watch for updates at cdc.

Otitis Media and Related Complications Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Acute otitis media (AOM) symptoms can be masked by communication deficits, common to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We sought to evaluate the association between ASD and otitis media. Using ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes, we performed a retrospective case-cohort study comparing AOM, and otitis-related diagnoses among children with and without ASD.

Development of the Flu-PRO: a patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument to evaluate symptoms of influenza.

Background: To develop content validity of a comprehensive patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure following current best scientific methodology to standardize assessment of influenza (flu) symptoms in clinical research.

Methods: Stage I (Concept Elicitation): 1:1 telephone interviews with influenza-positive adults (≥18 years) in the US and Mexico within 7 days of diagnosis. Participants described symptom type, character, severity, and duration.

Microbiology and treatment of cerebrospinal fluid shunt infections in children.

Infections of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts remain a common surgical complication causing significant morbidity in children with hydrocephalus. As most of the literature regarding these infections includes only small cohorts from a single institution's experience, there remain large knowledge gaps and little support for the prevailing management strategies. Regarding the microbiology of shunt infections, little has changed in the past 10 years, other than the emergence of methicillin-resistant strains of coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CoNS) and Staphylococcus aureus, which remain the two predominant etiologic agents.

Chronic helminth infection does not exacerbate Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Background: Chronic helminth infections induce a Th2 immune shift and establish an immunoregulatory milieu. As both of these responses can suppress Th1 immunity, which is necessary for control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection, we hypothesized that chronic helminth infections may exacerbate the course of MTB.

Methodology/principal Findings: Co-infection studies were conducted in cotton rats as they are the natural host for the filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis and are an excellent model for human MTB.