Publications by authors named "Nicole Dzialowy"
Like the rest of the nation, North Carolina is experiencing the worst drug crisis in United States history, as deaths related to medication and drug overdoses are at an all-time high. Although the absolute numbers of deaths are highest among white populations, American Indians (AIs) experience disproportionally high rates. Using death certificate data, death rates due to unintentional medication and drug overdose were calculated for various races and ethnicities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDepression among persons with HIV is associated with antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption and discontinuation, virological failure, and poor clinical and survival outcomes. Case management services can address needs for emotional counseling and other supportive services to facilitate HIV care engagement. Using 2009-2013 North Carolina Medical Monitoring Project data from 910 persons engaged in HIV care, we estimated associations of case management utilization with "probable current depression" and with 100% ART dose adherence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Ocular syphilis (OS) is more common in patients with HIV, with a prevalence of 1.5% among confirmed syphilis cases, and 81.8% of severe OS cases occurring in HIV-positive individuals.
- Analysis of syphilis cases from 2014 to 2016 in North Carolina showed a nearly twofold increase in OS prevalence among HIV-positive patients compared to those without HIV.
- Factors such as higher viral loads and lower CD4 counts in HIV-positive patients were associated with increased OS risk, yet symptom resolution rates for OS were similar between HIV-positive and HIV-negative individuals.
Background: Partner notification services (PNS) remain the backbone of syphilis control. The popularity of Internet-based apps to meet sex partners among early syphilis (ES) patients may hinder the success of PNS if partners cannot be located.
Methods: We compared demographic and clinical characteristics between male ES patients indicating sex with men (MSM) and reported in North Carolina between 2013 and 2016 by reported use of an Internet-based app to meet sex partners (app user).
Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of infection in both adult and pediatric populations. After several decades of increasing prevalence, the proportion of S aureus infections due to methicillin-resistant S aureus has been reported to be in decline in adults. Data for similar changes in pediatric populations are limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Hospital environments influence healthcare-associated infection (HAI) patterns, but the role of evidenced-based design (EBD) and residual bacterial DNA (previously thought to be clinically inert) remain incompletely understood.
Methods: In a newly built EBD hospital, we used culture-based and culture-free (molecular) assays, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to determine: (1) patterns of environmental contamination with target organisms (TOs) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) target organisms (MDR-TOs); (2) genetic relatedness between environmentally isolated MDR-TO and those from HAIs; and (3) correlation between surface contamination and HAIs.
Results: A total of 1,273 high-touch surfaces were swabbed before and after terminal cleaning during 77 room visits.