Background: Nerve wraps composed of various autologous and bioengineered materials have been used to bolster nerve repair sites. In this study, we describe the novel use of autologous fascia nerve wraps (AFNW) as an adjunct to epineurial repair and evaluate their effect on inflammatory cytokine expression, intraneural collagen deposition and end-organ reinnervation in rats and use of AFNW in a patient case series.
Methods: Lewis rats received sciatic transection with repair either with or without AFNW, sciatic-to-common peroneal nerve transfer with or without AFNW, or sham surgery (n=14/group).
Background: Respiratory syncytial virus vaccines first recommended for use during 2023 were efficacious against lower respiratory tract disease in clinical trials. Limited real-world data regarding respiratory syncytial virus vaccine effectiveness are available. To inform vaccine policy and address gaps in evidence from the clinical trials, we aimed to assess the effectiveness against respiratory syncytial virus-associated hospitalisations and emergency department encounters among adults aged at least 60 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Sensory nerve transfers may be performed to restore protective sensation and tactile perception after peripheral nerve injury in the upper extremity. There is a paucity of literature on the available donor-recipient configurations for sensory nerve transfers. This article presents a systematic review of reported sensory nerve transfers in the upper extremity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Entrapment or injury of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) is being recognized with increasing frequency, often requiring a surgical approach to relieve symptoms. The presence of anatomic variations can lead to errors in diagnosis and intraoperative decision-making.
Methods: This study presents the experience of a single surgeon (T.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
February 2024
COVID-19 disproportionately affects people experiencing homelessness or incarceration. While homelessness or incarceration alone may not impact vaccine effectiveness, medical comorbidities along with social conditions associated with homelessness or incarceration may impact estimated vaccine effectiveness. COVID-19 vaccines reduce rates of hospitalization and death; vaccine effectiveness (VE) against severe outcomes in people experiencing homelessness or incarceration is unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTest-negative-design COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies use symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals as cases and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-negative individuals as controls to evaluate COVID-19 VE. To evaluate the potential bias introduced by the correlation of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination behaviors, we assessed changes in estimates of VE of bivalent vaccines against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) encounters when considering influenza vaccination status or including or excluding influenza-positive controls using data from the multi-state VISION vaccine effectiveness network. Analyses included encounters during October 2022 - February 2023, a period of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza cocirculation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: There is a paucity of pediatric-specific comparative data to guide duration of therapy recommendations in children with urinary tract infection (UTI).
Objective: To compare the efficacy of standard-course and short-course therapy for children with UTI.
Design, Setting, Participants: The Short Course Therapy for Urinary Tract Infections (SCOUT) randomized clinical noninferiority trial took place at outpatient clinics and emergency departments at 2 children's hospitals from May 2012, through, August 2019.
Objectives: This study explored the experiences of clinical academics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim was to identify challenges and benefits associated with returning to, or increasing hours at, the clinical frontline.
Design: Qualitative data were gathered from a combination of written responses to questions posed in an email and 10 semi-structured interviews between May and September 2020.
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination coverage remains lower in communities with higher social vulnerability. Factors such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure risk and access to healthcare are often correlated with social vulnerability and may therefore contribute to a relationship between vulnerability and observed vaccine effectiveness (VE). Understanding whether these factors impact VE could contribute to our understanding of real-world VE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Electronic health record (EHR) data provide a unique opportunity to study the epidemiology of COVID-19, clinical outcomes of the infection, comparative effectiveness of therapies, and vaccine effectiveness but require a well-defined computable phenotype of COVID-19-like illness (CLI).
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of pathogen-specific and other acute respiratory illness (ARI) International Statistical Classification of Diseases-9 and -10 codes in identifying COVID-19 cases in emergency department (ED) or urgent care (UC) and inpatient settings.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study using EHR, claims, and laboratory information system data of ED or UC and inpatient encounters from 4 health systems in the United States.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
April 2022
Objectives: This study aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators to career progression for female medical clinical academics from the perspectives of female associate professors and professors, with a particular focus on women with caring responsibilities.
Design: An exploratory qualitative approach was adopted. Data from semistructured interviews conducted via video calls were analysed using thematic analysis.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
March 2022
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
January 2022
Immunocompromised persons, defined as those with suppressed humoral or cellular immunity resulting from health conditions or medications, account for approximately 3% of the U.S. adult population (1).
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