Using SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing Data to Identify Reinfection Cases in the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Program, United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines SARS-CoV-2 reinfection as a positive COVID-19 test result >90 days after the collection date for the initial positive test or if sequencing confirms a different lineage is causing the reinfection. Reinfection dynamics have been examined by using PCR or antigen surveillance data. We identified patients in the US Military Health System who had >1 positive SARS-CoV-2 test during March 2020-July 2022 by using whole-genome sequencing data to identify reinfection cases, then compared those data with patient demographics, symptoms, and vaccination status.

Tablet-based electroencephalography diagnostics for patients with epilepsy in the West African Republic of Guinea.

Background And Purpose: Epilepsy is most common in lower-income settings where access to electroencephalography (EEG) is generally poor. A low-cost tablet-based EEG device may be valuable, but the quality and reproducibility of the EEG output are not established.

Methods: Tablet-based EEG was deployed in a heterogeneous epilepsy cohort in the Republic of Guinea (2018-2019), consisting of a tablet wirelessly connected to a 14-electrode cap.

Feasibility of Whole Body Vibration Therapy in Individuals with Dystonic or Spastic Dystonic Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To examine the feasibility and practicality of whole body vibration therapy for individuals with dystonic or spastic dystonic cerebral palsy.

Design: Pilot study.

Subjects: Children and adults with dystonic or spastic dystonic cerebral palsy.

Use of whole body vibration therapy in individuals with moderate severity of cerebral palsy- a feasibility study.

Background: This pilot study was to examine the feasibility and tolerance of whole body vibration therapy (WBVT) for children and adults with moderate severity of cerebral palsy (CP) being graded as levels III or IV on the Gross Motor Function Classification Scale (GMFCS).

Methods: Study participants received the additional WBVT when standing still on the vibration platform for three 3-min bouts of vibration (20 Hz, 2 mm amplitude), 4 days per week for 4 weeks. In addition to questions relating to feasibility and participants' opinions, assessment at baseline and completion of the intervention included the Gross Motor Function Measure-66 Item Set (GMFM-66 IS), 2-min walk test (2MWT), Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI).

How Transparency Efforts Helped One System's Financial Turnaround.

Healthcare consumerism, costs, and price transparency are garnering unprecedented attention from hospitals and health systems in the United States. To many observers of the US healthcare delivery system, the inability to provide accurate pricing information and the variability in prices for comparable services are utter failures of the administrative infrastructure that supports patient care processes.Price transparency and the affordability of healthcare have also become top concerns for professional and trade organizations, which are devoting significant resources to assist member institutions in facing these issues.