Exploring the use of COVID-19 antigen rapid diagnostic tests among displaced populations in Iraq: findings from a pilot project in four IDP camps.

Background: IOM piloted the use of Ag RDTs for COVID-19 in Iraq, in collaboration with FIND, the Global Alliance for Diagnostics, to facilitate access to testing and understand barriers and opportunities for testing in a displacement context. The purpose was to (i) evaluate the performance metrics of the Sure Status COVID-19 Antigen Card Test in this population; (ii) compare Ag RDT results across high- and low-probability cases, vaccination status, and symptom severity; and (iii) report participant perspectives on Ag RDT use for COVID-19 and other diseases.

Methods: Secondary analysis was conducted using de-identified cross-sectional data collected from November 2022-March 2023 in four IDP camps in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Predicting poor functional outcomes for patients with large computed tomography perfusion core infarctions treated with endovascular thrombectomy.

Objective: Stroke patients with large core infarctions benefit from endovascular intervention, though only approximately 20% are functionally independent at 90 days. We studied prognostic factors for patients presenting with a large computed tomography perfusion (CTP) core.

Methods: Retrospective analysis from a health system stroke registry, including consecutive thrombectomy patients treated within 24 hours from August 2020-December 2022 with an anterior circulation large vessel occlusion and CTP core infarct ≥50 milliliters.

A scoping review of health systems resilience assessment frameworks.

Health system resilience is a prerequisite for effectively managing cataclysmic events adversely affecting health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic reasserted the importance of having resilient health systems and called for a relook at the existing framework that measures health system resilience. Mixed methods were used in this study.

Evaluation of the national AIDS program and HIV/AIDS surveillance system in Jordan.

Introduction: The National AIDS Program in Jordan has faced numerous challenges, including insufficient funding, limited resources, and complexities brought on by refugee influxes. The absence of a reliable HIV/AIDS surveillance system further complicates tracking and responding to the epidemic. This study aimed to evaluate the performance and functionality of the National AIDS Program and the HIV/AIDS surveillance system.

Examining the Longitudinal Effects of Insomnia on Depression and Medication Adherence in People Living with HIV.

Objective: The management of HIV has shifted from a focus solely on the disease to a broader perspective encompassing co-occurring medical conditions and quality of life. Mental health concerns such as depression and sleep disturbances, particularly insomnia, are often overlooked in HIV care. The aim of the study was to investigate the longitudinal impact of insomnia on depression and medication adherence among (PLWH).

Neurological outcomes for patients meeting radiographic criteria for DEFUSE 3 and SELECT2.

Background: The DEFUSE 3 and SELECT2 thrombectomy trials included some patients with similar radiographic profiles, although the rates of good functional outcomes differed widely between the studies.

Objective: To report neurological outcomes for patients who meet CT and CT perfusion (CTP) inclusion criteria common to both DEFUSE 3 and SELECT2.

Methods: Retrospective study of thrombectomy patients, presenting between November 2016 and December 2023 to a large health system, with Alberta Stroke Program Early CT score ≥6, core infarction 50-69 mL, mismatch ratio ≥1.

Timeliness metrics for screening and preventing TB in household contacts of pulmonary TB patients in Kenya.

Background: The study assessed whether a "7-1-7" timeliness metric for screening and TB preventive therapy (TPT) could be implemented for household contacts (HHCs) of index patients with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB under routine programmatic settings in Kenya.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study conducted among index patients and their HHCs in 12 health facilities, Kiambu County, Kenya.

Results: Between January and June 2023, 95% of 508 index patients had their HHCs line-listed within 7 days of initiating anti-TB treatment ("First 7").

Barriers to engagement in the care cascade for tuberculosis disease in India: A systematic review of quantitative studies.

Background: India accounts for about one-quarter of people contracting tuberculosis (TB) disease annually and nearly one-third of TB deaths globally. Many Indians do not navigate all care cascade stages to receive TB treatment and achieve recurrence-free survival. Guided by a population/exposure/comparison/outcomes (PECO) framework, we report findings of a systematic review to identify factors contributing to unfavorable outcomes across each care cascade gap for TB disease in India.

Evaluation of the National Tuberculosis Program and Tuberculosis Surveillance System, Jordan 2021.

Objectives: Evaluate and determine the gaps in the National Tuberculosis Program and Tuberculosis Surveillance System in Jordan.

Methods: A concurrent embedded mixed quantitative/qualitative methods study was conducted to assess the National Tuberculosis Program and Tuberculosis Surveillance System in Jordan. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed based on the Updated CDC Guideline for Evaluating Public Health Surveillance System to collect necessary information from service providers and other stakeholders.

Biocatalytic enantioselective synthesis of cenobamate, an antiepileptic drug.

A green and efficient process for the synthesis of cenobamate has been accomplished in 70% yield and >99% ee through the bio-reduction of β-ketotetrazole using Daucus carota whole plant cells. The corresponding β-hydroxytetrazole was isolated in 60% yield and >98% ee. This is the first report on the biocatalytic reduction of β-ketotetrazole using plant enzymes derived from D.

Using timeliness metrics for household contact tracing and TB preventive therapy in the private sector, India.

Although screening of household contacts (HHCs) of TB patients and provision of TB preventive therapy (TPT) is a key intervention to end the TB epidemic, their implementation globally is dismal. We assessed whether introducing a '7-1-7' timeliness metric was workable for implementing HHC screening among index patients with pulmonary TB diagnosed by private providers in Chennai, India, between November 2022 and March 2023.This was an explanatory mixed-methods study (quantitative-cohort and qualitative-descriptive).

Tuberculosis-related knowledge, practices, perceived stigma and discrimination among patients with tuberculosis: a cross-sectional study in Jordan.

Background: Tuberculosis knowledge, practices, and perceived stigma and discrimination among patients with tuberculosis are key factors for the management of the disease.

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to assess knowledge, practices, perceived stigma and discrimination, perceived family and health workers support, perceived level of satisfaction with healthcare services, delay in diagnosis/treatment and reasons for delay among patients with tuberculosis in Jordan.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among patients who were under treatment for tuberculosis in Jordan in 2021.

HIV- related knowledge, attitude, practices, and stigma among healthcare providers caring for HIV in Jordan: Identification of several organizational challenges.

Background: There is a paucity of data on Healthcare Providers (HCPs) caring for people living with HIV in Jordan.

Objective: We aimed to understand HCPs' knowledge, attitude, stigma, and practices, to assess the gaps in HIV care in Jordan.

Methods: We conducted recorded in-depth interviews with all five HCPs working at the only HIV Service Center in Jordan, using semi-structured questions in 2021.

Feasibility, enablers and challenges of using timeliness metrics for household contact tracing and TB preventive therapy in Pakistan.

Introduction: Screening household contacts of TB patients and providing TB preventive therapy (TPT) is a key intervention to end the TB epidemic. Global and timely implementation of TPT in household contacts, however, is dismal. We adapted the 7-1-7 timeliness metric designed to evaluate and respond to infectious disease outbreaks or pandemics, and assessed the feasibility, enablers and challenges of implementing this metric for screening and management of household contacts of index patients with bacteriologically-confirmed pulmonary TB in Karachi city, Pakistan.

Exploring Current Practices, Needs, and Barriers for Expanding Distributed Medical Education and Scholarship in Psychiatry: Protocol for an Environmental Scan Using a Formal Information Search Approach and Explanatory Design.

Background: Distributed medical education (DME) offers manifold benefits, such as increased training capacity, enhanced clinical learning, and enhanced rural physician recruitment. Engaged faculty are pivotal to DME's success, necessitating efforts from the academic department to promote integration into scholarly and research activities. Environmental scanning has been used to gather, analyze, and apply information for strategic planning purposes.

Predictors of devastating functional outcome despite successful basilar thrombectomy.

Background: Basilar thrombosis frequently leads to poor functional outcomes, even with good endovascular reperfusion. We studied factors associated with severe disability or death in basilar thrombectomy patients achieving revascularization.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed records from a health system's code stroke registry, including successful basilar thrombectomy patients from January 2017 to May 2023 who were evaluated with pretreatment computed tomography perfusion.

The Charlotte Large artery occlusion Endovascular therapy Outcome Score predicts independent outcome after thrombectomy.

Background And Purpose: Predicting functional outcomes after endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is of interest to patients and families as they navigate hospital and post-acute care decision-making. We evaluated the prognostic ability of several scales to predict good neurological function after EVT.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed records from a health system's code stroke registry, including consecutive successful thrombectomy patients from August 2020 to February 2023 presenting with an anterior circulation large vessel occlusion who were evaluated with pre-EVT CT perfusion.

Improving measurement of tuberculosis care cascades to enhance people-centred care.

Care cascades represent the proportion of people reaching milestones in care for a disease and are widely used to track progress towards global targets for HIV and other diseases. Despite recent progress in estimating care cascades for tuberculosis (TB) disease, they have not been routinely applied at national and subnational levels, representing a lost opportunity for public health impact. As researchers who have estimated TB care cascades in high-incidence countries (India, Madagascar, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, and Zambia), we describe the utility of care cascades and identify measurement challenges, including the lack of population-based disease burden data and electronic data capture, the under-reporting of people with TB navigating fragmented and privatised health systems, the heterogeneity of TB tests, and the lack of post-treatment follow-up.

Time to Treatment and Risk Factors for Unsuccessful Treatment Outcomes among People Who Started Second-Line Treatment for Rifampicin-Resistant or Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the Kyrgyz Republic, 2021.

The Kyrgyz Republic is a high-burden country for rifampicin resistant/multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (RR/MDR-TB). TB control efforts rely on early diagnosis and initiation of people on effective regimens. We studied the interval from diagnosis of RR-TB to starting treatment and risk factors for unsuccessful outcomes among people who started RR/MDR-TB treatment in 2021.

Improvement in the Surveillance System for Livestock Diseases and Antimicrobial Use Following Operational Research Studies in Sierra Leone January-March 2023.

In Sierra Leone, two operational research (OR) studies in 2019 and 2021 showed deficiencies in the data being captured by the Integrated Animal Disease Surveillance and Reporting (IADSR) system. This third OR study was conducted in 2023 to assess whether the second OR study's results and recommendations were disseminated with the key stakeholders, the uptake of the recommendations, improvements in data capture in the IADSR system, and to describe the data on livestock disease and antimicrobial use. In 2022, on seven occasions, the authors of the second OR study disseminated the study's findings.

Predicting severe disability or death in endovascular thrombectomy with large computed tomography perfusion core infarction and limited penumbra.

Background: Patients presenting with large core infarctions benefit from treatment with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), with a notable 50% reduction in rates of severe disability (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] 5) at 90 days. We studied the ability of previously reported prognostic scales to predict devastating outcomes in patients with a large ischemic core and limited salvageable brain tissue.

Methods: Retrospective analysis from a health system's code stroke registry, including consecutive thrombectomy patients from November 2017 to December 2022 with an anterior circulation large vessel occlusion, computed tomography perfusion core infarct ≥ 50 ml, and mismatch volume < 15 ml or mismatch ratio < 1.