Publications by authors named "Schuster J"

Background: Pediatric respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-related acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) commonly requires hospitalization. The Clinical Progression Scale Pediatrics (CPS-Ped) measures level of respiratory support and degree of hypoxia across a range of disease severity, but it has not been applied in infants hospitalized with severe RSV-LRTI.

Methods: We analyzed data from a prospective surveillance registry of infants hospitalized for RSV-related complications across 39 U.

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Background: Dementia management presents a significant challenge for individuals affected by dementia, as well as their families, caregivers, and health care providers. Digital applications may support those living with dementia; however only a few dementia-friendly applications exist.

Objective: This paper emphasizes the necessity of considering multiple perspectives to ensure the high-quality development of supportive health care applications.

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Introduction: Major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibits heterogeneity in treatment response.

Objective: This exploratory analysis aims to evaluate the differential changes in individual items of the MADRS between melancholic MDD (M-MDD) and unspecified MDD (U-MDD) following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Methods: The study included 23 patients with unipolar MDD who received ECT.

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Background: Guidelines state that all hospitalized children with suspected or confirmed influenza receive prompt treatment with influenza-specific antivirals. We sought to determine the frequency of, and factors associated with, antiviral receipt among hospitalized children.

Methods: We conducted active surveillance of children presenting with fever or respiratory symptoms from 1 December 2016 to 31 March 2020 at 7 pediatric medical centers in the New Vaccine Surveillance Network.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to assess for a "July Effect" by comparing exact matched patients undergoing single-level spinal fusions in July or in the latter half of the academic year.

Methods: Data from 2338 patients who underwent single-level, posterior-only lumbar fusion at a single, multicenter university hospital system were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcomes were 90-day unplanned hospital readmissions, Emergency Department (ED) evaluations, reoperations, non-home discharge, and all-cause mortality.

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Importance: During the 2023-2024 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season in the United States, 2 new RSV prevention products were recommended to protect infants in their first RSV season: nirsevimab and Pfizer's maternal RSV vaccine. Postlicensure studies are needed to assess prevention product impact and effectiveness.

Objective: To compare the epidemiology and disease burden of medically attended RSV-associated acute respiratory illness (ARI) among children younger than 5 years during the 2023-2024 RSV season with 3 prepandemic RSV seasons (2017-2020), estimate nirsevimab effectiveness against medically attended RSV-associated ARI, and compare nirsevimab binding site mutations among circulating RSV in infants with and without nirsevimab receipt.

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Nurse-led education for patients in plain language: Evaluation of a teaching concept for prospective nursing professionals Nurse-led education for patients is a core competency of nurses. A particular challenge is the education of the growing group of people with limited literacy skills. The aim of our project was to develop and evaluate a teaching concept that would gradually enable prospective nursing professionals to independently carry out nurse-led education for people with low literacy.

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Objective: Fractures of the atlas are typically considered stable or unstable based on the integrity of the transverse ligament. Whereas stable Jefferson burst fractures can be treated nonoperatively, unstable fractures with disruption of the transverse ligament often require surgical intervention. Atlas osteosynthesis has been proposed as a motion-preserving alternative to atlantoaxial fusion.

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Article Synopsis
  • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for depression in elderly patients, but its role in the treatment sequence is not well-defined.
  • A review of 19 studies found no significant links between various biological factors (like cortisol levels and brain atrophy) and treatment response, while certain conditions (like elevated CRP and S100B levels) may indicate better outcomes.
  • The need for further research on ECT in the elderly is emphasized, as the current studies are limited, but incorporating new findings could lead to more personalized treatment strategies.
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic raised unprecedented challenges to vaccinating children. This multi-center study aimed to compare on-time vaccination of children before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify key factors associated with on-time vaccination.

Methods: This study was conducted among children aged 0-6 years enrolled in the New Vaccine Surveillance Network at seven geographically diverse U.

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Objectives: Comprehensive preoperative management involves the identification and optimization of medical comorbidities while avoiding excessive healthcare utilization. While diabetes and heart disease are major causes of morbidity that can worsen surgical outcomes, further study is needed to evaluate how well current perioperative strategies mitigate their risks. This study employs an exact matching protocol to isolate the effects of both diabetes and cardiovascular disease on spine surgery outcomes.

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Background: Previous investigations into clinical signs and symptoms associated with influenza types and subtypes have not definitively established differences in the clinical presentation or severity of influenza disease.

Methods: The study population included children 0 through 17 years old enrolled at 8 New Vaccine Surveillance Network sites between 2015 and 2020 who tested positive for influenza virus by molecular testing. Demographic and clinical data were collected for study participants via parent/guardian interview and medical chart review.

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Background: The burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in asymptomatic children was initially presumed to be high, which influenced hospital, school and childcare policies. Before vaccines were widely available, some hospitals implemented universal preprocedural SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction testing on asymptomatic patients. Understanding SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in asymptomatic children is needed to illuminate the diversity of viral characteristics and inform policies implemented during future pandemics.

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Background: Pediatric hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients are at high-risk for morbidity from influenza virus infection. We demonstrated in a primary phase II randomized controlled trial that two post-HCT doses of high-dose trivalent influenza vaccine (HD-TIV) given four weeks apart were more immunogenic than two doses of standard-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine (SD-QIV). Herein, we present immunogenicity and safety of influenza vaccination in a consecutive season post-HCT using the same dosing regimen.

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Importance: Many interventions implemented for multi-visit patients (MVP) have been developed to address patient-centric needs of these individuals and reduce unplanned care for ambulatory-sensitive conditions. More rigorous research is needed to better understand the impact of these interventions on changes in care utilization including unplanned care.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the Enhanced Care Program (ECP), a payer-provider collaborative model, on unplanned care use and cost of care.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Dravet syndrome (DS) is an early-onset epilepsy primarily caused by genetic variants affecting GABAergic interneuron function, with unclear mechanisms at the chromatin level.
  • - Researchers used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from both DS patients and healthy donors to study the chromatin accessibility changes during GABAergic cell development and how valproic acid (VPA) influences these changes.
  • - The findings revealed that DS iPSCs showed altered chromatin dynamics leading to accelerated GABAergic development, and VPA treatment improved the development of some DS iPSC-GABA cells, suggesting potential pathways for personalized epilepsy treatments.
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  • * In a study involving 790 ALS patients and 570 control participants, levels of NfL and pNfH were measured, revealing that NfL is more effective than pNfH for diagnostics and prognosis, especially when considering a new population-based ALS Z-score.
  • * The research highlights the importance of factors like age, ALS symptoms, body mass index (BMI), and kidney function in interpreting neurofilament levels, showing that with
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Influenza C virus (ICV) is an orthomyxovirus related to influenza A and B, yet due to few commercial assays, epidemiologic studies may underestimate incidence of ICV infection and disease. We describe the epidemiology and characteristics of ICV within the New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN), a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-led network that conducts population-based surveillance for pediatric acute respiratory illness (ARI). Nasal or/combined throat swabs were collected from emergency department (ED) or inpatient ARI cases, or healthy controls, between 12/05/2016-10/31/2019 and tested by molecular assays for ICV and other respiratory viruses.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pathogenic variants in the SOD1 gene are found in about 2% of sporadic and 11% of familial ALS cases in Europe, with a focus on three main variants (R116G, D91A, L145F) in a study of 83 patients in Germany.
  • Patients with the R116G variant experienced the most severe disease progression, with a median survival of just 22 months, significantly shorter than those with D91A (198 months) and L145F (87 months).
  • All patients treated with tofersen showed reduced neurofilament light chain levels in their serum, indicating a potential treatment benefit, regardless of their specific SOD1 variant.
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The transcription factor ZEB2 is essential for early embryonic development. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we generated a ZEB2 deficient human iPSC cell line (KICRi002A-4), carrying a homozygous 790 bp deletion in ZEB2 that involves part of exon 5, intron 5 and part of exon 6. The deletion leads to markedly reduced levels of a truncated ZEB2 transcript.

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The aim of this study is to describe the patterns of prescription of benzodiazepine-receptor agonists in hospitalised patients in four psychogeriatric units in Switzerland. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study that included patients aged 65 years or more hospitalised in one of the four psychogeriatric units of a university hospital in Switzerland during 2019. The presence, type and dose of benzodiazepine-receptor agonists was assessed at admission and at discharge.

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