Mpox virus detection in the wastewater and the number of hospitalized patients in the Poznan metropolitan area, Poland.

Objectives: Wastewater-based epidemiology can determine the scale of a mpox epidemic and thus is a promising additional tool that can complete data gathered by the clinical monitoring approach and predict more accurately the development and progress of the current mpox outbreak.

Methods: We collected daily average samples from two wastewater treatment plants (WTPs): Central and Left-Bank, in Poznan, Poland from July to December 2022. The mpox DNA was detected using real-time polymerase chain reaction and compared with the number of hospitalizations.

Adding folic acid to corn Masa flour: Partnering to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce health disparities.

Although strides have been made in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs), Hispanic women remain more likely to have a baby born with an NTD and less likely to know the benefits of, or consume, folic acid than women of other race/ethnic groups. In 1998, the U.S.

Folate Deficiency Is Prevalent in Women of Childbearing Age in Belize and Is Negatively Affected by Coexisting Vitamin B-12 Deficiency: Belize National Micronutrient Survey 2011.

Folate deficiency, vitamin B-12 deficiency, and anemia can have adverse effects on birth outcomes. Also, low vitamin B-12 reduces the formation of metabolically active folate. We sought to establish the baseline prevalence of and factors associated with folate deficiency and insufficiency, vitamin B-12 deficiency, and anemia among women of childbearing age (WCBA) in Belize.

Screening for Excessive Alcohol Use and Brief Counseling of Adults - 17 States and the District of Columbia, 2014.

Excessive and/or risky alcohol use* resulted in $249 billion in economic costs in 2010 (1) and >88,000 deaths in the United States every year from 2006 to 2010 (2). It is associated with birth defects and disabilities (e.g.

Describing the Prevalence of Neural Tube Defects Worldwide: A Systematic Literature Review.

Background: Folate-sensitive neural tube defects (NTDs) are an important, preventable cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a need to describe the current global burden of NTDs and identify gaps in available NTD data.

Methods And Findings: We conducted a systematic review and searched multiple databases for NTD prevalence estimates and abstracted data from peer-reviewed literature, birth defects surveillance registries, and reports published between January 1990 and July 2014 that had greater than 5,000 births and were not solely based on mortality data.

Red Blood Cell Folate Insufficiency among nonpregnant Women of Childbearing age in Guatemala 2009 to 2010: Prevalence and predicted Neural Tube Defects risk.

Background: The World Health Organization recently released recommendations stating that red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations should be above 400 ng/L (906 nmol/L) for optimal prevention of folate-sensitive neural tube defects (NTDs). The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of folate insufficiency (FI) (<906 nmol/L) and potential risk of NTDs based on RBC folate concentrations among nonpregnant women of child-bearing age in Guatemala.

Methods: A national and regional multistage cluster probability survey was completed during 2009 to 2010 among Guatemalan women of child-bearing age 15 to 49 years of age.

Self-Reported Prevalence of Alcohol Screening Among U.S. Adults.

Introduction: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends for adults alcohol screening and brief behavioral counseling interventions in primary care settings.

Alcohol use and binge drinking among women of childbearing age - United States, 2011-2013.

Excessive alcohol use is risk factor for a wide range of health and social problems including liver cirrhosis, certain cancers, depression, motor vehicle crashes, and violence. Alcohol use during pregnancy can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) and other adverse birth outcomes . Community studies estimate that as many as 2% to 5% of first grade students in the United States might have an FASD, which include physical, behavioral, or learning impairments.

Global Burden of Neural Tube Defects, Risk Factors, and Prevention.

Neural tube defects (NTDs), serious birth defects of the brain and spine usually resulting in death or paralysis, affect an estimated 300,000 births each year worldwide. Although the majority of NTDs are preventable with adequate folic acid consumption during the preconception period and throughout the first few weeks of gestation, many populations, in particular those in low and middle resource settings, do not have access to fortified foods or vitamin supplements containing folic acid. Further, accurate birth defects surveillance data, which could help inform mandatory fortification and other NTD prevention initiatives, are lacking in many of these settings.

Effect of a second primary thyroid carcinoma on patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to characterize the timing, histology, and behavior of second primary thyroid carcinoma (SPTC) developing after a diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 9 database.

Results: Patients with HNSCC who develop SPTC die 1.

Endoscopic management of esophageal discontinuity.

Background: The management of esophageal discontinuity remains challenging and often involves complex reconstructive surgeries.

Methods And Results: We describe a unique and successful treatment of esophageal discontinuity using a modification of the natural orifice translumenal surgery (NOTES) approach in a patient presenting with long-standing esophageal discontinuity resulting from an iatrogenic esophageal injury.

Conclusion: This case provided an opportunity to affirm the efficacy of endoscopy for treating esophageal discontinuities to minimize the degree of morbidity and mortality normally associated with the surgical treatment of this type of injury.

Prevalence and characteristics of women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) in the United States: estimates from the National Survey of Family Growth.

Non-pregnant women can avoid alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEPs) by modifying drinking and/or contraceptive practices. The purpose of this study was to estimate the number and characteristics of women in the United States who are at risk of AEPs. We analyzed data from in-person interviews obtained from a national probability sample (i.

Otolaryngology and medical malpractice: A review of the past decade, 2001-2011.

Objectives/hypothesis: To better understand the causes and outcomes of lawsuits involving otolaryngologists in the past decade by analyzing malpractice litigation trends to prevent future litigation and improve physician education.

Study Design: Analysis of a national database for all US civil trials.

Methods: The Westlaw database was reviewed from 2001 to 2011.

Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma in a Branchial Cleft Cyst without a Thyroid Primary: Navigating a Diagnostic Dilemma.

We report a rare case of papillary thyroid carcinoma incidentally found within a branchial cleft cyst. Only four other cases have been described in the literature. A total thyroidectomy and selective neck dissection was performed, and no evidence of occult primary disease was found after review of fine sections.

Microvascular reconstructive surgery in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom: the US military experience performing free flaps in a combat zone.

Background: Local nationals with complex wounds resulting from traumatic combat injuries during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom usually must undergo reconstructive surgery in the combat zone. While the use of microvascular free-tissue transfer (free flaps) for traumatic reconstruction is well documented in the literature, various complicating factors exist when these intricate surgical procedures are performed in a theater of war.

Methods: The microvascular experiences of six military surgeons deployed during a 30-month period between 2006 and 2011 in Iraq and Afghanistan were retrospectively reviewed.

Salivary gland surgery and medical malpractice.

Objective: To better understand the causes and outcomes of lawsuits involving salivary gland surgery by analyzing malpractice litigation trends to prevent future litigation and improve physician education.

Study Design: Analysis of a national database.

Setting: All US civil trials.

News from the CDC: Scaling up sustainable intervention delivery-lessons learned from the CDC arthritis program.

Expanding behavior change programs into widespread use with meaningful population impact is a public health challenge. This report described the CDC Arthritis Program's strategic approach to fostering widespread availability and sustainability of community-based self-management education and physical activity interventions, and reviews common errors observed in efforts to disseminate and implement these interventions. The Arthritis Program strategic approach focuses on embedding interventions in delivery systems to facilitate spread and sustainability.

Characteristics and behaviors of mothers who have a child with fetal alcohol syndrome.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a leading cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics and behaviors of mothers of children with FAS in the United States using population-based data from the FAS Surveillance Network (FASSNet). FASSNet used a multiple source methodology that identified FAS cases through passive reporting and active review of records from hospitals, specialty clinics, private physicians, early intervention programs, Medicaid, birth certificates and other vital records, birth defects surveillance programs, and hospital discharge data.

Head and neck ultrasound: why now?

This article provides an overview of ultrasound and the techniques for its use by otolaryngologists in diagnosing and treating neck masses and lesions. Head and neck ultrasound is extremely useful in diagnosing neck masses and lesions and in facilitating many procedures that are commonly performed on the head and neck. Although in the past these studies were generally performed by radiologists, clinicians are now able to perform high-quality ultrasound studies and ultrasound-guided procedures in the head and neck.

Diagnostic efficacy of surgeon-performed ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of surgeon-performed, office-based head and neck ultrasound in facilitating diagnostic fine needle aspiration (FNA) of lesions in the head and neck.

Study Design: A randomized controlled trial of ultrasound-guided FNA versus traditional palpation-guided technique for palpable masses in the head and neck.

Setting: An office-based study performed in a military academic medical center.

Public health interventions for arthritis: expanding the toolbox of evidence-based interventions.

Background: Since 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Arthritis Program has worked to improve the quality of life for people with arthritis, in part by funding state health departments to disseminate physical activity (PA) and self-management education (SME) interventions. Initially, only one SME and two PA interventions were considered evidence-based and appropriate for people with arthritis. The purposes of this article are to describe the processes and criteria used to screen new or existing intervention programs and report the results of that screening, including an updated list of recommended intervention programs.

Adult presentation of a fourth branchial pouch sinus.

A fourth branchial pouch sinus is a rare clinical entity. The handful of previously reported cases have all involved children. We report a rare case of an intrathyroidal fourth branchial pouch sinus in an adult.