Peripheral airways dysfunction measured by oscillometry differentiates asthma from inducible laryngeal obstruction.

Background: Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO, also called vocal cord dysfunction) can be difficult to distinguish clinically from asthma. Limited studies have explored the use of respiratory oscillometry to detect changes unique to ILO, but more study is needed to determine if routine oscillometry can differentiate these two clinical entities.

Objective: Determine if impedance variables measured on routine oscillometry over tidal breathing vary between individuals with asthma and ILO.

Correction: Investigating ethical tradeoffs in crisis standards of care through simulation of ventilator allocation protocols.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Challenges of Surveillance in Implementing Nonoperative Management for Rectal Cancer.

Importance: Close surveillance for detection of local tumor regrowth is critical for patients opting for nonoperative management after neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer. However, there are minimal data regarding the feasibility and adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) surveillance guidelines for these patients.

Objective: To determine adherence rates to NCCN-recommended surveillance in patients undergoing nonoperative management for rectal cancer.

Comparative analysis of short-term outcomes after semielective and elective surgery for sigmoid volvulus.

Background: Data to guide surgical timing after colonic decompression for sigmoid volvulus are limited. Thus, we compared the postoperative outcomes of patients with sigmoid volvulus who underwent semielective (during index hospitalization after decompression) and elective surgery (subsequent elective hospitalization).

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 100% Medicare Provider Analysis and Review Files from 2016 to 2019, including Medicare beneficiaries aged ≥65 years who were urgently/emergently admitted for their index episode of volvulus and underwent colonic decompression followed by surgery.

Decídetexto: Mobile Cessation Support for Latino Adults Who Smoke: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Latino adults experience multiple barriers to health care access and treatment that result in tobacco-related disparities. Mobile interventions have the potential to deliver smoking cessation treatment among Latino adults, who show the highest use rates of mobile technologies.

Research Question: Is Decídetexto, a culturally accommodated mobile health intervention, more effective for smoking cessation compared with standard care among Latinx adults who smoke?

Study Design And Methods: A two-arm parallel group randomized clinical trial was conducted in Kansas, New Jersey, and New York between October 2018 and September 2021.

The Miami Framework for ALS and related neurodegenerative disorders: an integrated view of phenotype and biology.

Increasing appreciation of the phenotypic and biological overlap between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia, alongside evolving biomarker evidence for a pre-symptomatic stage of disease and observations that this stage of disease might not always be clinically silent, is challenging traditional views of these disorders. These advances have highlighted the need to adapt ingrained notions of these clinical syndromes to include both the full phenotypic continuum - from clinically silent, to prodromal, to clinically manifest - and the expanded phenotypic spectrum that includes ALS, frontotemporal dementia and some movement disorders. The updated clinical paradigms should also align with our understanding of the biology of these disorders, reflected in measurable biomarkers.

Evaluating the psychometric properties of the Hispanic Stress Inventory-2 Simplified version among a diverse sample of Latinos who smoke.

Objective: Acculturation stress can negatively impact Latinos immigrant mental and physical health related behaviors such as smoking. It is essential to have validated and updated instruments that allow the evaluation of acculturation stress on this population. This study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of an abbreviated version of the Hispanic Stress Inventory Version 2 (HSI2) immigration scale among Latinos who smoke.

Informal care provided in US nursing homes: Reduced from 2010 to 2021 and lower for Medicaid residents.

Background: Little is known about the trend of informal care (unpaid care provided by family or other caregivers) provided to nursing home residents before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed this trend during 2010-2021, for all and Medicaid versus non-Medicaid residents.

Methods: Using data from the RAND Health and Retirement Study longitudinal file, our study sample included a total of 2025 resident-years (860 for Medicaid and 1165 for non-Medicaid residents).

Investigating Ethical Tradeoffs in Crisis Standards of Care through Simulation of Ventilator Allocation Protocols.

Introduction: Arguments over the appropriate Crisis Standards of Care (CSC) for public health emergencies often assume that there is a tradeoff between saving the most lives, saving the most life-years, and preventing racial disparities. However, these assumptions have rarely been explored empirically. To quantitatively characterize possible ethical tradeoffs, we aimed to simulate the implementation of five proposed CSC protocols for rationing ventilators in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Higher levels of state funding for Home- and Community-Based Services linked to better state performances in Long-Term Services and Supports.

Objective: To examine the relationship between the level of state funding for Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) and state overall and dimension-specific performances in Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS).

Data Sources And Study Setting: We employed state-level secondary data from the Medicaid LTSS Annual Expenditures Reports, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) State Scorecards, the U.S.

Development and validation of multivariable predictive models for recurrence and mortality following nonoperative management of sigmoid volvulus.

Aim: Sigmoid volvulus is a challenging condition, and deciding between elective surgery or expectant management can be complex. The aim of this study was to develop a tool for predicting the risk of recurrent sigmoid volvulus and all-cause mortality within 1 year following initial nonoperative management.

Method: This is a retrospective cohort study using Medicare claims data from 2016 to 2018 of beneficiaries admitted urgently/emergently for volvulus, undergoing colonic decompression and discharged alive without surgery (excluding those discharged to hospice).

Are Black and Latino adolescents being asked if they use electronic cigarettes and advised not to use them? Results from a community-based survey.

Objective: This study aimed to explore whether African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino adolescents are being asked about electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use (vaping) and advised not to use them.

Methods: In 2021, adolescents ( = 362) with no vaping history, self-identified as African American/Black and/or Hispanic/Latino, and able to read and speak English and/or Spanish were recruited through partner schools and community-based organizations. Participants completed a survey reporting sociodemographic characteristics (e.

Using logistic regression models to investigate the effects of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T confounders on ruling in acute myocardial infarction.

Objectives: Confounding factors, including sex, age, and renal dysfunction, affect high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) concentrations and the acute myocardial infarction (AMI) diagnosis. This study assessed the effects of these confounders through logistic regression models and evaluated the diagnostic performance of an optimized, integrated prediction model.

Methods: This retrospective study included a primary derivation cohort of 18,022 emergency department (ED) patients at a US medical center and a validation cohort of 890 ED patients at a Canadian medical center.

Proactive and Reactive Recruitment of Black and Latino Adolescents in a Vaping Prevention Randomized Controlled Trial.

The purpose of this study was to assesses the effectiveness of proactive and reactive methods in the recruitment of Black and Latino adolescents into a vaping-prevention randomized controlled trial (RCT). This study also assessed the characteristics of study participants by recruitment method. Proactive recruitment strategies included study presentations at community-based events (e.

Lonely older adults are more likely to delay or avoid medical care during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between loneliness and self-reported delay or avoidance of medical care among community-dwelling older adults during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: Analyses of data from a nationally representative survey administered in June of 2020, in COVID-19 module of the Health and Retirement Study. Bivariate and multivariable analyses determined associations of loneliness with the likelihood of, reasons for, and types of care delay or avoidance.

State social distancing restrictions and nursing home outcomes.

The COVID-19 poses a disproportionate threat to nursing home residents. Although recent studies suggested the effectiveness of state social distancing measures in the United States on curbing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among the general population, there is a lack of evidence as to how these state orders may have affected nursing home patients or what potential negative health consequences they may have had. In this longitudinal study, we evaluated changes in state strength of social distancing restrictions from June to August of 2020, and their associations with the weekly numbers of new COVID-19 cases, new COVID-19 deaths, and new non-COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes of the US.

Sex-Specific Absolute Delta Thresholds for High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T.

Background: Sex differences in high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) concentrations from healthy populations have led to the establishment of sex-specific upper reference limits for hs-cTn assays. This study assessed the performance of sex-specific delta (i.e.