Epistaxis Rates and Health Care Utilization in Patients With a Ventricular Assist Device.

Objective: Identify baseline epistaxis rates and epistaxis-related health care utilization trends in the ventricular assist device (VAD) population.

Methods: Single center, retrospective cohort study consisting of chart review of adult VAD patients. Analysis of descriptive statistics was assessed using tests, independent sample tests, or Fisher's exact when expected counts were low.

How are healthcare provider systems preparing for health emergency situations?

Natural disasters, disease outbreaks, famine, and human conflict have strained communities everywhere over the course of human existence. However, modern changes in climate, human mobility, and other factors have increased the global community's vulnerability to widespread emergencies. We are in the midst of a disruptive health event, with the COVID-19 pandemic testing our health provider systems globally.

Elevated serum insulin-like growth factor 1 in recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

Over 100 million Americans experience recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) at some point in life. To develop targeted drugs for RAS treatment, it is critical to identify its etiology. We determined if serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and related factors are associated with RAS, because both RAS prevalence and IGF-1 are highest during puberty.