Lay advisor interventions for hypertension outcomes: A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and a RE-AIM evaluation.

Introduction: Lay advisor interventions improve hypertension outcomes; however, the added benefits and relevant factors for their widespread implementation into health systems are unknown. We performed a systematic review to: (1) summarize the benefits of adding lay advisors to interventions on hypertension outcomes, and (2) summarize factors associated with successful implementation in health systems using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework.

Methods: We systematically searched several databases, including Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO from January 1981 to May 2023.

Physiological role for S-nitrosylation of RyR1 in skeletal muscle function and development.

Excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal muscle myofibers depends upon Ca release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum through the ryanodine receptor/Ca-release channel RyR1. The RyR1 contains ∼100 Cys thiols of which ∼30 comprise an allosteric network subject to posttranslational modification by S-nitrosylation, S-palmitoylation and S-oxidation. However, the role and function of these modifications is not understood.

Race, Ethnicity, and Intensive Care Utilization for Common Pediatric Diagnoses: U.S. Pediatric Health Information System 2019 Database Study.

Objectives: Racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare delivery for acutely ill children are pervasive in the United States; it is unknown whether differential critical care utilization exists.

Design: Retrospective study of the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database.

Setting: Multicenter database of academic children's hospitals in the United States.

Partnering With Patients With Sarcoidosis to Implement a Community Advisory Board.

Background: Community advisory boards (CABs) are increasingly recognized as a means of incorporating patient experience into clinical practice and research. The power of CABs is derived from engaging with community members as equals throughout the research process. Despite this, little is known of community member experience and views on best practices for running a CAB in a rare pulmonary disease.

Determination of sources of error and improvement in accuracy of left ventricular mass measurement by echocardiography.

Abnormal Left ventricular mass (LVM) prognosticates adverse cardiovascular events. Conventionally, LVM measured by echo assumes a prolate ellipsoid (PE) shape; however, it poorly correlates with reference standard of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) derived LVM. PE model assumes LVL = 2 × LVID.

Disparities in Emergency Department Naloxone and Buprenorphine Initiation.

Introduction: Prescribing of buprenorphine and naloxone in the emergency department (ED) has been shown to be an effective intervention. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of prescribing of naloxone and buprenorphine and the sub-groups that may be more or less likely to receive treatment.

Methods: We used a national electronic health record database to identify patients with opioid poisoning or overdose presenting between January 2019-December 2021.

A new method for classifying prognostic risk factors in lung transplant candidates.

Background: Predicting risk of waitlist mortality and subsequent classification of lung transplant candidates has been difficult due to inter-relatedness of risk factors, differential risk across populations, and changes in relationships over time. We developed a clinically intuitive indexing system to simplify mortality risk assessment.

Methods: Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data from February 19, 2015, to May 26, 2020 (n = 13,726) were used to estimate 3 constructs.

Development of a Definition of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Importance: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with persistent, relapsing, or new symptoms or other health effects occurring after acute infection, termed postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), also known as long COVID. Characterizing PASC requires analysis of prospectively and uniformly collected data from diverse uninfected and infected individuals.

Objective: To develop a definition of PASC using self-reported symptoms and describe PASC frequencies across cohorts, vaccination status, and number of infections.

Health Disparities: Interventions for Pulmonary Disease - A Narrative Review.

There is expansive literature documenting the presence of health disparities, but there are disproportionately few studies describing interventions to reduce disparity. In this narrative review, we categorize interventions to reduce health disparity in pulmonary disease within the US health care system to support future initiatives to reduce disparity. We identified 211 articles describing interventions to reduce disparity in pulmonary disease related to race, income, or sex.

Experiences with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Among African American Patients and their Bed Partners.

Rationale: Despite having a higher prevalence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), African Americans have lower adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) compared to other groups. Information regarding challenges faced by African Americans prescribed CPAP are lacking.

Objectives: To determine the barriers and facilitators to optimal management of OSA with CPAP among African Americans and to understand the role bed partners may play.

A Randomized Intervention to Assess the Effectiveness of an Educational Video on Organ Donation Intent.

Background: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an emotive educational video on organ donation intent in New York City. The secondary study objective was to determine if the educational video affected various factors associated with organ donation.

Methods: New York City residents were recruited a crowdsourcing online platform and randomized to one of two groups, with exposure to viewing () an educational video before completing an 81 question survey on organ donation ("video first" condition) or () after completing the survey ("video last" condition).

Social Factors Predictive of Intensive Care Utilization in Technology-Dependent Children, a Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study.

Technology-dependent children with medical complexity (CMC) are frequently admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The social risk factors for high PICU utilization in these children are not well described. The objective of this study was to describe the relationship between race, ethnicity, insurance status, estimated household income, and PICU admission following the placement of a tracheostomy and/or gastrostomy (GT) in CMC.

The Spiked Helmet Sign: A Concerning Electrocardiographic Finding.

We present the case of an 18-year-old man, with a history of subarachnoid hemorrhage, who is found to have the spiked helmet sign on electrocardiogram during a hospital admission for severe respiratory infection. The spiked helmet sign is a poorly understood electrocardiographic finding that mimics other electrocardiographic pathologies, and is associated with critical illness and high mortality. ().

Differences in Symptoms and Severity of Obstructive Sleep Apnea between Black and White Patients.

Prior work suggests that Black patients have more severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) upon clinical presentation. However, the extent to which this may reflect differences in symptoms or other standard measures of OSA risk is unclear. We assessed for racial disparities in OSA characteristics at time of initial clinical diagnosis.

Extracardiac Abnormalities of Preload Reserve: Mechanisms Underlying Exercise Limitation in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction, Autonomic Dysfunction, and Liver Disease.

While many of the cardiac limitations to exercise performance are now well-characterized, extracardiac limitations to exercise performance have been less well recognized but are nevertheless important. We propose that abnormalities of cardiac preload reserve represents an under-recognized but common cause of exercise limitations. We further propose that mechanistic links exist between conditions as seemingly disparate as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and pelvic venous compression/obstruction syndromes (eg, May-Thurner).

Evaluating the Performance of Driver's License Agencies Using a Standardized Donor Ratio.

Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) facilities are assessed based on the proportion of patrons who consent to donate. To evaluate the individual characteristics that may influence donation consent, we analyzed the most recent transactions of 9,767,839 patrons of 203 Ohio DMVs between January 1, 2014 and November 17, 2018. Patron age, gender, donor designation, and DMV location were linked via patron zip codes with census tract data on race, ethnicity, income, and education.

Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation: Diagnosis, Ablation of Triggers, Gaps in Knowledge, and Future Directions.

Idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) is a diagnosis of exclusion made when no underlying cause is identified in a cardiac arrest survivor. Although the frequency of this diagnosis has declined over time due to advances in diagnostic techniques, it remains a substantial cause of sudden cardiac arrest. Further, IVF tends to recur.