A Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve First-Case On-Time Starts for Elective Surgeries.

Surgical delays can lead to patient dissatisfaction and negatively affect hospital revenue. Maximizing operating room (OR) efficiencies is a high priority. A common metric for OR efficiency is first-case on-time start (FCOTS).

Motivational Interviewing to Address Vaccine Hesitancy in a Rural Population.

Individuals experience vaccination hesitancy for many reasons. However, not receiving vaccinations leaves individuals at increased risk for vaccine-preventable illnesses. Individuals in rural areas are more likely to experience vaccine hesitancy.

A Community Initiative to Increase Colorectal Cancer Knowledge, Awareness, and Intent to Screen in an Underserved Region.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States despite the availability of effective preventive screening. This project was designed as a community awareness initiative to increase CRC awareness, knowledge, and intent to discuss and complete CRC screening. This quasi-experimental study had a QI focus and used a convenience sample in a public setting assessing CRC awareness, knowledge, and intent to discuss and complete screening after participating in an inflatable colon tour.

Integrating Shared Decision-Making Into Treatment Planning for Clinicians Who Treat Individuals With Serious Mental Illness.

Shared decision-making (SDM) has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes by enabling clinicians and patients to make health care decisions as partners. However, its implementation in mental health care has been a slow process. The objective of the study was to implement SDM during outpatient mental health treatment planning.

Intensive care unit acquired weakness and physical rehabilitation in the ICU.

Approximately half of critically ill adults experience intensive care unit acquired weakness (ICUAW). Patients who develop ICUAW may have negative outcomes, including longer duration of mechanical ventilation, greater length of stay, and worse mobility, physical functioning, quality of life, and mortality. Early physical rehabilitation interventions have potential for improving ICUAW; however, randomized trials show inconsistent findings on the efficacy of these interventions.

Effect of SARS-CoV2 Infection on Endovascular Thrombectomy Outcomes - Data from the Florida Stroke Registry.

Background And Purpose: Endovascular thrombectomy outcomes are impacted by changes in stroke systems of care. During the pandemic, SARS-CoV2 positive status had major implications on hospital arrival and treatment models of non-COVID related hospital admissions. Using the Florida Stroke Registry, we compared the rates of in-hospital death and discharge outcomes of patients treated with endovascular thrombectomy who tested positive for SARS-CoV2 infection during their hospitalization.

microbiota model recapitulates and predicts individualised sensitivity to dietary emulsifier.

Background: Non-absorbed dietary emulsifiers, including carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), directly disturb intestinal microbiota, thereby promoting chronic intestinal inflammation in mice. A randomised controlled-feeding study (Functional Research on Emulsifiers in Humans, FRESH) found that CMC also detrimentally impacts intestinal microbiota in some, but not all, healthy individuals.

Objectives: This study aimed to establish an approach for predicting an individual's sensitivity to dietary emulsifiers via their baseline microbiota.

A year in review: new treatments and expanded indications in dermatology in 2024.

Methods: A literature search was conducted on Drugs@FDA: FDA-Approved Drugs for the year 2024 to identify new dermatologic treatments.

Results: In 2024, the FDA approved seven new dermatologic therapies and expanded the indications for seven current therapies. These therapies treat conditions such as atopic dermatitis, hidradenitis suppurativa, prurigo nodularis, molluscum contagiosum, and alopecia areata, among others.

The Autonomic Nervous System and Inflammation in Chronic Kidney Disease.

The autonomic nervous system plays a crucial role in regulating physiological processes and maintaining homeostasis through its two branches: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system. Dysregulation of the autonomic system, characterized by increased sympathetic activity and reduced parasympathetic tone, is a common feature in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease. This imbalance contributes to a pro-inflammatory state, exacerbating disease progression and increasing the risk for cardiovascular events.

The profound effect of diabetes mellitus control on outcomes of coccidioidomycosis.

Coccidioidomycosis is an endemic fungal infection caused by the soil-dwelling Coccidioides immitis/posadasii. One prior study showed that persons with diabetes mellitus (DM) with elevated glucose at the time of coccidioidomycosis had poorer coccidioidal outcomes compared to persons without DM. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between hemoglobin A1C (A1C) and outcomes among persons with coccidioidomycosis and co-existing DM.

Optimized Scaffold-Free Human 3D Adipose Tissue Organoid Culture for Obesity and Disease Modeling.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are strongly linked to abnormal adipocyte metabolism and adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction. However, existing adipose tissue models have limitations, particularly in the stable culture of fat cells that maintain physiologically relevant phenotypes, hindering a deeper understanding of adipocyte biology and the molecular mechanisms behind differentiation. Current model systems fail to fully replicate in vivo metabolism, posing challenges in adipose research.

Patient-reported Outcomes in Mothers with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: A cross-sectional analysis.

Background & Aims: The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during pregnancy has not been well-lidated in mothers with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aim to compare patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in CHB mothers with those of healthy mothers during pregnancy.

Methods: Between 4/16/2023 and 7/31/2023, we invited consecutive CHB and healthy mothers to complete the self-administered 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36) and the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) for PRO assessment.

Impact of Immunotherapy on the Care Patterns and Outcomes of Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background: Modern immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors revolutionized cancer treatment and outcomes. This study aims to demonstrate how immunotherapy has impacted the national landscape of systemic treatment and palliative care in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Retrospective cohort selecting patients from the U.

Clinical outcomes in peripheral ulcerative keratitis.

Purpose: To evaluate clinical and treatment outcomes in patients with peripheral ulcerative keratitis (PUK).

Design: Retrospective, case series SUBJECTS: Patients diagnosed with PUK at the Wilmer Eye Institute between January 2003 and October 2022.

Methods: Data collected included demographics, presence of systemic disease, disease laterality, duration of disease, PUK activity, presence of corneal perforation, and treatments.

Recovery Time and Success: A Comparative Study of Robotic and Manual Total Hip Arthroplasty Outcomes.

Background: Despite the growing utilization of robotic-assisted total hip arthroplasty (rTHA), major debate remains regarding its comparative effectiveness in achieving optimal patient outcomes compared to manual total hip arthroplasty (mTHA). This study aimed to compare both the rate and time to achieve minimal clinically important difference (MCID) between rTHA and mTHA.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis comparing 341 rTHAs with a 1:3 propensity score-matched cohort of 1,023 mTHAs performed from 2016 to 2022.

Statin Use is Associated with Decreased Venous Thromboembolism Events Following Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Matched Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Despite advances in surgical techniques and postoperative prophylactic protocols, venous thromboembolism (VTE) events remain an important source of morbidity following total hip arthroplasty (THA). Prior research in cardiology and other surgical fields has suggested that statin medications may have a protective effect against VTE. Our study aimed to: 1) Assess if preoperative statin use was associated with decreased rates of VTE following THA, and 2) conduct a subgroup analysis of statin intensity and VTE events.

Milk-derived bioactive peptides in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is a global health issue affecting over 6% of the world and 11 % of the US population. It is closely linked to insulin resistance, a pivotal factor in Type 2 diabetes development. This review explores a promising avenue for addressing insulin resistance through the lens of Milk-Derived Bioactive Peptides (MBAPs).

Fluid secretion and luminal pressure control lateral branching morphogenesis in the embryonic avian lung.

During lung development, the embryonic airway originates as a wishbone-shaped epithelial tube, which undergoes a series of branching events to build the bronchial tree. This process depends crucially on cell proliferation and is thought to involve distinct branching modes: lateral branching, wherein daughter branches emerge along the length of a parent branch, and bifurcations, wherein the tip of a parent branch splits to form two new daughter branches. The developing airway is fluid-filled, and previous studies have shown that altered luminal pressure can influence rates of branching morphogenesis.

Sex differences in diet-mediated salivary protein upregulation.

Our lab previously established that repeated exposure to a bitter diet can increase salivary protein (SP) expression, which corresponds to an increase in acceptance of the bitter stimulus. However, this work was exclusively in male rodents, here we examine sex differences. We found that there are no differences in SP expression (experiment 1) or quinine diet acceptance (experiment 2) across stage of estrous cycle.

Long-Term Cognitive Outcomes in Adult Patients Receiving Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapies.

Background: CAR T-cell therapy (CAR-T) is leading to durable responses in patients with cancer but there is concern that cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity may impact survivors' cognitive function. We assessed long-term cognitive function in CAR-T recipients and examine factors associated with change in cognition over time.

Methods: We assessed perceived cognition (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Cognition) and neurocognitive performance (standardized neuropsychological battery) in adult patients prior to receiving CAR-T and at 6 month follow-up.

The influence of high-fat diet on nicotine vapor self-administration, neuronal excitability, and leptin levels in adult mice.

With the rise in fast-food culture and the continued high numbers of tobacco-related deaths, there has been a great deal of interest in understanding the relationship between high-fat diet (HFD) and nicotine use behaviors. Using adult mice and a patch-clamp electrophysiology assay, we investigated the influence of HFD on the excitability of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons and pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) given their role in modulating the reinforcing effects of nicotine and natural rewards. We then examined whether HFD-induced changes in peripheral markers were associated with nicotine use behaviors.