Antibiotic duration and gastric dysmotility in preterm neonates.

Objectives: Prolonged antibiotic use after birth is associated with neonatal feeding intolerance and functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). A gastric dysrhythmia (tachygastria) with frequencies >4-9 cycles per minute, measured by electrogastrography (EGG), is associated with FGIDs. The relationship between prolonged antibiotic use and % time spent in tachygastria is unknown in preterm infants.

Racial and ethnic disparities in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: 15-year experience at a safety net hospital system.

Despite recent therapeutic advances, ethnic minorities in the U.S. continue to have disproportionately poor outcomes in many hematologic malignancies including AML.

Geographic Accessibility and Completion of Initial Low-Dose CT-Based Lung Cancer Screening in an Urban Safety-Net Population.

Background: Recent modifications to low-dose CT (LDCT)-based lung cancer screening guidelines increase the number of eligible individuals, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities. Because these populations disproportionately live in metropolitan areas, we analyzed the association between travel time and initial LDCT completion within an integrated, urban safety-net health care system.

Methods: Using Esri's StreetMap Premium, OpenStreetMap, and the r5r package in R, we determined projected private vehicle and public transportation travel times between patient residence and the screening facility for LDCT ordered in March 2017 through December 2022 at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas.

Transferring care to enhance access to early-phase cancer clinical trials: Protocol to evaluate a novel program.

Involving diverse populations in early-phase (phase I and II) cancer clinical trials is critical to informed therapeutic development. However, given the growing costs and complexities of early-phase trials, trial activation and enrollment barriers may be greatest for these studies at healthcare facilities that provide care to the most diverse patient groups, including those in historically underserved communities (e.g.

Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Endometrial Precancers. Molecular Characteristics, Candidate Immunohistochemical Markers, and Promising Results of Three-Marker Panel: Current Status and Future Directions.

Endometrial carcinoma stands as the most prevalent gynecological cancer and the fourth most common cancer affecting women. The incidence of endometrial cancer has been steadily increasing over the past decade, posing a significant threat to public health. The early detection of its precancers remains a critical and evolving concern to reduce mortality associated with endometrial carcinoma.

Viral and Host Factors Are Associated With Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19.

Background: Persistent mortality in adults hospitalized due to acute COVID-19 justifies pursuit of disease mechanisms and potential therapies. The aim was to evaluate which virus and host response factors were associated with mortality risk among participants in Therapeutics for Inpatients with COVID-19 (TICO/ACTIV-3) trials.

Methods: A secondary analysis of 2625 adults hospitalized for acute SARS-CoV-2 infection randomized to 1 of 5 antiviral products or matched placebo in 114 centers on 4 continents.

Association of global longitudinal strain by feature tracking cardiac magnetic resonance imaging with adverse outcomes among community-dwelling adults without cardiovascular disease: The Dallas Heart Study.

Aim: Left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) may detect subtle abnormalities in myocardial contractility among individuals with normal LV ejection fraction (LVEF). However, the prognostic implications of GLS among healthy, community-dwelling adults is not well-established.

Methods And Results: Overall, 2234 community-dwelling adults (56% women, 47% Black) with LVEF ≥50% without a history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) from the Dallas Heart Study who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) with GLS assessed by feature tracking CMR (FT-CMR) were included.

Combination eravacycline therapy for ventilator-associated pneumonia due to carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in patients with COVID-19: A case series.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) pneumonia is associated with poor clinical outcomes and increased mortality. Clinical data regarding the optimal treatment of CRAB is limited, and combination therapy is often preferred. Eravacycline has demonstrated in-vitro activity against A.

The effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors on left cardiac remodelling in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aims: The therapeutic mechanism of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) on left cardiac remodelling in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is not well-established. This study meta-analysed the impact of SGLT2i on left cardiac structure and function in patients with HFrEF.

Methods And Results: Online databases were queried up to April 2023 for trials reporting indicators of left cardiac structure and function in patients with HFrEF treated with SGLT2i.

Preventing cognitive decline by reducing BP target (PCOT): A randomized, pragmatic, multi-health systems clinical trial.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that intensive lowering of systolic blood pressure (BP) may prevent mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. However, current guidelines provide inconsistent recommendations regarding optimal BP targets, citing safety concerns of excessive BP lowering in the diverse population of older adults. We are conducting a pragmatic trial to determine if an implementation strategy to reduce systolic BP to <130 and diastolic BP to <80 mmHg will safely slow cognitive decline in older adults with hypertension when compared to patients receiving usual care.

Magnetic resonance imaging improves diagnosis of placenta accreta spectrum requiring hysterectomy compared to ultrasound.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging has been used increasingly as an adjunct for ultrasound imaging for placenta accreta spectrum assessment and preoperative surgical planning, but its value has not been established yet. The ultrasound-based placenta accreta index is a well-validated standardized approach for placenta accreta spectrum evaluation. Placenta accreta spectrum-magnetic resonance imaging markers have been outlined in a joint guideline from the Society of Abdominal Radiology and the European Society of Urogenital Radiology.

Limited Clinical Utility of Routine Mycobacterial Cultures for the Management of Diabetic Foot Infections.

Mycobacterial infections of the foot and ankle are uncommon. In a cohort of 2340 patients with diabetic foot infection (DFI) in a region with increased prevalence of mycobacterial disease, we identified no clinically significant positive cultures over a 3-year period. Routine mycobacterial culture of DFIs is of limited clinical utility.

The cardiovascular effects of novel weight loss therapies.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity has reached pandemic proportions. Obesity is known to increase the risk for Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, as well as the risk for overt cardiovascular (CV) disease, including myocardial infarction, heart failure, and stroke. The rising prevalence of obesity may counteract the recent advances in primary and secondary prevention of CV disease.

Endpoint adjudication in cardiovascular clinical trials.

Endpoint adjudication (EA) is a common feature of contemporary randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in cardiovascular medicine. Endpoint adjudication refers to a process wherein a group of expert reviewers, known as the clinical endpoint committee (CEC), verify potential endpoints identified by site investigators. Events that are determined by the CEC to meet pre-specified trial definitions are then utilized for analysis.

The human placenta project: Funded studies, imaging technologies, and future directions.

The placenta plays a critical role in fetal development. It serves as a multi-functional organ that protects and nurtures the fetus during pregnancy. However, despite its importance, the intricacies of placental structure and function in normal and diseased states have remained largely unexplored.

Ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane blocks for pain management after open lumbar laminectomy.

Purpose: Lumbar spine surgery is associated with significant postoperative pain. The benefits of erector spinae plane blocks (ESPBs) combined with multimodal analgesia has not been adequately studied. We evaluated the analgesic effects of bilateral ESPBs as a component of multimodal analgesia after open lumbar laminectomy.

Financial Burden of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening in Patients With Cirrhosis.

Background: The overall value of hepatocellular carcinoma screening is defined by the balance of benefits and harms. Studies have only reported physical harms with none describing financial harms.

Methods: We conducted a multicenter pragmatic randomized clinical trial of hepatocellular carcinoma screening outreach among 2872 patients with cirrhosis from March 2018 to April 2021.

Optimization of Iodinated Contrast Media Inventory Management: Effect of Inventory Diversification on Waste Reduction.

Purpose: Iodinated contrast medium (ICM) is available in single- and multiuse vials of varying sizes, but CT departments often preferentially stock only a single or a limited number of vial sizes. The aims of this study were to assess actual ICM waste at a large safety-net hospital and to compare with estimated waste if single-use vials in a variety of vial sizes or multiuse vials were used.

Methods: ICM administrations were retrospectively reviewed for all CT examinations performed in 2021 in a department that stocked only 100-mL ICM vials.

Who Is at Risk for New Hepatitis B Infections Among People With HIV?

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) increases morbidity and mortality among people with HIV (PWH). We retrospectively analyzed HBV incidence among 5785 PWH. Fourteen had newly positive hepatitis B s antigen (mean 5.

Longitudinal assessment of placental perfusion in normal and hypertensive pregnancies using pseudo-continuous arterial spin-labeled MRI: preliminary experience.

Objectives: To evaluate longitudinal placental perfusion using pseudo-continuous arterial spin-labeled (pCASL) MRI in normal pregnancies and in pregnancies affected by chronic hypertension (cHTN), who are at the greatest risk for placental-mediated disease conditions.

Methods: Eighteen normal and 23 pregnant subjects with cHTN requiring antihypertensive therapy were scanned at 3 T using free-breathing pCASL-MRI at 16-20 and 24-28 weeks of gestational age.

Results: Mean placental perfusion was 103.

Patterns of Referral and Postdischarge Utilization of Cardiac Rehabilitation Among Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure: An Analysis From the GWTG-HF Registry.

Background: Coverage for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction was expanded in 2014, but contemporary referral and participation rates remain unknown.

Methods: Patients hospitalized for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (≤35%) in the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure registry from 2010 to 2020 were included, and CR referral status was described as yes, no, or not captured. Temporal trends in CR referral were assessed in the overall cohort.