Exploring the utility of a novel point-of-care whole blood thrombin generation assay following trauma: A pilot study.

Introduction: Plasma thrombin generation kinetics as measured by the calibrated automated thrombogram (CAT) assay is a predictor of symptomatic venous thromboembolism after trauma. We hypothesized that data from a new prototype assay for measurement of thrombin generation kinetics in fresh whole blood (near patient testing of thrombin generation), will correlate with the standard CAT assay in the same patients, making it a potential tool in the future care of trauma patients.

Methods: Patients were enrolled from June 2018 to February 2020.

Postoperative complications of Ab-Interno XEN implantation in primary angle closure glaucoma.

The XEN Gel Stent offers a unique Ab-interno approach for managing glaucoma and has shown a favorable risk profile relative to traditional trabeculectomy. XEN implantation has almost exclusively been reported in patients with open angle glaucoma and data in patients with angle closure glaucoma is limited. We report a postoperative complication of the XEN Gel Stent in a patient with primary angle closure glaucoma.

Fracture Risks in Patients Treated With Different Oral Anticoagulants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background Evidence on the differences in fracture risk associated with non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOAC) and warfarin is inconsistent and inconclusive. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the fracture risk associated with NOACs and warfarin. Methods and Results We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.

Clinical Application of Serologic Testing for Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Contemporary Cardiovascular Practice.

In patients with cardiovascular disease, the use of antibody or serological testing is frequently encountered as the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic continues to evolve. Antibody testing detects one form of the acquired immunological response to a pathogenic antigen. Once the immune system recognizes a viral antigen or a protein as foreign, a humoral immune response is initiated, which is generally detected by laboratory testing in 5 to 10 days after the initial exposure.

Establishing a High Throughput Epidermal Spheroid Culture System to Model Keratinocyte Stem Cell Plasticity.

Epithelial dysregulation is a node for a variety of human conditions and ailments, including chronic wounding, inflammation, and over 80% of all human cancers. As a lining tissue, the skin epithelium is often subject to injury and has evolutionarily adapted by acquiring the cellular plasticity necessary to repair damaged tissue. Over the years, several efforts have been made to study epithelial plasticity using in vitro and ex vivo cell-based models.

Vaccine-related major cutaneous reaction size correlates with cellular-mediated immune responses after tularaemia immunisation.

Objectives: , the causative agent of tularaemia, is an exceptionally infectious bacterium, potentially fatal for humans if left untreated and with the potential to be developed as a bioweapon. Both natural infection and live-attenuated vaccine strain (LVS) confer good protection against tularaemia. LVS vaccination is traditionally administered by scarification, and the formation of a cutaneous reaction or take at the vaccination site is recognised as a clinical correlate of protection.

Beginning a new medical school curriculum amidst a global pandemic.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine embarked on our first major curriculum revision since 1994 with a plan to implement this Renaissance Curriculum in August 2020. However, in the Spring of 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted clinical care and medical education on a large scale requiring expeditious modifications to our Renaissance Curriculum as well as our traditional Legacy Curriculum in order to meet our goal of educating the next-generation of physicians. The rippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic led to major changes in the delivery of the pre-clerkship curriculum, the way we assessed and evaluated students, entry into the clinical environment, length of clinical rotations, and orientation for our new medical students.

Is Prophylactic Drainage After Pancreas Transplant Associated With Reduced Reoperation Rate?

Objectives: Advances in surgery and perioperative care have contributed to improved outcomes after pancreas transplant. However, the development of peripancreatic infections carries a poor prognosis. It is not clear whether abdominal drainage is helpful in collection prevention.

An antibacterial and injectable calcium phosphate scaffold delivering human periodontal ligament stem cells for bone tissue engineering.

Osteomyelitis and post-operative infections are major problems in orthopedic, dental and craniofacial surgeries. It is highly desirable for a tissue engineering construct to kill bacteria, while simultaneously delivering stem cells and enhancing cell function and tissue regeneration. The objectives of this study were to: (1) develop a novel injectable calcium phosphate cement (CPC) scaffold containing antibiotic ornidazole (ORZ) while encapsulating human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs), and (2) investigate the inhibition efficacy against () and the promotion of hPDLSC function for osteogenesis for the first time.

Performance of nucleocapsid and spike-based SARS-CoV-2 serologic assays.

There is an urgent need for an accurate antibody test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We have developed 3 ELISA methods, trimer spike IgA, trimer spike IgG, and nucleocapsid IgG, for detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We evaluated their performance along with four commercial ELISAs, EDI™ Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 ELISA IgG and IgM, Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA IgG and IgA, and one lateral flow assay, DPP® COVID-19 IgM/IgG System (Chembio).

Human Typhi exposure generates differential multifunctional cross-reactive T-cell memory responses against Paratyphi and invasive nontyphoidal .

Objective: There are no vaccines for most of the major invasive strains causing severe infection in humans. We evaluated the specificity of adaptive T memory cell responses generated after Typhi exposure in humans against other major invasive strains sharing capacity for dissemination.

Methods: T memory cells from eleven volunteers who underwent controlled oral challenge with .

Boarding of critically Ill patients in the emergency department.

Objectives: Emergency department boarding is the practice of caring for admitted patients in the emergency department after hospital admission, and boarding has been a growing problem in the United States. Boarding of the critically ill has achieved specific attention because of its association with poor clinical outcomes. Accordingly, the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American College of Emergency Physicians convened a Task Force to understand the implications of emergency department boarding of the critically ill.

Two pulmonary emboli in a psych pod.

Background: A female patient known to have schizoaffective disorder self-presented to an emergency department in a state of acute agitation and paranoia shortly after a 35-day inpatient stay at a psychiatric facility.

Case Report: The patient exhibited no signs or complaints of dyspnea or hypoxia, but later collapsed and became hypoxic after sleeping comfortably with sedation for 12 h in the psychiatric unit. She was intubated and a computed tomography angiogram revealed bilateral lobar pulmonary emboli and right heart strain.

Rates of New Human Papillomavirus Detection and Loss of Detection in Middle-aged Women by Recent and Past Sexual Behavior.

Background: Understanding the source of newly detected human papillomavirus (HPV) in middle-aged women is important to inform preventive strategies, such as screening and HPV vaccination.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in Baltimore, Maryland. Women aged 35-60 years underwent HPV testing and completed health and sexual behavior questionnaires every 6 months over a 2-year period.

Specificity and Performance of Nucleocapsid and Spike-based SARS-CoV-2 Serologic Assays.

There is an urgent need for an accurate antibody test for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this paper, we have developed 3 ELISA methods, trimer spike IgA, trimer spike IgG, and nucleocapsid IgG, for detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We evaluated their performance in comparison with four commercial ELISAs, EDI™ Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 ELISA IgG and IgM, Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA IgG and IgA, and one lateral flow assay, DPP® COVID-19 IgM/IgG System (Chembio).

Development of peripheral eosinophilia in inflammatory bowel disease patients on infliximab treated at a tertiary pediatric inflammatory bowel disease center is associated with clinically active disease but does not result in loss of efficacy or adverse outcomes.

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) consisting of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are inflammatory conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Infliximab (IFX) is a chimeric anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody used to treat moderate to severe IBD. Eosinophils are commonly found in chronically inflamed tissues in IBD.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Liver Fat: The Multiethnic Cohort Adiposity Phenotype Study.

The global rise in fatty liver is a major public health problem. Thus, it is critical to identify both global and population-specific genetic variants associated with liver fat. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of percent liver fat and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) assessed by magnetic resonance imaging in 1,709 participants from the population-based Multiethnic Cohort Adiposity Phenotype Study.

Combining Biomarkers and Imaging for Short-Term Assessment of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Apparently Healthy Adults.

Background Current strategies for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment focus on 10-year or longer timeframes. Shorter-term CVD risk is also clinically relevant, particularly for high-risk occupations, but is under-investigated. Methods and Results We pooled data from participants in the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study), MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis), and DHS (Dallas Heart Study), free from CVD at baseline (N=16 581).

Bone Tumors Occurring in the Soft Tissues: A Review of the Clinical, Imaging, and Histopathologic Findings.

Although rare in everyday practice, malignancies that classically arise from bone or cartilage have been reported to arise de novo in various soft tissues in the body, resulting in a diagnostic challenge for the clinician, radiologist, and pathologist. Differential diagnoses of bone tumors often depend on anatomic location of the lesion. For example, the classic location of osteosarcoma is in the metaphysis of long bones about the knee.