Screening for Hypertension in adolescents living with HIV: Protocol for a cluster randomized trial to improve guideline adherence.

Background: Although AIDS-related deaths have reduced with increased access to antiretroviral care, cardiovascular disease-related morbidities among persons living with HIV are rising. Contributing to this is the higher incidence of Hypertension among Persons Living with HIV. The duration of exposure to the virus and antiretroviral drugs plays a vital role in the pathogenesis, putting perinatally infected children and adolescents at higher risk than behaviorally-infected ones, supporting the calls for increased surveillance of Hypertension among them.

Improvement in clinical features of hypercortisolism during osilodrostat treatment: findings from the Phase III LINC 3 trial in Cushing's disease.

Purpose: Cushing's disease is associated with substantial morbidity and impaired quality of life (QoL) resulting from excess cortisol exposure. The current study explored improvements in clinical signs and additional specific manifestations of hypercortisolism during osilodrostat (potent oral 11β-hydroxylase inhibitor) therapy by degree of control of mean urinary free cortisol (mUFC).

Methods: LINC 3 (NCT02180217) was a prospective, open-label, 48-week study of osilodrostat (starting dose: 2 mg bid; maximum: 30 mg bid) that enrolled 137 adults with Cushing's disease and mUFC > 1.

FACE-Q for Measuring Patient-reported Outcomes after Facial Skin Cancer Surgery: Cross-cultural Validation.

Background: Facial skin cancer and its surgical treatment can affect health-related quality of life. The FACE-Q Skin Cancer Module is a patient-reported outcome measure that measures different aspects of health-related quality of life and has recently been translated into Dutch. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the translated version in a Dutch cohort using modern psychometric measurement theory (Rasch).

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.

The efficacy of multi-disciplinary lifestyle modifications in Taiwanese nonalcoholic steatohepatitis patients.

Lifestyle modification is the standard of care for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of a short-term lifestyle modification program in the disease course of Taiwanese nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients with paired biopsies. All patients received a 6-month, strict multidisciplinary program of lifestyle modifications led by physicians, dieticians, and nursing staff.

Propensity weighted analysis of chemical venous thromboembolism prophylaxis agents in isolated severe traumatic brain injury: An EAST sponsored multicenter study.

Background: In patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), clinicians must balance preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) with the risk of intracranial hemorrhagic expansion (ICHE). We hypothesized that low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) would not increase risk of ICHE or VTE as compared to unfractionated heparin (UH) in patients with severe TBI.

Methods: Patients ≥ 18 years of age with isolated severe TBI (AIS ≥ 3), admitted to 24 level I and II trauma centers between January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2020 and who received subcutaneous UH and LMWH injections for chemical venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (VTEP) were included.

Physical health-related quality of life trajectories over two years following breast cancer diagnosis in older women: a secondary analysis.

Purpose: To identify distinct trajectories of physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in older women over the first two years following breast cancer diagnosis, and to examine characteristics associated with trajectory group membership.

Methods: A secondary analysis of a longitudinal study of women diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer who completed surveys within eight months of diagnosis and six, twelve, and eighteen months later that focuses on a subset of women aged ≥ 65 years (N = 145).Physical HRQoL was assessed using the Physical Component Score (PCS) of the SF-36 Health Survey.

Provider Perceptions of an Electronic Health Record Prostate Cancer Screening Tool.

Objectives:  We conducted a focus group to assess the attitudes of primary care physicians (PCPs) toward prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-screening algorithms, perceptions of using decision support tools, and features that would make such tools feasible to implement.

Methods:  A multidisciplinary team (primary care, urology, behavioral sciences, bioinformatics) developed the decision support tool that was presented to a focus group of 10 PCPs who also filled out a survey. Notes and audio-recorded transcripts were analyzed using Thematic Content Analysis.

A Provider-Facing Decision Support Tool for Prostate Cancer Screening in Primary Care: A Pilot Study.

Objectives:  Our objective was to pilot test an electronic health record-embedded decision support tool to facilitate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening discussions in the primary care setting.

Methods:  We pilot-tested a novel decision support tool that was used by 10 primary care physicians (PCPs) for 6 months, followed by a survey. The tool comprised (1) a risk-stratified algorithm, (2) a tool for facilitating shared decision-making (Simple Schema), (3) three best practice advisories (BPAs: <45, 45-75, and >75 years), and (4) a health maintenance module for scheduling automated reminders about PSA rescreening.

Point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen positivity and associated factors in school children one year after mass praziquantel administration in an endemic district in Ghana.

Background: Mass drug administration of praziquantel is expected to reduce carriage in treated children in endemic communities. However, the effectiveness of this annual exercise has not been assessed in Ghana. Therefore, this study aimed to detect viable infection using point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) positivity as proxy and associated factors in children previously treated with praziquantel in an endemic municipality in Ghana.

Eating behaviors and incidence of type 2 diabetes in Japanese people: The population-based Panasonic cohort study 15.

Aim/introduction: This historical cohort study sought to research the relationship between eating behaviors and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in a large, long-term cohort of Japanese subjects.

Materials And Methods: Panasonic Corporation employees who had no history of diabetes and attended yearly health surveys between 2008 and 2018 were included in this study. The main outcome measure was diabetes onset.

Early recognition and treatment of OSA in hospitalized patients and its impact on health care utilization in rural population: a real-world study.

Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent, yet underdiagnosed, condition. Due to its adverse impact on risk for cardiopulmonary disorders, there is interest in proactive screening of OSA in hospitalized patients. We studied the long-term outcome of such screened patients who were initiated on positive airway pressure therapy.

Association Between Leg Muscle Thickness and Walking Test With the Hemophilia-Specific Functional Parameters.

Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the muscle thickness and walking test in people with hemophilia A and their correlation to joint health and functional impairments.

Design: This is a cross-sectional study.

Results: Twenty-nine severe/moderate people with hemophilia A were enrolled.

Moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activities for hemophilia A patients during low-dose pharmacokinetic-guided extended half-life factor VIII prophylaxis.

Background: Low-dose pharmacokinetic (PK)-guided extended half-life (EHL) factor VIII (FVIII) prophylaxis can reduce the bleeding risk in hemophilia A (HA) patients. An increase in physical activities for promoting musculoskeletal health may enhance the benefits of prophylactic therapy.

Objectives: To determine the clinical impact of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activities in HA patients during low-dose PK-guided EHL FVIII prophylaxis.

To close or not to close? Wound management in emergent colorectal surgery, an EAST multicenter prospective cohort study.

Background: This study aimed to determine the clinical impact of wound management technique on surgical site infection (SSI), hospital length of stay (LOS), and mortality in emergent colorectal surgery.

Methods: A prospective observational study (2021-2023) of urgent or emergent colorectal surgery patients at 15 institutions was conducted. Pediatric patients and traumatic colorectal injuries were excluded.

Association of Decreased Bone Density and Hyperlipidemia in a Taiwanese Older Adult Population.

Objective: This study aimed to determine if a combination of 2 abnormal lipid profiles revealed a stronger association with low bone mass than a single blood lipid abnormality alone.

Methods: This study enrolled 1373 participants who had received a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan from January 2016 to December 2016 in a medical center in southern Taiwan. Logistic regression was used to examine association between lipid profiles and osteopenia or osteoporosis after adjusting for covariates.

A Predictive Algorithm for Discriminating Myeloid Malignancies and Leukemoid Reactions.

Background: Adults presenting with a neutrophil-predominant leukocytosis (white cell count >50,000/μL) often necessitate urgent medical management. These patients are diagnosed with either acute presentations of chronic myeloid malignancies or leukemoid reactions, yet accurate models to distinguish between these entities do not exist. We used demographic and lab data to build a machine learning model capable of discriminating between these diagnoses.

Expert consensus guidelines on management and best practices for tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte cell therapy.

Adoptive cell therapy with autologous, ex vivo-expanded, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is being investigated for treatment of solid tumors and has shown robust responses in clinical trials. Based on the encouraging efficacy, tolerable safety profile, and advancements in a central manufacturing process, lifileucel is now the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved TIL cell therapy product. To this end, treatment management and delivery practice guidance is needed to ensure successful integration of this modality into clinical care.

Modelling the Cost-Effectiveness of Hepatitis A in South Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the consideration of introducing routine hepatitis A vaccination into national immunization schedules for children ≥ 1 years old in countries with intermediate HAV endemicity. Recent data suggest that South Africa is transitioning from high to intermediate HAV endemicity, thus it is important to consider the impact and cost of potential routine hepatitis A vaccination strategies in the country. An age-structured compartmental model of hepatitis A transmission was calibrated with available data from South Africa, incorporating direct costs of hepatitis A treatment and vaccination.

Anatomic Lung Resection Outcomes After Implementation of a Universal Thoracic ERAS Protocol Across a Diverse Health Care System.

Objective: We sought to evaluate how implementing a thoracic enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol impacted surgical outcomes after elective anatomic lung resection.

Background: The effect of implementing the ERAS Society/European Society of Thoracic Surgery thoracic ERAS protocol on postoperative outcomes throughout an entire health care system has not yet been reported.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study within one health care system (January 2019-March, 2023).

Causal associations of central and peripheral risk factors with knee osteoarthritis: a longitudinal and Mendelian Randomisation study using UK Biobank data.

Our aim was to investigate relative contributions of central and peripheral mechanisms to knee osteoarthritis (OA) diagnosis and their independent causal association with knee OA. We performed longitudinal analysis using data from UK-Biobank participants. Knee OA was defined using International Classification of Diseases manual 10 codes from participants' hospital records.