Subsequent pregnancies in peripartum cardiomyopathy: Patient-level differences and decision-making.

Study Objective: To evaluate patient-level differences and decision making surrounding subsequent pregnancies (SSP) after peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM).

Design: Mixed methods approach to evaluate quantitative demographic and clinical differences between patients with and without a SSP and to qualitatively describe the decision-making regarding a SSP with a survey component.

Setting/participants: 220 PPCM cases within the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Are chest compression quality metrics different in children with and without congenital heart disease? A report from the pediatric resuscitation quality collaborative.

Objective: To evaluate the association of CPR quality metrics with survival outcomes in children with and without congenital heart disease experiencing in-hospital cardiac arrest.

Design: Retrospective cohort study of data from the Pediatric Resuscitation Quality (pediRES-Q) Collaborative.

Setting: 28 participating sites.

Impact of chronic opioid use on acute health care utilization in children with IBD and arthritis: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Opioid use is non-trivial in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and arthritis, and options are limited for pain management. We aimed to determine the impacts of chronic opioid use on acute care utilization in children with both IBD and arthritis in United States.

Methods: Participants less than 18 years of age with IBD and arthritis, with at least one year of continuous enrollment (no interruption of insurance for at least 1 year) and at least one pharmacy claim in the Truven Health MarketScan Claims and Encounter Database, were included in the study.

Antiviral immunity within neural stem cells distinguishes Enterovirus-D68 strain differences in forebrain organoids.

Neural stem cells have intact innate immune responses that protect them from virus infection and cell death. Yet, viruses can antagonize such responses to establish neuropathogenesis. Using a forebrain organoid model system at two developmental time points, we identified that neural stem cells, in particular radial glia, are basally primed to respond to virus infection by upregulating several antiviral interferon-stimulated genes.

Association of furosemide versus chlorothiazide exposures with serum sodium, potassium, and chloride among infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Objectives: To examine the association of novel furosemide versus thiazide diuretic exposure with changes in serum sodium, potassium, and chloride levels among infants with grade 2/3 bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study of infants admitted to a level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with grade 2/3 BPD. We measured within-subject change in serum sodium, potassium, and chloride before and after diuretic initiation using multivariable regression to adjust for differences in dosing and clinical covariates.

American Society for Microbiology evidence-based laboratory medicine practice guidelines to reduce blood culture contamination rates: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

SUMMARYBlood cultures (BCs) are one of the critical tests used to detect bloodstream infections. BC results are not 100% specific. Interpretation of BC results is often complicated by detecting microbial contamination rather than true infection.

Predicting long-term survival among patients with HCC.

Background: Prognosticating survival among patients with HCC and cirrhosis must account for both the tumor burden/stage, as well as the severity of the underlying liver disease. Although there are many staging systems used to guide therapy, they have not been widely adopted to predict patient-level survival after the diagnosis of HCC. We sought to develop a score to predict long-term survival among patients with early- to intermediate-stage HCC using purely objective criteria.

The Pax transcription factor EGL-38 links EGFR signaling to assembly of a cell type-specific apical extracellular matrix in the Caenorhabditis elegans vulva.

The surface of epithelial tissues is covered by an apical extracellular matrix (aECM). The aECMs of different tissues have distinct compositions to serve distinct functions, yet how a particular cell type assembles the proper aECM is not well understood. We used the cell type-specific matrix of the C.

ZNFX1 is a Novel Master Regulator in Epigenetically-induced Pathogen Mimicry and Inflammasome Signaling in Cancer.

DNA methyltransferase and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (DNMTis, PARPis) induce a stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING)-dependent pathogen mimicry response (PMR) in ovarian (OC) and other cancers. We now show that combining DNMTis and PARPis upregulates expression of a little-studied nucleic-acid sensor, NFX1-type zinc finger-containing 1 protein (ZNFX1). We demonstrate that ZNFX1 is a novel master regulator for PMR induction in mitochondria, serving as a gateway for STING-dependent PMR.

Riding the Waves of Novel Therapies in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

We discuss a case of a 60-year-old man with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treated with the novel cardiac myosin inhibitor, mavacamten. Dynamic electrocardiogram patterns of left ventricular hypertrophy and left ventricular strain coincided with the patient starting mavacamten, discontinuing the drug, and then restarting mavacamten, highlighting electrocardiograms as accessible and inexpensive potential tools to monitor drug efficacy. This case also shows the ability of myosin inhibition to positively alter the adverse electrical changes associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Do Fellowship-educated Military Orthopaedic Oncologists Who Practice in Military Settings Treat a Sufficient Volume of Patients to Maintain Their Oncologic Expertise?

Background: Fellowship-trained orthopaedic oncologists in the US military provide routine clinical care and also must maintain readiness to provide combat casualty care. However, low oncologic procedure volume may hinder the ability of these surgeons to maintain relevant surgical expertise. Other low-volume specialties within the Military Health System (MHS) have established partnerships with neighboring civilian centers to increase procedure volume, but the need for similar partnerships for orthopaedic oncologists has not been examined.

Vaping and smoking cue reactivity in young adult non-smoking electronic cigarette users: A functional neuroimaging study.

Introduction: The rapid growth in the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) among non-smoking young adults is concerning, as it raises the potential for chronic vaping and nicotine addiction. A key characteristic of drug addiction is the elevated neural response to conditioned drug-related cues (i.e.

The Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network Implementation Working Group: global collaboration to advance pharmacogenetic implementation.

Pharmacogenetics promises to optimize treatment-related outcomes by informing optimal drug selection and dosing based on an individual's genotype in conjunction with other important clinical factors. Despite significant evidence of genetic associations with drug response, pharmacogenetic testing has not been widely implemented into clinical practice. Among the barriers to broad implementation are limited guidance for how to successfully integrate testing into clinical workflows and limited data on outcomes with pharmacogenetic implementation in clinical practice.

Strategies to Limit Benzodiazepine Use in Anesthesia for Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Despite guidelines recommending avoidance of benzodiazepine administration to older patients, many of them now receive benzodiazepines as a part of anesthesia care. The effectiveness of clinician- and patient-facing interventions to discourage such use remains insufficiently characterized.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of clinician peer comparison, patient informational mail, or a combination of these interventions compared with usual care on the rate of perioperative benzodiazepine administration to older patients.

The repeatability of tests for dry eye signs and symptoms in the dry eye assessment and management (DREAM) study.

Purpose: To assess the repeatability of measures for dry eye disease (DED) symptoms and signs in the DREAM study.

Methods: At screening and baseline visits approximately 2 weeks apart, participants were assessed for symptoms by Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Brief Ocular Discomfort Index (BODI), and signs by the same physician in the same order: tear break-up time (TBUT), corneal staining, conjunctival staining, Meibomian gland evaluation, and the Schirmer test. The repeatability of DED symptoms and signs was assessed by interclass correlation coefficient (ICC), 95 % limits of agreement, and the percent of eyes with inter-visit difference above the clinically significant threshold.