Digital Commons Network^™

Strategies For Disseminating And Implementing Covid-19 Vaccines In Rural Areas, Beth Prusaczyk

Open Access Publications

The United States has well-documented rural-urban health disparities, and it is imperative that these are not exacerbated by an inefficient rollout of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines to rural areas. In addition to the preexisting barriers to delivering and receiving health care in rural areas, such as high patient:provider ratios and long geographic distances between patients and providers, rural residents are significantly more likely to say they have no intention of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with urban residents. To overcome these barriers and ensure that rural residents receive the vaccine, officials and communities should look to previous research on …

The Top 100 Cited Papers In The Field Of Iron Deficiency In Humans: A Bibliometric Study, John L. Frater

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Clinical Isolate Or Cleavage Site Mutations In The Sars-Cov-2 Spike Protein On Protein Stability, Cleavage, And Cell–Cell Fusion, Chelsea T. Barrett, Hadley E. Neal, Kearstin Edmonds, Carole L. Moncman, Rachel Thompson, Jean M. Branttie, Kerri Beth Boggs, Cheng-Yu Wu, Daisy W. Leung, Rebecca E. Dutch

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Practices At Discharge: A National Survey, Marie E Wang, Kimberly Felder, Jason G Newland, Adam L Hersh, Nipunie S Rajapakse, Zachary I Willis, Ritu Banerjee, Jeffrey S Gerber, Hayden T Schwenk, Louise E Vaz

Open Access Publications

We surveyed pediatric antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) site leaders within the Sharing Antimicrobial Reports for Pediatric Stewardship collaborative regarding discharge stewardship practices. Among 67 sites, 13 (19%) reported ASP review of discharge antimicrobial prescriptions. These findings highlight discharge stewardship as a potential opportunity for improvement during the hospital-to-home transition.

Multisociety Statement On Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Vaccination As A Condition Of Employment For Healthcare Personnel, David J Weber, Hilary M Babcock, Et Al

Open Access Publications

This consensus statement by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (AMDA), the Association for Professionals in Epidemiology and Infection Control (APIC), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) recommends that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination should be a condition of employment for all healthcare personnel in facilities in the United States. Exemptions from this policy apply to those with medical contraindications to all COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States …

Weight And Body Mass Index Change After Switching To Integrase Inhibitors Or Tenofovir Alafenamide Among Women Living With Hiv, Cecile D. Lahiri, Jane O'Halloran, Et Al

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

A Mouse Model Displays Host And Bacterial Strain Differences In Aerococcus Urinae Urinary Tract Infection, Nicole M Gilbert, Brian Choi, Jingjie Du, Christina Collins, Amanda L Lewis, Catherine Putonti, Alan J Wolfe

Open Access Publications

In recent years, the clinical significance of Aerococcus urinae has been increasingly recognized. A. urinae has been implicated in cases of urinary tract infection (UTI; acute cystitis and pyelonephritis) in both male and female patients, ranging from children to older adults. Aerococcus urinae can also be invasive, causing urosepsis, endocarditis, and musculoskeletal infections. Mechanisms of pathogenesis in A. urinae infections are poorly understood, largely due to the lack of an animal model system. In response to this gap, we developed a model of A. urinae urinary tract infection in mice. We compared A. urinae UTI in female C3H/HeN and C57BL/6 …

Doctor As Street-Level Bureaucrat, Elvin H. Geng

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Rv3160c Is Atetr‑Like Transcriptional Repressor That Regulates Expression Of The Putative Oxygenase Rv3161c, Hasan Tükenmez, Souvik Sarkar, Saber Anoosheh, Anastasiia Kruchanova, Isabel Edström, Gregory A. Harrison, Christina L. Stallings, Fredrik Almqvist, Christer Larsson

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Suicide In Japan During The Covid-19 Pandemic Vs Previous Years, Haruka Sakamoto, Masahiro Ishikane, Cyrus Ghaznavi, Peter Ueda

Open Access Publications

Importance: There are concerns that suicide rates may have increased during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Objective: To assess whether suicide rates in Japan increased in April through November 2020 compared with previous years.

Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used national data obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare from 2016 to 2020 on the monthly number of individuals who died of suicide in Japan from January to November of 2016 to 2020.

Exposure: 2020 vs previous years.

Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was monthly suicide rates, calculated as the number of individuals …

How The Field Of Infectious Diseases Can Leverage Digital Strategy And Social Media Use During A Pandemic, Jasmine R. Marcelin, Nicolás Cortés-Penfield, Carlos Del Rio, Angel Desai, Ignacio Echenique, Bruno Granwehr, Folake Lawal, Kevin Kuriakose, Dong Heun Lee, Maricar Malinis, Diandra Ruidera, Javeed Siddiqui, Andrej Spec, Talia H. Swartz

Open Access Publications

Rapid information dissemination is critical in a world changing rapidly due to global threats. Ubiquitous internet access has created new methods of information dissemination that are rapid, far-reaching, and universally accessible. However, inaccuracies may accompany rapid information dissemination, and rigorous evaluation of primary data through various forms of peer review is crucial. In an era in which high-quality information can save lives, it is critical that infectious diseases specialists are well versed in digital strategy to effectively disseminate information to colleagues and the community and diminish voices spreading misinformation. In this study, we review how social media can be used …

Multistage And Transmission-Blocking Targeted Antimalarials Discovered From The Open-Source Mmv Pandemic Response Box, Janette Reader, Natalie J. Spillman, Eva S. Istvan, Daniel E. Goldberg, Et Al.

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

The Dark Side Of The Gut: Virome-Host Interactions In Intestinal Homeostasis And Disease, Yuhao Li, Scott A. Handley, Megan T. Baldridge

Open Access Publications

The diverse enteric viral communities that infect microbes and the animal host collectively constitute the gut virome. Although recent advances in sequencing and analysis of metaviromes have revealed the complexity of the virome and facilitated discovery of new viruses, our understanding of the enteric virome is still incomplete. Recent studies have uncovered how virome-host interactions can contribute to beneficial or detrimental outcomes for the host. Understanding the complex interactions between enteric viruses and the intestinal immune system is a prerequisite for elucidating their role in intestinal diseases. In this review, we provide an overview of the enteric virome composition and …

Concordance Of Antibiotic Prescribing With The American Dental Association Acute Oral Infection Guidelines Within Veterans' Affairs (Va) Dentistry, Daniel B Carlsen, Michael J Durkin, Gretchen Gibson, M Marianne Jurasic, Ursula Patel, Linda Poggensee, Margaret A Fitzpatrick, Kelly Echevarria, Jessina Mcgregor, Charlesnika T Evans, Katie J Suda

Open Access Publications

OBJECTIVE: United States dentists prescribe 10% of all outpatient antibiotics. Assessing appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing has been challenging due to a lack of guidelines for oral infections. In 2019, the American Dental Association (ADA) published clinical practice guidelines (CPG) on the management of acute oral infections. Our objective was to describe baseline national antibiotic prescribing for acute oral infections prior to the release of the ADA CPG and to identify patient-level variables associated with an antibiotic prescription.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis.

METHODS: We performed an analysis of national VA data from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017. We identified cases …

Rural-Urban Differences In Antibiotic Prescribing For Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection, Abbye W Clark, Michael J Durkin, Margaret A Olsen, Matthew Keller, Yinjiao Ma, Caroline A O'Neil, Anne M Butler

Open Access Publications

OBJECTIVE: To examine rural-urban differences in temporal trends and risk of inappropriate antibiotic use by agent and duration among women with uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI).

DESIGN: Observational cohort study.

METHODS: Using the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database (2010-2015), we identified US commercially insured women aged 18-44 years coded for uncomplicated UTI and prescribed an oral antibiotic agent. We classified antibiotic agents and durations as appropriate versus inappropriate based on clinical guidelines. Rural-urban status was defined by residence in a metropolitan statistical area. We used modified Poisson regression to determine the association between rural-urban status and inappropriate antibiotic receipt, accounting for …

Helminth-Virus Interactions: Determinants Of Coinfection Outcomes, Pritesh Desai, Michael S Diamond, Larissa B Thackray

Open Access Publications

Viral infections are often studied in model mammalian organisms under specific pathogen-free conditions. However, in nature, coinfections are common, and infection with one organism can alter host susceptibility to infection with another. Helminth parasites share a long coevolutionary history with mammalian hosts and have shaped host physiology, metabolism, immunity, and the composition of the microbiome. Published studies suggest that helminth infection can either be beneficial or detrimental during viral infection. Here, we discuss coinfection studies in mouse models and use them to define key determinants that impact outcomes, including the type of antiviral immunity, the tissue tropism of both the …

Cost Burden Of Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease Following Kidney Transplants In Medicare-Eligible Patients By Survival Status, Allyson Hart, Yoon Son Ahn, Crystal Watson, Melissa Skeans, Arie Barlev, Bryn Thompson, Vikas R Dharnidharka

Open Access Publications

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Patients diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) experience high mortality within the first 2 years of diagnosis; however, few data exist on the economic burden of PTLD in these patients. We determined the healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and cost burden of post-kidney transplant PTLD and evaluated how these differ by survival status.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Utilizing data from the United States Renal Data System and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, we identified 83,818 Medicare-covered kidney transplant recipients between 2007 and 2016, of which 347 had at least one Medicare claim during the first year after diagnosis …

Factors Influencing Implementation Of Blood Transfusion Recommendations In Pediatric Critical Care Units, Katherine M Steffen, Philip C Spinella, Laura M Holdsworth, Mackenzie A Ford, Grace M Lee, Steven M Asch, Enola K Proctor, Allan Doctor

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Global Parity: Study Design For A Multi-Centered, International Point Prevalence Study To Estimate The Burden Of Pediatric Acute Critical Illness In Resource-Limited Settings, Qalab Abbas, Kenneth E Remy, Et Al

Open Access Publications

Background: The burden of pediatric critical illness and resource utilization by children with critical illness in resource limited settings (RLS) are largely unknown. Without specific data that captures key aspects of critical illness, disease presentation, and resource utilization for pediatric populations in RLS, development of a contextual framework for appropriate, evidence-based interventions to guide allocation of limited but available resources is challenging. We present this methods paper which describes our efforts to determine the prevalence, etiology, hospital outcomes, and resource utilization associated with pediatric acute, critical illness in RLS globally.

Methods: We will conduct a prospective, observational, multicenter, multinational point …

Understanding Drivers Of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Racial Disparities: A Population-Level Analysis Of Covid-19 Testing Among Black And White Populations, Aaloke Mody, Kristin Pfeifauf, Cory Bradley, Branson Fox, Matifadza G. Hlatshwayo, Will Ross, Vetta Sanders-Thompson, Karen Joynt Maddox, Mat Reidhead, Mario Schootman, William G. Powderly, Elvin H. Geng

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Disparities in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing-the pandemic's most critical but limited resource-may be an important but modifiable driver of COVID-19 inequities.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the Missouri State Department of Health and Senior Services on all COVID-19 tests conducted in the St Louis and Kansas City regions. We adapted a well-established tool for measuring inequity-the Lorenz curve-to compare COVID-19 testing rates per diagnosed case among Black and White populations.

RESULTS: Between 14/3/2020 and 15/9/2020, 606 725 and 328 204 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the St Louis and Kansas City regions, respectively. Over time, Black individuals consistently …

Profiles Of Hiv Care Disruptions Among Adult Patients Lost To Follow-Up In Zambia: A Latent Class Analysis, Aaloke Mody, Kombatende Sikombe, Laura K. Beres, Sandra Simbeza, Njekwa Mukamba, Ingrid Eshun-Wilson, Sheree Schwartz, Jake Pry, Nancy Padian, Charles B. Holmes, Carolyn Bolton-Moore, Izukanji Sikazwe, Elvin H. Geng

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Patients report varied barriers to HIV care across multiple domains, but specific barrier patterns may be driven by underlying, but unobserved, behavioral profiles.

METHODS: We traced a probability sample of patients lost to follow-up (>90 days late) as of July 31, 2015 from 64 clinics in Zambia. Among those found alive, we ascertained patient-reported reasons for care disruptions. We performed latent class analysis to identify patient subgroups with similar patterns of reasons reported and assessed the association between class membership and care status (ie, disengaged versus silently transferred to a new site).

RESULTS: Among 547 patients, we identified …

Pathways To Care And Preferences For Improving Tuberculosis Services Among Tuberculosis Patients In Zambia: A Discrete Choice Experiment, Andrew D. Kerkhoff, Mary Kagujje, Sarah Nyangu, Kondwelani Mateyo, Nsala Sanjase, Lophina Chilukutu, Ingrid Eshun-Wilson, Elvin H. Geng, Diane V. Havlir, Monde Muyoyeta

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Delays in the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) contribute to a substantial proportion of TB-related mortality, especially among people living with HIV (PLHIV). We sought to characterize the diagnostic journey for HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients with a new TB diagnosis in Zambia, to understand drivers of delay, and characterize their preferences for service characteristics to inform improvements in TB services.

METHODS: We assessed consecutive adults with newly microbiologically-confirmed TB at two public health treatment facilities in Lusaka, Zambia. We administered a survey to document critical intervals in the TB care pathway (time to initial care-seeking, diagnosis and treatment initiation), identify …

Harnessing The Potential Of Multiomics Studies For Precision Medicine In Infectious Disease, Rebecca A. Ward, Philip A. Mudd, Rachel M. Presti, Andrej Spec, Et Al

Open Access Publications

The field of infectious diseases currently takes a reactive approach and treats infections as they present in patients. Although certain populations are known to be at greater risk of developing infection (eg, immunocompromised), we lack a systems approach to define the true risk of future infection for a patient. Guided by impressive gains in "omics" technologies, future strategies to infectious diseases should take a precision approach to infection through identification of patients at intermediate and high-risk of infection and deploy targeted preventative measures (ie, prophylaxis). The advances of high-throughput immune profiling by multiomics approaches (ie, transcriptomics, epigenomics, metabolomics, proteomics) hold …

Clinical Prediction Rule For Sars-Cov-2 Infection From 116 U.S. Emergency Departments 2-22-2021, Jeffrey A. Kline, Stacey House, Et Al.

Open Access Publications

OBJECTIVES: Accurate and reliable criteria to rapidly estimate the probability of infection with the novel coronavirus-2 that causes the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) and associated disease (COVID-19) remain an urgent unmet need, especially in emergency care. The objective was to derive and validate a clinical prediction score for SARS-CoV-2 infection that uses simple criteria widely available at the point of care.

METHODS: Data came from the registry data from the national REgistry of suspected COVID-19 in EmeRgency care (RECOVER network) comprising 116 hospitals from 25 states in the US. Clinical variables and 30-day outcomes were abstracted from medical records …

Old Vaccines For New Infections: Exploiting Innate Immunity To Control Covid-19 And Prevent Future Pandemics, Konstantin Chumakov, Michael S. Avidan, Christine S. Benn, Stefano M. Bertozzi, Lawrence Blatt, Angela Y. Chang, Dean T. Jamison, Shabaana A. Khader, Shyam Kottilil, Mihai G. Netea, Annie Sparrow, Robert C. Gallo

Open Access Publications

No abstract provided.

Bladder Exposure To Gardnerella Activates Host Pathways Necessary For Escherichia Coli Recurrent Uti, Valerie P O'Brien, Amanda L Lewis, Nicole M Gilbert

Open Access Publications

Recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTI) are a costly clinical problem affecting millions of women worldwide each year. The majority of rUTI cases are caused by uropathogenic

Antibiotic-Driven Intestinal Dysbiosis In Pediatric Short Bowel Syndrome Is Associated With Persistently Altered Microbiome Functions And Gut-Derived Bloodstream Infections, Robert Thänert, Anna Thänert, Jocelyn Ou, Adam Bajinting, Carey-Ann D Burnham, Holly J Engelstad, Maria E Tecos, I Malick Ndao, Carla Hall-Moore, Colleen Rouggly-Nickless, Mike A Carl, Deborah C Rubin, Nicholas O Davidson, Phillip I Tarr, Barbara B Warner, Gautam Dantas, Brad W Warner

Open Access Publications

Surgical removal of the intestine, lifesaving in catastrophic gastrointestinal disorders of infancy, can result in a form of intestinal failure known as short bowel syndrome (SBS). Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are a major challenge in pediatric SBS management. BSIs require frequent antibiotic therapy, with ill-defined consequences for the gut microbiome and childhood health. Here, we combine serial stool collection, shotgun metagenomic sequencing, multivariate statistics and genome-resolved strain-tracking in a cohort of 19 patients with surgically-induced SBS to show that antibiotic-driven intestinal dysbiosis in SBS enriches for persistent intestinal colonization with BSI causative pathogens in SBS. Comparing the gut microbiome composition of …

Association Between Antiviral Prophylaxis And Cytomegalovirus And Epstein-Barr Virus Dnaemia In Pediatric Recipients Of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant, Ndeye Soukeyna Diop, Pascal Roland Enok Bonong, Chantal Buteau, Michel Duval, Jacques Lacroix, Louise Laporte, Marisa Tucci, Nancy Robitaille, Philip C Spinella, Geoffrey Cuvelier, Suzanne M Vercauteren, Victor Lewis, Caroline Alfieri, Helen Trottier

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections can have serious consequences during the period of aplasia and lymphopenia following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Large pediatric cohort studies examining the effect of antiviral prophylaxis against these viruses are scarce. The present study aimed to analyse the potential effect of antiviral prophylaxis (acyclovir and famciclovir) on active post-transplant EBV and CMV infection in a pediatric cohort of allogeneic HSCT recipients.

METHODS: We used data from the TREASuRE cohort, consisting of 156 patients who had a first allogeneic HSCT, enrolled in four pediatric centers in Canada between July 2013 and March …

Vaccines For Protecting Infants From Bacterial Causes Of Diarrheal Disease, Richard Walker, Robert W Kaminski, Chad Porter, Robert K M Choy, Jessica A White, James M Fleckenstein, Fred Cassels, Louis Bourgeois

Open Access Publications

The global diarrheal disease burden for

Microbial Sharing Between Pediatric Patients And Therapy Dogs During Hospital Animal-Assisted Intervention Programs, Kathryn R Dalton, Kathy Ruble, Laurel E Redding, Daniel O Morris, Noel T Mueller, Roland J Thorpe, Jacqueline Agnew, Karen C Carroll, Paul J Planet, Ronald C Rubenstein, Allen R Chen, Elizabeth A Grice, Meghan F Davis

Open Access Publications

Microbial sharing between humans and animals has been demonstrated in a variety of settings. However, the extent of microbial sharing that occurs within the healthcare setting during animal-assisted intervention programs is unknown. Understanding microbial transmission between patients and therapy dogs can provide important insights into potential health benefits for patients, in addition to addressing concerns regarding potential pathogen transmission that limits program utilization. This study evaluated for potential microbial sharing between pediatric patients and therapy dogs and tested whether patient-dog contact level and a dog decolonization protocol modified this sharing. Patients, therapy dogs, and the hospital environment were sampled before …