Digital Commons Network^™

Mega-Analysis Methods In Enigma: The Experience Of The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Working Group, André Zugman, Jennifer Harper, Michael Myers, Michael T Perino, Qiongru Yu, Chad M Sylvester, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The ENIGMA group on Generalized Anxiety Disorder (ENIGMA-Anxiety/GAD) is part of a broader effort to investigate anxiety disorders using imaging and genetic data across multiple sites worldwide. The group is actively conducting a mega-analysis of a large number of brain structural scans. In this process, the group was confronted with many methodological challenges related to study planning and implementation, between-country transfer of subject-level data, quality control of a considerable amount of imaging data, and choices related to statistical methods and efficient use of resources. This report summarizes the background information and rationale for the various methodological decisions, as well as …

Evaluation Of The Khorana Score For Prediction Of Venous Thromboembolism In Patients With Multiple Myeloma, Kristen M Sanfilippo, Kenneth R Carson, Tzu-Fei Wang, Suhong Luo, Natasha Edwin, Nicole Kuderer, Jesse M Keller, Brian F Gage

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Guidelines recommend thromboprophylaxis for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) at high risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, the optimal risk prediction model for VTE in MM remains unclear. Khorana et al developed a VTE risk score (Khorana score) in ambulatory cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. We aimed to evaluate the predictive ability of the Khorana score in patients with MM.

METHODS: We identified patients with MM within the Veterans Affairs health care system between 2006 and 2013. The Khorana score was calculated before treatment initiation. Using logistic regression, the relationship between risk group and VTE was assessed at 3 and …

Animal Source Foods, Rich In Essential Amino Acids, Are Important For Linear Growth And Development Of Young Children In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Panam Parikh, Richard Semba, Mark Manary, Sumathi Swaminathan, Emorn Udomkesmalee, Rolf Bos, Bee Koon Poh, Nipa Rojroongwasinkul, Jan Geurts, Rini Sekartini, Tran Thuy Nga

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Growth faltering under 5 years of age is unacceptably high worldwide, and even more children, while not stunted, fail to reach their growth potential. The time between conception and 2 years of age is critical for development. The period from 6 to 23 months, when complementary foods are introduced, coincides with a time when growth faltering and delayed neurocognitive developments are most common. Fortunately, this is also the period when diet exercises its greatest influence. Growing up in an adverse environment, with a deficient diet, as typically seen in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), hampers growth and development of children …

Developing Real-World Evidence From Real-World Data: Transforming Raw Data Into Analytical Datasets, Lisa Bastarache, Jeffrey S Brown, James J Cimino, David A Dorr, Peter J Embi, Philip R O Payne, Adam B Wilcox, Mark G Weiner

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Development of evidence-based practice requires practice-based evidence, which can be acquired through analysis of real-world data from electronic health records (EHRs). The EHR contains volumes of information about patients-physical measurements, diagnoses, exposures, and markers of health behavior-that can be used to create algorithms for risk stratification or to gain insight into associations between exposures, interventions, and outcomes. But to transform real-world data into reliable real-world evidence, one must not only choose the correct analytical methods but also have an understanding of the quality, detail, provenance, and organization of the underlying source data and address the differences in these characteristics across …

Theta-Gamma Coupling As A Cortical Biomarker Of Brain-Computer Interface-Mediated Motor Recovery In Chronic Stroke, Nabi Rustamov, Joseph Humphries, Alexandre Carter, Eric C Leuthardt

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Chronic stroke patients with upper-limb motor disabilities are now beginning to see treatment options that were not previously available. To date, the two options recently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration include vagus nerve stimulation and brain-computer interface therapy. While the mechanisms for vagus nerve stimulation have been well defined, the mechanisms underlying brain-computer interface-driven motor rehabilitation are largely unknown. Given that cross-frequency coupling has been associated with a wide variety of higher-order functions involved in learning and memory, we hypothesized this rhythm-specific mechanism would correlate with the functional improvements effected by a brain-computer interface. This study …

Differentiating Amyloid Beta Spread In Autosomal Dominant And Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease, Elizabeth Levitis, Jacob W Vogel, Thomas Funck, Vladimir Hachinski, Serge Gauthier, Jonathan Vöglein, Johannes Levin, Brian A Gordon, Tammie Benzinger, Yasser Iturria-Medina, Alan C Evans, Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network, Alzheimer’S Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Amyloid-beta deposition is one of the hallmark pathologies in both sporadic Alzheimer's disease and autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease, the latter of which is caused by mutations in genes involved in amyloid-beta processing. Despite amyloid-beta deposition being a centrepiece to both sporadic Alzheimer's disease and autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease, some differences between these Alzheimer's disease subtypes have been observed with respect to the spatial pattern of amyloid-beta. Previous work has shown that the spatial pattern of amyloid-beta in individuals spanning the sporadic Alzheimer's disease spectrum can be reproduced with high accuracy using an epidemic spreading model which simulates the diffusion of amyloid-beta across …

Aging With Long-Term Physical Disability: Cohort Analysis Of Survey Sample In The U.S., Kerri A Morgan, Michelle Putnam, Sandra M Espin-Tello, Marian Keglovits, Margaret Campbell, Yan Yan, Aimee Wehmeier, Susan Stark

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Chronic health conditions, secondary conditions, and decreasing functional ability related to aging and/or changes in underlying impairment may influence participation for persons aging with long-term physical disability (AwD).

OBJECTIVE: To examine sample integrity and baseline findings through exploration of associations of sociodemographic, health, and disability factors with social participation for persons AwD.

METHODS: This is a longitudinal cohort study following persons AwD over three years, reporting baseline cohort study data. A convenience sample of 474 persons AwD aged 45-65 reporting physical disability of ≥5 years' duration was recruited through community organizations and social media. The cohort was majority female …

Automated Detection Of Vaping-Related Tweets On Twitter During The 2019 Evali Outbreak Using Machine Learning Classification, Yang Ren, Dezhi Wu, Avineet Singh, Erin Kasson, Ming Huang, Patricia Cavazos-Rehg

2020-Current year OA Pubs

There are increasingly strict regulations surrounding the purchase and use of combustible tobacco products (i.e., cigarettes); simultaneously, the use of other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes (i.e., vaping products), has dramatically increased. However, public attitudes toward vaping vary widely, and the health effects of vaping are still largely unknown. As a popular social media, Twitter contains rich information shared by users about their behaviors and experiences, including opinions on vaping. It is very challenging to identify vaping-related tweets to source useful information manually. In the current study, we proposed to develop a detection model to accurately identify vaping-related tweets using machine …

The Influence Of Green Space On Obesity In China: A Systematic Review, Jing Shen, Mengfei Li, Qianhui Wang, Ruidong Liu, Mengmeng Ji, Ruopeng An

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: This study systematically reviewed scientific evidence concerning the influence of green space on obesity in China.

METHODS: Keyword and reference search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO, and CNKI. Predetermined selection criteria included study designs: experimental and observational studies; subjects: people of all ages; exposures: green space (i.e., any open land partly or entirely covered with grass, trees, shrubs, or other vegetation); outcomes: body weight status (e.g., body mass index [BMI], overweight, or obesity); and country: China.

RESULTS: Ten studies met the selection criteria and were included in the review. All studies adopted a cross-sectional design. …

Development And Implementation Of An Electronic Clinical Dementia Rating And Financial Capacity Instrument-Short Form, Taylor Howell, John C Morris, Krista L Moulder, Connie Mayo, Maria Carroll, Yan Li, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Introduction: To address the need for remote assessments of cognitive decline and dementia, we developed and administered electronic versions of the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR®) and the Financial Capacity Instrument-Short Form (FCI-SF) (F-CAP

Methods: The CDR and FCI-SF were adapted for remote, unsupervised, online use based on item response analysis of the standard instruments. Participants completed the eCDR and eFCI first in clinic, and then at home within 2 weeks.

Results: Of the 243 enrolled participants, 179 (73%) cognitively unimpaired (CU), 50 (21%) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, and 14 (6%) with an unknown diagnosis, 84% and 85% …

Stigma Towards Mental Illness And Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Adult And Child Psychiatrists In Hungary: A Cross-Sectional Study, Dorottya Őri, Péter Szocsics, Tamás Molnár, Fanni Virág Ralovich, Zsolt Huszár, Ágnes Bene, Sándor Rózsa, Zsuzsa Győrffy, György Purebl

2020-Current year OA Pubs

OBJECTIVE: Stigma towards people with mental health problems is a growing issue across the world, to which healthcare providers might contribute. The aim of the present study was to explore psychiatrists' attitudes towards their patients and link them to psychosocial and professional factors.

METHODS: An online questionnaire was used to approach the in- and outpatient psychiatric services across Hungary. A total of 211 trainees and specialists in adult and child psychiatry participated in our study. Their overall stigmatizing attitudes were measured, with focus on attitude, disclosure and help-seeking, and social distance dimensions by using the self-report Opening Minds Stigma Scale …

Effect Of Acute Postsurgical Pain Trajectories On 30-Day And 1-Year Pain, Saria S Awadalla, Victoria Winslow, Michael S. Avidan, Simon Haroutounian, Thomas G. Kannampallil

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Untreated pain after surgery leads to poor patient satisfaction, longer hospital length of stay, lower health-related quality of life, and non-compliance with rehabilitation regimens. The aim of this study is to characterize the structure of acute pain trajectories during the postsurgical hospitalization period and quantify their association with pain at 30-days and 1-year after surgery. This cohort study included 2106 adult (≥18 years) surgical patients who consented to participate in the SATISFY-SOS registry (February 1, 2015 to September 30, 2017). Patients were excluded if they did not undergo invasive surgeries, were classified as outpatients, failed to complete follow up assessments …

The Association Of Prescription Opioid Use With Suicide Attempts: An Analysis Of Statewide Medical Claims Data, Chongliang Luo, Kun Chen, Riddhi Doshi, Nathaniel Rickles, Yong Chen, Harold Schwartz, Robert H. Aseltine

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Suicides and opioid overdose deaths are among the most pressing public health concerns in the US. However direct evidence for the association between opioid use and suicidal behavior is limited. The objective of this article is to examine the association between frequency and dose of prescription opioid use and subsequent suicide attempts.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed 4 years of statewide medical claims data from the Connecticut All-Payer Claims Database. Commercially insured adult patients in Connecticut (n = 842,773) who had any medical claims beginning in January 2012 were followed through December 2015. The primary outcome …

Preeclampsia Is Associated With Reduced Isg15 Levels Impairing Extravillous Trophoblast Invasion, Asli Ozmen, Anthony O Odibo, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Among several interleukin (IL)-6 family members, only IL-6 and IL-11 require a gp130 protein homodimer for intracellular signaling due to lack of intracellular signaling domain in the IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) and IL-11R. We previously reported enhanced decidual IL-6 and IL-11 levels at the maternal-fetal interface with significantly higher peri-membranous IL-6 immunostaining in adjacent interstitial trophoblasts in preeclampsia (PE) vs. gestational age (GA)-matched controls. This led us to hypothesize that competitive binding of these cytokines to the gp130 impairs extravillous trophoblast (EVT) differentiation, proliferation and/or invasion. Using global microarray analysis, the current study identified inhibition of interferon-stimulated gene 15 (

Molecular Heterogeneity In Pediatric Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors In Patients With Multi-Organ Involvement, Katherine E Miller, Margaret Shatara, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Rhabdoid tumors (RTs) of the brain (atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor; AT/RT) and extracranial sites (most often the kidney; RTK) are malignant tumors predominantly occurring in children, frequently those with

Beta-Adrenergic Antagonist Tolerance In Amyloid Cardiomyopathy, Stuart Ramsell, Carlos Arias Bermudez, Cyril Ayuk Mbeng Takem Baiyee, Brandon Rodgers, Samir Parikh, Salem Almaani, Nidhi Sharma, Samantha Lorusso, Miriam Freimer, Elyse Redder, Naresh Bumma, Ajay Vallkati, Yvonne Efebera, Rami Kahwash, Courtney M Campbell

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background: Beta-adrenergic antagonists or blockers (BB) are a cornerstone of cardiac therapy for multiple indications. However, BB are considered relatively contraindicated in amyloid cardiomyopathy due to poor tolerance. This intolerance is hypothesized to be due to concomitant neuropathy and significant restrictive cardiomyopathy. This study analyzes the incidence and characteristics of BB tolerance in patients with amyloid cardiomyopathy.

Methods: Through a single-center retrospective chart review, patients with amyloid cardiomyopathy, confirmed by endomyocardial biopsy or technetium-99 pyrophosphate scan, were identified and clinical data was collected. Statistical methods included Chi-square test and two sample

Results: Of 135 cardiac amyloidosis patients, 27 patients (20.0%) …

Combining Empirical Knowledge, In Silico Molecular Docking And Admet Profiling To Identify Therapeutic Phytochemicals From Brucea Antidysentrica For Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Lemessa Etana Bultum, Gemechu Bekele Tolossa, Doheon Lee

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the deadly cancers. Chemotherapy is the first-line treatment and the only curative intervention is stem cell transplantation which are intolerable for aged and comorbid patients. Therefore, finding complementary treatment is still an active research area. For this, empirical knowledge driven search for therapeutic agents have been carried out by long and arduous wet lab processes. Nonetheless, currently there is an accumulated bioinformatics data about natural products that enabled the use of efficient and cost effective in silico methods to find drug candidates. In this work, therefore, we set out to computationally investigate the …

Cilia Action In Islets: Lessons From Mouse Models, Jung Hoon Cho, Jing W Hughes

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Primary cilia as a signaling organelle have garnered recent attention as a regulator of pancreatic islet function. These rod-like sensors exist on all major islet endocrine cell types and transduce a variety of external cues, while dysregulation of cilia function contributes to the development of diabetes. The complex role of islet primary cilia has been examined using genetic deletion targeting various components of cilia. In this review, we summarize experimental models for the study of islet cilia and current understanding of mechanisms of cilia regulation of islet hormone secretion. Consensus from these studies shows that pancreatic cilia perturbation can cause …

A Polygenic Risk Score Based On A Cardioembolic Stroke Multitrait Analysis Improves A Clinical Prediction Model For This Stroke Subtype, Jara Cárcel-Márquez, Laura Ibañez, Laura Heitsch, Rajat Dhar, Carlos Cruchaga, Jin-Moo Lee, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background: Occult atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the major causes of embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS). Knowing the underlying etiology of an ESUS will reduce stroke recurrence and/or unnecessary use of anticoagulants. Understanding cardioembolic strokes (CES), whose main cause is AF, will provide tools to select patients who would benefit from anticoagulants among those with ESUS or AF. We aimed to discover novel loci associated with CES and create a polygenetic risk score (PRS) for a more efficient CES risk stratification.

Methods: Multitrait analysis of GWAS (MTAG) was performed with MEGASTROKE-CES cohort (

Results: We found and replicated …

Uric Acid Predicts Recovery Of Left Ventricular Function And Adverse Events In Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: Potential Mechanistic Insight From Network Analyses, Xiqiang Wang, Xiude Fan, Qihui Wu, Jing Liu, Linyan Wei, Dandan Yang, Xiang Bu, Xiaoxiang Liu, Aiqun Ma, Tomohiro Hayashi, Gongchang Guan, Yu Xiang, Shuang Shi, Junkui Wang, Jiansong Fang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background and Aims: Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) still carries a high risk for a sustained decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) even with the optimal medical therapy. Currently, there is no effective tool to stratify these patients according to their recovery potential. We tested the hypothesis that uric acid (UA) could predict recovery of LVEF and prognosis of HFrEF patients and attempted to explore mechanistic relationship between hyperuricemia and HFrEF.

Methods: HFrEF patients with hyperuricemia were selected from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) 2016-2018 database and our Xianyang prospective cohort study. Demographics, cardiac risk factors, and …

The Role Of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps In Acute Lung Injury, Davide Scozzi, Fuyi Liao, Alexander S Krupnick, Daniel Kreisel, Andrew E Gelman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a heterogeneous inflammatory condition associated with high morbidity and mortality. Neutrophils play a key role in the development of different forms of ALI, and the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) is emerging as a common pathogenic mechanism. NETs are essential in controlling pathogens, and their defective release or increased degradation leads to a higher risk of infection. However, NETs also contain several pro-inflammatory and cytotoxic molecules than can exacerbate thromboinflammation and lung tissue injury. To reduce NET-mediated lung damage and inflammation, DNase is frequently used in preclinical models of ALI due to its capability …

Academic Medical Center Clinical Research Professional Workforce: Part 2 - Issues In Staff Onboarding And Professional Development, Jacqueline M Knapke, Michelle Jenkerson, Peg Tsao, Stephanie Freel, Jessica Fritter, Shirley L Helm, Penelope Jester, H Robert Kolb, Angela Mendell, Megan Petty, Carolynn T Jones

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background: Defining key barriers to the development of a well-trained clinical research professional (CRP) workforce is an essential first step in identifying solutions for successful CRP onboarding, training, and competency development, which will enhance quality across the clinical and translational research enterprise. This study aimed to summarize barriers and best practices at academic medical centers related to effective CRP onboarding, training, professional development, identify challenges with the assessment of and mentoring for CRP competency growth, and describe opportunities to improve training and professionalization for the CRP career pathway.

Materials/Methods: Qualitative data from a series of Un-Meeting breakout sessions and open-text …

Positive Predictive Value Of Erbb2 Copy Number Gain By Tissue Or Circulating Tumor Dna Next-Generation Sequencing Across Advanced Cancers, Ami N Shah, Ashwin Sunderraj, Brian Finkelman, Sharlene H See, Andrew A Davis, Lorenzo Gerratana, Firas Wehbe, Neelima Katam, Deva Mahalingam, William J Gradishar, Amir Behdad, Luis Blanco, Massimo Cristofanilli

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The correlation of ERBB2 copy number gain (CNG) from tissue or circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) by next-generation sequencing (NGS) with standard HER2 tissue evaluation is not well understood.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively identified patients with ERBB2 CNG on commercial NGS. We described their clinical-pathologic features and calculated the positive predictive value (PPV) of ERBB2 CNG by NGS for HER2-positivity by IHC and FISH testing.

RESULTS: 176 patients had NGS revealing an ERBB2 CNG (112 by tumor tissue and 91 by ctDNA). The cancer subtypes with the most cases with ERBB2 CNG by NGS were breast (

CONCLUSIONS: ERBB2 …

Increased Virus Dissemination Leads To Enhanced Lung Injury But Not Inflammation During Influenza-Associated Secondary Bacterial Infection, Amanda P Smith, Lindey C Lane, Ivan Ramirez Zuniga, David M Moquin, Peter Vogel, Amber M Smith

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Secondary bacterial infections increase influenza-related morbidity and mortality, particularly if acquired after 5-7 d from the viral onset. Synergistic host responses and direct pathogen-pathogen interactions are thought to lead to a state of hyperinflammation, but the kinetics of the lung pathology have not yet been detailed, and identifying the contribution of different mechanisms to disease is difficult because these may change over time. To address this gap, we examined host-pathogen and lung pathology dynamics following a secondary bacterial infection initiated at different time points after influenza within a murine model. We then used a mathematical approach to quantify the increased …

Sustainability Of Breastfeeding Interventions To Reduce Child Mortality Rates In Low, Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review Of Randomized Controlled Trials, Alexis Engelhart, Stacey Mason, Ucheoma Nwaozuru, Chisom Obiezu-Umeh, Victoria Carter, Thembekile Shato, Titilola Gbaja-Biamila, David Oladele, Juliet Iwelunmor

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Child mortality is the lowest it has ever been, but the burden of death in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is still prevalent, and the numbers average above the global mean. Breastfeeding contributes to the reduction of child mortality by improving chance of survival beyond childhood. Therefore, it is essential to examine how evidence-based breastfeeding interventions are being maintained in resource-constrained settings. Guided by Scheirer and Dearing's sustainability framework, the aim of this systematic review was to explore how evidence-based breastfeeding interventions implemented to address child mortality in LMICs are sustained. The literature search included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of …

Preclinical Antibody-Pet Imaging Of Pd-L1, Emma L Brown, Rachel A Deweerd, Abbey Zidel, Patricia M R Pereira

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Programmed cell death protein-1/ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) blockade, including antibody therapeutics, has transformed cancer treatment. However, a major challenge in the field relates to selecting patients who are likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Indeed, biopsy-based diagnostic tests to determine immune checkpoint protein levels do not accurately capture the inherent spatial and temporal heterogeneity of PD-L1 tumor expression. As a result, not all PD-L1-positive tumors respond to immunotherapies, and some patients with PD-L1-negative tumors have shown clinical benefits. In 2018, a first-in-human study of the clinically-approved anti-PD-L1 antibody Atezolizumab labeled with the positron emitter zirconium-89 validated the ability of positron emission …

The Human Myocardium Harbors A Population Of Naive B-Cells With A Distinctive Gene Expression Signature Conserved Across Species, Kevin C Bermea, Nicolas Kostelecky, Sylvie T Rousseau, Chieh-Yu Lin, Luigi Adamo

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac immunology studies in murine models have identified a sizeable population of myocardial B-cells and have shown that its modulation represents a promising strategy to develop novel therapies for heart failure. However, scarce data on B-cells in the human heart leaves unclear whether findings in rodents are relevant to human biology.

METHODS: We performed immunohistochemical stains to characterize the amount and distribution of B-cells in human hearts, analyzing both fresh and post-mortem tissue. To gain insight into the biology of human myocardial B-cells we analyzed publicly-available spatial transcriptomics and single-cell sequencing datasets of myocardial and peripheral blood mononuclear cells …

Internalization Of Appearance Ideals And Not Religiosity Indirectly Impacts The Relationship Between Acculturation And Disordered Eating Risk In South And Southeast Asian Women Living In The United States, Sonakshi Negi, Erik M Benau, Megan Strowger, Anne Claire Grammer, C Alix Timko

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Objective: Studies that examine disordered eating in samples of Asian individuals living in the United States frequently combine all individuals of Asian descent into a single group, which can obscure important differences between groups and their experiences of acculturation. The goal of the present study was to establish the relation of acculturation, internalization of appearance ideals, and religiosity as predicting body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in women of South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) descent.

Method: Women of SSEA descent (

Results: Direct paths from acculturation to both body dissatisfaction and disordered eating were not significant. Thin ideal internalization completely accounted …

Analysis Of Variation In Pre-Procedural Fasting Duration For Common Inpatient Gastrointestinal Procedures, Vorada Sakulsaengprapha, Michael Daniel, Jiarui Cai, Diego A. Martinez, Simon C. Mathews

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Gastrointestinal procedures generally require pre-procedural fasting to optimize sedation safety. While the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) recommends no intake of clear liquids and solid food 2-4 and 6-8 hours respectively prior to endoscopic procedures, the actual nil per os (NPO) duration for these procedures in practice is unknown. Our objective was to analyze NPO duration for patients undergoing these procedures and to determine its association with clinical and administrative variables.

METHODS: Inpatient data from 2016-2018 for the three procedures was extracted from electronic medical records and administrative data at a single-center tertiary academic medical center. Various statistical tests …

Exploring The Feasibility Of Utilizing Limited Gene Panel Circulating Tumor Dna Clearance As A Biomarker In Patients With Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Brendan Knapp, Laura Mezquita, Siddhartha Devarakonda, Mihaela Aldea, Saiama N Waqar, Kym Pepin, Jeffrey P Ward, Angela Botticella, Karen Howarth, Charlene Knape, Clive Morris, Ramaswamy Govindan, Benjamin Besse, Daniel Morgensztern

2020-Current year OA Pubs

INTRODUCTION: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing may identify patients at high risk for recurrence following chemoradiation (CRT) for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). We evaluated the feasibility of ctDNA testing on a readily available commercial fixed-gene panel to predict outcomes in patients with LA-NSCLC.

METHODS: Plasma of 43 patients was collected at CRT initiation (pre-CRT), completion (post-CRT1), quarterly follow up for 12 months (post-CRT2, 3, 4, 5 respectively) after CRT, and at disease progression. ctDNA analysis was performed using InVisionFirst

RESULTS: Twenty eight of 43 patients (65%) had detectable variants pre-CRT. Nineteen of 43 patients (44%) had detectable …