Digital Commons Network^™

'I Need Time To Start Antiretroviral Therapy': Understanding Reasons For Delayed Art Initiation Among People Diagnosed With Hiv In Lusaka, Zambia, Chanda Mwamba, Laura K Beres, Stephanie M Topp, Njekwa Mukamba, Sandra Simbeza, Kombatende Sikombe, Aaloke Mody, Elvin Geng, Charles B Holmes, Caitlin E Kennedy, Izukanji Sikazwe, Julie A Denison, Carolyn Bolton Moore

Open Access Publications

INTRODUCTION: Rapid antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation can improve patient outcomes such as viral suppression and prevent new infections. However, not everyone who can start ART does so immediately.

METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study to inform interventions supporting rapid initiation in the 'Test and Start' era. We purposively sampled 20 adult patients living with HIV and a previous gap in care from ten health facilities in Lusaka, Zambia for interviews. We inductively analysed transcripts using a thematic, narrative approach. In their narratives, seven participants discussed delaying ART initiation.

RESULTS: Drawing on messages gleaned from facility-based counselling and community information, many …

First-Generation And Continuing-Generation College Graduates' Application, Acceptance, And Matriculation To U.S. Medical Schools: A National Cohort Study, Hyacinth R C Mason, Ashar Ata, Mytien Nguyen, Sunny Nakae, Devasmita Chakraverty, Branden Eggan, Sarah Martinez, Donna B Jeffe

Open Access Publications

Many U.S. medical schools conduct holistic review of applicants to enhance the socioeconomic and experiential diversity of the physician workforce. The authors examined the role of first-generation college-graduate status on U.S. medical school application, acceptance, and matriculation, hypothesizing that first-generation (vs. continuing-generation) college graduates would be less likely to apply and gain acceptance to medical school.Secondary analysis of de-identified data from a retrospective national-cohort study was conducted for individuals who completed the 2001-2006 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Pre-Medical College Admission Test Questionnaire (PMQ) and the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). AAMC provided medical school application, acceptance, and matriculation …

The Microbial One-Hit Wonder, Brigida A. Rusconi, Rodney D. Newberry

Open Access Publications

Intestinal inflammation, in the absence of infection, occurs from contributions by genetics and environment. Chen et al. (2021. J. Exp. Med.https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20210324) challenge this concept by demonstrating that a dominant transmissible dysbiotic microbial community predisposes to intestinal inflammation in absence of genetic alterations.

Cancer Cells Dying From Ferroptosis Impede Dendritic Cell-Mediated Anti-Tumor Immunity, Bartosz Wiernicki, Sophia Maschalidi, Jonathan Pinney, Sandy Adjemian, Tom Vanden Berghe, Kodi S Ravichandran, Peter Vandenabeele

Open Access Publications

Immunogenic cell death significantly contributes to the success of anti-cancer therapies, but immunogenicity of different cell death modalities widely varies. Ferroptosis, a form of cell death that is characterized by iron accumulation and lipid peroxidation, has not yet been fully evaluated from this perspective. Here we present an inducible model of ferroptosis, distinguishing three phases in the process-'initial' associated with lipid peroxidation, 'intermediate' correlated with ATP release and 'terminal' recognized by HMGB1 release and loss of plasma membrane integrity-that serves as tool to study immune cell responses to ferroptotic cancer cells. Co-culturing ferroptotic cancer cells with dendritic cells (DC), reveals …

Dissociation Between Individual Differences In Self-Reported Pain Intensity And Underlying Fmri Brain Activation, M E Hoeppli, H Nahman-Averbuch, W A Hinkle, E Leon, J Peugh, M Lopez-Sola, C D King, K R Goldschneider, R C Coghill

Open Access Publications

Pain is an individual experience. Previous studies have highlighted changes in brain activation and morphology associated with within- and interindividual pain perception. In this study we sought to characterize brain mechanisms associated with between-individual differences in pain in a sample of healthy adolescent and adult participants (N = 101). Here we show that pain ratings varied widely across individuals and that individuals reported changes in pain evoked by small differences in stimulus intensity in a manner congruent with their pain sensitivity, further supporting the utility of subjective reporting as a measure of the true individual experience. Furthermore, brain activation related …

68ga-Labeled Benzothiazole Derivatives For Imaging Aβ Plaques In Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, Truc T Huynh, Yujue Wang, Karna Terpstra, Hong-Jun Cho, Liviu M Mirica, Buck E Rogers

Open Access Publications

Timely diagnostic imaging plays a crucial role in managing cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)-the condition in which amyloid β is deposited on blood vessels. To selectively map these amyloid plaques, we have designed amyloid-targeting ligands that can effectively complex with

Phase I Study Of Safety, Tolerability, And Efficacy Of Tebentafusp Using A Step-Up Dosing Regimen And Expansion In Patients With Metastatic Uveal Melanoma, Richard D Carvajal, Paul Nathan, Joseph J Sacco, Marlana Orloff, Leonel F Hernandez-Aya, Jessica Yang, Jason J Luke, Marcus O Butler, Sarah Stanhope, Laura Collins, Cheryl Mcalpine, Chris Holland, Shaad E Abdullah, Takami Sato

Open Access Publications

PURPOSE: This phase I study aimed to define the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of tebentafusp, a first-in-class T-cell receptor/anti-CD3 bispecific protein, using a three-week step-up dosing regimen, and to assess its safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and preliminary clinical activity in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM).

METHODS: In this open-label, international, phase I/II study, HLA-A*02 or HLA-A*02:01+ patients with mUM received tebentafusp 20 μg once in week 1 and 30 μg once in week 2. Dose escalation (starting at 54 μg) began at week 3 in a standard 3 + 3 design to define RP2D. Expansion-phase patients were treated at …

Blimp-1 Molds The Epigenetic Architecture Of Il-21-Mediated Autoimmune Diseases Through An Autoregulatory Circuit, Yu-Wen Liu, Shin-Huei Fu, Ming-Wei Chien, Chao-Yuan Hsu, Ming-Hong Lin, Jia-Ling Dong, Rita Jui-Hsien Lu, Yi-Jing Lee, Pao-Yang Chen, Chih-Hung Wang, Huey-Kang Sytwu

Open Access Publications

Positive regulatory domain 1 (PRDM1) encodes B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1 (BLIMP1), also known as a master regulator of T cell homeostasis. We observed a negative relationship between Blimp-1 and IL-21 based on our previous data that Blimp-1 overexpression in T cells suppresses autoimmune diabetes while Blimp-1-deficient T cells contribute to colitis in NOD mice. Reanalysis of published data sets also revealed an inverse correlation between PRDM1 and IL21 in Crohn's disease. Here, we illustrate that Blimp-1 repressed IL-21 by reducing chromatin accessibility and evicting an IL-21 activator, c-Maf, from the Il21 promoter. Moreover, Blimp-1 overexpression-mediated reduction in permissive chromatin …

Political Environment And Mortality Rates In The United States, 2001-19: Population Based Cross Sectional Analysis, Haider J Warraich, Pankaj Kumar, Khurram Nasir, Karen E Joynt Maddox, Rishi K Wadhera

Open Access Publications

OBJECTIVE: To assess recent trends in age adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) in the United States based on county level presidential voting patterns.

DESIGN: Cross sectional study.

SETTING: USA, 2001-19.

PARTICIPANTS: 99.8% of the US population.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: AAMR per 100 000 population and average annual percentage change (APC).

METHODS: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER database was linked to county level data on US presidential elections. County political environment was classified as either Democratic or Republican for the four years that followed a November presidential election. Additional sensitivity analyses analyzed AAMR trends for counties that voted only …

A Guide For Managing Patients With Stage I Nsclc: Deciding Between Lobectomy, Segmentectomy, Wedge, Sbrt And Ablation-Part 1: A Guide To Decision-Making, Frank C. Detterbeck, Justin D. Blasberg, Gavitt A. Woodard, Roy H. Decker, Ulas Kumbasar, Henry S. Park, Vincent J. Mase Jr, Brett C. Bade, Andrew X. Li, Whitney S. Brandt, David C. Madoff

Open Access Publications

Background: Clinical decision-making for patients with stage I lung cancer is complex. It involves multiple options (lobectomy, segmentectomy, wedge, Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, thermal ablation), weighing multiple outcomes (e.g., short-, intermediate-, long-term) and multiple aspects of each (e.g., magnitude of a difference, the degree of confidence in the evidence, and the applicability to the patient and setting at hand). A structure is needed to summarize the relevant evidence for an individual patient and to identify which outcomes have the greatest impact on the decision-making.

Methods: Based on a systematic review from 2000-2021, evidence regarding relevant outcomes was assembled, with attention to …

Changes In Dynamic Postural Stability After Acl Reconstruction: Results Over 2 Years Of Follow-Up, Robert H Brophy, Kevin A Schafer, Derrick M Knapik, John Motley, Amanda Haas, Matthew J Matava, Rick W Wright, Matthew V Smith

Open Access Publications

Background: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is crucial for knee proprioception and postural stability. While ACL reconstruction (ACLR) and rehabilitation improve postural stability, the timing in improvement of dynamic postural stability after ACLR remains relatively unknown.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in dynamic postural stability after ACLR out to 24 months postoperatively.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: Patients undergoing ACLR were prospectively enrolled, and dynamic postural stability was assessed within 2 days before surgery, at 3-month intervals postoperatively to 18 months, then at 24 months. Measurements were made on a multidirectional platform tracking the patient's center of …

Tgf-Β Signaling In Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Contributes To Myelofibrosis Without Disrupting The Hematopoietic Niche, Juo-Chin Yao, Karolyn A. Oetjen, Tianjiao Wang, Haoliang Xu, Grazia Abou-Ezzi, Joseph R. Krambs, Salil Uttarwar, Eric J. Duncavage, Daniel C. Link

Open Access Publications

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are associated with significant alterations in the bone marrow microenvironment that include decreased expression of key niche factors and myelofibrosis. Here, we explored the contribution of TGF-β to these alterations by abrogating TGF-β signaling in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells. Loss of TGF-β signaling in Osx-Cre-targeted MSCs prevented the development of myelofibrosis in both MPLW515L and Jak2V617F models of MPNs. In contrast, despite the absence of myelofibrosis, loss of TGF-β signaling in mesenchymal stromal cells did not rescue the defective hematopoietic niche induced by MPLW515L, as evidenced by decreased bone marrow cellularity, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell number, and …

An Antibody Targeting The N-Terminal Domain Of Sars-Cov-2 Disrupts The Spike Trimer, Naveenchandra Suryadevara, Laura A. Vanblargan, Rita E. Chen, James Brett Case, Michael S. Diamond, Et Al

Open Access Publications

The protective human antibody response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) focuses on the spike (S) protein, which decorates the virion surface and mediates cell binding and entry. Most SARS-CoV-2 protective antibodies target the receptor-binding domain or a single dominant epitope ("supersite") on the N-terminal domain (NTD). Using the single B cell technology called linking B cell receptor to antigen specificity through sequencing (LIBRA-Seq), we isolated a large panel of NTD-reactive and SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies from an individual who had recovered from COVID-19. We found that neutralizing antibodies against the NTD supersite were commonly encoded by the IGHV1-24 gene, …

Peripheral Monocyte-Derived Cells Counter Amyloid Plaque Pathogenesis In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Ping Yan, Ki-Wook Kim, Qingli Xiao, Xiucui Ma, Leah R. Czerniewski, Haiyan Liu, David R. Rawnsley, Yan Yan, Gwendalyn J. Randolph, Slava Epelman, Jin-Moo Lee, Abhinav Diwan

Open Access Publications

Microglia, the parenchymal tissue macrophages in the brain, surround amyloid plaques in brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) but are ineffective at clearing amyloid to mitigate disease progression. Recent studies in mice indicate that microglia are derived exclusively from primitive yolk sac hematopoiesis and self-renew without contribution from ontogenically distinct monocytes/macrophages of definitive adult hematopoietic origin. Using a genetic fate-mapping approach to label cells of definitive hematopoietic origin throughout life span, we discovered that circulating monocytes contribute 6% of plaque-associated macrophages in aged AD mice. Moreover, peripheral monocytes contributed to a higher fraction of macrophages in the choroid plexus, …

Mapping The Lay Of The Land: Using Interactive Network Analytic Tools For Collaboration In Rural Cancer Prevention And Control, Bobbi J Carothers, Peg Allen, Callie Walsh-Bailey, Dixie Duncan, Rebeca Vanderburg Pacheco, Karen R White, Debra Jeckstadt, Edward Tsai, Ross C Brownson

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Cancer mortality rates in the United States are higher in rural than urban areas, especially for colorectal cancer. Modifiable cancer risks (e.g., tobacco use, obesity) are more prevalent among U.S. rural than urban residents. Social network analyses are common, yet rural informal collaborative networks for cancer prevention and control and practitioner uses of network findings are less well understood.

METHODS: In five service areas in rural Missouri and Illinois, we conducted a network survey of informal multisector networks among agencies that address cancer risk (N = 152 individuals). The survey asked about contact, collaborative activities, and referrals. We calculated …

Bespoke Io Protocol: A Multicentre, Prospective Observational Study Evaluating The Utility Of Ctdna In Guiding Immunotherapy In Patients With Advanced Solid Tumours, Pashtoon Murtaza Kasi, Sakti Chakrabarti, Sarah Sawyer, Michael Krainock, Andrew Poklepovic, George Ansstas, Minu Maninder, Meenakshi Malhotra, Joe Ensor, Ling Gao, Zeynep Eroglu, Sascha Ellers, Paul Billings, Angel Rodriguez, Alexey Aleshin

Open Access Publications

INTRODUCTION: Immunotherapy (IO) has transformed the treatment paradigm for a wide variety of solid tumours. However, assessment of response can be challenging with conventional radiological imaging (eg, iRECIST), which do not precisely capture the unique response patterns of tumours treated with IO. Emerging data suggest that circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) can aid in response assessment in patients with solid tumours receiving IO. The short half-life of ctDNA puts it in a unique position for early treatment response monitoring. The BESPOKE IO study is designed to investigate the clinical utility of serial ctDNA testing to assess treatment response using a tumour-informed, …

Sars-Cov-2 Accessory Proteins Reveal Distinct Serological Signatures In Children, Asmaa Hachim, Gaya K Amarasinghe, Abraham J Qavi, Et Al

Open Access Publications

The antibody response magnitude and kinetics may impact clinical severity, serological diagnosis and long-term protection of COVID-19, which may play a role in why children experience lower morbidity. We therefore tested samples from 122 children in Hong Kong with symptomatic (n = 78) and asymptomatic (n = 44) SARS-CoV-2 infections up to 200 days post infection, relative to 71 infected adults (symptomatic n = 61, and asymptomatic n = 10), and negative controls (n = 48). We assessed serum IgG antibodies to a 14-wide antigen panel of structural and accessory proteins by Luciferase Immuno-Precipitation System (LIPS) assay and circulating cytokines. …

Access To Services From Persons With Disabilities In Afghanistan: Is Community Based Rehabilitation Making A Difference?, Jean-Francois Trani, Kyle A Pitzer, Juanita Vasquez Escallon, Parul Bakhshi

Open Access Publications

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), ratified in 2006, states that the achievement of equal rights, empowerment, and social inclusion of people with disabilities requires comprehensive rehabilitation services involving educational, social, economic, and medical interventions, all dimensions of the World Health Organization Community based rehabilitation (CBR) matrix. CBR programs aim at achieving those goals. In the present study, we investigated whether a large scale CBR program is improving access to multiple services (namely physical therapy, assistive technology, education, employment, advocacy, and community awareness) and providing satisfactions (by measuring the reduction in unmet needs) of …

Strategies To Achieve Breast Health Equity In The St. Louis Region And Beyond Over 15+ Years, Bettina Drake, Aimee James, Heidi Miller, Akila Anandarajah, Kia L Davis, Sheryll Jackson, Graham A Colditz, Vetta Sanders Thompson

Open Access Publications

Community-based participatory strategies are a promising approach to addressing disparities in community health outcomes. This paper details the efforts of Siteman Cancer Center to achieve breast health equity over the past 15+ years. We begin by describing the activities and successes arising from our breast health community partnerships including identifying priorities, developing recommendations, and implementing patient navigation services to advance breast health. This system-wide coordinated navigation approach that includes primary and specialty care providers helped to increase potential impact on reducing breast health disparities by expediting care, increasing care efficiency, and standardizing referral procedures across systems for all women including …

Ceftriaxone Resistance And Adequacy Of Initial Antibiotic Therapy In Community Onset Bacterial Pneumonia, Richard F Van Besien, Nicholas Hampton, Scott T Micek, Marin H Kollef

Open Access Publications

ABSTRACT: Much remains unknown about the impact of initial antibiotic adequacy on mortality in community onset bacterial pneumonia (COBP). Therefore, we performed a study to determine how the adequacy of initial antibiotic therapy affects in-hospital mortality for patients with COBP.We carried out a retrospective cohort study among the 11 BJC Healthcare community and academic hospitals in Missouri and Illinois. The electronic medical records for BJC Healthcare were queried to obtain a set of patient admissions with culture positive (respiratory or blood) COBP admitted from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2019. Patients with COBP required an International Classification of Diseases …

Individual-Level And Neighborhood-Level Factors Associated With Longitudinal Changes In Cardiometabolic Measures In Participants Of A Clinic-Based Care Coordination Program: A Secondary Data Analysis, Sonal J Patil, Mojgan Golzy, Angela Johnson, Yan Wang, Jerry C Parker, Robert B Saper, Debra Haire-Joshu, David R Mehr, Randi E Foraker, Robin L Kruse

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Identifying individual and neighborhood-level factors associated with worsening cardiometabolic risks despite clinic-based care coordination may help identify candidates for supplementary team-based care.

METHODS: Secondary data analysis of data from a two-year nurse-led care coordination program cohort of Medicare, Medicaid, dual-eligible adults,

RESULTS: 6378 participants had pre-and post-intervention levels reported for at least one outcome measure. In adjusted models, higher pre-intervention cardiometabolic measures were associated with worsening of all cardiometabolic measures. Women had worsening LDL-cholesterol compared with men. Women with pre-intervention HbA1c > 6.8% and systolic blood pressure > 131 mm of Hg had worse post-intervention HbA1c and systolic blood pressure compared …

Stop Waiting For Tomorrow: Disk Diffusion Performed On Early Growth Is An Accurate Method For Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing With Reduced Turnaround Time, Daniel M Webber, Meghan A Wallace, Carey-Ann D Burnham

Open Access Publications

Disk diffusion is a slow but reliable standard method for measuring the antimicrobial susceptibility of microorganisms. Our objective was to improve the turnaround time for this method by reducing the time that cultures are incubated before setting up disk diffusion testing. For initial method development, clinical isolates (

Temporal Trend Of Opioid And Nonopioid Pain Medications: Results From A National In-Home Survey, 2001 To 2018, Yun Wang, Dan Wu, Alexandre Chan, Chih-Hung Chang, Vivian W Y Lee, Michael B Nichol

Open Access Publications

Introduction: The opioid epidemic persists in the United States. The use of opioid medications is often assessed by claims data but potentially underestimated.

Objectives: We evaluated the temporal trend in the use of opioid and nonopioid pain medications from a national survey.

Methods: Using data from the 2001 to 2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we examined the current use of prescription analgesics in the past 30 days among 50,201 respondents aged 20 years or older. Joinpoint regressions were used to test statistically meaningful trends of opioid vs nonopioid analgesics.

Results: The mean percentage of people who had …

Frontal Balloon Sinuplasty In Complicated Acute Pediatric Rhinosinusitis (Ars), Smrithi Chidambaram, Benjamin M Wahle, David S Leonard

Open Access Publications

Utilization of frontal balloon sinuplasty in pediatric complicated acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) is demonstrated to be a safe and expedient alternative to other procedures such as trephination or functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in this case series. We performed a retrospective review of six pediatric cases of frontal balloon sinuplasty for ARS with intracranial complications at a tertiary academic center. Patients underwent unilateral (

Aging With Disability Symptoms And Ability To Participate In, And Satisfaction With, Social Participation Among Persons Aged 45-64, Michelle Putnam, Kerri A. Morgan, Rachel Heeb, Yan Yan, Szu-Wei Chen, Susan L Stark

Open Access Publications

Pain, fatigue, and depression, considered aging with disability (AwD) symptoms, are known to be substantially higher among middle-aged adults with long-term disability compared to their age peers. Participation has been recognized as an important component of health. This cohort survey study reports findings on the relationship between AwD symptoms and ability to participate in, and satisfaction with participation in, social roles and activities using PROMIS measures. Data were collected at three time points from individuals aged 45-64 with an average of two decades of disability duration and primarily living in the state of Missouri, USA. This study reports on Time …

Phase Ii Trial Of Cdx-3379 And Cetuximab In Recurrent/Metastatic, Hpv-Negative, Cetuximab-Resistant Head And Neck Cancer, Julie E Bauman, Ricklie Julian, Nabil F Saba, Trisha M Wise-Draper, Douglas R Adkins, Paul O'Brien, Mary Jo Fidler, Michael K Gibson, Umamaheswar Duvvuri, Margo Heath-Chiozzi, Diego Alvarado, Richard Gedrich, Philip Golden, Roger B Cohen

Open Access Publications

In phase I development, CDX-3379, an anti-ErbB3 monoclonal antibody, showed promising molecular and antitumor activity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), alone or in combination with cetuximab. Preliminary biomarker data raised the hypothesis of enhanced response in tumors harboring

Cutting-Edge Imaging Of Cardiac Metastases From Neuroendocrine Tumors: Lesson From A Case Series, Soraya El Ghannudi, Eric Ouvrard, Nidaa Mikail, Benjamin Leroy Freschini, Thomas H Schindler, Alessio Imperiale

Open Access Publications

With the increasing availability of high-performance medical imaging for the management of patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), a progressive growth of asymptomatic and incidentally detected cardiac metastases (CMs) has been observed in the recent years. In clinical practice, CMs of NENs are often incidentally detected by whole-body

Assessment Of Traffic Accidents In Japan During The Covid-19 Pandemic Vs. Previous Years: A Preliminary Report, Kazuki Shimizu, Peter Ueda, Cyrus Ghaznavi, Haruka Sakamoto, Shuhei Nomura

Open Access Publications

Beginning in April 2020, social distancing measures were implemented to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. We assessed whether traffic accident rates had decreased from April 2020 to December 2021 as compared with previous years. The analysis included 2,934,477 traffic accidents, and the trend of decreasing rates of traffic accidents in recent years and seasonal fluctuations in traffic accidents were considered. The yearly change in the traffic accident rate between 2015 and 2019 was estimated, and the traffic accident rate in 2020 and 2021 was predicted. This was followed by the comparison of observed vs. predicted traffic accident rate. In …

Characterization Of A Novel Microfilarial Antigen For Diagnosis Of Wuchereria Bancrofti Infections, Sarah E. Greene, Kerstin Fischer, Young-Jun Choi, Kurt C. Curtis, Philip J. Budge, Makedonka Mitreva, Christopher L. King, Peter U. Fischer, Gary J. Weil

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a neglected tropical disease caused by the filarial nematodes Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. The Global Program to Eliminate LF uses mass drug administration (MDA) of anti-filarial drugs that clear microfilariae (Mf) from blood to interrupt transmission by mosquitos. New diagnostic tools are needed to assess the impact of MDA on bancroftian filariasis, because available serologic tests can remain positive after successful treatment.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We identified Wb-bhp-1, which encodes a W. bancrofti homologue of BmR1, the B. malayi protein used in the Brugia Rapid antibody test for brugian filariasis. Wb-bhp-1 has a …

Ultrasound-Guided Lumbar Medial Branch Blocks And Intra-Articular Facet Joint Injections: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Zachary M Ashmore, Michael M Bies, James B Meiling, Rajat N Moman, Leslie C Hassett, Christine L Hunt, Steven P Cohen, W Michael Hooten

Open Access Publications

There is great interest in expanding the use of ultrasound (US), but new challenges exist with its application to lumbar facet-targeted procedures. The primary aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the risk of incorrect needle placement associated with US-guided lumbar medial branch blocks (MBB) and facet joint injections (FJI) as confirmed by fluoroscopy or computerized tomography (CT). An a priori protocol was registered, and a database search was conducted. Inclusion criteria included all study types. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials and the National Heart, Lung, …