Digital Commons Network^™

Pediatric Serum-Like Sickness: A Multicenter Analysis, Maya Gibson, Sarah Suppes, Jared Lovins, Emma Monique, Keith Feldman, Jennifer Goldman

Research Days

Background: Serum sickness-like reaction (SSLR) is a type III immune hypersensitivity reaction that presents 5-21 days following exposure to a medication. SSLR has nonspecific symptoms including fever, rash, and joint involvement. There are no standardized diagnostic criteria or treatment for SSLR, making this a challenging diagnosis.

Objectives/Goal: Our objective was to describe pediatric SSLR clinical manifestations, medical encounter types, and treatment strategies.

Methods/Design: A retrospective chart review across 2 freestanding children’s hospitals was used to identify patients 0-21 years of age diagnosed with SSLR by ICD-9/10 codes [T80.69XA, 999.59], SNOMED codes [1782626019, 3293325014], or pharmacovigilance review in the emergency department …

Salmon Says: An Examination Of Salmon Farms And Sustainability, Ashley Morales

Student Theses 2015-Present

Through increased commercialization and consumption, our style of living has become destructive to the planet. Every part of our lives will have to adapt to these new issues that will arise in our future, a future shaped by climate change, including our food systems. This paper explores salmon farms and discusses them from a historical, economic, and ethical point of view. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the salmon industry, some introductory information, and statistics regarding salmon farming. Chapter 2 dives into the historical significance of salmon and the development of farms. Chapter 3 discusses the economics of the salmon …

Architecture And Harm Reduction : An Unconventional Approach To Detox, Anna Studdard

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Harm reduction is a principle that stems from countries like Denmark and Switzerland, that implements strategies to encourage safer drug usage, abstinence, and education for users. The National Harm Reduction Coalition implements nationwide programs for substance abusers, such as Syringe Service Programs, rehabilitation programs, detox programs, housing programs, drug testing facilities, services assisting sex workers, and administering Narcan for overdoses, to try to minimize some of the tragedies accompanying substance abuse. The counterpoint opinion of some countries or states is that providing services like needle exchanges and testing centers are encouraging drug usage and doing more harm than good. However, …

Polymorphisms Within Autophagy-Related Genes As Susceptibility Biomarkers For Multiple Myeloma: A Meta-Analysis Of Three Large Cohorts And Functional Characterization, Esther Clavero, José Manuel Sanchez-Maldonado, Angelica Macauda, Rob Ter Horst, Belém Sampaio-Marques, Artur Jurczyszyn, Alyssa Clay-Gilmour, Angelika Stein, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Niels Weinhold, Gabriele Buda, Ramón García-Sanz, Waldemar Tomczak, Ulla Vogel, Andrés Jerez, Daria Zawirska, Marzena Wątek, Jonathan N Hofmann, Stefano Landi, John J Spinelli, Aleksandra Butrym, Abhishek Kumar, Joaquín Martínez-López, Sara Galimberti, María Eugenia Sarasquete, Edyta Subocz, Elzbieta Iskierka-Jażdżewska, Graham G Giles, Malwina Rybicka-Ramos, Marcin Kruszewski, Niels Abildgaard, Francisco García Verdejo, Pedro Sánchez Rovira, Miguel Inacio Da Silva Filho, Katalin Kadar, Małgorzata Razny, Wendy Cozen, Matteo Pelosini, Manuel Jurado, Parveen Bhatti, Marek Dudzinski, Agnieszka Druzd-Sitek, Enrico Orciuolo, Yang Li, Aaron D Norman, Jan Maciej Zaucha, Rui Manuel Reis, Miroslaw Markiewicz, Juan José Rodríguez Sevilla, Vibeke Andersen, Krzysztof Jamroziak, Kari Hemminki, Sonja I Berndt, Vicent Rajkumar, Grzegorz Mazur, Shaji K Kumar, Paula Ludovico, Arnon Nagler, Stephen J Chanock, Charles Dumontet, Mitchell J Machiela, Judit Varkonyi, Nicola J Camp, Elad Ziv, Annette Juul Vangsted, Elizabeth E Brown, Daniele Campa, Celine M Vachon, Mihai G Netea, Federico Canzian, Asta Försti, Juan Sainz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Multiple myeloma (MM) arises following malignant proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow, that secrete high amounts of specific monoclonal immunoglobulins or light chains, resulting in the massive production of unfolded or misfolded proteins. Autophagy can have a dual role in tumorigenesis, by eliminating these abnormal proteins to avoid cancer development, but also ensuring MM cell survival and promoting resistance to treatments. To date no studies have determined the impact of genetic variation in autophagy-related genes on MM risk. We performed meta-analysis of germline genetic data on 234 autophagy-related genes from three independent study populations including 13,387 subjects of …

Advancing Equity In The Pandemic Treaty, Lawrence O. Gostin, Kevin A. Klock, Katherine Ginsbach, Sam F. Halabi, Taylor Hall-Debnam, Janelle Lewis, Vanessa S. Perlman, Katie Robinson

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

There is a broad consensus around equity’s importance. Even countries that hoarded supplies during the acute phase of COVID-19 seem to understand that the international community must find a means to ensure fairer allocation of medical resources when the next health crisis hits. But there has been little agreement about the concrete steps needed to operationalize fairer access and benefit sharing. That is, what are the workable mechanisms that could reduce the divide between richer and poorer populations? The World Health Assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization, has appointed an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to develop a pandemic …

2023 North Haverhill Fair 4-H Animal Information Packet, Extension

UNH Cooperative Extension

No abstract provided.

Knowledge And Misconceptions Among Lebanese Community On Immunizations, Hala Ahmadieh, Tala Safa, Ihab Nahle, Yahya Obeid, Dalal Hariri, Etaf Rawass, Tala Kanaan, Ahmad Sabalbal

BAU Journal - Health and Wellbeing

Two centuries ago, immunization practices have become the greatest land mark in medical history as they significantly contributed to a decline in several major infectious diseases worldwide thus decreasing both the mortality and morbidity. Moreover, they have been able to eradicate small pox and eliminate poliomyelitis in most regions of the world. However, in recent years the general opinion towards vaccination began shifting due to the emergence of certain opposing views to it, questioning the vaccine's safety and efficacy. This study aims to shed light on the vaccination status in Lebanon by assessing the knowledge, attitude, awareness, and misconceptions among …

Disaster Risk In The Carceral State, Saptarishi Bandopadhyay, Joshua R. Coene

Articles & Book Chapters

The overlap between prisoner vulnerability and disasters in the United States is undeniable. During 2020 and 2021, the United States endured a series of natural hazards such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes, many of which exposed the country’s 2.1 million inmates to additional risks and compounded the danger posed by COVID-19. Yet policymakers and scholars are only beginning to appreciate the centrality and magnitude of disaster risk management for the millions of people currently held in penal institutions around the country. Unsurprisingly, the production of “lessons learned” documents that follow in the aftermath of disasters overlook how prisoner vulnerability is …

Research Priorities For Therapeutic Plasma Exchange In Critically Ill Patients, Sascha David, Lene Russell, Pedro Castro, Andry Van De Louw, Lara Zafrani, Tasneem Pirani, Nathan D. Nielsen, Eric Mariotte, Bruno L. Ferreyro, Jan T. Kielstein, Luca Montini, Anne C. Brignier, Matthias Kochanek, Joan Cid, Chiara Robba, Ignacio Martin-Loeches, Marlies Ostermann, Nicole P. Juffermans

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a therapeutic intervention that separates plasma from blood cells to remove pathological factors or to replenish deficient factors. The use of TPE is increasing over the last decades. However, despite a good theoretical rationale and biological plausibility for TPE as a therapy for numerous diseases or syndromes associated with critical illness, TPE in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting has not been studied extensively. A group of eighteen experts around the globe from different clinical backgrounds used a modified Delphi method to phrase key research questions related to "TPE in the critically ill patient". These …

Disaster Risk In The Carceral State, Saptarishi Bandopadhyay, Joshua R. Coene

Journal Articles

The overlap between prisoner vulnerability and disasters in the United States is undeniable. During 2020 and 2021, the United States endured a series of natural hazards such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes, many of which exposed the country’s 2.1 million inmates to additional risks and compounded the danger posed by COVID-19. Yet policymakers and scholars are only beginning to appreciate the centrality and magnitude of disaster risk management for the millions of people currently held in penal institutions around the country. Unsurprisingly, the production of “lessons learned” documents that follow in the aftermath of disasters overlook how prisoner vulnerability is …

Perspectives On Non-Prescription Antibiotic Use Among Hispanic Patients In The Houston Metroplex, Lindsey Laytner, Patricia Chen, Susan Nash, Michael K Paasche-Orlow, Richard Street, Roger Zoorob, Barbara Trautner, Larissa Grigoryan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Non-prescription antibiotic use includes taking an antibiotic without medical guidance (e.g., leftovers, from friends/relatives, or purchased without a prescription). Non-prescription use contributes to antimicrobial resistance, adverse drug reactions, interactions, superinfection, and microbiome imbalance. Qualitative studies exploring perspectives regarding non-prescription use among Hispanic patients are lacking. We used the Kilbourne Framework for Advancing Health Disparities Research to identify factors influencing patients' non-prescription use and organize our findings.

METHODS: Our study includes Hispanic primary care clinic patients with different types of health insurance coverage in the Houston metroplex who endorsed non-prescription use in a previous survey. Semistructured interviews explored the factors …

Advantages Of Whole Genome Sequencing In Mitigating The Helicobacter Pylori Antimicrobial Resistance Problem, Kartika Afrida Fauzia, Ricky Indra Alfaray, Yoshio Yamaoka

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Helicobacter pylori antimicrobial resistance is a critical public health issue. Typically, antimicrobial resistance epidemiology reports include only the antimicrobial susceptibility test results for H. pylori. However, this phenotypic approach is less capable of answering queries related to resistance mechanisms and specific mutations found in particular global regions. Whole genome sequencing can help address these two questions while still offering quality control and is routinely validated against AST standards. A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of resistance should improve H. pylori eradication efforts and prevent gastric cancer.

Impact Of Early Relapse Within 24 Months After First-Line Systemic Therapy (Pod24) On Outcomes In Patients With Marginal Zone Lymphoma: A Us Multisite Study, Narendranath Epperla, Rina Li Welkie, Pallawi Torka, Geoffrey Shouse, Reem Karmali, Lauren Shea, Andrea Anampa-Guzmán, Timothy S Oh, Heather Reaves, Montreh Tavakkoli, Kathryn Lindsey, Irl Brian Greenwell, Emily Hansinger, Colin Thomas, Sayan Mullick Chowdhury, Kaitlin Annunzio, Beth Christian, Stefan K Barta, Praveen Ramakrishnan Geethakumari, Nancy L Bartlett, Alex F Herrera, Natalie S Grover, Adam J Olszewski

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Progression of disease within 24 months (POD24) from diagnosis in marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) was shown to portend poor outcomes in prior studies. However, many patients with MZL do not require immediate therapy, and the time from diagnosis-to-treatment interval can be highly variable with no universal criteria to initiate systemic therapy. Hence, we sought to evaluate the prognostic relevance of early relapse or progression within 24 months from systemic therapy initiation in a large US cohort. The primary objective was to evaluate the overall survival (OS) in the two groups. The secondary objective included the evaluation of factors predictive of …

Introducing Motivational Interviewing Skills To Community Health Workers, Stella Antony

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

Abstract

Background: Rural population accounts for 15% of the population in the United States of America. Rural residents have a higher risk of health disparities than urban populations. The significant health inequities in the underprivileged population include a higher incidence of chronic diseases, lack of access to healthy foods, unhealthy eating habits, lack of access to health care, poor socioeconomic status, lack of health insurance, cultural and language barriers, and lack of health literacy. Local Problem: The population in Fresno and Tulare Counties in Central Valley, California is underprivileged, lacks access to proper health care and has higher rates of …

Elucidating The Impact Of Sos-Response Timing In On Escherichia Coli Survival Following Treatment With Fluoroquinolone Topoisomerase Inhibitors, Stephanie Schofield

Honors Scholar Theses

Antibiotic treatment failure is a public health crisis, with a 2019 report stating that roughly 35,000 deaths occur in the United States yearly due to bacterial infections that are unresponsive to antibiotics (1). One complication in the treatment of bacterial infection is antibiotic persistence which further compromises our battle to effectively treat infection. Bacterial persisters can exist in clonal bacterial cultures and can tolerate antibiotic treatment by undergoing reversible phenotypic changes. They can survive drug concentrations that their genetically identical kin cannot. Some persisters remain in a slow growing state and are difficult to target with current antibiotics. A specific …

Lessons From Chloroviruses: The Complex And Diverse Roles Of Viruses In Food Webs, John Delong, James L. Van Etten, David Dunigan

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Viruses can have large effects on the ecological communities in which they occur. Much of this impact comes from the mortality of host cells, which simultaneously alters microbial community composition and causes the release of matter that can be used by other organisms. However, recent studies indicate that viruses may be even more deeply integrated into the functioning of ecological communities than their effect on nutrient cycling suggests. In particular, chloroviruses, which infect chlorella-like green algae that typically occur as endosymbionts, participate in three types of interactions with other species. Chlororviruses (i) can lure ciliates from a distance, using them …

Targeting The Cxcr1/2 Axis In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma, Caitlin Molczyk

Theses & Dissertations

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is notoriously challenging to diagnose and treat. This tumor has an aggressive phenotype and benign clinical features until severe disease dissemination, which makes it too late to eradicate. Although it is only the 10th most common cancer in the United States, it is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The treatment options are complicated further due to tumor heterogeneity, meaning not all tumor cells are in the same state phenotypically or epigenetically. They also express cytokines, chemokines, and receptors differently. Here we explore the usage of CXCR1 and CXCR2 and their ligands in PDAC tumor …

Cystic Duct Morphology And Heister Valves: A Cadaveric Study, Cierra R. Goerish

Theses & Dissertations

Continued occurrence of cholelithiasis, gallstones, commonly results in cholecystectomy, removal of the gallbladder. Having a comprehensive anatomical, histological, and physiological knowledge of the biliary apparatus is imperative in clinical medicine today. Additionally, the functionality of cystic duct (CD) Heister valves (HV) has been speculatory since being reported in 1732. This study summarizes the morphology, orientation, and variability of the gross biliary system and provides data to help justify HV functionality.

Cadaveric dissection was utilized for gross observation and analysis of the biliary system. The angulation of the CD was found primarily as an acute angle; however, obtuse angulation could be …

Investigating Host Cell Transcriptional Heterogeneity And Metabolism In Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Infections, Christopher M. Horn

Theses & Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a leading cause of prosthetic joint infection (PJI). These infections are often intractable due to biofilm formation, which are complex bacterial communities that adhere to biotic and abiotic surfaces. Within a biofilm, there is considerable heterogeneity in bacterial metabolism and gene expression that contributes to the establishment an anti-inflammatory milieu at the site of infection, which favors bacterial persistence even in the context of an immunocompetent host. This is due, in part, to the preferential recruitment of granulocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSCs), which are a population of pathologically activated immature leukocytes that develop …

Investigating Plasmodial Proteostasis Mechanisms To Counter Artemisinin Resistance, Melissa Rosenthal

Theses & Dissertations

Malaria remains a significant global health threat, responsible for 691,000 deaths in 2021. Artemisinin-based combination therapies have contributed significantly to decline of malaria disease burden. Upon activation by heme, artemisinins are believed to kill parasites by non-specifically alkylating proteins and causing widespread damage to the parasite. Artemisinin resistance is now prevalent in regions of Southeast Asia and resistance has recently emerged in Africa, where over 90% of all malaria deaths occur. Mutations in Kelch13 (K13) are believed to mediate artemisinin resistance by either reducing parasite hemoglobin digestion, and consequently artemisinin activation, or by increasing parasite stress response mechanisms. We hypothesize …

Center Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Outcomes Associated With Covid-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Comparative Cohort Study, Haley Williams, Kayla Woodworth

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects: College of Nursing

Background: Traditional cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a multidisciplinary, multifaceted program for cardiac patients. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, health care, including center-based CR (CBCR) programs, were closed to in-person sessions. Even with the return to CBCR participation, patient outcomes may have been affected by this disruption in care. The goal of this study was to determine if CR participation outcomes differed before and after CBCR program closure due to Covid-19.

Methods: A retrospective comparative cohort design was used to examine CR participant outcome data before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Convenience sampling of CR participants at a large, urban …

Disease Prevalence And Selenium Bioaccumulation In Northern Leopard Frogs (Lithobates Pipiens), Emily B. Eisenbraun

Honors Thesis

Most amphibians are becoming imperiled in today’s world via environmental contamination and emerging infectious diseases. This project's main objective was to determine the relationship between the prevalence of Ranavirus and selenium bioaccumulation in amphibians in South Dakota. I selected northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens) to focus on specifically because they are susceptible to Ranavirus and are found ubiquitously throughout eastern South Dakota wetlands. The secondary objective of this project was to determine if disease prevalence was correlated with areas of agricultural runoff in South Dakota’s prairie pothole wetlands. Intensive field sampling was conducted across five wetlands in Eastern South Dakota …

Telehealth Integration In Primary Care, Ashley Simons

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Telehealth has been proven to be a useful and integral tool in primary care settings. Carlinville Family Health Care Clinic, a rural health clinic, has the current ability to conduct Telehealth visits but is not currently doing so. They have several programs available that are equipped with Telehealth capabilities. The physicians cite lack of education on these programs and lack of a standard streamlined practice for which program to use or how to use it.

According to the physicians in this practice, along with their patients, the use of Telehealth has multiple advantages. Because visits in this clinical are usually …

Mechanisms Of Mutated Myosin Vb Mediated Cholestasis In Microvillus Inclusion Disease, Melissa S. Holzapfel

Theses & Dissertations

Microvillus inclusion disease (MVID) is a constitutive intestinal epithelial disease which causes definitive intestinal failure and cholestatic liver disease primarily caused by mutations in the Myosin Vb gene. Genotype-clinical phenotype associations suggest that the progression of liver disease can be predicted through a correlation between myosin Vb residual function and variable retention of bile salt transport machinery in intestinal enterocytes and liver hepatocytes. We proposed that aberrant distribution of bile salt transport proteins disrupts enterohepatic regulation of bile acids and contributes to the progression of cholestatic liver disease. To investigate the genotype-phenotype correlation, samples from MVID patients were evaluated for …

A Critical Assessment Of The Role Of Clpxp-Mediated Proteolysis In The Development And Differentiation Of Chlamydia Trachomatis, Nicholas A. Wood

Theses & Dissertations

Chlamydia trachomatis, an obligate intracellular human pathogen, is the etiological agent of the most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection and the leading cause of preventable infectious blindness worldwide. In adapting to an intracellular niche, Chlamydia has evolved to eliminate superfluous genes from its chromosome. Despite its highly reduced genome, Chlamydia undergoes a complex developmental cycle in which the bacteria differentiate between two functionally and morphologically distinct forms: the infectious, non-replicative elementary body (EB) and the non-infectious, replicative reticulate body (RB). An EB initiates infection by binding to and inducing uptake into a host cell. Within the cell, the EB …

Use Of Pre-Transplant Cmi To Predict Infection And Mortality Post-Cardiac Transplantmortality Post-Cardiac Transplant, Chetaj A. Mahabir

Theses & Dissertations

This paper discusses a study investigating the relationship between the cell-mediated immunity (CMI) level before cardiac transplant and the incidence of infection and mortality after the transplant. CMI is an important measure of a person's immune system. The study included 126 patients who underwent cardiac transplants between September 2011 and January 2020. Out of these, 21 patients had a low CMI level (<225), and 105 had a high CMI level (≥ 225) before transplant. The mean CMI level in the low CMI group was 175.3, while in the high CMI group, it was 479.9. The two groups were similar except for the lower white cell count and cardiac output in the CMI< 225 groups and the higher Caucasian demographic in the CMI≥ 225 groups. The study concludes that patients with lower CMI levels before cardiac transplant have a higher risk of infection (p=0.052) and mortality (p=0.005) one year after the transplant. The risk of dying for patients with CMI <225 is 12.9 times the risk of dying for patients with CMI ≥ 225 after adjusting for the other covariates in the model. However, this study has some limitations including its retrospective nature, small sample size, and single-center design. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings and investigate the optimal immunosuppressive regimens based on baseline CMI levels.

The Interface Between Host And Bacterial Metabolism During Staphylococcus Aureus Prosthetic Joint Infection, Blake P. Bertrand

Theses & Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a versatile pathogen that can occupy a wide range of niches within the human body, including implanted medical devices such as in prosthetic joint infection (PJI). S. aureus adheres to these medical devices and forms a biofilm, which is a community of bacteria contained within an extracellular matrix that leads to gradients in nutrient and oxygen availability. During PJI, the biofilm is recalcitrant to antibiotics and immune-mediated clearance, leading to treatment failure, mortality, and a high healthcare burden. This is partially due to skewing of the host immune system to an anti-inflammatory state, …

Disease And Healing In Ancient Societies: Dental Calculus Residues And Skeletal Pathology Data Indicate Age And Sex-Biased Medicinal Practices Among Native Californians, Mario Zimmermann, Brian F. Byrd, Laurel Engbring, Jelmer W. Eerkens, Monica V. Arellano, Alan M. Leventhal, Dave Grant, Diane Diguiseppe, Elisabeth Mabie, Anna Berim, David Gang, Shannon Tushingham

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The health of humans is intricately linked to the substances - both food and non-dietary items -we ingest. Adverse health outcomes related to smoking of products like tobacco and other psychoactive substances are clearly established in modern populations but are less well understood for ancient communities. Grasping these dynamics is further complicated by the curative, religious, and medicinal context of many of these substances, which have often been commodified, refined, and altered in recent history. As part of a larger collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe dedicated to understanding medicinal plant use among native Californians, we present a summary of …

Medication For Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy - Maternal And Infant Network To Understand Outcomes Associated With Use Of Medication For Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy (Mat-Link), 2014-2021, Kathryn Miele, Shin Y. Kim, Rachelle Jones, Juneka H. Rembert, Elisha M. Wachman, Hira Shrestha, Michelle L. Henninger, Teresa M. Kimes, Patrick D. Schneider, Vaseekaran Sivaloganathan, Katherine A. Sward, Vikrant G. Deshmukh, Pilar M. Sanjuan, Jessie R. Maxwell, Neil S. Seligman, Sarah Caveglia, Judette M. Louis, Tanner Wright, Carolyne Cody Bennett, Caitlin Green, Nisha George, Lucas Gosdin, Emmy L. Tran, Dana Meaney-Delman, Suzanne M. Gilboa

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

PROBLEM: Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is recommended for persons with opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy. However, knowledge gaps exist about best practices for management of OUD during pregnancy and these data are needed to guide clinical care.

PERIOD COVERED: 2014-2021.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM: Established in 2019, the Maternal and Infant Network to Understand Outcomes Associated with Medication for Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy (MAT-LINK) is a surveillance network of seven clinical sites in the United States. Boston Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, The Ohio State University, and the University of Utah were the initial clinical sites …

Icu Nurses’ Adherence To The Cdc’S Central Line Bundle: A Qualitative Study, Cherie Burke, Cherie Burke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are one of the most common healthcare associated infections and result in prolonged hospital stays, significant morbidity, and increased costs to the healthcare system. Adherence to the CDC central line maintenance bundle has been shown to be effective in decreasing CLABSI yet these infections continue to be a problem. ICU nurses play a vital role in managing central lines and adhering to the maintenance guidelines, however different situations may arise during the care that may impact CLABSIs.

Objectives: 1) To determine nurses’ adherence to the CDC’s maintenance central line

bundle; 2) To determine …