Digital Commons Network^™

Co-Prescription Network Reveals Social Dynamics Of Opioid Doctor Shopping, Brea L. Perry, Kai Cheng Yang, Patrick Kaminski, Meltem Odabas, Jaehyuk Park, Michelle M. Martel, Carrie B. Oser, Patricia R. Freeman, Yong-Yeol Ahn, Jeffery C. Talbert

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper examines network prominence in a co-prescription network as an indicator of opioid doctor shopping (i.e., fraudulent solicitation of opioids from multiple prescribers). Using longitudinal data from a large commercially insured population, we construct a network where a tie between patients is weighted by the number of shared opioid prescribers. Given prior research suggesting that doctor shopping may be a social process, we hypothesize that active doctor shoppers will occupy central structural positions in this network. We show that network prominence, operationalized using PageRank, is associated with more opioid prescriptions, higher predicted risk for dangerous morphine dosage, opioid overdose, …

Case 22-2019: A 65-Year-Old Woman With Myopathy., Marinos C. Dalakas

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Thoracic Ct Texture Analysis And Machine Learning To Predict Pulmonary Ventilation, Andrew Westcott, Dante P I Capaldi, David G Mccormack, Aaron D Ward, Aaron Fenster, Grace Parraga

Medical Biophysics Publications

Background Fixed airflow limitation and ventilation heterogeneity are common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Conventional noncontrast CT provides airway and parenchymal measurements but cannot be used to directly determine lung function. Purpose To develop, train, and test a CT texture analysis and machine-learning algorithm to predict lung ventilation heterogeneity in participants with COPD. Materials and Methods In this prospective study (

Safety Climate, Safety Climate Strength, And Length Of Stay In The Nicu, Daniel S Tawfik, Eric J Thomas, Timothy J Vogus, Jessica B Liu, Paul J Sharek, Courtney C Nisbet, Henry C Lee, J Bryan Sexton, Jochen Profit

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Safety climate is an important marker of patient safety attitudes within health care units, but the significance of intra-unit variation of safety climate perceptions (safety climate strength) is poorly understood. This study sought to examine the standard safety climate measure (percent positive response (PPR)) and safety climate strength in relation to length of stay (LOS) of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants within California neonatal intensive care units (NICUs).

METHODS: Observational study of safety climate from 2073 health care providers in 44 NICUs. Consistent perceptions among a NICU's respondents, i.e., safety climate strength, was determined via intra-unit standard deviation …

Preliminary Development Of A Questionnaire Measuring Patient Views Of Participation In Clinical Trials, Judith Arnetz, Sukhesh Sudan, Courtney Goetz, Bengt Arnetz, Laura Gowland, Suzanne Manji, Samiran Ghosh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop a questionnaire for measuring patient perceptions of participating in clinical trials. Development was based on earlier research on patient views of involvement in medical care and a literature review. Patients were recruited from an ongoing clinical trial focused on cardiovascular illness and from an outpatient psychiatry department. Factor analysis was conducted on a pilot version of the questionnaire in 2016 and on a revised version in 2017.

RESULTS: A total of 53 patients were recruited for the pilot study and 55 were recruited for the main study, substantially below the goal of 100 participants. …

Tinnitus And Self-Perceived Hearing Handicap In Firefighters: A Cross-Sectional Study, Samson Jamesdaniel, Kareem G Elhage, Rita Rosati, Samiran Ghosh, Bengt Arnetz, James Blessman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Firefighters are susceptible to auditory dysfunction due to long-term exposure to noise from sirens, air horns, equipment, and tools used in forcible entry, ventilation, and extrication. In addition, they are exposed to ototoxic chemicals, particularly, during overhaul operations. Studies indicate that 40% of firefighters have hearing loss in the noise-sensitive frequencies of 4 and 6 kHz. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is often accompanied by tinnitus, which is characterized by ringing noise in the ears. The presence of phantom sounds can adversely affect the performance of firefighters. However, there has been limited research conducted on the prevalence of tinnitus in firefighters. …

Adjuvant Chemotherapy And Survival Among Patients 70 Years Of Age And Younger With Node-Negative Breast Cancer And The 21-Gene Recurrence Score Of 26-30, Seho Park, Yunan Han, Ying Liu, Adetunji T Toriola, Lindsay L Peterson, Graham A Colditz, Seung Il Kim, Young Up Cho, Byeong-Woo Park, Yikyung Park

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: The benefits of chemotherapy in node-negative, hormone receptor-positive, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer patients with the 21-gene recurrence score (RS) of 18-30, particularly those with RS 26-30, are not known.

METHODS: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, we retrospectively identified 29,137 breast cancer patients with the 21-gene RS of 18-30 diagnosed between 2004 and 2015. Mortality risks according to the RS and chemotherapy use were compared by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's proportional hazards model.

RESULTS: Among the breast cancer patients with the RS 18-30, 21% of them had RS 26-30. …

Development Of A Non-Invasive Device For Swallow Screening In Patients At Risk Of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia: Results From A Prospective Exploratory Study, Catriona M. Steele, Rajat Mukherjee, Juha M. Kortelainen, Harri Pölönen, Michael Jedwab, Susan L. Brady, Kayla Brinkman Theimer, Susan Langmore, Luis F. Riquelme, Nancy B. Swigert, Philip M. Bath, Larry B. Goldstein, Richard L. Hughes, Dana Leifer, Kennedy R. Lees, Atte Meretoja, Natalia Muehlemann

Neurology Faculty Publications

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is prevalent in several at-risk populations, including post-stroke patients, patients in intensive care and the elderly. Dysphagia contributes to longer hospital stays and poor outcomes, including pneumonia. Early identification of dysphagia is recommended as part of the evaluation of at-risk patients, but available bedside screening tools perform inconsistently. In this study, we developed algorithms to detect swallowing impairment using a novel accelerometer-based dysphagia detection system (DDS). A sample of 344 individuals was enrolled across seven sites in the United States. Dual-axis accelerometry signals were collected prospectively with simultaneous videofluoroscopy (VFSS) during swallows of liquid barium stimuli in thin, …

Irak4 Mediates Colitis-Induced Tumorigenesis And Chemoresistance In Colorectal Cancer, Qiong Li, Yali Chen, Daoxiang Zhang, Julie Grossman, Lin Li, Namrata Khurana, Hongmei Jiang, Patrick M Grierson, John Herndon, David G Denardo, Grant A Challen, Jingxia Liu, Marianna B Ruzinova, Ryan C Fields, Kian-Huat Lim

Open Access Publications

Aberrant activation of the NF-κB transcription factors underlies chemoresistance in various cancer types, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Targeting the activating mechanisms, particularly with inhibitors to the upstream IκB kinase (IKK) complex, is a promising strategy to augment the effect of chemotherapy. However, clinical success has been limited, largely because of low specificity and toxicities of tested compounds. In solid cancers, the IKKs are driven predominantly by the Toll-like receptor (TLR)/IL-1 receptor family members, which signal through the IL-1 receptor-associated kinases (IRAKs), with isoform 4 (IRAK4) being the most critical. The pathogenic role and therapeutic value of IRAK4 in CRC have …

Are Frontal And Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Dissociable In Their Memory Functioning?, Michelle Y Kibby, Morris J Cohen, Lisa Stanford, Yong D Park

Publications

There is controversy in the literature as to how dissociable frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) are in terms of memory deficits. Some researchers have demonstrated that FLE is associated with greater executive dysfunction including working memory, whereas TLE is associated with greater memory impairment. Others have found the two groups to be comparable in memory functioning. Hence, we examined this question in children with FLE and TLE versus typically developing controls. We found most of the expected effects when the groups with focal onset epilepsy were compared to controls. Specifically, children with left TLE performed worse …

Differences In Duration Of Untreated Psychosis For Racial And Ethnic Minority Groups With First-Episode Psychosis: An Updated Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis., Nicole Schoer, Chen Wei Huang, Kelly K. Anderson

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

PURPOSE: Ethnic minority groups with early psychosis may have longer treatment delays, potentially leading to poorer outcomes. We updated a previous systematic review of the literature on racial and ethnic differences in duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) among people with first-episode psychosis.

RESULTS: Six of 17 studies described significant differences across aggregated racial groups; however, the pooled estimates did not show differences across groups. Additional data from this update allowed for disaggregated analyses, finding that Black-African groups have a shorter DUP, whereas Black-Caribbean groups have longer DUP, relative to White groups.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of in-depth research …

Quantifying Balance Control After Spinal Cord Injury: Reliability And Validity Of The Mini-Bestest, Katherine Chan, Janelle Unger, Jae Woung Lee, Gillian Johnston, Marissa Constand, Kei Masani, Kristin E Musselman

Physical Therapy Publications

Context/Objective: Incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) causes deficits in balance control. The Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (mini-BESTest) is a comprehensive measure; however, further testing of its psychometric properties among the iSCI population is needed. We evaluated the mini-BESTest’s test-retest reliability, and concurrent and convergent validity among individuals living with iSCI for more than one year.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Rehabilitation hospital.

Participants: Twenty-one individuals with chronic motor iSCI (14 females, mean age 56.8 ± 14.0 years).

Interventions: None.

Outcome Measures: Participants completed the mini-BESTest at two sessions spaced two weeks apart. At the second session, participants …

Which Components Of Processing Speed Are Affected In Adhd Subtypes?, Michelle Y Kibby, Sarah A Vadnais, Audreyana C Jagger-Rickels

Publications

The term "processing speed" (PS) encompasses many components including perceptual, cognitive and output speed. Despite evidence for reduced PS in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), little is known about which component(s) is most impacted in ADHD, or how it may vary by subtypes. Participants included 151 children, ages 8-12 years, with ADHD Predominantly Inattentive Type, ADHD Combined Type and typically developing controls using DSM-IV criteria. All children completed four measures of processing speed: Symbol Search, Coding, Decision Speed, and simple reaction time. We found children with ADHD-PI and ADHD-C had slower perceptual and psychomotor/incidental learning speed than controls and that ADHD-PI had …

Long-Term Safety And Efficacy Of Subcutaneous Pasireotide In Patients With Cushing's Disease: Interim Results From A Long-Term Real-World Evidence Study., Luca Manetti, Timo Deutschbein, Jochen Schopohl, Kevin C J Yuen, Michael Roughton, Ulrike Kriemler-Krahn, Libuse Tauchmanova, Ricardo Maamari, Carla Giordano

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

PURPOSE: Clinical trials have demonstrated the favorable efficacy/safety profile of pasireotide in patients with Cushing's disease (CD). We report interim long-term results of an ongoing real-world evidence study of subcutaneous pasireotide in patients with CD.

METHODS: Adults with CD receiving pasireotide, initiated before (prior-use) or at study entry (new-use), were monitored for ≤ 3 years during a multicenter observational study ( http://clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02310269). Primary objective was to assess long-term safety of pasireotide alone or with other CD therapies.

RESULTS: At the time of this interim analysis, 127 patients had received pasireotide (new-use, n = 31; prior-use, n = 96). …

Salivary Duct Carcinoma: A Case Report Of Oncocytic Variant With Possible Treatment Implications And Review Of Literature, Radhika Sekhri, Ibrahim Ortanca, Christopher Boals, Shweta Agarwal

Pathology Research and Scholarship

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is an aggressive malignancy, resembling high-grade ductal carcinoma of the breast. Histologically, it shows cords and nests with cribriforming, marked nuclear atypia, comedonecrosis, perineural, and lymphovascular invasion. We report a rare case of SDC in a 61-year-old woman presenting with facial asymmetry, dysphagia, and cervical lymphadenopathy. Imaging showed an ill-defined infiltrating mass in parotid gland and multiple enlarged cervical lymph nodes. Histologically, the largest focus of tumor consisted of an intra-parotid lymph node replaced by sheets of bland appearing oncocytic tumor cells with abundant cytoplasm, centrally placed nucleus, and single prominent nucleolus. No mitotic figures were …

Socioemotional Selectivity And Psychological Health In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients And Caregivers: A Longitudinal, Dyadic Analysis, Suzanne C. Segerstrom, Edward J. Kasarskis, David W. Fardo, Philip M. Westgate

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: Socioemotional selectivity theory predicts that as the end of life approaches, goals and resources that provide immediate, hedonic reward become more important than those that provide delayed rewards. This study tested whether these goal domains differentially affected psychological health in the context of marital dyads in which one partner had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a life-limiting disease.

Design: ALS patients (N = 102) being treated in three multidisciplinary clinics and their spouses (N = 100) reported their loneliness, financial worry and psychological health every 3 months for up to 18 months.

Main …

Which Components Of Processing Speed Are Affected In Adhd Subtypes?, Michelle Y Kibby, Sarah A Vadnais, Audreyana C Jagger-Rickels

Publications

The term "processing speed" (PS) encompasses many components including perceptual, cognitive and output speed. Despite evidence for reduced PS in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), little is known about which component(s) is most impacted in ADHD, or how it may vary by subtypes. Participants included 151 children, ages 8-12 years, with ADHD Predominantly Inattentive Type, ADHD Combined Type and typically developing controls using DSM-IV criteria. All children completed four measures of processing speed: Symbol Search, Coding, Decision Speed, and simple reaction time. We found children with ADHD-PI and ADHD-C had slower perceptual and psychomotor/incidental learning speed than controls and that ADHD-PI had …

Acetaminophen Protein Adducts In Hospitalized Children Receiving Multiple Doses Of Acetaminophen., Sibo Jiang, Valvanera Vozmediano, Susan M. Abdel-Rahman, Stephan Schmidt, Laura P. James

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Previous reports have questioned the safety of multiple doses of acetaminophen administered to ill children. Acetaminophen protein adducts (adducts) are a biomarker of acetaminophen-induced liver injury and reflect the oxidative metabolism of acetaminophen, a known mechanism in acetaminophen toxicity. In this prospective observational study, we analyzed adduct concentrations in 1034 blood samples obtained from 181 hospitalized children (1 to 18 years inclusive) who received 2 or more doses of acetaminophen. Linear regression analysis showed that serum adduct concentrations increased as a function of the cumulative acetaminophen dose, which could be attributed, in part, to a long half-life of adducts (2.17 …

Comparison Of Echocardiographic Measurements To Invasive Measurements Of Diastolic Function In Infants With Single Ventricle Physiology: A Report From The Pediatric Heart Network Infant Single Ventricle Trial., Suma P. Goudar, Victor Zak, Andrew M. Atz, Karen Altmann, Steven D. Colan, Christine B. Falkensammer, Mark K. Friedberg, Michele Frommelt, Kevin D. Hill, Daphne T. Hsu, Jami C. Levine, Renee Margossian, Christopher R. Mart, Joshua Sticka, Peter Shrader, Girish S. Shirali, Pediatric Heart Network Investigators

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: While echocardiographic parameters are used to quantify ventricular function in infants with single ventricle physiology, there are few data comparing these to invasive measurements. This study correlates echocardiographic measures of diastolic function with ventricular end-diastolic pressure in infants with single ventricle physiology prior to superior cavopulmonary anastomosis.

METHODS: Data from 173 patients enrolled in the Pediatric Heart Network Infant Single Ventricle enalapril trial were analysed. Those with mixed ventricular types (n = 17) and one outlier (end-diastolic pressure = 32 mmHg) were excluded from the analysis, leaving a total sample size of 155 patients. Echocardiographic measurements were correlated to …

Multiple Sclerosis Outcomes After Cancer Immunotherapy, Catherine R. Garcia, Rani Jayswal, Val R. Adams, Lowell B. Anthony, John L. Villano

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

INTRODUCTION: Neurological immune-related adverse events are a rare but potentially deadly complication after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment. As multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disease, it is unknown how ICI treatment may affect outcomes.

METHODS: We analyzed the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database for pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, nivolumab, ipilimumab, avelumab, and durvalumab 2 years prior their FDA approval until December 31, 2017, to include all cases with confirmed diagnosis/relapse of MS. We also included cases reported in the literature and a patient from our institution.

RESULTS: We identified 14 cases of MS …

Energy Balance Related Lifestyle Factors And Risk Of Endometrial And Colorectal Cancer Among Individuals With Lynch Syndrome: A Systematic Review, Adriana M Coletta, Susan K Peterson, Leticia A Gatus, Kate J Krause, Susan M Schembre, Susan C Gilchrist, Mala Pande, Eduardo Vilar, Y Nancy You, Miguel A Rodriguez-Bigas, Larkin L Strong, Patrick M Lynch, Karen H Lu, Karen Basen-Engquist

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Lifestyle factors related to energy balance, such as excess body weight, poor diet, and physical inactivity, are associated with risk of sporadic endometrial cancer (EC) and colorectal cancer (CRC). There are limited data on energy balance-related lifestyle factors and EC or CRC risk among individuals with lynch syndrome, who are at extraordinarily higher risk of developing EC or CRC. We conducted a systematic review of evidence related to weight status, weight change, dietary habits, and physical activity on EC and CRC risk among individuals with lynch syndrome. Findings are reported narratively. We searched Medline, EMBASE, CENTRAL, PubMed, and clinicaltrials.gov up …

Temperature, Placental Abruption And Stillbirth, Amal Rammah, Kristina W Whitworth, Inkyu Han, Wenyaw Chan, Judy Wendt Hess, Elaine Symanski

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women may be vulnerable to changes in ambient temperature and warming climates. Recent evidence suggests that temperature increases are associated with placental abruption, a risk factor for stillbirth.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effect of acute exposures to apparent temperature on stillbirths in Harris County, Texas, 2008-2013.

METHODS: We conducted a case-crossover study to investigate the association between temperature and stillbirth among 708 women. We used data from the National Climatic Data Center to estimate maternal exposure to daily average apparent temperature over the days (lag days 1 through 6) preceding the stillbirth event. We employed symmetric bidirectional sampling …

Stub1 Suppresseses Tumorigenesis And Chemoresistance Through Antagonizing Yap1 Signaling, Dong-E Tang, Yong Dai, Lie-Wen Lin, Yong Xu, Dong-Zhou Liu, Xiao-Ping Hong, Hao-Wu Jiang, Song-Hui Xu

Open Access Publications

Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a component of the canonical Hippo signaling pathway that is known to play essential roles in modulating organ size, development, and tumorigenesis. Activation or upregulation of YAP1, which contributes to cancer cell survival and chemoresistance, has been verified in different types of human cancers. However, the molecular mechanism of YAP1 upregulation in cancer is still unclear. Here we report that the E3 ubiquitin ligase STUB1 ubiquitinates and destabilizes YAP1, thereby inhibiting cancer cell survival. Low levels of STUB1 expression were correlated with increased protein levels of YAP1 in human gastric cancer cell lines and patient samples. …

Tic Suppression In Children With Recent-Onset Tics Predicts 1-Year Tic Outcome, Soyoung Kim, Deanna J Greene, Amy Robichaux-Viehoever, Emily C Bihun, Jonathan M Koller, Haley Acevedo, Bradley L Schlaggar, Kevin J Black

Open Access Publications

Successful voluntary tic suppression is a key component of the behavioral interventions that are used to treat tic disorders. This study aimed to examine tic suppression in children with recent-onset tics and determine whether the capacity to suppress tics predicts future tic severity. We tested 45 children (30 male, mean age 7.74 years) with recent-onset tics (mean 3.47 months prior to the first study visit; baseline) and re-examined each child at the 12-month anniversary of the first recognized tic (follow-up). At the baseline visit, children performed a tic suppression task with several conditions: tic freely, inhibit tics given a verbal …

The Diagnostic Yield Of Malignancy Comparing Cytology, Fish, And Molecular Analysis Of Cell Free Cytology Brush Supernatant In Patients With Biliary Strictures Undergoing Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiography (Erc): A Prospective Study, Vladimir M Kushnir, Daniel K Mullady, Koushik Das, Gabriel Lang, Thomas G Hollander, Faris M Murad, Sara A Jackson, Nicole A Toney, Sydney D Finkelstein, Steven A Edmundowicz

Open Access Publications

BACKGROUND: Routine cytology of biliary stricture brushings obtained during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has suboptimal sensitivity for malignancy. We compared the individual and combined ability of cytology, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis and PCR-based mutation profiling (MP) to detect malignancy in standard biliary brushings.

METHODS: We performed a prospective study of patients undergoing ERCP using histology or 1 year follow-up to determine patient outcomes. MP was performed on free-DNA from biliary brushing specimens using normally discarded supernatant fluid. MP examined KRAS point mutations and tumor suppressor gene associated loss of heterozygosity mutations at 10 genomic loci. FISH examined chromosome …

Mortality Assessment Of Paclitaxel-Coated Balloons: Patient-Level Meta-Analysis Of The Illumenate Clinical Program At 3 Years., William A Gray, Michael R Jaff, Sahil A Parikh, Gary M Ansel, Marianne Brodmann, Prakash Krishnan, Mahmood K Razavi, Frank Vermassen, Thomas Zeller, Roseann White, Kenneth Ouriel, Mark A Adelman, Sean P Lyden

Heart and Vascular Articles

BACKGROUND: A recent summary-level meta-analysis comprising randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) of femoropopliteal paclitaxel-coated balloon and stent intervention identified excess late mortality in the paclitaxel-treated patients.

METHODS: We evaluated the safety of the Stellarex drug-coated balloon (DCB) for femoropopliteal artery disease with an independently performed meta-analysis of patient-level data from all patients in the Stellarex femoropopliteal clinical program. To compare mortality after DCB or uncoated percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), we aggregated data from 2 RCTs comprising 419 patients treated with DCB and 170 patients treated with PTA. In an additional analysis, data were aggregated from 6 poolable Stellarex DCB studies (2 …

Noninvasive Detection Of Graft Injury After Heart Transplant Using Donor-Derived Cell-Free Dna: A Prospective Multicenter Study, Kiran K Khush, Jignesh Patel, Sean Pinney, Andrew Kao, Rami Alharethi, Eugene Depasquale, Gregory Ewald, Peter Berman, Manreet Kanwar, David Hiller, James P Yee, Robert N Woodward, Shelley Hall, Jon Kobashigawa

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Standardized donor-derived cell-free DNA (dd-cfDNA) testing has been introduced into clinical use to monitor kidney transplant recipients for rejection. This report describes the performance of this dd-cfDNA assay to detect allograft rejection in samples from heart transplant (HT) recipients undergoing surveillance monitoring across the United States. Venous blood was longitudinally sampled from 740 HT recipients from 26 centers and in a single-center cohort of 33 patients at high risk for antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). Plasma dd-cfDNA was quantified by using targeted amplification and sequencing of a single nucleotide polymorphism panel. The dd-cfDNA levels were correlated to paired events of biopsy-based diagnosis …

Cervical Assessment By Ultrasound For Preventing Preterm Delivery., Vincenzo Berghella, Gabriele Saccone

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Measurement of cervical length by ultrasound is predictive of preterm birth (PTB). There are three methods of ultrasound cervical assessment: transvaginal (TVU), transabdominal (TAU), and transperineal (TPU, also called translabial). Cervical length measured by TVU is a relatively new screening test, and has been associated with better prediction of PTB than previously available tests. It is unclear if cervical length measured by ultrasound is effective for preventing PTB. This is an update of a review last published in 2013.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of antenatal management based on transvaginal, transabdominal, and transperineal (also called translabial) ultrasound screening of …

Comparing Record Linkage Software Programs And Algorithms Using Real-World Data., Alan F. Karr, Matthew T. Taylor, Suzanne L. West, Soko Setoguchi, Tzuyung D. Kou, Tobias Gerhard, Daniel B. Horton

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Linkage of medical databases, including insurer claims and electronic health records (EHRs), is increasingly common. However, few studies have investigated the behavior and output of linkage software. To determine how linkage quality is affected by different algorithms, blocking variables, methods for string matching and weight determination, and decision rules, we compared the performance of 4 nonproprietary linkage software packages linking patient identifiers from noninteroperable inpatient and outpatient EHRs. We linked datasets using first and last name, gender, and date of birth (DOB). We evaluated DOB and year of birth (YOB) as blocking variables and used exact and inexact matching methods. …

Imatinib Mesylate Effects On Zebrafish Reproductive Success: Gonadal Development, Gamete Quality, Fertility, Embryo-Larvae Viability And Development, And Related Genes, Nader Ahmadi, Seyed-Mohammadreza Samaee, Robert A. Yokel, Aliasghar Tehrani

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Imatinib (IM) is a tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibitor (TKI) used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia. Clinical case reports and a few laboratory mammal studies provide inconclusive evidence about its deleterious effects on reproduction. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the potential of zebrafish to characterize IM-induced effects on reproduction and clarify IM effects on reproductive success. To this end, we exposed adult zebrafish to four concentrations of IM for 30 days followed by a 30-day depuration period. IM exposure caused a concentration-dependent, irreversible, suppression of folliculogenesis, reversible decrease in sperm density and motility, decreased fecundity and fertility, …