Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Role Of Glial Glutamate Transporter In Animal Model Of Acute And Chronic Inflammatory Pain, Ghallab Alotaibi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mice, Acorns, And Lyme Disease: A Case Study To Teach The Ecology Of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Laurieann Klockow

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Ebola, Zika, the recall of contaminated lettuce - these are just a few recent outbreaks making headlines. Students should be able to connect what they learn in their biology courses to explain these events happening around them. Unfortunately, students do not necessarily make those connections. Therefore, it is important, as instructors, to provide opportunities where students engage with societal issues and problems related to course content and case studies, using headlines from the news are one way to do this.

Here I describe a case study about Lyme disease that engages students in learning about the ecology of infectious disease. …

Determinants Of Occupational Injuries Among Building Construction Workers In Kampala City, Uganda, Arthur Kiconco, Nathan Ruhinda, Abdullah Ali Halage, Stephen Watya, William Bazeyo, John C. Ssempebwa, Joseph Byonanebye

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Globally, about 1000 people die and close to 860,000 people sustain injury at work daily. Injury prevention and control require contextual evidence, although most studies in Uganda have focused on general causes. Factors associated with occupational injuries among building construction workers were assessed in this study.

Methods

A cross-sectional study among building construction workers was conducted in Kampala, Uganda. A standardized semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Three hundred nineteen (319) participants were randomly and proportionately selected from 57 construction sites. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the variables while generalized linear modeling was used to estimate the …

Prefrontal-Accumbens Opioid Plasticity: Implications For Relapse And Dependence, Matthew C. Hearing

Biomedical Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

In addiction, an individual’s ability to inhibit drug seeking and drug taking is thought to reflect a pathological strengthening of drug-seeking behaviors or impairments in the capacity to control maladaptive behavior. These processes are not mutually exclusive and reflect drug-induced modifications within prefrontal cortical and nucleus accumbens circuits, however unlike psychostimulants such as cocaine, far less is known about the temporal, anatomical, and cellular dynamics of these changes. We discuss what is known regarding opioid-induced adaptations in intrinsic membrane physiology and pre-/postsynaptic neurotransmission in principle pyramidal and medium spiny neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens from electrophysiological …

Deep Patient Representation Of Clinical Notes Via Multi-Task Learning For Mortality Prediction, Yuqi Si, Kirk Roberts

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

We propose a deep learning-based multi-task learning (MTL) architecture focusing on patient mortality predictions from clinical notes. The MTL framework enables the model to learn a patient representation that generalizes to a variety of clinical prediction tasks. Moreover, we demonstrate how MTL enables small but consistent gains on a single classification task (e.g., in-hospital mortality prediction) simply by incorporating related tasks (e.g., 30-day and 1-year mortality prediction) into the MTL framework. To accomplish this, we utilize a multi-level Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) associated with a MTL loss component. The model is evaluated with 3, 5, and 20 tasks and is …

Training As An Intervention To Decrease Medical Record Abstraction Errors Multicenter Studies., Meredith Nahm Zozus, Leslie W. Young, Alan E. Simon, Maryam Garza, Lora Lawrence, Songthip T. Ounpraseuth, Megan Bledsoe, Sarah Newman-Norlund, J Dean Jarvis, Mary Mcnally, Kimberly R. Harris, Russell Mcculloh, Rachel Aikman, Sara Cox, Lacy Malloch, Anita Walden, Jessica Snowden, Irene Mangan Chedjieu, Chester A. Wicker, Lauren Atkins, Lori A. Devlin

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Studies often rely on medical record abstraction as a major source of data. However, data quality from medical record abstraction has long been questioned. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) potentially add variability to the abstraction process due to the complexity of navigating and locating study data within these systems. We report training for and initial quality assessment of medical record abstraction for a clinical study conducted by the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Neonatal Research Network (NRN) using medical record abstraction as the primary data …

Does Stem Cell Injection Improve Quality Of Life In Patients With Cardiopathy Patients?, Shoua Shue Casillas

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not stem cell injections improve the quality of life in patients with cardiopathy.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three randomized controlled trial (RCT) articles. All articles were published between 2012 – 2017 and were all printed in the English language.

DATA SOURCES: All three RCT articles were found through PubMed.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: One of the outcomes measured in each of the articles were improvement in quality of life in patients with cardiopathy. Among the three review articles, quality of life was measured using either the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy …

Is Apremilast 30mg Effective In Lowering Dlgi Scores In Patients With Plaque Psoriasis In 16 Weeks Of Therapy?, Hunter N. Dennard

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is Apremilast 30 mg effective in lowering DLQI scores in patients with plaque psoriasis in 16 weeks of therapy?”

Study Design: Review of three randomized, blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials published between the years 2013 and 2016.

Data Sources: All studies were published in peer-reviewed journals that were located using PubMed database searches.

Outcome Measured: The DLQI is a 10-item questionnaire that assesses the impact of skin disease on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over the previous week. Scores for each item range from 0 (not at …

Is Acupuncture An Effective Treatment For Alleviating Fibromyalgia?, Brittney Beckmon-Forrester

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not acupuncture is an effective treatment for alleviating fibromyalgia.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of three randomized controlled trials published in 2014, 2016, and 2017.

DATA SOURCES: Data sources for this review were articles published in peer-reviewed journals using PubMed Database.

OUTCOME(S) MEASURED: The outcome measured was the patients decrease in pain intensity through the use of the visual analog scale.

RESULTS: Stival et al. (2014) found that the change in pain for patients who received true acupuncture to be statistically significant with a p-value of 0.0001. Ugurle …

Are Anti-Pd-1/Pd-L1 Monoclonal Antibodies Effective In Prolonging Overall Survival In Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?, Sara Bintner

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies are effective in prolonging overall survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Study Design: A systematic review and data analysis of three randomized control trials (RCTs) published after 2010. The studies were located in English written peer reviewed journals.

Data sources: Three RCTs, which evaluated the efficacy of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monoclonal antibodies, including nivolumab and pembrolizumab, as first and second or consecutive line therapy in patients with advanced NSCLC compared to cytotoxic agents. The studies utilized were found in EBSCO host …

Is Tribulus Terrestris Effective At Increasing Sexual Desire In Adult Women Suffering From Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder?, Trevene T. Bell

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective evidence-based medicine (EBM) review is to determine whether or not Tribulus terrestris is effective at increasing sexual desire in adult women suffering from hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).

Study Design: Review of three randomized controlled trials published in 2014, 2016, and 2017; selection was based on their relevance to the clinical question and on their patient-oriented outcomes.

Data Sources: Three peer-reviewed primary studies comparing the use of Tribulus terrestris to placebo in the treatment of HSDD were found on PubMed. Outcome(s) Measured: For each trial, patients were divided into either Tribulus terrestris treatment or …

Is Sinupret (Bno 1016- Herbal Combination) An Effective Treatment For The Symptoms Of Acute And Chronic Rhinosinusitis Compared To Non-Treatment In Male And Female Adults Ages 18-75?, Sarah K. Boyle

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not Sinupret (BNO 1016- herbal combination) is an effective treatment for the symptoms of acute and chronic rhinosinusitis compared to non-treatment in male and female adults ages 18-75? Study Design: This is a systematic review of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) regarding Sinupret treatment for sinonasal symptoms. All RCTs were published in the English language in peer-reviewed journals in 2011, 2015, and 2017. Data Sources: Three randomized controlled trials were found using PubMED and CINAHL databases. Outcomes Measured: Symptom relief of acute and chronic rhinosinusitis was measured …

Does Whole Body Vibration Therapy Improve Balance In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus?, Samantha L. Aksu

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not whole body vibration (WBV) therapy improves balance in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).

STUDY DESIGN: A review of three peer-reviewed studies published between 2013 and 2015.

DATA SOURCES: Two randomized controlled trials and one case series. Using PubMed and Google Scholar, studies were selected if they assessed the effects of whole body vibration therapy on improving balance in diabetic patients, and whether the outcomes were patient oriented.

UTCOMES MEASURED: The outcome measured in this study was balance, which was assessed using the Timed Up …

Is The Use Of A Fresh-Frozen Allograft More Effective Than A Hamstring Autograft In Preserving Functional Knee Ability Post-Surgery In Acl Reconstruction?, Carly E. Black

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the selective EBM review is to determine whether or not, “Is the use of fresh-frozen allograft more effective than a hamstring autograft in preserving functional knee ability post-surgery in ACL reconstruction?”

STUDY DESIGN: Review of two randomized control trials (RCTs) and one prospective randomized study published between 2011 and 2016, all in English language. The articles compared allograft tendon versus autograft tendon when undergoing ACL reconstructive surgery.

DATA SOURCES: Two randomized control trials (RCTs) and one prospective randomized study were found using PubMed, NCBI, and Cochrane databases. All articles were published in reviewed journals and selected …

Is Low-Level Laser Therapy (Lllt) Effective In Reducing Pain And Ulcer Size In Diabetic Patients With Foot Ulcers?, Corey J. Elmer

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is an effective therapy in reducing pain and ulcer size in diabetic patients with foot ulcers.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from peer reviewed journals, published in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

DATA SOURCES: The studies compare the effectiveness of LLLT versus conventional wound treatment in reducing pain and ulcer size in diabetic patients with foot ulcers. All studies were found using PubMed and CINAHL Plus.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: Pain as perceived by the patient, measured by visual analog …

Is Oral Finasteride Effective In Reversing Hair Loss In Men With Androgenetic Alopecia?, Kevin Anderson

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not oral finasteride is effective in reversing hair loss in men with androgenetic alopecia.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of two double blind, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and one randomized open-label study published between 2009 and 2013, all in English language. The articles compared oral finasteride to a placebo, topical finasteride, and Serenoa repens, respectively.

DATA SOURCES: The two double-blind, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and one randomized open-label study were found using PubMed. All articles were published in peerreviewed journals and selected based on correlation to topic choice, date …

Is Aromatherapy Effective In Treating Emotional Instability In Women Undergoing Surgical Breast Procedures?, Stephanie Deem

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is aromatherapy effective in treating emotional instability in women undergoing surgical breast procedures?”

Study Design: Systematic review of one single-site, randomized study, one randomized control trial, and one randomized, placebo-controlled study, all English language, one published in 2016 and two published in 2017.

Data Sources: Studies were published in peer-reviewed journals and researched via the PubMed Database.

Outcomes Measured: All of the articles analyzed the effectiveness of aromatherapy in treating emotional instability in women undergoing surgical breast procedures. Improved emotional instability was …

Does Acupressure Help To Reduce Symptoms In Individuals Receiving Chemotherapy?, Gabriele Cuna

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective for this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not acupressure can help to reduce symptoms in individuals receiving chemotherapy.

STUDY DESIGN: A systematic review of three peer-reviewed primary studies published between the years of 2007-2014.

DATA SOURCES: Three randomized control trials evaluating if acupressure can reduce nausea and vomiting symptoms in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Sources were chosen from Google Scholar and PubMed based on their relevance to the clinical topic.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: The outcomes that are measured in the articles are chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting. Two of the articles measured these patient oriented outcomes …

Is Honey, As Adjunctive Therapy, Effective In Alleviating Nasal Allergy Symptoms?, Arielle N. Ditzel

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether honey used as adjunctive therapy is effective in alleviating nasal allergy symptoms.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a systematic review of three randomized controlled trials published between 2010-2013, all in the English language.

DATA SOURCES: Three randomized controlled trials, which studied the effects of honey used as adjunctive therapy for the relief of nasal allergy symptoms, these were obtained using PubMed.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: The outcome of each study was a patient reported decrease in the number of days and the severity of nasal allergy symptoms including: sneezing, itching, nasal …

Is Administration Of Marijuana Effective In Reducing Pain?, David Cui

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is administration of marijuana effective in reducing pain”

Study Design: Systematic review of 2 randomized, double-blind placebo controlled trials (RCTs) and 1 cohort study published after July 2016.

Data Sources: Both RCTs and the cohort study were found through the PubMed database Outcome(s) measured: All 3 studies utilized the 11-point numerical rating scale to measure pain intensity.

Results: Wilsey et. al showed a notable improvement in pain intensity when participants inhaled both 2.9% delta 9-THC and 6.7% delta 9-THC concentrations when compared …

Does Adjuvant Therapy With Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil) Improve Joint Tenderness In Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis?, Eileen Fauteux

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not adjuvant therapy with Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) improves joint tenderness in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of 3 double-blind, randomized controlled trials from 2010- 2017.

DATA SOURCES: Three peer-reviewed journal articles written in English were found using PubMed. Articles were selected based on their relevance to the question and whether the outcome measured was patient-oriented evidence that matters.

OUTCOME(S) MEASURED: All articles analyzed the effectiveness of adjunctive treatment with omega-3 fatty acids on the improvement of joint tenderness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. …

Is Acetyl-L-Carnitine Effective And Safe In Treating Children With Adhd?, Kirstie Dominique

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this systematic review is to see how effective and safe is Acetyl-L-Carnitine in treating children with ADHD.

Study Design: This systematic review evaluated 3 randomized, controlled and double blind articles all published in English, which were published in peer-reviewed journals. The articles were found on PubMed through PCOM’s library website.

Outcomes measured: This review assessed how safe and effective ALC would be in treating children with ADHD. The outcomes were measured using the Parent and Teacher ADHD Scale IV, Conners’ Global Index-Parents Scale, Conners’ Global Index – Teachers Scale and the Vineland scores …

Is Acupuncture Effective In Reducing Opioid Cravings In Detoxifying Opioid Abusing Adults?, Sarah Kish

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is acupuncture effective in reducing opioid cravings in detoxifying opioid abusing adults?”

STUDY DESIGN: A review of three RCTs published in English, each of which was published in 2009, 2013 and 2014 respectively.

DATA SOURCES: Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in peer-reviewed journals that evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture to reduce opioid cravings found via PubMed and ScienceDirect.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: Opioid cravings via 100 millimeter analog scale score, the Maudsely craving score consisting of five-point Likert scales and withdraw symptoms as measured by a 4-point …

Are Probiotics Effective In Reducing Symptoms Of Atopic Dermatitis?, Samuel H. Kim

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not probiotics are effective in reducing symptoms of atopic dermatitis.

STUDY DESIGN: Selective EBM review of three randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials published after 2009, all English language.

DATA SOURCES: All three studies were published in peer-reviewed journals found on PubMed and selected based on relevance to the proposed clinical question.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: The main outcome measured was the percentage change in SCORAD index to determine severity of atopic dermatitis before and after trial through objective and subjective findings. Additional outcomes included DLQ index which was evaluated via …

Does Sertraline Decrease Depression In Patients Who Suffered A Traumatic Brain Injury (Tbi)?, Christina Costantino

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Does sertraline decrease depression in patients who suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI)?”

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English between 2009-2016.

DATA SOURCES: One RCT and two double-blind, placebo-controlled, RCTs found via PubMed evaluated the benefit of the antidepressant drug, sertraline (Zoloft), in decreasing depression in patients who suffered a TBI.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: Main outcomes were measured using the DSM-IV, Hamilton Rating Score for Depression (HAM-D)6 , Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)6 , and the Life-3 quality of life (QOL)6 , …

Is Hyaluronic Acid Intra-Articular Injection Better Than Corticosteroid Intra Articular Injection At Reducing Pain In Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis?, Madison Cohen

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Hyaluronic Acid intra articular injection is better than Corticosteroid intra articular injection at reducing pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis.”

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three double-blind, randomized control trials published between 2014 and 2016. All studies were published in English language in peer reviewed journals.

DATA SOURCES: All three randomized control trials were found via PubMed.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: The primary outcomes measured by the patient and investigator being improvement of knee pain severity, knee function, and range of motion after hyaluronic acid intra articular (IA) injection …

Are Plasma Rich Platelets More Effective In Decreasing Chronic Lower Back Pain As Compared To Epidural Injections In Young Adults?, Linda M. Leones

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not PRP injections are more effective in decreasing chronic lower back pain as compared to epidural injections in young adults.

Study Design: Systematic review of three English language randomized controlled trials (RCTs), all published after 2012.

Data Sources: Two double-blind RCTs and one randomized open blinded end point (PROBE), which analyzed the effectiveness of PRP and epidural injections in young adults with chronic lower back pain. All studies were found using PubMed.

Outcome(s) Measured: Each of the articles analyzed the pain relief and function ability stated by …

Is Amitriptyline Effective In Reducing Headache Days In Pediatric Patients With Migraines And Chronic Headaches Compared To Topiramate, Propranolol, Or No Treatment?, Megan N. Hall

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not “Is amitriptyline effective in reducing headache days in pediatric patients with migraines and chronic headaches compared to topiramate, propranolol, or no treatment?”

Study design: Systematic review of two randomized control trials (RCTs) and one case series published in peer-reviewed journals in English after 2007.

Data Sources: Two RCTs and one case series were found using PubMed.

Outcome(s) Measured: Headache frequency was measured using a headache diary or calendar. A secondary objective included headache severity that was measured using a ten-point scale or …

Is Intranasal Ketorolac Both Safe And Effective In Reducing Acute Postoperative Pain For Patients Over 18 Years Of Age That Require Inpatient Hospitalization?, Courtney Koukal

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not intranasal ketorolac is both safe and effective in reducing acute postoperative pain for patients over 18 years of age that require inpatient hospitalization.

STUDY DESIGN: Review of three double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were used, all are from 2008 to present and all are in the English language.

DATA SOURCES: Data sources include articles that were published on both PubMed and Cochrane databases and were selected based on their relevance to the research question as well as patient measured outcomes.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: Outcomes measured include efficacy …

Does Early Physical Therapy And Vestibular Rehabilitation After A Sports-Related Concussion Decrease The Amount Of Time For Symptom Resolution When Compared To The Standard Of Care?, Anna Inserra

PCOM Physician Assistant Studies Student Scholarship

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not early physical therapy and vestibular rehabilitation after a sports-related concussion (SRC) decreases the amount of time for symptom resolution compared to the standard of care.

STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of two randomized controlled trials published in 2014 and 2017, and one case series published in 2010.

DATA SOURCES: All articles, which analyzed the effect of vestibular therapy on treatment of concussive symptoms, were presented in English and were taken from peer-reviewed sources using PubMed and EBSCOhost.

OUTCOMES MEASURED: Days from onset of vestibular rehabilitation for persisting …