Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Use Of Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling To Inform Dosing Of The Opioid Analgesics Fentanyl And Methadone In Children With Obesity, Jacqueline G. Gerhart, Fernando O. Carreño, Jennifer L. Ford, Andrea N. Edginton, Eliana M. Perrin, Kevin M. Watt, William J. Muller, Andrew M. Atz, Amira Al-Uzri, Paula Delmore, Daniel Gonzalez, Catherine Sherwin

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Obesity is an increasingly alarming public health threat, with nearly 20% of children classified as obese in the United States today. Children with obesity are commonly prescribed the opioids fentanyl and methadone, and accurate dosing is critical to reducing the risk of serious adverse events associated with overexposure. However, pharmacokinetic studies in children with obesity are challenging to conduct, so there is limited information to guide fentanyl and methadone dosing in these children. To address this clinical knowledge gap, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic models of fentanyl and methadone were developed in adults and scaled to children with and without obesity to explore …

Associations Between Adherence To The Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension (Dash) Diet And Six Glucose Homeostasis Traits In The Microbiome And Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study (Miles), Gautam Ramesh, Alexis C Wood, Matthew A Allison, Stephen S Rich, Elizabeth T Jensen, Yii-Der I Chen, Jerome I Rotter, Alain G Bertoni, Mark O Goodarzi

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background and aims: The DASH diet conveys protection against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) Via plant-based and non-plant-based recommendations. Research has not identified which glucose homeostasis pathways are improved. We examined associations between adherence to a DASH diet and six glucose homeostasis traits, probing whether associations could be attributed to the plant-based (DASH-P) and/or non-plant based (DASH-NP) components.

Methods and results: We included data from 295 adults without T2D (age 59.3 ± 9.00 years; 63.46% non-Hispanic White and 36.54% African American, self-reported race ancestry) participating in the Microbiome and Insulin Longitudinal Evaluation Study (MILES). An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) …

Association Of Alcohol Use And Physical Activity With Body Mass Index In Mexican-Origin Adults, Natalia I Heredia, Qiong Dong, Shine Chang, Lorna H Mcneill

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Studies across racial/ethnic groups indicate that physical activity (PA) and alcohol consumption are positively associated, and that alcohol consumption is negatively associated with body mass index (BMI), but this relationship is less often evaluated in Hispanics. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships between alcohol consumption, PA, and BMI in Hispanic adults.

METHODS: In this secondary data analysis of a Mexican-American cohort, we collected self-reported PA, alcohol consumption, and demographics, and measured height and weight. Linear regression assessed the association between PA and alcohol consumption with BMI, controlling for covariates. Total sample for analyses was n …

Anal Cytology Screening In Men Who Have Sex With Men With Hiv At A University Hospital In Bogotá, Colombia, I Tatiana Ordoñez-Blanco, Samuel Martínez-Vernaza, Kevin J Blair, Camilo Quiroga, Ellen Lowenstein, Luis J Lombana Amaya, Jesse Clark, Jordan E Lake, Sandra Liliana Valderrama-Beltrán

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Risk of anal squamous cell carcinoma (anal cancer) is greater among men who have sex with men (MSM) living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We describe the frequency of and factors associated with abnormal anal cytology results in Colombian MSM living with HIV.

Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study included MSM ≥18 years old living with HIV screened with anal cytology at Hospital Universitario San Ignacio in Bogotá, Colombia between January 2019 and February 2020. A multivariable log-binomial regression model estimated associations with abnormal anal cytology.

Results: A total of 211 patients were included. Mean age was 35.6 years. …

Long-Term Outcomes Among Adolescent And Young Adult Survivors Of Acute Leukemia: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, And End Results Analysis, Amy M Berkman, Clark R Andersen, Branko Cuglievan, David C Mccall, Philip J Lupo, Susan K Parsons, Courtney D Dinardo, Nicholas J Short, Nitin Jain, Tapan M Kadia, J A Livingston, Michael E Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: There is a growing population of adolescent and young adult (AYA, age 15-39 years) acute leukemia survivors in whom long-term mortality outcomes are largely unknown.

Methods: The current study utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry to assess long-term outcomes of AYA acute leukemia 5-year survivors. The impact of diagnosis age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and decade of diagnosis on long-term survival were assessed utilizing an accelerated failure time model.

Results: A total of 1,938 AYA acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 2,350 AYA acute myeloid leukemia (AML) survivors diagnosed between 1980 and 2009 were included with a …

Does Gender Impact A Diagnosis Of Ankylosing Spondylitis?, Mark C Hwang, Martin Rozycki, David Kauffman, Theresa Arndt, Esther Yi, Michael H Weisman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: The study objective was to explore differences in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) diagnosis experiences between men and women by examining the coding of health events over the 2 years preceding AS diagnosis.

Methods: Claims data (January 2006-April 2019) from the MarketScan databases were examined. Patients who had received two or more AS diagnoses at least 30 days apart and had at least 2 years of insurance enrollment before their first AS diagnosis were analyzed. Men were matched 1:1 to women by age, diagnosis date, insurance type, and enrollment duration. Health events (diagnosis and provider codes) were examined over 2 years …

Association Of State Medicaid Expansion Status With Rates Of Suicide Among Us Adults, Hetal Patel, Justin Barnes, Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters, Laura Jean Bierut

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Importance: In the US, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death and a serious mental health emergency. National programs that address suicide list access to mental health care as key in prevention, and more large-scale policies are needed to improve access to mental health care and address this crisis. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid Expansion Program was implemented in several states with the goal of increasing access to the health care system.

Objective: To compare changes in suicide rates in states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA vs states that did not.

Design, Setting, and …

Prognosticators Of Visual Acuity After Indirect Traumatic Optic Neuropathy, Alex J Wright, Joanna H Queen, Emilio P Supsupin, Alice Z Chuang, John J Chen, Rod Foroozan, Ore-Ofe O Adesina

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are radiographic and systemic clinical characteristics that can predict final visual outcomes in patients with indirect traumatic optic neuropathy (iTON).

METHODS: This study is a retrospective, multicenter case series of adult patients with iTON treated initially at large, urban, and/or academic trauma centers with follow-up at an affiliated ophthalmology clinic. In addition to detailed cranial computed tomography characteristics, demographics, systemic comorbidities, coinjuries, blood products administered, and intracranial pressure, along with other factors, were gathered. LogMAR visual acuity (VA) at the initial presentation to the hospital and up to 12 …

Relationship Between Arterial Stiffness And Subsequent Cardiac Structure And Function In Young Adults With Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes: Results From The Today Study, Amy S Shah, Samuel S Gidding, Laure El Ghormli, Jeanie B Tryggestad, Kristen J Nadeau, Fida Bacha, Lorraine E Levitt Katz, Steven M Willi, Joao Lima, Elaine M Urbina

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Higher arterial stiffness may contribute to future alterations in left ventricular systolic and diastolic function. We tested this hypothesis in individuals with youth-onset type 2 diabetes from the Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) study.

METHODS: Arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity [carotid-femoral, femoral-foot, and carotid-radial], augmentation index, brachial distensibility) was measured in 388 participants with type 2 diabetes (mean age, 21 years; diabetes duration, 7.7 ± 1.5 years). To reflect overall (composite) vascular stiffness, the five arterial stiffness measures were aggregated. An echocardiogram was performed in the same cohort 2 years later. Linear regression …

Synthesizing Pseudo-T2w Images To Recapture Missing Data In Neonatal Neuroimaging With Applications In Rs-Fmri, Sydney Kaplan, Dimitrios Alexopoulos, Jeanette K Kenley, Deanna M Barch, Jeffrey J Neil, Cynthia E Rogers, Aristeidis Sotiras, Christopher D Smyser, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

T1- and T2-weighted (T1w and T2w) images are essential for tissue classification and anatomical localization in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) analyses. However, these anatomical data can be challenging to acquire in non-sedated neonatal cohorts, which are prone to high amplitude movement and display lower tissue contrast than adults. As a result, one of these modalities may be missing or of such poor quality that they cannot be used for accurate image processing, resulting in subject loss. While recent literature attempts to overcome these issues in adult populations using synthetic imaging approaches, evaluation of the efficacy of these methods in pediatric …

Resistant Maltodextrin Consumption In A Double-Blind, Randomized, Crossover Clinical Trial Induces Specific Changes In Potentially Beneficial Gut Bacteria, Volker Mai, Alyssa M Burns, Rebecca J Solch, Jennifer C Dennis-Wall, Maria Ukhanova, Bobbi Langkamp-Henken

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: We have previously reported that the addition of resistant maltodextrin (RMD), a fermentable functional fiber, to the diet increases fecal weight as well as the amount of fecal bifidobacteria. Here, we report on the targeted analysis of changes in potentially beneficial gut bacteria associated with the intervention. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to determine the effect of adding 0, 15 and 25 g RMD to the diets of healthy free-living adults on potentially beneficial gut bacteria. Methods: We expanded on our previously reported microbiota analysis in a double-blind, placebo-controlled feeding study (NCT02733263) by performing additional qPCR …

Development And Testing Of An Instrument To Measure Contextual Factors Influencing Self-Care Decisions Among Adults With Chronic Illness, Shayleigh Dickson Page, Christopher Lee, Subhash Aryal, Kenneth Freedland, Anna Stromberg, Ercole Vellone, Heleen Westland, Douglas J Wiebe, Tiny Jaarsma, Barbara Riegel

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Decisions about how to manage bothersome symptoms of chronic illness are complex and influenced by factors related to the patient, their illness, and their environment. Naturalistic decision-making describes decision-making when conditions are dynamically evolving, and the decision maker may be uncertain because the situation is ambiguous and missing information. Contextual factors, including time stress, the perception of high stakes, and input from others may facilitate or complicate decisions about the self-care of symptoms. There is no valid instrument to measure these contextual factors. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a self-report instrument measuring the contextual …

Belimumab For Systemic Lupus Erythematosus - Focus On Lupus Nephritis, Marlene Plüß, Silvia Piantoni, Björn Tampe, Alfred H J Kim, Peter Korsten

2020-Current year OA Pubs

In recent years, advances in the treatment and management of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have improved their life expectancy and quality of life. However, lupus nephritis (LN) still represents a major life-threatening complication of the disease. Belimumab (BEL), a fully human monoclonal IgG1λ antibody neutralizing soluble B cell activating factor, was approved more than ten years ago as add-on therapy in adults and pediatric patients with a highly active, autoantibody-positive disease despite standard of care (SoC). Recently, the superiority of the addition of BEL to SoC was also demonstrated in LN. In this review, we provide a comprehensive …

Effectiveness Of Mrna Vaccines Against Covid-19 Hospitalization By Age And Chronic Medical Conditions Burden Among Immunocompetent Us Adults, March-August 2021, Nathaniel M Lewis, Hilary M Babcock, Jennie H Kwon, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 hospitalization was evaluated among immunocompetent adults (≥18 years) during March-August 2021 using a case-control design. Among 1669 hospitalized COVID-19 cases (11% fully vaccinated) and 1950 RT-PCR-negative controls (54% fully vaccinated), VE was 96% (95% confidence interval [CI], 93%-98%) among patients with no chronic medical conditions and 83% (95% CI, 76%-88%) among patients with ≥ 3 categories of conditions. VE was similar between those aged 18-64 years versus ≥65 years (P > .05). VE against severe COVID-19 was very high among adults without chronic conditions and lessened with increasing comorbidity burden.

Reliability And Stability Challenges In Abcd Task Fmri Data, James T. Kennedy, Michael P. Harms, Ozlem Korucuoglu, Serguei V. Astafiev, Deanna M. Barch, Wesley K. Thompson, James M. Bjork, Andrey P. Anokhin

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Trait stability of measures is an essential requirement for individual differences research. Functional MRI has been increasingly used in studies that rely on the assumption of trait stability, such as attempts to relate task related brain activation to individual differences in behavior and psychopathology. However, recent research using adult samples has questioned the trait stability of task-fMRI measures, as assessed by test-retest correlations. To date, little is known about trait stability of task fMRI in children. Here, we examined within-session reliability and long-term stability of individual differences in task-fMRI measures using fMRI measures of brain activation provided by the adolescent …

"I Expected Little, Although I Learned A Lot": Perceived Benefits Of Participating In Hiv Risk Reduction Sessions Among Women Engaged In Sex Work In Uganda, Ozge Sensoy Bahar, Proscovia Nabunya, Josephine Nabayinda, Susan S Witte, Joshua Kiyingi, Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson, Prema Filippone, Lyla Sunyoung Yang, Janet Nakigudde, Yesim Tozan, Fred M Ssewamala

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: The global HIV burden remains a public health concern. Women engaged in sex work (WESW) are at higher risk of acquiring HIV compared to the general adult population. Uganda reports high rates of HIV prevalence among WESW. While WESW in Uganda have long been the subject of surveillance studies, they have not been targeted by theory-informed HIV prevention intervention approaches. In this study, we explored the perceived benefits of an evidence-based HIV risk reduction intervention that was implemented as part of a combination intervention tested in a clinical trial in Uganda.

METHODS: As part of a larger randomized clinical …

The Outcome Of A Multidimensional Intervention Strategy For The Management Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder In An Internal Medicine Setting, Nicholas Davidson

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Anxiety disorders are very prevalent in the United States. The most common type, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), affects 6.8 million adults every year. GAD can cause significant deficits in a person’s ability to function, decrease their quality of life and increases a person’s risk of attempting suicide. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to improve the outcomes of adults diagnosed with GAD in an internal medicine setting by implementing a protocol composed of a combination of interventions. A thorough literature search was conducted to find the best available evidence to support the project. A total of 11 …

Factors Associated With Covid-19 Death In The United States: Cohort Study, Uan-I Chen, Hua Xu, Trudy Millard Krause, Raymond Greenberg, Xiao Dong, Xiaoqian Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Since the initial COVID-19 cases were identified in the United States in February 2020, the United States has experienced a high incidence of the disease. Understanding the risk factors for severe outcomes identifies the most vulnerable populations and helps in decision-making.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the factors associated with COVID-19-related deaths from a large, national, individual-level data set.

METHODS: A cohort study was conducted using data from the Optum de-identified COVID-19 electronic health record (EHR) data set; 1,271,033 adult participants were observed from February 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, until their deaths due to COVID-19, deaths …

Factors Associated With Covid-19 Death In The United States: Cohort Study, Uan-I Chen, Hua Xu, Trudy Millard Krause, Raymond Greenberg, Xiao Dong, Xiaoqian Jiang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Since the initial COVID-19 cases were identified in the United States in February 2020, the United States has experienced a high incidence of the disease. Understanding the risk factors for severe outcomes identifies the most vulnerable populations and helps in decision-making.

Objective: This study aims to assess the factors associated with COVID-19-related deaths from a large, national, individual-level data set.

Methods: A cohort study was conducted using data from the Optum de-identified COVID-19 electronic health record (EHR) data set; 1,271,033 adult participants were observed from February 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, until their deaths due to COVID-19, deaths …

Immunogenomic Intertumor Heterogeneity Across Primary And Metastatic Sites In A Patient With Lung Adenocarcinoma, Runzhe Chen, Jun Li, Junya Fujimoto, Lingzhi Hong, Xin Hu, Kelly Quek, Ming Tang, Akash Mitra, Carmen Behrens, Chi-Wan Chow, Peixin Jiang, Latasha D Little, Curtis Gumbs, Xingzhi Song, Jianhua Zhang, Dongfeng Tan, John V Heymach, Ignacio Wistuba, P Andrew Futreal, Don L Gibbons, Lauren A Byers, Jianjun Zhang, Alexandre Reuben

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, partially owing to its extensive heterogeneity. The analysis of intertumor heterogeneity has been limited by an inability to concurrently obtain tissue from synchronous metastases unaltered by multiple prior lines of therapy.

Methods: In order to study the relationship between genomic, epigenomic and T cell repertoire heterogeneity in a rare autopsy case from a 32-year-old female never-smoker with left lung primary late-stage lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), we did whole-exome sequencing (WES), DNA methylation and T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing to characterize the immunogenomic landscape of one primary and 19 synchronous metastatic tumors. …

"It's A Mess Sometimes": Patient Perspectives On Provider Responses To Healthcare Costs, And How Informatics Interventions Can Help Support Cost-Sensitive Care Decisions., Olivia K Richards, Bradley E Iott, Tammy Toscos, Jessica Pater, Shauna Wagner, Tiffany C Veinot

Health Services and Informatics Research

OBJECTIVE: We investigated patient experiences with medication- and test-related cost conversations with healthcare providers to identify their preferences for future informatics tools to facilitate cost-sensitive care decisions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted 18 semistructured interviews with diverse patients (ages 24-81) in a Midwestern health system in the United States. We identified themes through 2 rounds of qualitative coding.

RESULTS: Patients believed their providers could help reduce medication-related costs but did not see how providers could influence test-related costs. Patients viewed cost conversations about medications as beneficial when providers could adjust medical recommendations or provide resources. However, cost conversations did not …

A Multimodal Approach To Decreasing Hesitancy And Increasing Uptake Of The Covid-19 Vaccine In The Family Care Setting, Meghan Zwierzynski

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Since December 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has swept across the world, infecting and killing millions of people, making it one of the worst pandemics in history (WHO, 2021). However, the rates of confirmed cases and deaths have slowed since the discovery of the COVID-19 vaccine. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to decrease vaccine hesitancy and increase uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in the family care setting. The Iowa Model-Revised (Iowa Model Collaborative, 2017) is a practical, effective multi-step change process that acted as a guide for the EBP project. A review of literature showed …

Improving Depression Surveillance At The We Care Clinic, Kaitlin Springer, Emma Hanney

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Depression is one of the most underdiagnosed and untreated disorders affecting more than 16 million people in the United States each year (Henry et al., 2020). Unmanaged depression can lead to emotional suffering, decreased productivity, reduced income, impaired relationships, and an increased risk for comorbidities (Sinisalchi et al., 2020). It can affect anyone, however, individuals who are non-white, female, undereducated, disabled, pregnant or postpartum, have low socioeconomic status, or lack social support are at an increased risk (United States Preventative Services Task Force, 2019). The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville We Care Clinic provides primary care to minority patient populations who …

Seizure To Drug Induced Schizophrenia: A Rare Case Of Keppra-Induced Psychosis, Shadi Shams, Riddhima Issar, Nardin El-Shammaa, Munaza Khan

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Levetiracetam is a broad-spectrum antiseizure medication and is approved as adjunctive therapy to treat focal-onset seizures in children and adults with epilepsy. Levetiracetam has a wide margin of safety and patient-friendly pharmacokinetics that distinguish it from other currently available antiepileptic drugs.

Most common side effects are fatigue, somnolence, dizziness, and upper respiratory infection. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are reported. Psychotic symptoms, paranoid ideation, hallucinations, and behavioral problems may occur in adult and pediatric patients. Among all adverse effects, the rate of psychosis is very low and ranges from less than 1% to 1.4%. A retrospective study showed that this rate is higher …

Association Between Leg Adiposity & Hypertension Subtypes In Young & Middle-Aged American Adults, David Lo, Aayush Visaria, Pranay Maniar

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Our research aim was to determine the association between appendicular adiposity and hypertension to better elucidate the role of body fat distribution on blood pressure (BP).

Many studies have provided evidence for the inverse association between leg adiposity and metabolic syndrome criteria.

Hypertension (HT) subtypes have unique age distributions and associated risk factors. BMI ± triglycerides are major risk factors for isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH).

Secondary Stroke Prevention Retrospective Analysis, Mansi Panse, Samantha Plasner, Nasrine Bendjilali

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability among adults in the United States, and there are well recognized modifiable risk factors for stroke. Secondary prevention efforts to reduce the likelihood of recurrent stroke should be top priority in this high-risk patient population. The role of the primary care team in implementing and assisting patients with adherence to secondary prevention efforts is critical. The objective of this retrospective analysis is to examine how successful primary care providers are at implementing secondary stroke prevention guidelines.

Preventing secondary stroke is critical to the welfare of this high-risk population and ultimately saves …

Mortality In Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension In The Modern Era: Early Insights From The Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry, Kevin Y Chang, Sue Duval, David B Badesch, Todd M Bull, Murali M Chakinala, Teresa De Marco, Robert P Frantz, Anna Hemnes, Stephen C Mathai, Erika Berman Rosenzweig, John J Ryan, Thenappan Thenappan, Phar Investigators

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background Current mortality data for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in the United States are based on registries that enrolled patients prior to 2010. We sought to determine mortality in PAH in the modern era using the PHAR (Pulmonary Hypertension Association Registry). Methods and Results We identified all adult patients with PAH enrolled in the PHAR between September 2015 and September 2020 (N=935). We used Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazards models to assess mortality at 1, 2, and 3 years. Patients were stratified based on disease severity by 3 validated risk scores. In treatment-naïve patients, we compared survival based …

Heart Failure And Patient-Reported Outcomes In Adults With Congenital Heart Disease From 15 Countries, Chun-Wei Lu, Kamila White, Et Al

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Background Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of mortality and associated with significant morbidity in adults with congenital heart disease. We sought to assess the association between HF and patient-report outcomes in adults with congenital heart disease. Methods and Results As part of the APPROACH-IS (Assessment of Patterns of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Adults with Congenital Heart disease-International Study), we collected data on HF status and patient-reported outcomes in 3959 patients from 15 countries across 5 continents. Patient-report outcomes were: perceived health status (12-item Short Form Health Survey), quality of life (Linear Analogue Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale), sense …

Vikela Ekhaya: A Novel, Community-Based, Tuberculosis Contact Management Program In A High Burden Setting, Alexander W Kay, Micaela Sandoval, Godwin Mtetwa, Musa Mkhabela, Banele Ndlovu, Tara Devezin, Welile Sikhondze, Debrah Vambe, Joyce Sibanda, Gloria S Dube, Robert H Stevens, Bhekumusa Lukhele, Anna M Mandalakas

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The prevention of tuberculosis (TB) in child contacts of TB cases and people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a public health priority, but global access to TB preventive therapy (TPT) remains low. In 2019, we implemented Vikela Ekhaya, a novel community-based TB contact management program in Eswatini designed to reduce barriers to accessing TPT.

METHODS: Vikela Ekhaya offered differentiated TB and HIV testing for household contacts of TB cases by using mobile contact management teams to screen contacts, assess their TPT eligibility, and initiate and monitor TPT adherence in participants' homes.

RESULTS: In total, 945 contacts from …

Diagnostic Accuracy Of Macular Thickness Map And Texture En Face Images For Detecting Glaucoma In Eyes With Axial High Myopia, Christopher Bowd, Akram Belghith, Jasmin Rezapour, Mark Christopher, Leslie Hyman, Jost B Jonas, Robert N Weinreb, Linda M Zangwill

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a novel optical coherence tomography texture-based en face image analysis (SALSA-Texture) that requires segmentation of only 1 retinal layer for glaucoma detection in eyes with axial high myopia, and to compare SALSA-Texture with standard macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness, macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL) thickness, and ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness maps.

Design: Comparison of diagnostic approaches.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 92 eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and 44 healthy control eyes with axial high myopia (axial length >26 mm). Optical coherence tomography texture en face images, …