Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

2024 Spring Vol. 41 No. 1, Alumni Affairs School Of Medicine

Medicinews

No abstract provided.

Innominate Artery Pseudoaneurysm From A Salter-Harris Fracture Of The Sternoclavicular Joint, Emily Y Fan, Santiago Abrill Zegarra, Jennifer Walker, Errol Mortimer, Jessica P Simons

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Fractures and dislocations of the sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) are uncommon, accounting for <5% of all shoulder girdle injuries. They are relatively more common in the pediatric population than in the adult population and can often present concurrently as a posteriorly displaced medial clavicular dislocation with a fracture through the unfused physis. It is especially important to recognize this injury, because its management and potential sequelae are very different from those for fractures of the clavicle shaft. This type of injury frequently requires closed or open operative management because fracture-dislocation of the SCJ can be associated with potentially serious complications such as pneumothorax, brachial plexus injury, vagus nerve injury, tracheal injury, and vascular compromise. Few case reports describe fracture-dislocation of the SCJ resulting in vascular injuries. We describe the case of a 17-year-old boy who sustained a blunt hockey injury resulting in a right physeal fracture-dislocation of the SCJ causing an innominate artery pseudoaneurysm. This was treated with excision of the pseudoaneurysm, bovine pericardial patch angioplasty repair of the innominate artery, and open reduction and internal fixation of the medial clavicular physeal fracture.

Influenza Incidence, Lineages, And Vaccine Effectiveness Estimates In Lima, Peru, 2023, Juan Gonzalo Acevedo-Rodriguez, Carlos Zamudio, Noah Kojima, Fiorella Krapp, Pablo Tsukayama, Victor Giancarlo Sal Y Rosas Celi, Dante Baldeon, Carmen Stefany Neciosup-Vera, Carlos Medina, Elsa Gonzalez-Lagos, Laura Castro, Ashley Fowlkes, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo Gotuzzo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Experiences Of Using The Mindset Self-Management Mobile Health App Among Hispanic Patients: Results Of A Qualitative Study, Refugio Sepulveda, Jenny Chong, Ross Shegog, Kimberly Martin, Charles Begley, Robert Addy, Omar Rosales, Tomas Nuño, Shiela Soto, Cecilia Rosales, David Labiner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Interventions focusing on epilepsy self-management (ESM) are vital for promoting the health of people living with epilepsy. E-technology and mobile health (mHealth) tools are becoming increasingly integrated into practice to promote self-management strategies for chronic diseases, enhance care delivery, and reduce health disparities. Management Information and Decision Support Epilepsy Tool (MINDSET), a bilingual decision support tool (available in English and Spanish), was found to be both feasible and effective in facilitating goal-based ESM in the clinic.

PURPOSE: To assess the experience of using MINDSET as an ESM intervention among Hispanic patients with epilepsy to inform future interventional studies.

METHODS: …

Does A Reduction In Receiving Assistance With Daily Activities Among Older Adults In Mexico Indicate An Increase In Unmet Needs Or A Decrease In Needs For Care?, Brian Downer, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Philip Cantu, Matthew Miller, Rebeca Wong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: The percentage of older adults in Mexico with difficulty completing activities of daily living (ADL) who receive assistance from family appears to be decreasing. We compared 2 birth cohorts of older adults in Mexico to investigate whether this trend reflects an increase in unmet caregiving needs or a decrease in the need for care.

METHODS: We selected Mexican Health and Aging Study participants aged 60-76 in 2001 (n = 4,805) and 2018 (n = 6,494). ADL tasks were dressing, walking, bathing, getting in and out of bed, and toileting. Participants who reported difficulty with an ADL were asked if …

The Dementia Care Study (D-Care): Recruitment Strategies And Demographic Characteristics Of Participants In A Pragmatic Randomized Trial Of Dementia Care, Mia Yang, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Elena Volpi, Aval-Na'ree Green, Maya Lichtenstein, Katy Araujo, Pamela Borek, Peter Charpentier, James Dziura, Thomas M Gill, Rebecca Galloway, Erich J Greene, Kristin Lenoir, Peter Peduzzi, Can Meng, Jordan Reese, Amy Shelton, Eleni A Skokos, Jenny Summapund, Erin Unger, David B Reuben, Jeff D Williamson, Alan B Stevens

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: Pragmatic research studies that include diverse dyads of persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their family caregivers are rare.

METHODS: Community-dwelling dyads were recruited for a pragmatic clinical trial evaluating three approaches to dementia care. Four clinical trial sites used shared and site-specific recruitment strategies to enroll health system patients.

RESULTS: Electronic health record (EHR) queries of patients with a diagnosis of dementia and engagement of their clinicians were the main recruitment strategies. A total of 2176 dyads were enrolled, with 80% recruited after the onset of the pandemic. PLWD had a mean age of 80.6 years (SD 8.5), …

Potential Impact Of Annual Vaccination With Reformulated Covid-19 Vaccines: Lessons From The Us Covid-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, Sung-Mok Jung, Sara L Loo, Emily Howerton, Lucie Contamin, Claire P Smith, Erica C Carcelén, Katie Yan, Samantha J Bents, John Levander, Jessi Espino, Joseph C Lemaitre, Koji Sato, Clifton D Mckee, Alison L Hill, Matteo Chinazzi, Jessica T Davis, Kunpeng Mu, Alessandro Vespignani, Erik T Rosenstrom, Sebastian A Rodriguez-Cartes, Julie S Ivy, Maria E Mayorga, Julie L Swann, Guido España, Sean Cavany, Sean M Moore, T Alex Perkins, Shi Chen, Rajib Paul, Daniel Janies, Jean-Claude Thill, Ajitesh Srivastava, Majd Al Aawar, Kaiming Bi, Shraddha Ramdas Bandekar, Anass Bouchnita, Spencer J Fox, Lauren Ancel Meyers, Przemyslaw Porebski, Srini Venkatramanan, Aniruddha Adiga, Benjamin Hurt, Brian Klahn, Joseph Outten, Jiangzhuo Chen, Henning Mortveit, Amanda Wilson, Stefan Hoops, Parantapa Bhattacharya, Dustin Machi, Anil Vullikanti, Bryan Lewis, Madhav Marathe, Harry Hochheiser, Michael C Runge, Katriona Shea, Shaun Truelove, Cécile Viboud, Justin Lessler

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause significant hospitalizations and deaths in the United States. Its continued burden and the impact of annually reformulated vaccines remain unclear. Here, we present projections of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in the United States for the next 2 years under 2 plausible assumptions about immune escape (20% per year and 50% per year) and 3 possible CDC recommendations for the use of annually reformulated vaccines (no recommendation, vaccination for those aged 65 years and over, vaccination for all eligible age groups based on FDA approval).

METHODS AND FINDINGS: The COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub …

The Influence Of Home Versus Clinic Anal Human Papillomavirus Sampling On High-Resolution Anoscopy Uptake In The Prevent Anal Cancer Self-Swab Study, Jenna Nitkowski, Timothy J Ridolfi, Sarah J Lundeen, Anna R Giuliano, Elizabeth Y Chiao, Maria E Fernandez, Vanessa Schick, Jennifer S Smith, Bridgett Brzezinski, Alan G Nyitray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background Anal cancer disproportionately affects sexual and gender minority individuals living with HIV. High-resolution anoscopy (HRA) is an in-clinic procedure to detect precancerous anal lesions and cancer, yet prospective data on factors associated with HRA attendance are lacking. We examined whether anal HPV sampling at home versus in a clinic impacts HRA uptake and assessed HRA acceptability. Methods Sexual and gender minority individuals were randomised to home-based self-sampling or clinical sampling. All were asked to attend in-clinic HRA 1year later. We regressed HRA attendance on study arm using multivariable Poisson regression and assessed HRA acceptability using χ 2 tests. Results …

Differential Effects Of Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Regimens On Diabetes Distress And Depressive Symptoms In The Glycemia Reduction Approaches In Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (Grade), Jeffrey S Gonzalez, Ionut Bebu, Heidi Krause-Steinrauf, Claire J Hoogendoorn, Gladys Crespo-Ramos, Caroline Presley, Aanand D Naik, Shihchen Kuo, Mary L Johnson, Deborah Wexler, Jill P Crandall, Anne E Bantle, Valerie Arends, Andrea L Cherrington

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: We evaluated whether adding basal insulin to metformin in adults with early type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) would increase emotional distress relative to other treatments.

Research design and methods: The Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE) of adults with T2DM of < 10 years' duration, HbA1c 6.8-8.5%, and taking metformin monotherapy randomly assigned participants to add insulin glargine U-100, sulfonylurea glimepiride, the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist liraglutide, or the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor sitagliptin. The Emotional Distress Substudy enrolled 1,739 GRADE participants (mean [SD] age 58.0 [10.2] years, 32% female, 56% non-Hispanic White, 18% non-Hispanic Black, 17% Hispanic) and assessed diabetes distress and depressive symptoms every 6 months. Analyses examined differences at 1 year and over the 3-year follow-up.

Results: Across treatments, diabetes distress (-0.24, P < 0.0001) and depressive symptoms (-0.67, P < 0.0001) decreased over 1 year. Diabetes distress was lower at 1 year for the glargine group than for the other groups combined (-0.10, P = 0.002). Diabetes distress was also lower for liraglutide than for glimepiride or sitagliptin (-0.10, P = 0.008). Over the 3-year follow-up, there were no significant group differences in total diabetes distress; interpersonal diabetes distress remained lower for those assigned to liraglutide. No significant differences were observed for depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Contrary to expectations, this randomized trial found no evidence for a deleterious effect of basal insulin on emotional distress. Glargine lowered diabetes distress modestly at 1 year rather than increasing it. Liraglutide also reduced diabetes distress at 1 year. Results can inform treatment decisions for adults …

Does Emotional Distress Predict Worse Glycemic Control Over Time? Results From The Glycemia Reduction Approaches In Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (Grade), Andrea L Cherrington, Ionut Bebu, Heidi Krause-Steinrauf, Claire J Hoogendoorn, Gladys Crespo-Ramos, Caroline Presley, Aanand D Naik, Ashok Balasubramanyam, Michaela R Gramzinski, Tina Killean, Valerie L Arends, Jeffrey S Gonzalez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: To evaluate whether baseline levels of depressive symptoms and diabetes-specific distress are associated with glycemic control in Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE), a large randomized controlled trial comparing the metabolic effects of four common glucose-lowering medications when combined with metformin in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Research design and methods: The primary and secondary outcomes were defined as an HbA1c value ≥7%, subsequently confirmed, and an HbA1c value >7.5%, subsequently confirmed, respectively. Separate Cox proportional hazards models assessed the association between baseline levels of each exposure of interest (depressive symptoms measured with …

Emotional Distress Predicts Reduced Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Adherence In The Glycemia Reduction Approaches In Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (Grade), Claire J Hoogendoorn, Heidi Krause-Steinrauf, Diane Uschner, Hui Wen, Caroline A Presley, Elizabeth A Legowski, Aanand D Naik, Sherita Hill Golden, Valerie L Arends, Janet Brown-Friday, Jonathan A Krakoff, Colleen E Suratt, Andrea H Waltje, Andrea L Cherrington, Jeffrey S Gonzalez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: We examined longitudinal associations between emotional distress (specifically, depressive symptoms and diabetes distress) and medication adherence in Glycemia Reduction Approaches in Diabetes: A Comparative Effectiveness Study (GRADE), a large randomized controlled trial comparing four glucose-lowering medications added to metformin in adults with relatively recent-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Research design and methods: The Emotional Distress Substudy assessed medication adherence, depressive symptoms, and diabetes distress in 1,739 GRADE participants via self-completed questionnaires administered biannually up to 3 years. We examined baseline depressive symptoms and diabetes distress as predictors of medication adherence over 36 months. Bidirectional visit-to-visit relationships were also …

Concordance Of Human Papillomavirus Genotypes In Mailed Home-Based Self-Collected Versus Clinician-Collected Anal Swabs Among Sexual And Gender Minority Individuals, Jenna Nitkowski, Anna R Giuliano, Tim Ridolfi, Elizabeth Chiao, Maria E Fernandez, Vanessa Schick, Michael D Swartz, Jennifer S Smith, Alan G Nyitray

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Home-based self-sampling may be a viable option for anal cancer screening among sexual minority men (SMM). Yet limited research has compared home-based self-collected with clinician-collected anal swabs for human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping.

Methods: The Prevent Anal Cancer Self-Swab Study recruited SMM and transgender persons 25 years and over in Milwaukee, WI to participate in an anal cancer screening study. Participants were randomized to a home or clinic arm. Home-based participants were mailed an anal self-sampling kit to complete and return via postal mail. They were also asked to attend a clinic appointment where a clinician collected an anal swab. …

Transitioning From An In-Person Intervention To Augmented Text Messaging During Covid-19 In Mexican Americans With Prediabetes: The Starr County Diabetes Prevention Randomized Clinical Trial, Sharon A Brown, Mary A Winter, Heather A Becker, Alexandra A García, Mary M Velasquez, Hirofumi Tanaka, William B Perkison, Eric L Brown, David Aguilar, Craig L Hanis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to explore the feasibility of using commonly available technology, such as text messaging, for diabetes prevention in rural Mexican American communities during COVID-19.

METHODS: Participants were selected from a diabetes prevention study funded by the National Institutes of Health that, prior to COVID-19, involved in-person group intervention sessions. Participants were predominantly female adults born in Mexico and Spanish-speaking. A subsample (n = 140) was divided into 3 cohorts: (1) 50 who completed the initial in-person intervention prior to the COVID-19 research pause, (2) 60 who needed additional support sessions to complete the intervention …

Samhd1 Compound Heterozygous Rare Variants Associated With Moyamoya And Mitral Valve Disease In The Absence Of Other Features Of Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome, Aamuktha R Karla, Amélie Pinard, Maura L Boerio, Dimitri Hemelsoet, Simon J Tavernier, Michel De Pauw, Elke Vereecke, Stuart Fraser, Michael J Bamshad, Dongchuan Guo, Bert Callewaert, Dianna M Milewicz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) is an autosomal recessive inflammatory syndrome that manifests as an early-onset encephalopathy with both neurologic and extraneurologic clinical findings. AGS has been associated with pathogenic variants in nine genes: TREX1, RNASEH2B, RNASEH2C, RNASEH2A, SAMHD1, ADAR, IFIH1, LSM11, and RNU7-1. Diagnosis is established by clinical findings (encephalopathy and acquired microcephaly, intellectual and physical impairments, dystonia, hepatosplenomegaly, sterile pyrexia, and/or chilblains), characteristic abnormalities on cranial CT (calcification of the basal ganglia and white matter) and MRI (leukodystrophic changes), or the identification of pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants in the known genes. One of the genes associated with AGS, SAMHD1, has also …

Maintaining Program Fidelity In A Changing World: National Implementation Of A School-Based Hiv Prevention Program, Elizabeth Schieber, Lynette Deveaux, Lesley Cotrell, Xiaoming Li, Stephenie C Lemon, Arlene S Ash, Karen Macdonell, Samiran Ghosh, Maxwell Poitier, Glenda Rolle, Sylvie Naar, Bo Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Large-scale, evidence-based interventions face challenges to program fidelity of implementation. We developed implementation strategies to support teachers implementing an evidence-based HIV prevention program in schools, Focus on Youth in The Caribbean (FOYC) and Caribbean Informed Parents and Children Together (CImPACT) in The Bahamas. We examined the effects of these implementation strategies on teachers' implementation in the subsequent year after the initial implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 79 Grade 6 teachers in 24 government elementary schools. Teachers completed training workshops and a pre-implementation questionnaire to record their characteristics and perceptions that might affect their program fidelity. School …

A Review Of The Progression Of Concussion Protocols Used Over Time In High School And College Athletics, Renee M. Thompson

Honors Thesis

Concussions have a significant impact on teenagers and young adults. Most concussions occur when participating in sports. Therefore, the focus is on high school and college athletes for this review. Over the years many new concussion studies and protocols have been implemented and removed. Concussions are head injuries, where the person has suffered trauma causing the brain to shift and receive damage. This typically impacts brain tissue and a variety of symptoms results. Concussions were traditionally not considered with the same severity as broken bones or bloody wounds. Head injuries can have extreme effects on the body and daily living …

Otherization And Healthcare: A Philosophical Analysis Of Gender-Based Discrimination In Medicine, Rachel M. Beare

Honors Thesis

Healthcare interactions are a core feature of medical practice and medicine cannot function without these relationships. Moreover, the physician-patient relationship within healthcare have revealed varying problems that arise within the interpersonal interactions. These problems were even more concerning when they showed gender discrimination occurring within medical interactions, such as workplace discrimination of female physicians, higher risk of misdiagnosing and mortality of female patients, and an overall medical culture that invalidated women. Understanding the extent of these problems was achieved through analyzing philosophical structures presented within the philosophical writings of G. W. F. Hegel and Simone de Beauvoir. Application of Hegel’s …

Quality Of Life In A Cohort Of Kenyan Children With Cerebral Palsy, Pauline Samia, Melissa Tirkha, Amina Kassam, Richard Muindi, Wahu Gitakah, Susan Wamithi, James Orwa, Eugene Were, Michael Shevell

Paediatrics and Child Health, East Africa

Aim: The objective of the study was to evaluate the quality of life in Kenyan children (age 4–18 years) with cerebral palsy (CP).

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. Children with CP were recruited from the pediatric clinics at the Aga Khan hospital Nairobi (AKUHN). Parent proxy-reports using CPQoL-child and CPQoL-adolescents were obtained. Clinical and demographic data were compiled from medical records and parent interviews. A Likert scale was utilized to determine QoL across several domains.

Results: One hundred and fourteen child–parent dyads with CP were recruited. The median age of study participants was 8 years (IQR 3–13 years), …

Mushroom Composition Across An Elevational Gradient During The 2024 Wet Season In Mazumbai Forest Reserve, Tanzania, Christopher Brady

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mushrooms are key bioindicators that contribute greatly to ecological health, and their diversity is indicative of a healthy ecosystem. However, even with the vital role they play in ecological health, there are few studies which measure the diversity of mushrooms in Mazumbai Forest Reserve (MFR), Tanzania, Africa, and none which focus on diversity along the elevational gradient within the reserve (1300-1900m). This study measures the diversity and equitability of mushrooms growing in six elevational zones within MFR during the rainy season of 2024. A species checklist of mushrooms growing in MFR during the 2024 rainy season was created, tracking the …

Una Exploración Sobre La Alimentación Saludable. Percepciones De Mujeres Adultas Entre 31 Y 45 Años Según Su Nivel De Ingresos En La Ciudad Autónoma De Buenos Aires En 2024 / An Exploration Of Healthy Eating. Perceptions Of Adult Women Between 31 And 45 Years Old According To Their Income Level In The Autonomous City Of Buenos Aires In 2024, Anabelle Flaharty

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En los últimos años, Argentina ha identificado los hábitos alimentarios como un área crítica que necesita análisis e intervención. Dado que la desnutrición es una de las principales causas de enfermedades no transmisibles (ENTs), organizaciones mundiales de salud han afirmado que practicar una “alimentación saludable” es una solución práctica a este problema. Entre la población argentina, la alimentación poco saludable ha provocado una epidemia de obesidad, sobrepeso y ENTs. Se sabe que hoy el 31,7 % de las mujeres argentinas adultas y el 30,2 % de los hombres argentinos adultos tienen sobrepeso. Además, la diabetes tiene una prevalencia del 10,5% …

The Design Of A Quality Improvement Dashboard For Monitoring Spinal Cord And Column Injuries, Zahra Azadmanjir, Mohsen Sadeghi-Naini, Mohammad Dashtkoohi, Maziar Moradi-Lakeh, Jalil Arabkheradmand, James Harrop, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Background: Interactive dashboards are a powerful tool for dynamic visualization and monitoring of patient performance and serve as a useful to for optimal decision-making. The National Spinal Column and Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR) was designed to efficiently display and broadcast important patient care data. This has been achieved through an electronic dashboard display (graph and visual displays), rather than traditional static paper reports (text). Objectives: The objective of this study was to design and develop an electronic visual dashboard as a display system to monitor the quality of care in the NSCIR-IR collaborating centers. Methods: The indicators chosen …

Premastectomy Radiotherapy And Immediate Breast Reconstruction: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Mark V Schaverien, Puneet Singh, Benjamin D Smith, Wei Qiao, Catherine L Akay, Elizabeth S Bloom, Mariana Chavez-Macgregor, Carrie K Chu, Mark W Clemens, Jessica S Colen, Richard A Ehlers, Rosa F Hwang, Melissa M Joyner, Rene D Largo, Alexander F Mericli, Melissa P Mitchell, John W Shuck, Nina Tamirisa, Debasish Tripathy, Mark T Villa, Wendy A Woodward, Rensi Zacharia, Henry M Kuerer, Karen E Hoffman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: Premastectomy radiotherapy (PreMRT) is a new treatment sequence to avoid the adverse effects of radiotherapy on the final breast reconstruction while achieving the benefits of immediate breast reconstruction (IMBR).

Objective: To evaluate outcomes among patients who received PreMRT and regional nodal irradiation (RNI) followed by mastectomy and IMBR.

Design, setting, and participants: This was a phase 2 single-center randomized clinical trial conducted between August 3, 2018, and August 2, 2022, evaluating the feasibility and safety of PreMRT and RNI (including internal mammary lymph nodes). Patients with cT0-T3, N0-N3b breast cancer and a recommendation for radiotherapy were eligible.

Intervention: This …

Barriers To Escape: How Homelessness And Drug Addiction Prevent Women From Escaping Sex Trafficking And Commercial Sex, Laura J. Lederer, Mckamie J. Chandler, Stanley Stinson

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Victims of sex trafficking and women purportedly involved in prostitution voluntarily face a complex web of interconnected challenges when attempting to escape their current circumstances. By analyzing the shared and distinct challenges faced by these women, the paper aims to inform policymakers and service providers, offering recommendations to empower women seeking to escape exploitation through multidisciplinary and interconnected networks of providers. This study surveyed 74 women in Detroit, Michigan, using nonprobability convenience sampling over a 10-month period in 2020. It compared three groups of women who self-reported as victims of sex trafficking, women who voluntarily engaged in some form of …

Efficacy Of Digital Mental Health Interventions For Ptsd Symptoms: A Systematic Review Of Meta-Analyses, Yue Qi Germaine Tng, Xun Ci Soh, Xun Ci Soh, Andree Hartanto, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Background: The present systematic review aimed to synthesize the results of meta-analyses which examine the effects of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and investigate whether intervention characteristics (i.e., technique, timeframe, and therapeutic guidance) and methodological characteristics including outcome measures and sample inclusion criteria (age, gender, socioeconomic status, country, comorbidity) moderate the efficacy of digital interventions. Methods: A systematic search of various sources (ECSCOhost PsycInfo, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOhost ERIC, Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses) including five peer-reviewed journals was conducted to identify relevant meta-analyses up to December 2023, and 11 meta-analyses …

Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy For Lithium Toxicity: A Worthy Treatment To Avoid Intradialytic Hypotension And Vasopressors., Pooya Zardoost, Zachary Buckman, Joseph Weaver, Sidney Elston, Alex Prouty, Ryan Stuart, Henry L Wehrum

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

While intermittent hemodialysis (HD) is the most efficient method of removing lithium in patients with lithium toxicity, continuous renal replacement therapy is an acceptable alternative in the setting of intradialytic hypotension. This form of dialysis can reduce the need for vasopressors during HD, which increases mortality.

An Exploration Of The Genetics Of The Mutant Huntingtin (Mhtt) Gene In A Cohort Of Patients With Chorea From Different Ethnic Groups In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mendi J. Muthinja, Carlos Othon Guelngar, Maouly Fall, Fatumah Jama, Huda Aldeen Shuja, Jamila Nambafu, Daniel Gams Massi, Oluwadamilola Ojo, Juzar Hooker, Dilraj Sokhi

Internal Medicine, East Africa

Background: Africans are underrepresented in Huntington's disease (HD) research. A European ancestor was postulated to have introduced the mutant Huntingtin (mHtt) gene to the continent; however, recent work has shown the existence of a unique Htt haplotype in South-Africa specific to indigenous Africans.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the CAG trinucleotide repeats expansion in the Htt gene in a geographically diverse cohort of patients with chorea and unaffected controls from sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: We evaluated 99 participants: 43 patients with chorea, 21 asymptomatic first-degree relatives of subjects with chorea, and 35 healthy controls for the presence of the mHtt. Participants …

Cross-Cultural Equivalence Of The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) Across Four African Countries In A Multi-National Study Of Adults, Amantia Ametaj, Christy Denckla, Anne Stevenson, Rocky Stroud, Jasmine Hall, Linnet Ongeri, Barkot Milkias, Jacob Hoffman, Lukoye Atwoli, Stella Gichuru

Internal Medicine, East Africa

The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) has been widely used to screen psychological distress across many countries. However, its performance has not been extensively studied in Africa. The present study sought to evaluate and compare measurement properties of the K10 across four African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. Our hypothesis is that the measure will show equivalence across all. Data are drawn from a neuropsychiatric genetic study among adult participants (N = 9179) from general medical settings in Ethiopia (n = 1928), Kenya (n = 2556), Uganda (n = 2104), and South Africa (n = 2591). A unidimensional …

Correlation Of Sonographic With Intraoperative Findings In Laparoscopic Managed Ectopic Pregnancies, A 10-Year Synopsis: A Retrospective Observational Study, Steve Mutiso

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Background: Ectopic pregnancies (EP) are a common pregnancy complication that's associated with significant morbidity and rarely mortality if not managed properly. Ultrasound examination forms the cornerstone of diagnosis of EP with some sonographic features occasionally not correlating with intraoperative findings. We set out to conduct an audit of EP managed surgically at our hospital for a 10-year period and discern the correlation and prediction of sonographic findings to intraoperative findings.

Methods: This study was designed as a Retrospective Observational Study based at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). Study population was all women admitted to AKUH with a diagnosis of …

Long-Term Health Related Quality Of Life Following Uterine Fibroid Embolization In A Predominantly Black African Population: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Michael Kioko, Marleen Temmerman, Timona Obura, Adelaide Lusambili

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is one of the effective options available for treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids with documented improvement in the quality of life and reduction in symptoms. The study assessed long-term quality of life post-uterine fibroid embolization in a mostly black population, noting scanty local or African research on this topic despite evidence suggesting a higher fibroid burden among black women. This retrospective study examined patients who underwent UFE from 2009 to 2014. Participants completed online demographic and UFS-QOL surveys. Statistical tests included Wilcoxon signed rank tests for HRQOL score differences and Pearson correlation for associations between independent …

Prediction Of Cardiovascular Risk Factors From Retinal Fundus Photographs: Validation Of A Deep Learning Algorithm In A Prospective Non-Interventional Study In Kenya, Tom White, Viknesh Selvarajah, Fredrik Wolfhagen, Nils Svangård, Gayathri Mohankumar, Peter Fenici, Kathryn Rough, Nelson Onyango, Mansoor Saleh, Innocent Abayo

Haematology and Oncology, East Africa

Aim: Hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM) are major causes of morbidity andmortality, with growing burdens in low-income countries where they are underdiag-nosed and undertreated. Advances in machine learning may provide opportunities toenhance diagnostics in settings with limited medical infrastructure.

Materials and Methods: A non-interventional study was conducted to develop andvalidate a machine learning algorithm to estimate cardiovascular clinical and labora-tory parameters. At two sites in Kenya, digital retinal fundus photographs were col-lected alongside blood pressure (BP), laboratory measures and medical history. Theperformance of machine learning models, originally trained using data from the UKBiobank, were evaluated for their ability to estimate …