Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Commons^™

Hospital And Temporal Variations In Limitations Of Care Among Hospitalized Patients With Covid-19: A Virus Registry Retrospective Cohort Study, Nathan Mesfin, Nitesh Kumar Jain, Anwar Khedr, Hisham Mushtaq, Abbas B. Jama, Noura Attallah, Esraa Hassan, Benjamin Langworthy, Nicholas Ingraham, Juan Pablo Domecq Garces, Thoyaja Koritala, Donna Lee Armaignac, Nicholas Eugene Perkins, Katherine Belden, Vishakha Kumar, Karen Boman, Devang K. Sanghavi, Vikas Bansal, Rahul Kashyap, Rodrigo Cartin-Ceba, Abigail La Nou, Allan J. Walkey, R. Adams Dudley, Syed Anjum Khan

Division of Infectious Diseases and Environmental Medicine Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Life-support limits (i.e., code status), the first step in the continuum of palliation and end-of-life (EoL) care, stem from decisions made by patients and their providers to align care near the EoL with patients' wishes. The pandemic created health care strain that may have influenced life-support limitation practices among patients with serious COVID-19. In this study, we examine variations in life-support limitations (do-not-resuscitate, DNR; do-not-intubate, DNI) depending on the hospital and period of hospitalization.

METHODS: We included all adults admitted to a hospital in the United States with COVID-19 from January 2020 to December 2021 using the VIRUS registry. …

Shifting Treatment Patterns In Achalasia: The Surge In Poem Adoption & The Impact Of Covid-19, Carson Cornell Creamer, Mohammad Abuassi, Harsimran Kalsi, Kobina Essilfie-Quaye, Tony S. Brar, Yaseen Perbtani

North Florida Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of The Decline In Primary Care Physician Visits, 2010 To 2021, Anuradha Jetty, Marie Ezran, Alison Huffstetler, Yalda Jabbarpour

Department of Family & Community Medicine Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Primary care is the backbone of the United States healthcare system, yet it continues to be underfunded and inaccessible to many. Previous studies explored primary care visit patterns until 2016, leaving gaps in our understanding of how recent factors like state Medicaid expansions, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and population growth have influenced these patterns. Hence, the objective of the current study was to analyze the trends in primary care visits provided by outpatient clinicians over time and by visit type and contextualize study findings within the changing healthcare landscape.

METHODS: The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data (2010-2021) …

Detecting Sars-Cov-2 In Ct Scans Using Vision Transformer And Graph Neural Network, Kamorudeen Amuda, Almustapha Wakili, Tomilade Amoo, Lukman Agbetu, Qianlong Wang, Jinjuan Feng

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant challenges to global healthcare, bringing out the urgent need for reliable diagnostic tools. Computed Tomography (CT) scans have proven instrumental in detecting COVID-19-induced lung abnormalities. This study introduces Convolutional Neural Network, Graph Neural Network, and Vision Transformer (ViTGNN), an advanced hybrid model designed to enhance SARS-CoV-2 detection by combining Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for feature extraction with Vision Transformers (ViTs) for classification. Using the strength of CNN and GNN to capture complex relational structures and the ViT capacity to classify global contexts, ViTGNN achieves a comprehensive representation of CT scan data. The model was …

A Comparison Of Icare And Goldmann Applanation Tonometry Measurements During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study, Shreya Swaminathan, Amber M. Kisielewski, M. Hossein Nowroozzadeh, Shahin Hallaj, Daniel Lee, Natasha N. Kolomeyer, Jonathan S. Myers, Reza Razeghinejad

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE: To evaluate factors associated with differences in intraocular pressure (IOP) readings between iCare and Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) in established glaucoma patients.

METHODS: This retrospective comparative study included clinical data of 350 eyes from 350 established glaucoma patients who had iCare and GAT IOP measured by an ophthalmic technician and a glaucoma specialist, respectively. The main outcome measure was the difference in IOP measurements of the right eyes with iCare and GAT.

RESULTS: The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between GAT and iCare was 0.90. The mean IOP difference between tonometers was - 0.18 ± 2.89 mmHg. Bland-Altman plots indicated …

Topical Platelet-Rich Plasma As A Possible Treatment For Olfactory Dysfunction-A Randomized Controlled Trial, Alexander Duffy, Bita Naimi, Emily Garvey, Stephanie Hunter, Ayan Kumar, Chase Kahn, Douglas Farquhar, Glen D'Souza, Nancy Rawson, Pamela Dalton, Elina Toskala, Mindy Rabinowitz, Marc Rosen, Gurston G. Nyquist, David Rosen

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) affects many survivors of COVID-19. Prior studies have investigated the use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for OD. We describe the first randomized controlled trial investigating topical PRP for OD treatment and contribute to existing literature illustrating PRP as an emerging therapeutic.

METHODS: This is a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial conducted from July 2022 to December 2023. Adult patients with OD ≥6 months secondary to COVID-19 with Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT) scores of ≤8/12 or SCENTinel odor intensity of ≤40/100 were included. Patients were randomized to three, monthly PRP or placebo-impregnated Surgifoam treatments into bilateral …

Detection Of Sars-Cov-2 Nucleocapsid And Spike Antibodies In Serum Of Covid-19 Vaccinated And Infected Patients Utilizing Immunoblot Assay, Suzanna Horn

Honors Theses

In 2020, the world was introduced to COVID-19, a strain of Coronavirus that quickly caused a pandemic at the global scale. COVID-19 was reported to cause 5.94 million deaths between 2020-2021, and it continues to prevail amongst society in 2024. Many methods of preventing COVID-19 infection arose throughout this time period; however, mRNA vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein became the most effective way to protect the population from COVID-19’s destructive reign.

Although society has made significant scientific strides in Coronavirus testing and vaccination efforts, there are many improvements that must be made to better protect our society from …

The Effect Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Sanitation Practices And Anxiety In The General Population, Leah Cliatt, Joanna Petrides

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Illness anxiety and fear of contracting coronavirus increased considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. The media, being in lockdown, and cyberchondria had the largest impact on the population’s anxiety surrounding illness. While this kind of reaction to illness is expected during the pandemic, there is limited data on post-pandemic illness anxiety levels in the general population. Patients’ perception of disease impacts medicine at every level; medical professionals need to understand the concerns and fears of their patients in order to treat the post-pandemic patient. We hypothesized that sanitation practices and anxiety surrounding illness have not returned to baseline pre-COVID-19 …

Potential Mechanisms For New Onset Atrial Fibrillation In Covid-19 Patients, Raghav Gupta, Yara Assadi, Shaniece Nicole Lawrence, Erika Jeanie Pitsker, Michael Scott Bickford Jr., Victoria Amber Saniko

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Introduction: This study shows the prevalence of New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in COVID-19 patients and highlights the most prevalent explanatory pathologic theories for the correlation.

Methods: The authors carried out a literature review over PubMed using the keywords “atrial fibrillation” and “long-term COVID.” 48 articles were reviewed. Articles relating to new onset of atrial fibrillation in COVID-19 patients were included while articles posted before 2020, not related to COVID and atrial fibrillation were excluded.

Results: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in COVID patients is often reported to be around 17%, however 44% of patients within Intensive Care units (ICU) have atrial …

Singh Thattha Beard Covering Technique And Quantitative Fit Testing Of A Tight-Fitting Filtering Facepiece (Ffp3), Harmann Singh, Allen Ecker, Todd Schachter, Thomas Boyle, Matthew Vanek

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Singh Thattha beard covering technique when quantitatively fit testing tight-fitting filtering face masks (N95 respirators) on male members of the Sikh religious group. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sikh healthcare workers faced the difficult decision of either shaving their unshorn beards to continue their profession or finding alternative solutions to maintain adequate respiratory protection. The study used a quantitative fit test method to measure the number of particles inside and outside the mask, calculating a fit factor. Participants performed exercises while wearing an N95 respirator and then repeated the exercises with a …

Covid-19 Vaccine Intercountry Distribution Inequality And Its Underlying Factors: A Combined Concentration Index Analysis And Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, Wafa Abu El Kheir-Mataria, Zeinab Khadr, Hassan El Fawal, Sungsoo Chun

Faculty Journal Articles

Introduction: Inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines among countries is a pressing global health issue. Factors such as economic power, political power, political stability, and health system strength contribute to disparities in vaccine distribution. This study aims to assess the inequality in vaccine distribution among countries based on these factors and identify their relationship with COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Methods: A Concentration Index (CI) analysis was conducted to evaluate inequalities in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines among countries based on four separate variables: GDP per capita, political stability (PS), World Power Index (WPI), and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Additionally, Multiple Linear Regression …

Diagnostic Certainty During In-Person And Telehealth Autism Evaluations, Natasha N. Ludwig, Calliope Holingue, Ji Su Hong, Luther G. Kalb, Danika Pfeiffer, Rachel Reetzke, Deepa Menon

Speech-Language Pathology Faculty Publications

Background

Many diagnostic evaluations abruptly shifted to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, little is known about the impact on diagnosis patterns for children evaluated for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this clinical research study was to examine (1) the frequency of diagnoses evaluated beyond ASD; (2) the frequency of diagnoses made, including ASD; and (3) clinician diagnostic certainty for all diagnoses evaluated for children who received an evaluation due to primary concerns about ASD via telehealth during the pandemic compared to those evaluated in person before the pandemic at an ASD specialty clinic.

Methods

The sample included …

Machine-Learning-Enabled Diagnostics With Improved Visualization Of Disease Lesions In Chest X-Ray Images, Md. Fashiar Rahman, Tzu-Liang (Bill) Tseng, Michael Pokojovy, Peter Mccaffrey, Eric Walser, Scott Moen, Alex Vo, Johnny C. Ho

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

The class activation map (CAM) represents the neural-network-derived region of interest, which can help clarify the mechanism of the convolutional neural network’s determination of any class of interest. In medical imaging, it can help medical practitioners diagnose diseases like COVID-19 or pneumonia by highlighting the suspicious regions in Computational Tomography (CT) or chest X-ray (CXR) film. Many contemporary deep learning techniques only focus on COVID-19 classification tasks using CXRs, while few attempt to make it explainable with a saliency map. To fill this research gap, we first propose a VGG-16-architecture-based deep learning approach in combination with image enhancement, segmentation-based region …

Raman Spectroscopic Analysis Of Human Serum Samples Of Convalescing Covid-19 Positive Patients, Hugh Byrne, Naomi Jackson, Jaythoon Hassan

Articles

Rapid screening, detection and monitoring of viral infection is of critical importance, as exemplified by the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, leading to the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19. This is equally the case for the stages of patient convalescence as for the initial stages of infection, to understand the medium and long terms effects, as well as the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Optical spectroscopic techniques potentially offer an alternative to currently employed techniques of screening for the presence, or the response to infection. In this study, the ability of Raman spectroscopy to distinguish between samples of the serum of convalescent COVID-19 …

Covid‑19‑Related Risk, Resilience, And Mental Health Among Mexican American Mothers Across The First Year Of The Pandemic, Amy L. Non, Elizabeth S. Clausing, Sandraluz Lara‑Cinisomo, Kimberly L. D’Anna Hernandez

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty Publications

Background Latina mothers have been especially affected by the pandemic and historically exhibit high rates of depression and anxiety. However, few longitudinal studies have assessed the effect of the pandemic on this vulnerable population. We hypothesized that COVID-19-related stressors would associate with psychological distress among Latina mothers across the first year of the pandemic.

Methods We investigated COVID-19-related impact, stigma, and fears across two critical time points and changes in these measures in relation to changes in maternal anxiety and depression among mothers of Mexican descent living in Southern California (n=152). Surveys were administered within 5–16 weeks of …

Serotonin Reduction In Post-Acute Sequelae Of Viral Infection, Andrea Wong, Ashwarya Devason, Iboro Umana, Timothy Cox, Lenka Dohnalová, Lev Litichevskiy, Jonathan Perla, Patrick Lundgren, Zienab Etwebi, Luke Izzo, Jihee Kim, Monika Tetlak, Hélène Descamps, Simone Park, Stephen Wisser, Aaron Mcknight, Ryan Pardy, Junwon Kim, Niklas Blank, Shaan Patel, Katharina Thum, Sydney Mason, Jean-Christophe Beltra, Michaël Michieletto, Shin Foong Ngiow, Brittany Miller, Megan Liou, Bhoomi Madhu, Oxana Dmitrieva-Posocco, Alex Huber, Peter Hewins, Christopher Petucci, Candice Chu, Gwen Baraniecki-Zwil, Leila Giron, Amy Baxter, Allison Greenplate, Charlotte Kearns, Kathleen Montone, Leslie Litzky, Michael Feldman, Jorge Henao-Mejia, Boris Striepen, Holly Ramage, Kellie Jurado, Kathryn Wellen, Una O'Doherty, Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, Alan L Landay, Ali Keshavarzian, Timothy Henrich, Steven Deeks, Michael Peluso, Nuala Meyer, E. John Wherry, Benjamin Abramoff, Sara Cherry, Christoph Thaiss, Maayan Levy

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC, "Long COVID") pose a significant global health challenge. The pathophysiology is unknown, and no effective treatments have been found to date. Several hypotheses have been formulated to explain the etiology of PASC, including viral persistence, chronic inflammation, hypercoagulability, and autonomic dysfunction. Here, we propose a mechanism that links all four hypotheses in a single pathway and provides actionable insights for therapeutic interventions. We find that PASC are associated with serotonin reduction. Viral infection and type I interferon-driven inflammation reduce serotonin through three mechanisms: diminished intestinal absorption of the serotonin precursor tryptophan; platelet hyperactivation and thrombocytopenia, …

Intertextuality And Narrativization Of Multiple Perspectives: Covid-19 Pandemic In Popular Songs In Tanzania, Spemba E. Spemba

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Close to the end of 2019, COVID-19, an infectious disease that still wreaks havoc, was discovered in Wuhan – China. The pandemic has become a major worldwide health problem to date. Its socioeconomic and cultural aftermaths have dominated the world’s public discourse. Media and literary artefacts reflect the ongoing debate, education, and communication regarding the pandemic. This paper examines how popular songs represent multiple (social-cultural, economic, and political) perspectives regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania. The article focuses on secular and religious song lyrics to ascertain how they convey multiple perspectives regarding an understanding of COVID-19, and whether such views …

The Effectiveness Of Disinfection Protocols In Medical School Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Labs., Harrison A. Patrizio, Riley Phyu, Thomas Boyle, Todd Schachter

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

CONTEXT: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare-associated infections have taken center stage. Healthcare has adjusted workflows to accommodate for more robust disinfecting regiments to help protect the community. This has resulted in the need for medical institutions to reevaluate the current disinfection protocols down to the student level. The osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) laboratory provides an optimal avenue for assessing the effectiveness of medical students' ability to clean examination tables. With OMM laboratories having a high level of interaction, adequate disinfection is important for the health and safety of students and teaching faculties.

OBJECTIVES: This study will evaluate the …

Oral Changes In Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients: A Cross-Sectional Multicentric Study, Asmaa Ras, Radwa R. Hussein, Dalia M. Ghalwash, Ayman A. El-Gawish

Dentistry

Background. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread over the globe, and several oral symptoms have been documented. However, it is unclear whether these lesions are the result of coronavirus infection or are secondary symptoms of the patient’s systemic illness. The aim of this study was to collect data from various hospitals on COVID-19 patients with oral involvement in order to highlight different oral changes that may be manifested in those patients. Methods. This observational cross-sectional multicenter study used an online questionnaire covering oral signs and symptoms that were believed to be related to COVID-19 patients who were …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Post-Recovery Memory, Chelsea Mcnamara, Alison Mancuso

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has had profound effects on countries worldwide. As the pandemic progressed, clinical and patient data continued to mount. A subset of symptoms named “Long Covid Syndrome” persisted in patients after recovering from infection. One commonly reported but understudied symptom was a deficit in memory function. Although commonly reported, prevalence of ‘brain fog’ has yet to be characterized using patient data. Using Rowan Medicine electronic patient data, we were able to collect information on patients before and after the emergence of the coronavirus. Data was collected on reported memory-related symptoms as well as …

Whole Body Cryotherapy As A Novel Treatment For Long Covid Syndrome Associated Brain Fog, James Mack, Brandon Goodwin, Paras Patel, Kyra Herman, Daniel Casal, Emily Levenson

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

SARS-CoV-2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first discovered in December 2019 in Wuhan, China when adults began presenting with severe pneumonia of an unknown cause. SARS-CoV-2 can cause a wide range of clinical manifestations. SARS-CoV-2 can penetrate the olfactory mucosa and may enter the brain through the cribriform plate along the olfactory tract, through vagal or trigeminal pathways, or pass through the blood-brain barrier. Once inside the brain, levels of inflammatory cytokines are increased and can lead to altered learning, memory, neuroplasticity, hallucinations, nightmares, cognitive and attention deficits, new-onset anxiety and depression, and psychosis. A theoretical treatment for …

Case Report: Facial Mask-Induced Acne ("Maskne"), Gabriel Meister, James Espinosa, Alan Lucerna

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

A 42 year old male health care worker presented with complaints of severe mask related acne vulgaris predominately to the cheeks, chin and nose Here we present the case of a N95 and surgical facial mask use has been a requirement for many occupations during the Covid-19 pandemic. Patient states their current position requires use of an N95 respirator to be worn throughout their shift which can range from 9-14 hours, 6 days per week. Extended daily use of such masks may lead to changes in the skin which can induce irritation and precipitate infection.

Outcomes In Type Ii Diabetes Patients Through The Covid 19 Pandemic A Retrospective Chart Review, Zurwa Nishat, Tara Pellegrino, Robert Steer

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity for urgent expansion of telemedicine services as providers continued to supply longitudinal care to patients. Patients with type II diabetes were vulnerable to serious infection with COVID-19 as well as disruption in management of their chronic disease.

Objective: To delineate the outcomes in type II diabetes patients through the COVID-19 pandemic by a retrospective chart review in which disease management was evaluated through HbA1c levels and BMI.

Methods: This retrospective chart review included adult T2DM patients receiving care from five university family medicine offices in NJ. HbA1c levels and BMI values were …

Comparison Of Covid-19 Diagnostic Testing Methodologies In The U.S., Joseph Blommel

All Dissertations

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a world in which diagnostic testing for the virus that is responsible for COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, became commonplace. Diagnostic testing was required for myriad reasons beyond simple diagnosis. We set out to compare SARS-CoV-2 testing methods, see if differences sensitivity correlated to increased positivity, and to evaluate self-collection methods.

In examining the Limit of Detection (LoD) of tests receiving FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), our findings indicated that there were considerable differences in LoD. However, these differences in observed sensitivity were not correlated with the methodologic differences as reported in EUA documentation.

We …

Opportunistic Retrospective Assessment Of Huac, Bone Density, Sft And Breast Density On Ct Images And Relationship With Severity Of Covid-19, Mahmut Subasi, Mustafa Duger, Cengiz Erol, Irmak Durur-Subasi

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Aim. To evaluate mean Hounsfield unit calculation (HUAC), bone density, subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), breast density (constitutional imaging biomarkers) and age in symptomatic patients with COVID-19, to assess their correlation with pneumonia severity. Materials and Methods. Between 11 March and 30 May 2020, 272 consecutive symptomatic female patients with COVID-19 who underwent chest CT imaging at baseline were reviewed. HUAC, bone density, SFT and breast density were evaluated retrospectively and statistically compared in cases with negative/positive PCR test results, with/without pneumonia and with mild/moderate-severe pneumonia. Univariate/multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied for estimation of moderate/severe pneumonia. Results. The parameters of …

Utilizing The System Engineering Trade Study Analysis Method To Analyze Patient Aeromedical Evacuation, Sara Shaghaghi, Jeremy M. Slagley, Michael E. Miller, Gaiven Varshney

Faculty Publications

The US Air Force has gone through many aeromedical patient isolation transport system designs. The first designs were developed in response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. The trade study analysis part of the system engineering design method was used to analyze the historic and current aeromedical patient contamination control transport systems. A trade study is a process that evaluates alternatives based upon various “-ilities”, such as reconfigurability, flexibility, durability, cost, and more, and performs a systematic analysis to aid designers in producing a ‘good’ design alternative given the large set of possible solutions. …

Using An Online Calculator To Describe Excess Mortality In The Philippines During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Julius Migriño Jr, Ma Rosario Bernardo-Lazaro

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Objective

Excess mortality is an indicator of the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aims to describe excess mortality in the Philippines from January 2020 to December 2021 using an online all-cause mortality and excess mortality calculator.

Methods

All-cause mortality datasets from 2015 to 2021 from the Philippine Statistics Authority were obtained and analysed using the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office All-Cause Mortality Calculator. Expected mortality, excess mortality and P-scores were obtained using two models, 5-year averages and negative binomial regression, for total deaths and by administrative region.

Results

Reported national all-cause mortality exceeded the …

A Retrospective Study Comparing Mortality Rates Between Vaccinated And Unvaccinated Kidney Transplant Recipients, Anaam Fayyaz, Judy Pozzerle, Suresh Antony

Central & West Texas GME Research Day 2023

No abstract provided.

Factors Contributing To Ventilator Dependent Days In Covid-19, Isaac Ginsberg, Samantha Eteve, Bryan Lunt, Kenneth Krell

Continental, MidAmerica, & Mountain Divisions GME Research Day 2023

No abstract provided.

An Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Drug Development Collaboration Stimulated By The Virginia Drug Discovery Consortium, John S. Lazo, Ruben M.L. Colunga-Biancatelli, Pavel A. Solopov, John D. Catravas

Bioelectrics Publications

The genesis of most older medicinal agents has generally been empirical. During the past one and a half centuries, at least in the Western countries, discovering and developing drugs has been primarily the domain of pharmaceutical companies largely built upon concepts emerging from organic chemistry. Public sector funding for the discovery of new therapeutics has more recently stimulated local, national, and international groups to band together and focus on new human disease targets and novel treatment approaches. This Perspective describes one contemporary example of a newly formed collaboration that was simulated by a regional drug discovery consortium. University of Virginia, …