Critical Care Commons^™

Hyperglycemia And Venous Thromboembolism, Neha Panchagnula, William Philip Brasher

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have chronically increased blood glucose and multiple physiologic alterations that place them at elevated risk for vascular disease. Traditionally, this vascular risk has mainly referred to chronic atherosclerosis and embolic arterial disease. Retrospective studies have suggested an increased risk of a pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), collectively termed venous thromboembolism (VTE), in patients with DM, but this association has been difficult to demonstrate with comorbidities such as obesity in meta-analysis. Clinical studies have demonstrated worse outcomes for patients with DM who suffer from VTE. In vitro studies show multiple physiologic abnormalities with …

A Novel Deep Learning Model Based On Transformer And Cross Modality Attention For Classification Of Sleep Stages, Sahar Hassanzadeh Mostafaei, Jafar Tanha, Amir Sharafkhaneh

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The classification of sleep stages is crucial for gaining insights into an individual's sleep patterns and identifying potential health issues. Employing several important physiological channels in different views, each providing a distinct perspective on sleep patterns, can have a great impact on the efficiency of the classification models. In the context of neural networks and deep learning models, transformers are very effective, especially when dealing with time series data, and have shown remarkable compatibility with sequential data analysis as physiological channels. On the other hand, cross-modality attention by integrating information from multiple views of the data enables to capture relationships …

Deployment-Related Cigarette Smoking Behaviors And Pulmonary Function Among Us Veterans, Jennifer R Maccarone, Olivia R Sterns, Andrew Timmons, Anna M Korpak, Nicholas L Smith, Karen S Nakayama, Coleen P Baird, Paul Ciminera, Farrah Kheradmand, Vincent S Fan, Jaime E Hart, Petros Koutrakis, Michael Jerrett, Ware G Kuschner, Octavian C Ioachimescu, Philippe R Montgrain, Susan P Proctor, Carrie A Redlich, Christine H Wendt, Paul D Blanc, Eric Garshick, Emily S Wan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: The effects of smoking on lung function among post-9/11 Veterans deployed to environments with high levels of ambient particulate matter are incompletely understood.

Materials and methods: We analyzed interim data (04/2018-03/2020) from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program #595, "Service and Health Among Deployed Veterans". Veterans with ≥1 land-based deployments enrolled at 1 of 6 regional Veterans Affairs sites completed questionnaires and spirometry. Multivariable linear regression models assessed associations between cigarette smoking (cumulative, deployment-related and non-deployment-related) with pulmonary function.

Results: Among 1,836 participants (mean age 40.7 ± 9.6, 88.6% male), 44.8% (n = 822) were ever-smokers (mean age …

Inhalational Drug Devices: Revisiting The Linchpin Of Asthma Management, Damini Saxena, Neveda Murugesan, Uyioghosa D Evbayiro, Marina K Ngassa, Muhammad Adrish

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Asthma remains a prevalent condition among all age groups globally. First-line treatment requires the delivery of medications into the distal respiratory tract via inhalers. Using appropriate inhaler techniques is a significant challenge in achieving disease control. A variety of inhalers are available for treating asthma, and selecting the appropriate inhaler type for any given patient is crucial to achieving and maintaining symptomatic control. This review will discuss the anatomy and physiology behind drug delivery via inhalers, the types of inhalers currently available for use, nebulizers, and future directions in the delivery of inhaled medications for asthma.

Genetics And Genomics Of Pulmonary Fibrosis: Charting The Molecular Landscape And Shaping Precision Medicine, Ayodeji Adegunsoye, Jonathan A Kropski, Juergen Behr, Timothy S Blackwell, Tamera J Corte, Vincent Cottin, Allan R Glanville, Marilyn K Glassberg, Matthias Griese, Gary M Hunninghake, Kerri A Johannson, Michael P Keane, John S Kim, Martin Kolb, Toby M Maher, Justin M Oldham, Anna J Podolanczuk, Ivan O Rosas, Fernando J Martinez, Imre Noth, David A Schwartz

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Recent genetic and genomic advancements have elucidated the complex etiology of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other progressive fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), emphasizing the contribution of heritable factors. This state-of-the-art review synthesizes evidence on significant genetic contributors to pulmonary fibrosis (PF), including rare genetic variants and common SNPs. The MUC5B promoter variant is unusual, a common SNP that markedly elevates the risk of early and established PF. We address the utility of genetic variation in enhancing understanding of disease pathogenesis and clinical phenotypes, improving disease definitions, and informing prognosis and treatment response. Critical research gaps are highlighted, particularly the …

Gastrocnemius Electrical Stimulation Increases Ankle Dorsiflexion Strength In Patients With Post-Acute Sequelae Of Sars-Cov-2 (Pasc): A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial, Myeounggon Lee, Alejandro Zulbaran-Rojas, Miguel Bargas-Ochoa, Bernardo Martinez-Leal, Rasha Bara, Areli Flores-Camargo, M G Finco, Ram Kinker Mishra, Jaewon Beom, Dipaben Modi, Fidaa Shaib, Bijan Najafi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Post-Acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) is a multisystem disorder causing persistent musculoskeletal deconditioning and reduced lower extremity strength. Electrical stimulation (E-Stim) to the gastrocnemius muscle can enhance strength outcomes by increasing the frequency of muscle fiber activation. We investigated its effect on individuals with PASC. Participants were randomized into intervention (IG) or control (CG) groups. The IG self-administered daily one-hour E-Stim to both their gastrocnemius muscles using a functional device over 4-week, while the CG used a sham device. Primary outcomes were ankle dorsiflexion strength assessed via dynamometry during maximum voluntary contractions, and gastrocnemius voluntary activation (GVA) via surface electromyography. …

Improved Pediatric Icu Mortality Prediction For Respiratory Diseases: Machine Learning And Data Subdivision Insights, Johayra Prithula, Muhammad E H Chowdhury, Muhammad Salman Khan, Khalid Al-Ansari, Susu M Zughaier, Khandaker Reajul Islam, Abdulrahman Alqahtani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The growing concern of pediatric mortality demands heightened preparedness in clinical settings, especially within intensive care units (ICUs). As respiratory-related admissions account for a substantial portion of pediatric illnesses, there is a pressing need to predict ICU mortality in these cases. This study based on data from 1188 patients, addresses this imperative using machine learning techniques and investigating different class balancing methods for pediatric ICU mortality prediction. This study employs the publicly accessible "Paediatric Intensive Care database" to train, validate, and test a machine learning model for predicting pediatric patient mortality. Features were ranked using three machine learning feature selection …

Emotion Regulation Strategies And Perceived Emotional Intelligence: The Effect Of Age., Iwanna Sepiadou

Adultspan Journal

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived emotional intelligence and the reported use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. We also investigated the possible effects of age on the aforementioned variables. The total sample consisted of 379 people (158 men, 220 women, 1 unreported). Across participants, 273 were young (20-39 years old) and 106 were middle-aged (40-65 years old). We found statistically significant positive correlations between the dimensions of perceived emotional intelligence and the reported use of cognitive reappraisal and negative primarily correlations between the dimensions of perceived emotional intelligence and the reported use of …

Clinical Outcomes For Va-Ecmo Patients Associated With Hyperlipidemia: An Analysis Of The National Inpatient Sample, Dakota B. Pastore, Tony Elias, Rafail Beshai, Kyrillos Girgis, Maziyar Daneshvar, Keith Anacker

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Introduction: Veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is considered the most advanced temporary life support which provides complete hemodynamic support in addition to gas exchange. There is limited data available on the impact of hyperlipidemia (HLD) on VA-ECMO patients. We sought to examine the national inpatient sample (NIS) database to describe in-hospital outcomes among these patients.

Methods: The NIS was searched for hospitalizations of adult VA-ECMO patients with and without a concomitant diagnosis of HLD for the years 2019 and 2020. The primary outcome was inpatient mortality.

Results:This study included 3,885 VA-ECMO patients, of which 1,082 (27.8%) patients had HLD. …

Effects Of Obesity On Patients Undergoing Cardiomems Procedure: Retrospective Cohort Study, Tony Elias, Mena Elmalh, Priya Brahmbhatt, Kyrillos Girgis, Taha Syed, Michael Valderrama, Rafail Beshai

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

★ Remote hemodynamic monitoring (CardioMEMs) is becoming increasingly important for management of chronic heart failure patients.

★ There is limited data looking specifically for obese patients who undergo CardioMEMs implantation.

★ We sought to examine the national inpatient sample database to describe in-hospital outcomes for this demographic

Proteomic Biomarkers Of Quantitative Interstitial Abnormalities In Copdgene And Cardia Lung Study, Bina Choi, Gabrielle Y Liu, Quanhu Sheng, Kaushik Amancherla, Andrew Perry, Xiaoning Huang, Ruben San José Estépar, Samuel Y Ash, Weihua Guan, David R Jacobs, Fernando J Martinez, Ivan O Rosas, Russell P Bowler, Jonathan A Kropski, Nicholas E Banovich, Sadiya S Khan, Raúl San José Estépar, Ravi Shah, Bharat Thyagarajan, Ravi Kalhan, George R Washko

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Rationale: Quantitative interstitial abnormalities (QIAs) are early measures of lung injury automatically detected on chest computed tomography scans. QIAs are associated with impaired respiratory health and share features with advanced lung diseases, but their biological underpinnings are not well understood. Objectives: To identify novel protein biomarkers of QIAs using high-throughput plasma proteomic panels within two multicenter cohorts.

Methods: We measured the plasma proteomics of 4,383 participants in an older, ever-smoker cohort (COPDGene [Genetic Epidemiology of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease]) and 2,925 participants in a younger population cohort (CARDIA [Coronary Artery Disease Risk in Young Adults]) using the SomaLogic SomaScan assays. …

Educating Nurses On Frequent Oral Care For Mechanically Ventilated Patients: An Evidence-Based Practice Project Proposal, Grace Alford, Susan Butz, Ruth Chavez, Joy Shoemaker

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

The final scholarly project proposal is to implement oral care education for nurses in an intensive care unit (ICU). The proposal aims to create a guideline for an investigator to implement oral care recommendations for mechanically ventilated patients in order to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The proposal consists of obtaining VAP data and oral care charting data for the unit studied, steps for providing oral care education, and analysis recommendations. Oral care involves swabbing the patient’s mouth every two hours with a swab and mouthwash. Oral care education would include handouts and direct teaching. The proposal aims to increase oral …

Latent Tb Treatment Regimens In 2023: Wetmore Tb Clinic In New Orleans, Amy Wolfe, Priyanka Jadhav, Amber May, Shandrica Seymour, Angela Blanchard, Juzar Ali

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The USPSTF has updated Latent TB Infection (LTBI) screening and treatment recommendations in 2023; describing treatment courses, side effects and benefits associated with each regimen. Overall, rifampin-containing shortened regimens are the preferred modality for LTBI treatment. A recent study in 2023 evaluated adherence and tolerance of the isoniazid(INH) + rifapentine(RPT), or “3HP” regimen and identified patient groups that may be at higher risk for non-completion of this regimen. It emphasized the need for targeted education at the beginning of treatment, to avoid early discontinuation. Our experience in New Orleans demonstrated that the 3HP is well-tolerated, with higher completion rates than …

Clearing The Air: Innovations In Imaging For Early Detection And Management Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Francesca Polverino

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Vaccine Effectiveness Against Influenza A-Associated Hospitalization, Organ Failure, And Death: United States, 2022-2023, Nathaniel M Lewis, Yuwei Zhu, Ithan D Peltan, Manjusha Gaglani, Tresa Mcneal, Shekhar Ghamande, Jay S Steingrub, Nathan I Shapiro, Abhijit Duggal, William S Bender, Leyla Taghizadeh, Samuel M Brown, David N Hager, Michelle N Gong, Amira Mohamed, Matthew C Exline, Akram Khan, Jennifer G Wilson, Nida Qadir, Steven Y Chang, Adit A Ginde, Nicholas M Mohr, Christopher Mallow, Adam S Lauring, Nicholas J Johnson, Kevin W Gibbs, Jennie H Kwon, Cristie Columbus, Robert L Gottlieb, Catherine Raver, Ivana A Vaughn, Mayur Ramesh, Cassandra Johnson, Lois Lamerato, Basmah Safdar, Jonathan D Casey, Todd W Rice, Natasha Halasa, James D Chappell, Carlos G Grijalva, H Keipp Talbot, Adrienne Baughman, Kelsey N Womack, Sydney A Swan, Elizabeth Harker, Ashley Price, Jennifer Decuir, Diya Surie, Sascha Ellington, Wesley H Self, Investigating Respiratory Viruses In The Acutely Ill (Ivy) Network

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Influenza circulation during the 2022-2023 season in the United States largely returned to pre-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-pandemic patterns and levels. Influenza A(H3N2) viruses were detected most frequently this season, predominately clade 3C.2a1b.2a, a close antigenic match to the vaccine strain.

METHODS: To understand effectiveness of the 2022-2023 influenza vaccine against influenza-associated hospitalization, organ failure, and death, a multicenter sentinel surveillance network in the United States prospectively enrolled adults hospitalized with acute respiratory illness between 1 October 2022, and 28 February 2023. Using the test-negative design, vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates against influenza-associated hospitalization, organ failures, and death were measured by …

Sub-Saharan Africa’S Handling Of Covid-19 Pandemic: Rwanda Versus Tanzania, Luke D. Baumel

Honors Undergraduate Conference

How has the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020 and the pandemic that followed been handled in Sub-Saharan Africa? What was done well and what was done poorly and why? What are the implications of the way it was handled? These questions and more are answered throughout this paper, using Rwanda as an example of a Sub-Saharan African country who handled it relatively well and neighboring Tanzania as an example of a Sub-Saharan African country that mishandled the outbreak and pandemic. In early 2021, most Sub-Saharan African countries had been afflicted by Covid-19 at a relatively lower rate than many Western …

Alveolar Epithelial Cell Dysfunction In Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Linked To Lipid Alterations: Therapeutic Implications, Francesca Polverino, Ana Mora

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Risk Of 30-Day All-Cause Readmission In Interstitial Lung Disease Patients After Covid-19: National-Level Data, Ali Vaeli Zadeh, Roshan Dinparastisaleh, Atefeh Vaezi, Debabrata Bandyopadhyay, Israel Rubinstein, Hassan Z Baig, Rafael Calderon-Candelario, Abdolrazagh Hashemi Shahraki, Takeshi Kawasaki, Jesper M Magnusson, Lars-Olof Larsson, Amir Sharafkhaneh, Jose D Herazo-Maya, Augustine S Lee, Mehdi Mirsaeidi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Rationale

Hospital readmission within 30 days poses challenges for healthcare providers, policymakers, and patients because of its impact on care quality, costs, and outcomes. Patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) are particularly affected by readmission, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and reduced quality of life. Because small sample sizes have hindered previous studies, this study seeks to address this gap in knowledge by examining a large-scale dataset.

Objective: To determine the rate and probability of 30-day all-cause readmission and secondary outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) or ILD admitted to the hospital.

Methods

This study is …

Interim Estimates Of 2023-24 Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness - United States, Aaron M Frutos, Ashley M Price, Elizabeth Harker, Emily L Reeves, Haris M Ahmad, Vel Murugan, Emily T Martin, Stacey House, Elie A Saade, Richard K Zimmerman, Manjusha Gaglani, Karen J Wernli, Emmanuel B Walter, Marian G Michaels, Mary A Staat, Geoffrey A Weinberg, Rangaraj Selvarangan, Julie A Boom, Eileen J Klein, Natasha B Halasa, Adit A Ginde, Kevin W Gibbs, Yuwei Zhu, Wesley H Self, Sara Y Tartof, Nicola P Klein, Kristin Dascomb, Malini B Desilva, Zachary A Weber, Duck-Hye Yang, Sarah W Ball, Diya Surie, Jennifer Decuir, Fatimah S Dawood, Heidi L Moline, Ariana P Toepfer, Benjamin R Clopper, Ruth Link-Gelles, Amanda B Payne, Jessie R Chung, Brendan Flannery, Nathaniel M Lewis, Samantha M Olson, Katherine Adams, Mark W Tenforde, Shikha Garg, Lisa A Grohskopf, Carrie Reed, Sascha Ellington, Cdc Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Collaborators

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In the United States, annual influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged ≥6 months. Using data from four vaccine effectiveness (VE) networks during the 2023-24 influenza season, interim influenza VE was estimated among patients aged ≥6 months with acute respiratory illness-associated medical encounters using a test-negative case-control study design. Among children and adolescents aged 6 months-17 years, VE against influenza-associated outpatient visits ranged from 59% to 67% and against influenza-associated hospitalization ranged from 52% to 61%. Among adults aged ≥18 years, VE against influenza-associated outpatient visits ranged from 33% to 49% and against hospitalization from 41% to 44%. VE …

Recombinant Rod Domain Of Vimentin Reduces Sars-Cov-2 Viral Replication By Blocking Spike Protein-Ace2 Interactions, Fong Wilson Lam, Cameron August Brown, Shannon Elizabeth Ronca

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is the primary preventive intervention, there are still few antiviral therapies available, with current drugs decreasing viral replication once the virus is intracellular. Adding novel drugs to target additional points in the viral life cycle is paramount in preventing future pandemics. The purpose of this study was to create and test a novel protein to decrease SARS-CoV-2 replication. We created the recombinant rod domain of vimentin (rhRod) in E. coli and used biolayer interferometry to measure its affinity to the SARS-CoV-2 S1S2 spike protein and the ability to block the SARS-CoV-2–ACE2 interaction. We performed plaque assays …

Chronic Respiratory Symptoms Following Deployment-Related Occupational And Environmental Exposures Among Us Veterans, Eric Garshick, Carrie A Redlich, Anna Korpak, Andrew K Timmons, Nicholas L Smith, Karen Nakayama, Coleen P Baird, Paul Ciminera, Farrah Kheradmand, Vincent S Fan, Jaime E Hart, Petros Koutrakis, Ware Kuschner, Octavian Ioachimescu, Michael Jerrett, Phillipe R Montgrain, Susan P Proctor, Emily S Wan, Christine H Wendt, Cherry Wongtrakool, Paul D Blanc

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objectives: Characterise inhalational exposures during deployment to Afghanistan and Southwest Asia and associations with postdeployment respiratory symptoms.

Methods: Participants (n=1960) in this cross-sectional study of US Veterans (Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study 'Service and Health Among Deployed Veterans') completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire regarding 32 deployment exposures, grouped a priori into six categories: burn pit smoke; other combustion sources; engine exhaust; mechanical and desert dusts; toxicants; and military job-related vapours gas, dusts or fumes (VGDF). Responses were scored ordinally (0, 1, 2) according to exposure frequency. Factor analysis supported item reduction and category consolidation yielding 28 exposure items in 5 categories. Generalised …

Knowledge And Attitudes On Contraception And Reproductive Health In Women With Hiv, Anna Henricks, Samantha Singal, Dana Hughes, Sean Kelly, Jessica L Castilho, Jamison Norwood

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: For reasons not fully explained to date, contraception usage among women with HIV remains low. The aim of our study was to understand attitudes toward and lifetime use of contraception among women with HIV.

METHODS: We administered an anonymous, community-informed, voluntary survey to cisgender, English-speaking women with HIV (≥18 years of age) at a Southern urban HIV clinic. It included multiple choice and Likert-scale questions on reproductive health. Participants reported contraception use, recollection of provider conversations about contraception, and perceived empowerment and knowledge regarding reproductive health. We used chi-square and Fisher exact tests to compare attitudes and prior conversations …

Fibroblast Heterogeneity In Pulmonary Fibrosis: A New Target For Therapeutics Development?, Konstantin Tsoyi, Ivan O Rosas

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Short Peripheral Blood Leukocyte Telomere Length In Rheumatoid Arthritis-Interstitial Lung Disease, Tracy J Doyle, Pierre-Antoine Juge, Anna L Peljto, Seoyeon Lee, Avram D Walts, Anthony Joseph Esposito, Sergio Poli, Ritu Gill, Hiroto Hatabu, Mizuki Nishino, Paul F Dellaripa, Michael E Weinblatt, Nancy A Shadick, M Kristen Demoruelle, Jeffrey A Sparks, Ivan O Rosas, Benjamin Granger, Kevin D Deane, Bruno Crestani, Paul J Wolters, Philippe Dieudé, Joyce S Lee

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Shortened telomere lengths (TLs) can be caused by single nucleotide polymorphisms and loss-of-function mutations in telomere-related genes (TRG), as well as ageing and lifestyle factors such as smoking. Our objective was to determine if shortened TL is associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD) in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This is the largest study to demonstrate and replicate that shortened peripheral blood leukocytes-TL is associated with ILD in patients with RA compared with RA without ILD in a multinational cohort, and short PBL-TL was associated with baseline disease severity in RA-ILD as measured by forced vital capacity percent predicted.

Portable Air Purifiers To Mitigate The Harms Of Wildfire Smoke For People With Asthma, Tianshi David Wu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Veterans Direct Admission Reassessment Tool Validation For The Reduction Of Rapid Response Code Blue, And Code Stroke Team Activations In Newly Arrived Direct Admission Veterans, Joshua Monroe Wells

DNP Projects

Abstract

Purpose: Rapid clinical assessment of newly arriving direct admission veteran patients to the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VAHCS) Lexington is of the utmost importance to determine current patient condition, alteration from previously known condition at time of provider acceptance or time of report, and appropriate level of care for these veterans. The facility has seen an increase in the number of unexpected patient declines by direct admission patients presenting to medical surgical units at the VA Health Care System Lexington KY. This recurrent decline resulted in the facility performing a Root Cause Analysis (RCA), which identified …

The Role Of Social Determinants Of Health On Patient Recovery After Critical Illness, Lindsey E. Fresenko

Theses and Dissertations--Rehabilitation Sciences

Patients who survive critical illness have a prolonged recovery which impacts their quality of life and outcomes. The sudden life changes from being critically ill may create or exacerbate social factors or needs also known as social determinants of health. Patients’ SDOH are defined as the environments in which we live, work and play that impact health outcomes. Patients’ SDOH impact their life in early recovery from changes in previous roles to their need for increased financial, physical and emotional support. During this early recovery, patients are often recommended to participate in rehabilitation to improve their physical function. Although, accessing …

Stroke Survivors’ Telemedicine Experiences During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological Investigation, Barbara Kimmel, Annette Walder, Anette Ovalle, Chethan P Venkatasubba Rao, Sean I Savitz, Mark Goldberg, Steven Warach, Salvador Cruz-Flores, Daiwai M Olson, Jane A Anderson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: This study aimed to describe stroke survivors' experiences receiving telemedicine visits at the Lone Star Stroke Consortium during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative descriptive phenomenological design was applied to gather patients' telemedicine experiences through in-depth interviews, using a study guide. Audio-recorded interviews were conducted via ZOOM and transcribed verbatim. Two independent reviewers used the Giorgi descriptive method to analyze the data and search for the essence of stroke survivors' follow-up telemedicine experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS: Fifteen underserved patients were recruited: mean age, 51.8 (15.7), and 9 (60%) females. Three themes emerged: (1) vivid memory …

Impact Of Covid Status And Blood Group On Complications In Patients In Hemorrhagic Shock, Jason Bradley Brill, Krislynn M Mueck, Madeline E Cotton, Brian Tang, Mariela Sandoval, Lillian S Kao, Bryan A Cotton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: Among critically injured patients of various blood groups, we sought to compare survival and complication rates between COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative cohorts.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 infections have been shown to cause endothelial injury and dysfunctional coagulation. We hypothesized that, among patients with trauma in hemorrhagic shock, COVID-19-positive status would be associated with increased mortality and inpatient complications. As a secondary hypothesis, we suspected group O patients with COVID-19 would experience fewer complications than non-group O patients with COVID-19.

METHODS: We evaluated all trauma patients admitted 4/2020-7/2020. Patients 16 years or older were included if they presented in hemorrhagic shock and received …

Effects Of Covid-19 On Sleep Services Use And Its Recovery, Amin Ramezani, Amir Sharafkhaneh, Ahmed S Bahammam, Samuel T Kuna, Javad Razjouyan

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic affected the utilization of various healthcare services differentially. Sleep testing services utilization (STU), including Home Sleep Apnea Testing (HSAT) and Polysomnography (PSG), were uniquely affected. We assessed the effects of the pandemic on STU and its recovery using the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) data.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study from the VHA between 01/2019 and 10/2023 of veterans with age ≥ 50. We extracted STU data using Current Procedural Terminology codes for five periods based on STU and vaccination status: pre-pandemic (Pre-Pan), pandemic sleep test moratorium (Pan-Mor), and pandemic pre-vaccination (Pan-Pre-Vax), vaccination (Pan-Vax), and …