Epidemiology Commons^™

Artificial Intelligence In Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy, Lucas J. Liu, Tomonori Takeuchi, Jin Chen, Javier A. Neyra

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Over the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) through machine learning (ML) has been increasingly used in health care applications. The use of AI/ML to enhance the provision of continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT) is an area of active investigation because of the growing clinical needs of critically ill patients and the abundance of multimodal data from the electronic health records (EHRs) and the CKRT machine itself. Importantly, best clinical practices of CKRT have not been sufficiently standardized, so there is considerable heterogeneity in utilization and deliverables. In this context, AI/ML-based tools could facilitate informed decisions to enhance CKRT goal-oriented deliver- …

Identification Of Molecular Markers Associated With Copd In Non-Smokers And Smokers: A Bioinformatics Analysis, Agede O. Ayodele, Isa M. Wasagu, Ademola E. Fawibe, Alakija K. Salami

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background

Even though the proportional burden of COPD among never-smokers is significant in both developing and developed nations, accounting for around 30% of all COPD in the community, there is little awareness of the prevalence of COPD in this population. Understanding the molecular processes that underlie COPD in nonsmokers is essential.

Methods

Dataset (GSE146560) was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The limma and clusterProfiler software tools were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and conduct a functional enrichment analysis respectively.

Results

In all, 10,583 DEGs were found, of which 1,065 were up-regulated and 9,518 were down-regulated. The …

Outcomes Following Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation For Severe Covid-19 In Pregnancy Or Post Partum, John J Byrne, Amir A Shamshirsaz, Alison G Cahill, Mark A Turrentine, Angela R Seasely, Joe Eid, Caroline E Rouse, Michael Richley, Nandini Raghuraman, Mariam Naqvi, Yasser Y El-Sayed, Martina L Badell, Cece Cheng, James Liu, Emily H Adhikari, Soha S Patel, Erika R O'Neil, Patrick S Ramsey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: Existing reports of pregnant patients with COVID-19 disease who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) are limited, with variable outcomes noted for the maternal-fetal dyad.

OBJECTIVE: To examine maternal and perinatal outcomes associated with ECMO used for COVID-19 with respiratory failure during pregnancy.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective multicenter cohort study examined pregnant and postpartum patients who required ECMO for COVID-19 respiratory failure at 25 hospitals across the US. Eligible patients included individuals who received care at one of the study sites, were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy or up to 6 weeks post partum by positive nucleic …

Institutional Strategies To Maintain And Grow Imaging Research During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Mai-Lan Ho, Corey W Arnold, Summer J Decker, John D Hazle, Elizabeth A Krupinski, David A Mankoff

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Understanding imaging research experiences, challenges, and strategies for academic radiology departments during and after COVID-19 is critical to prepare for future disruptive events. We summarize key insights and programmatic initiatives at major academic hospitals across the world, based on literature review and meetings of the Radiological Society of North America Vice Chairs of Research (RSNA VCR) group. Through expert discussion and case studies, we provide suggested guidelines to maintain and grow radiology research in the postpandemic era.

Effect Of Thromboprophylaxis On Clinical Outcomes After Covid-19 Hospitalization, Tracy Y Wang, Abdus S Wahed, Alison Morris, Lisa Baumann Kreuziger, John G Quigley, Gervasio A Lamas, Alexandra J Weissman, Jose Lopez-Sendon, M Margaret Knudson, Deborah M Siegal, Raj S Kasthuri, Andrew J Alexander, Lana Wahid, Bassel Atassi, Peter J Miller, Janice W Lawson, Bela Patel, Jerry A Krishnan, Nancy L Shapiro, Deborah E Martin, Andrei L Kindzelski, Eric S Leifer, Jungnam Joo, Lingyun Lyu, Annie Pennella, Brendan M Everett, Mark W Geraci, Kevin J Anstrom, Thomas L Ortel, Activ-4c Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have an increased incidence of thromboembolism. The role of extended thromboprophylaxis after hospital discharge is unclear.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether anticoagulation is superior to placebo in reducing death and thromboembolic complications among patients discharged after COVID-19 hospitalization.

DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04650087).

SETTING: Done during 2021 to 2022 among 127 U.S. hospitals.

PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 18 years or older hospitalized with COVID-19 for 48 hours or more and ready for discharge, excluding those with a requirement for, or contraindication to, anticoagulation.

INTERVENTION: 2.5 mg of apixaban versus placebo twice daily for …

Disease Risk Of Reintroducing Primates Confiscated From The Illegal Wildlife Trade, Ana Patricia Mendoza Becerra

Dissertations

Zoonotic infections are easily shared between human and other primates, and thus primate trafficking poses a high risk of introducing zoonotic pathogens into urban environments as well as spreading human-associated diseases into natural environments when infected primates are released. The magnitude of these risks has not been thoroughly studied in the context of primate trafficking and rehabilitation of Neotropical primates. In this dissertation, I address some knowledge gaps in disease risk analysis of reintroducing trafficked primates. In chapter 1, I describe the dynamics, diversity, and composition of live wildlife trafficking in urban markets in Peru. I found these markets are …

Cardiopulmonary Outcomes In Covid-19 Patients Discharged From A Tertiary Care Center: A Prospective Study, Lakshmi Prasanna Vaishnavi Kattamuri, Vibhav Sharma, Radhika Sarda, Kunal Sharma, Anuj Ajayababu, Gaurav Gupta, Surabhi Vyas, Shivam Pandey, Arvind Kumar, Naveet Wig, Rajiv Narang, Sanjeev Sinha

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

To determine the cardiopulmonary changes in the survivors of acute COVID-19 infection at 3-6 month and 6-12 month. We followed up 53 patients out of which 28 (52%) had mild COVID-19 and 25 (48%) had severe COVID-19. The first follow-up was between 3 month after diagnosis up to 6 month and second follow-up between 6 and 12 month from the date of diagnosis of acute COVID-19. They were monitored using vital parameters, pulmonary function tests, echocardiography and a chest computed tomography (CT) scan. We found improvement in diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) with a median of 52% of predicted …

The Top 50 Most Cited Articles On The Medial Patellofemoral Ligament (Mpfl): A Bibliometric Analysis, Varag Abed, Alex Duvall, Jonathan D. Rexroth, Alyssa Goodwin, Joseph Liu, Austin Stone

Medical Student Research Symposium

Objectives: To determine which original articles on the topic of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) have been cited the most in the literature utilizing a bibliometric approach. Secondarily, to determine temporal trends between article types.

Methods: Articles on the topic of the MPFL were identified by utilizing the Web of Science Database. The search yielded 1,596 results and the top 50 cited original articles were collected for further analysis. The following information was gathered for all included articles: title, first author's name, journal name, year of publication, impact factor of the journal in 2021, total number of citations of the …

How Have Researchers Defined Institutions, Politics, Organizations And Governance In Research Related To Epidemic And Pandemic Response? A Scoping Review To Map Current Concepts, Austin Wu, Shivangi Khanna, Shelly Keidar, Peter Berman, Laura Jane Brubacher

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In recent years, the literature on public health interventions and health outcomes in the context of epidemic and pandemic response has grown immensely. However, relatively few of these studies have situated their findings within the institutional, political, organizational and governmental (IPOG) context in which interventions and outcomes exist. This conceptual mapping scoping study synthesized the published literature on the impact of IPOG factors on epidemic and pandemic response and critically examined definitions and uses of the terms IPOG in this literature. This research involved a comprehensive search of four databases across the social, health and biomedical sciences as well as …

Metabolomic Markers Of Ultra-Processed Food And Incident Ckd, Donghan Su, Jingsha Chen, Shutong Du, Hyunju Kim, Bing Yu, Kari E Wong, Eric Boerwinkle, Casey M Rebholz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: High ultra-processed food consumption is associated with higher risk of CKD. However, there is no biomarker for ultra-processed food, and the mechanism through which ultra-processed food is associated with CKD is not clear. Metabolomics can provide objective biomarkers of ultra-processed food and provide important insights into the mechanisms by which ultra-processed food is associated with risk of incident CKD. Our objective was to identify serum metabolites associated with ultra-processed food consumption and investigate whether ultra-processed food-associated metabolites are prospectively associated with incident CKD.

METHODS: We used data from 3751 Black and White men and women (aged 45-64 years) in …

Clinical Characteristics And Cause Of Death Among Hospitalized Decedents With Cancer And Covid-19, Dereddi Raja Reddy, John A Cuenca, Joshua Botdorf, Mayoora Muthu, Ankit Hanmandlu, Robert Wegner, John Crommett, Cristina Gutierrez, Nisha Rathi, Bilja Sajith, Mark Knafl, Hussein A Abbas, Scott E Woodman, Joseph L Nates

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

There is scant information on the clinical progression, end-of-life decisions, and cause of death of patients with cancer diagnosed with COVID-19. Therefore, we conducted a case series of patients admitted to a comprehensive cancer center who did not survive their hospitalization. To determine the cause of death, 3 board-certified intensivists reviewed the electronic medical records. Concordance regarding cause of death was calculated. Discrepancies were resolved through a joint case-by-case review and discussion among the 3 reviewers. During the study period, 551 patients with cancer and COVID-19 were admitted to a dedicated specialty unit; among them, 61 (11.6%) were nonsurvivors. Among …

A Look At The Global Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic On Neurosurgical Services And Residency Training, Cathleen C Kuo, Alexander O Aguirre, Andrea Kassay, Brianna M Donnelly, Hebatalla Bakr, Mohamed Aly, Ahmed A M Ezzat, Mohamed A R Soliman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has left an indelible effect on healthcare delivery and education system, including residency training. Particularly, neurosurgical departments worldwide had to adapt their operating model to the constantly changing pandemic landscape. This review aimed to quantify the reduction in neurosurgical operative volume and describe the impact of these trends on neurosurgical residency training.

METHODS: We performed a comprehensive search of PubMed and EMBASE between December 2019 and October 2022 to identify studies comparing pre-pandemic and pandemic neurosurgical caseloads as well as articles detailing the impact of COVID-19 on neurosurgery residency training. Statistical analysis of quantitative data was …

Impact Of Timing To Initiate Adjuvant Therapy On Survival Of Elderly Glioblastoma Patients Using The Seer-Medicare And National Cancer Databases, Ping Zhu, Xianglin L Du, Lu-Yu Hwang, David Lairson, Ruosha Li, Yoshua Esquenazi, Jay-Jiguang Zhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The optimal time to initiate adjuvant therapy (AT) in elderly patients with glioblastoma (GBM) remains unclear. We investigated the impact of timing to start AT on overall survival (OS) using two national-scale datasets covering elderly GBM populations in the United States. A total of 3159 and 8161 eligible elderly GBM patients were derived from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked dataset (2004-2013) and the National Cancer Database (NCDB) (2004-2014), respectively. The intervals in days from the diagnosis to the initiation of AT were categorized based on two scenarios: Scenario I (quartiles), ≤ 15, 16-26, 27-37, and ≥ 38 …

Lipoprotein(A) In Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease And Aortic Stenosis: A European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Statement, Florian Kronenberg, Samia Mora, Erik S G Stroes, Brian Ference Ference Ference, Benoit J. Arsenault, Lars Berglund, Marc R. Dweck, Marlys Koschinsky, Gilles Lambert, Salim S. Virani

Office of the Provost

This 2022 European Atherosclerosis Society lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] consensus statement updates evidence for the role of Lp(a) in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and aortic valve stenosis, provides clinical guidance for testing and treating elevated Lp(a) levels, and considers its inclusion in global risk estimation. Epidemiologic and genetic studies involving hundreds of thousands of individuals strongly support a causal and continuous association between Lp(a) concentration and cardiovascular outcomes in different ethnicities; elevated Lp(a) is a risk factor even at very low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. High Lp(a) is associated with both microcalcification and macrocalcification of the aortic valve. Current findings do …

The Current State Of Underrepresented Osteopathic Minorities In Competitive Specialties, Emmanuel Oyalabu, Steve Guzman, Dashon Eure, Ezenna Obilor

Annual Research Symposium

It is well documented that barriers exist for underrepresented minorities to enter the field of medicine and even more competitive residencies. As defined by the NRMP, competitive specialties include but are not limited to Interventional Radiology, Orthopedic Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Radiation Oncology, Vascular Surgery, Neurosurgery, Dermatology, and Otornylogy (NRMP-AMA). A large number of osteopathic medical school graduates have a history of going into primary care specialties because many osteopathic medical schools have a primary care focus (Primary Care- Osteopathic Medicine). The emphasis on primary care, whether intentional or not, can foster a less-than-advantageous environment for underrepresented minority students (URM), pursuing …

Identification Of And Mechanistic Insights Into Sars-Cov-2 Main Protease Non-Covalent Inhibitors: An In-Silico Study, Jian-Xin Shen, Wen-Wen Du, Yuan-Ling Xia, Zhi-Bi Zhang, Ze-Fen Yu, Yun-Xin Fu, Shu-Qun Liu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The indispensable role of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) in the viral replication cycle and its dissimilarity to human proteases make Mpro a promising drug target. In order to identify the non-covalent Mpro inhibitors, we performed a comprehensive study using a combined computational strategy. We first screened the ZINC purchasable compound database using the pharmacophore model generated from the reference crystal structure of Mpro complexed with the inhibitor ML188. The hit compounds were then filtered by molecular docking and predicted parameters of drug-likeness and pharmacokinetics. The final molecular dynamics (MD) simulations identified three effective candidate inhibitors (ECIs) capable of maintaining …

Performance Of A Sars-Cov-2 Rt-Pcr Assay With Non-Traditional Specimen Types, Subathra Marimuthu, Holly Aliesky, Heather Ness, Daniya Sheikh, Sathya Rashmit, Dawn Balcom, Leslie A. Wolf

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

During the first two years of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens were the gold standard for clinical diagnostic testing. As information about the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the pandemic continued to be shared, it was clear that the virus could be detected in other specimen types during an active infection. The University of Louisville Infectious Diseases Laboratory accepted non-traditional specimen types, most without a paired, positive NP result, for research purposes only to support local epidemiology efforts. A real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay originally validated for NP specimens was used …

Mortality And Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events In Hospitalized Patients With Atrial Fibrillation With Covid-19, Lucas Wang, Lawrence Hoang, Kristopher Aten, Mujahed Abualfoul, Victor Canela, Sri Prathivada, Michael Vu, Yi Zhao, Manavjot Sidhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

COVID-19 results in increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation (AF). However, little is known about the combined effect of AF and COVID-19 on patient outcomes. This study aimed to determine if AF, specifically new-onset AF (NOAF), is associated with increased risk of mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This multicenter retrospective analysis identified 2,732 patients with COVID-19 admitted between March and December 2020. Data points were manually reviewed in the patients' electronic health records. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess if AF was associated with death or MACE. Patients with AF …

What? Now A Respiratory Syncytial Virus Epidemic, Aya Allam, Steven B Lippmann

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

An Epithelial-Immune Circuit Amplifies Inflammasome And Il-6 Responses To Sars-Cov-2, Katherine C Barnett, Yuying Xie, Takanori Asakura, Dingka Song, Kaixin Liang, Sharon A Taft-Benz, Haitao Guo, Shuangshuang Yang, Kenichi Okuda, Rodney C Gilmore, Jennifer F Loome, Thomas H Oguin Iii, Gregory D Sempowski, Scott H Randell, Mark T Heise, Yu Leo Lei, Richard C Boucher, Jenny P-Y Ting

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Elevated levels of cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 are associated with severe COVID-19. Investigating the underlying mechanisms, we find that while primary human airway epithelia (HAE) have functional inflammasomes and support SARS-CoV-2 replication, they are not the source of IL-1β released upon infection. In leukocytes, the SARS-CoV-2 E protein upregulates inflammasome gene transcription via TLR2 to prime, but not activate, inflammasomes. SARS-CoV-2-infected HAE supply a second signal, which includes genomic and mitochondrial DNA, to stimulate leukocyte IL-1β release. Nuclease treatment, STING, and caspase-1 inhibition but not NLRP3 inhibition blocked leukocyte IL-1β release. After release, IL-1β stimulates IL-6 secretion from HAE. Therefore, …

Risk Factors For Ebola Virus Persistence In Semen Of Survivors In Liberia, Jonathan Dyal, Aaron Kofman, Jomah Z Kollie, John Fankhauser, Romeo Orone, Moses J Soka, Uriah Glaybo, Armah Kiawu, Edna Freeman, Giovanni Giah, Henry D Tony, Mylene Faikai, Mary Jawara, Kuku Kamara, Samuel Kamara, Benjamin Flowers, Mohammed L Kromah, Rodel Desamu-Thorpe, James Graziano, Shelley Brown, Maria E Morales-Betoulle, Deborah L Cannon, Kaihong Su, Susanne L Linderman, Mateusz Plucinski, Eric Rogier, Richard S Bradbury, W Evan Secor, Katherine E Bowden, Christi Phillips, Mary N Carrington, Yeon-Hwa Park, Maureen P Martin, Maria Del Pilar Aguinaga, Robert Mushi, Dana L Haberling, Elizabeth D Ervin, John D Klena, Moses Massaquoi, Tolbert Nyenswah, Stuart T Nichol, David E Chiriboga, Desmond E Williams, Steven H Hinrichs, Rafi Ahmed, Benjamin T Vonhm, Pierre E Rollin, Lawrence J Purpura, Mary J Choi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Long-term persistence of Ebola virus (EBOV) in immunologically privileged sites has been implicated in recent outbreaks of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This study was designed to understand how the acute course of EVD, convalescence, and host immune and genetic factors may play a role in prolonged viral persistence in semen.

METHODS: A cohort of 131 male EVD survivors in Liberia were enrolled in a case-case study. "Early clearers" were defined as those with 2 consecutive negative EBOV semen test results by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) ≥2 weeks apart within …

How Much Did It Cost To Develop And Implement An Ehealth Intervention For A Minority Children Population That Overlapped With The Covid-19 Pandemic?, Alexandra Monashefsky, Dar Alon, Tom Baranowski, Tiago V Barreira, Kelly A Chiu, Amy Fleischman, Melanie C Green, Shirley Huang, Ronald C Samuels, Caio Victor Sousa, Debbe Thompson, Amy S Lu

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: eHealth interventions using active video games (AVGs) offer an alternative method to help children exercise, especially during a pandemic where options are limited. There is limited data on costs associated with developing and implementing such interventions.

Objectives: We quantified the costs of delivering an eHealth RCT intervention among minority children during COVID-19.

Methods: We categorized the total trial cost into five subcategories: intervention material development, advertising and recruitment, intervention delivery, personnel salaries, and COVID-19-related equipment costs.

Results: The total RCT cost was $1,927,807 (Direct: $1,227,903; Indirect: $699,904) with three visits required for each participant. The average cost per participant …

How Much Did It Cost To Develop And Implement An Ehealth Intervention For A Minority Children Population That Overlapped With The Covid-19 Pandemic?, Alexandra Monashefsky, Dar Alon, Tom Baranowski, Tiago V Barreira, Kelly A Chiu, Amy Fleischman, Melanie C Green, Shirley Huang, Ronald C Samuels, Caio Victor Sousa, Debbe Thompson, Amy S Lu

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Background: eHealth interventions using active video games (AVGs) offer an alternative method to help children exercise, especially during a pandemic where options are limited. There is limited data on costs associated with developing and implementing such interventions.

Objectives: We quantified the costs of delivering an eHealth RCT intervention among minority children during COVID-19.

Methods: We categorized the total trial cost into five subcategories: intervention material development, advertising and recruitment, intervention delivery, personnel salaries, and COVID-19-related equipment costs.

Results: The total RCT cost was $1,927,807 (Direct: $1,227,903; Indirect: $699,904) with three visits required for each participant. The average cost per participant …

Public Health Measures And Sars-Cov-2 Cases In The Juvenile Justice System: Implications For Pandemic Response In The Detention Setting, Asha Davidson, Shelley Aggarwal, Mona Eissa, Laura Benjamins, John Will, Rebecca Beyda

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 case positivity in juvenile justice facilities of two different states alongside institutional, local, and state public health policies during the first 6 months of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

METHODS: This retrospective chart review examined two large, urban juvenile justice centers in California and Texas. Positive intake or day 12 tests were considered suggestive of community-acquired severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection. Researchers examined state and county restrictions, closings, and openings. The study included all of the youths 10 to 18 years residing in the facilities between March …

Risks Of Mortality And Severe Coronavirus Disease 19 (Covid-19) Outcomes In Patients With Or Without Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Sebastian Bruera, Xiudong Lei, Hui Zhao, Jinoos Yazdany, Mariana Chavez-Macgregor, Sharon H Giordano, Maria E Suarez-Almazor

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVES: We compared the outcomes of patients with or without systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who were diagnosed with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) and evaluated factors within patients with SLE associated with severe outcomes.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used the deidentified Optum COVID-19 electronic health record dataset to identify patients with COVID-19 from 1/1/2020 to 31/12/2020. Cases with SLE were matched with general controls at a ratio of 1:10 by age, sex, race and ethnicity and COVID-19 diagnosis date. Outcomes included 30-day mortality, mechanical ventilation, hospitalisation and intensive care unit admission. We evaluated the relationship between COVID-19-related outcomes and SLE …

A Delicate Balance Between Antibody Evasion And Ace2 Affinity For Omicron Ba275, Jiandong Huo, Aiste Dijokaite-Guraliuc, Chang Liu, Daming Zhou, Helen M Ginn, Raksha Das, Piyada Supasa, Muneeswaran Selvaraj, Rungtiwa Nutalai, Aekkachai Tuekprakhon, Helen M E Duyvesteyn, Alexander J Mentzer, Donal Skelly, Thomas G Ritter, Ali Amini, Sagida Bibi, Sandra Adele, Sile Ann Johnson, Neil G Paterson, Mark A Williams, David R Hall, Megan Plowright, Thomas A H Newman, Hailey Hornsby, Thushan I De Silva, Nigel Temperton, Paul Klenerman, Eleanor Barnes, Susanna J Dunachie, Andrew J Pollard, Teresa Lambe, Philip Goulder, Optic Consortium, Isaric4c Consortium, Elizabeth E Fry, Juthathip Mongkolsapaya, Jingshan Ren, David I Stuart, Gavin R Screaton

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have caused successive global waves of infection. These variants, with multiple mutations in the spike protein, are thought to facilitate escape from natural and vaccine-induced immunity and often increase in affinity for ACE2. The latest variant to cause concern is BA.2.75, identified in India where it is now the dominant strain, with evidence of wider dissemination. BA.2.75 is derived from BA.2 and contains four additional mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). Here, we perform an antigenic and biophysical characterization of BA.2.75, revealing an interesting balance between humoral evasion and ACE2 receptor …

The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic Upon Non-Elective Admissions And Surgery At A Safety-Net Hospital, Aurelien Amiot, Jean-Francois Rahier, Filip Baert, Stephane Nahon, Ailsa Hart, Nikos Viazis, Livia Biancone, Eugeni Domenech, Catherine Reenears, Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurent Beaugerie, Johan Burisch, I-Care Collaborator Group

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There are concerns regarding the potential impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on patients with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. We report on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in a European prospective cohort study of patients with IBD.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We prospectively collected data from 5457 patients with IBD nested in the ongoing I-CARE project and still followed up in April 2020, with monthly online monitoring of clinical activity, treatment, imaging and endoscopy. Investigators were also contacted to report incidental cases.

RESULTS: In total, 233 [4.3%] reported COVID-19 and 12 [0.2%] severe COVID-19, with no COVID-19 deaths. …

Multisite Evaluation Of Prediction Models For Emergency Department Crowding Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ari J Smith, Brian W Patterson, Michael S Pulia, John Mayer, Rebecca J Schwei, Radha Nagarajan, Frank Liao, Manish N Shah, Justin J Boutilier

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To develop a machine learning framework to forecast emergency department (ED) crowding and to evaluate model performance under spatial and temporal data drift.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We obtained 4 datasets, identified by the location: 1-large academic hospital and 2-rural hospital, and time period: pre-coronavirus disease (COVID) (January 1, 2019-February 1, 2020) and COVID-era (May 15, 2020-February 1, 2021). Our primary target was a binary outcome that is equal to 1 if the number of patients with acute respiratory illness that were ED boarding for more than 4 h was above a prescribed historical percentile. We trained a random forest …

Epidemiological/Disease And Economic Burdens Of Cervical Cancer In 2010–2014: Are Younger Women At Risk?, Chuhao Xi, Jay J. Shen, Betty Burston, Soumya Upadhyay, Shoujun Zhou

Healthcare Administration and Policy Faculty Research

Objective: Cervical cancer is an important factor threatening women’s health in China. This study examined the epidemiological and economic burden of cervical cancer among the medically insured population, which could provide data support for government departments to formulate policies. Methods: All new cases of cervical cancer under the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) plan in a provincial capital city in eastern China from 2010 to 2014 were collected. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the factors affecting the survival rates for cervical cancer. Outpatient and hospitalization expenses were used to assess the direct economic burden, and …

Public Health Interventions Guided By Houston’S Wastewater Surveillance Program During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Loren Hopkins, Katherine B Ensor, Lauren Stadler, Catherine D Johnson, Rebecca Schneider, Kaavya Domakonda, James J Mccarthy, Edward J Septimus, David Persse, Stephen L Williams

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance has emerged as a powerful tool used by public health authorities to track SARS-CoV-2 infections in communities. In May 2020, the Houston Health Department began working with a coalition of municipal and academic partners to develop a wastewater monitoring and reporting system for the city of Houston, Texas. Data collected from the system are integrated with other COVID-19 surveillance data and communicated through different channels to local authorities and the general public. This information is used to shape policies and inform actions to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 at …