Infectious Disease Commons^™

Social Intervention By The Numbers: Evidence Behind The Specific Public Health Guidelines In The Covid-19 Pandemic., Michael P. Savage, David L. Fischman, Mamas A. Mamas

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly become a worldwide pandemic ushering in a global health and economic crisis. In the absence of vaccines or definitive drug therapies, current strategies against COVID-19 rely on preventing the transmission of disease through nonpharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing and proper hand hygiene. For practical and perhaps ethical reasons, the clinical efficacy of these public health measures for managing pandemics has not been demonstrated in randomized controlled clinical trials. Accordingly, guideline recommendations for using nonpharmaceutical interventions are based primarily on observational and modeling studies and on expert opinion. A recent position paper from the …

Covid-19 In Children-Not Just Little Adults., Jennifer E. Schuster, Annabelle De St Maurice

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Comment on

• Underlying Medical Conditions Associated With Severe COVID-19 Illness Among Children. Kompaniyets L, Agathis NT, Nelson JM, Preston LE, Ko JY, Belay B, Pennington AF, Danielson ML, DeSisto CL, Chevinsky JR, Schieber LZ, Yusuf H, Baggs J, Mac Kenzie WR, Wong KK, Boehmer TK, Gundlapalli AV, Goodman AB.JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Jun 1;4(6):e2111182. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.11182.PMID: 34097050 Free PMC article.

Toxoplasma Gondii, Suicidal Behavior, And Intermediate Phenotypes For Suicidal Behavior, Teodor T. Postolache, Abhishek Wadhawan, Dan Rujescu, Andrew J. Hoisington, Aline Dagdag, Enrique Baca-Garcia, Christopher A. Lowry, Olaoluwa O. Okusaga, Lisa A. Brenner

Faculty Publications

Within the general literature on infections and suicidal behavior, studies on Toxoplasma gondii ( T. gondii ) occupy a central position. This is related to the parasite's neurotropism, high prevalence of chronic infection, as well as specific and non-specific behavioral alterations in rodents that lead to increased risk taking, which are recapitulated in humans by T. gondii's associations with suicidal behavior, as well as trait impulsivity and aggression, mental illness and traffic accidents. This paper is a detailed review of the associations between T. gondii serology and suicidal behavior, a field of study that started 15 years ago with our …

Patient-Reported Outcomes Through 1 Year Of An Hiv-1 Clinical Trial Evaluating Long-Acting Cabotegravir And Rilpivirine Administered Every 4 Or 8 Weeks (Atlas-2m), Vasiliki Chounta, Edgar T. Overton, Anthony Mills, Susan Swindells, Paul D. Benn, Simon Vanveggel, Rodica Van Solingen-Ristea, Yuanyuan Wang, Krischan J. Hudson, Mark S. Shaefer, David A. Margolis, Kimberly Y. Smith, William R. Spreen

Journal Articles: Infectious Diseases

BACKGROUND: Advances in HIV-1 therapeutics have led to the development of a range of daily oral treatment regimens, which share similar high efficacy rates. Consequently, more emphasis is being placed upon the individual's experience of treatment and impact on quality of life. The first long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy for HIV-1 (long-acting cabotegravir + rilpivirine [CAB + RPV LA]) may address challenges associated with oral treatment for HIV-1, such as stigma, pill burden/fatigue, drug-food interactions, and adherence. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) collected in an HIV-1 clinical trial (ATLAS-2M; NCT03299049) comparing participants' experience with two dosing regimens (every 4 weeks [Q4W] vs. every …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 73), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Anal Cancer Screening At Truman Health Services, Peter D. Tran, Harshdeep Babbar

Quality Improvement/Patient Safety Symposium

Anal Papanicoloau Screening at Truman Clinic

Anal cancer is a squamous cell cancer associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), the same virus that is associated with cervical cancer. Although vaccination against HPV has been shown to be effective in reducing overall rates of infection, the number of new anal cancer cases has been rising for many years. In HIV-infected men and women, the incidence is even higher of anal cancer than in the general population. Current rates in an HIV-infected MSM population have been estimated to be as high as 70-144 per 100,000, with some studies of HIV-infected individuals showing that …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 72), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Antibiotic Durations For Skin And Soft Tissue Infections In Pediatric Urgent Care Clinics, Megan Hamner

Research Days

Background: Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are the second most common diagnosis leading to pediatric antibiotic prescriptions in the outpatient setting after respiratory diagnoses. However, most antibiotic stewardship programs have mainly focused on the latter. Children seen in the ambulatory setting for SSTIs often receive >7 days of antibiotics, although current society guidelines recommend 5-7 days for most diagnoses.

Objectives/Goal: To determine the baseline percentage of patients receiving antibiotic prescriptions for >7 days for SSTIs in Children’s Mercy urgent care clinics (UCC)s and to evaluate factors that influence providers towards longer durations.

Methods/Design: We built a report that extracted …

Levofloxacin Versus Ciprofloxacin Prophylaxis In Pediatric Cancer Patients At High Risk Of Infection, Chandni Dargan Md, Amy Johnson Md, Mba

Research Days

Background: Patients with cancer and those undergoing chemotherapy are at risk of developing bacterial infections due to myelosuppression. Patients undergoing the most intensive chemotherapy regimens are at a higher risk for morbidity and mortality due to profound neutropenia. Antibacterial prophylaxis is given to reduce the incidence of infection in those at highest risk. Starting March 1, 2016 our institution used ciprofloxacin for antibacterial prophylaxis however recent literature, including the COG trial ACCL0934, supports using levofloxacin in certain high risk (HR) populations due to greater efficacy in reducing neutropenic fever (NF) and bacteremia. Therefore, we switched to this April 1, 2019. …

Genome Sequence Of A Virulent African Swine Fever Virus Isolated In 2020 From A Domestic Pig In Northern Vietnam, Quang Lam Truong, Thi Lan Nguyen, Thi Hoa Nguyen, Jishu Shi, Hiep Lai Xuan Vu, Thi Lan Huong Lai, Van Giap Nguyen

Nebraska Center for Virology: Faculty Publications

This study reports the genome sequence of an isolated African swine fever (ASF) virus (VNUA-ASFV-05L1/HaNam) obtained at the fourth passage on pulmonary alveolar macrophages. The virus was isolated during a typical acute ASF outbreak in pigs in a northern province of Vietnam in 2020.

Pediatric Pulmonary Artery Aneurysms Causing Pulmonary Hemorrhage: A Case Of Transcatheter Intervention While On Va Ecmo Support, Igor Areinamo

Research Days

Background: The incidence of pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA) in children remains unknown. There are few reports of a transcutaneous interventional approach to address this type of pathology. Management of PAAs while on VA ECMO has not been described in pediatrics.

Objectives/Goal:

Methods/Design:

Case: 9-year-old previously healthy male presented with MRSA associated ARDS and sepsis requiring urgent VA ECMO cannulation. Chest CT done on ECMO day 22 showed development of right sided PAAs. Patient had an episode of significant pulmonary hemorrhage. Angiogram demonstrated two fusiform right PAAs, one of which had ruptured and was bleeding into the lung parenchyma. Patient had …

C-Reactive Protein Values To Predict Sepsis-Induced Inflammatory Response In Premature Infants, Megan H. Tucker

Research Days

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammatory marker that has been recognized as a biomarker of the systemic inflammatory response in preterm neonates. We hypothesized that initial and peak CRP values would correlate with the degree of sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI) as measured by the pulmonary severity score (PSS).

Objectives/Goal: 1) Determine if confirmed (CF) sepsis events are associated with higher initial and peak CRP values than rule out (RO) sepsis events. 2) Investigate if initial and/or peak CRP correlates with severity of sepsis-induced ALI as measured by the PSS.

Methods/Design: In this retrospective case control study, we included …

Diagnosis And Management Of Otitis Media With Effusion In Pediatric Urgent Care Clinics, Ashley Deschepper

Research Days

Background: Otitis media with effusion (OME)’s clinical presentation is often confused with acute otitis media (AOM) by providers. Despite OME guidelines recommending watchful waiting with no antibiotics, rates of antibiotic use remain elevated. In our pediatric urgent care clinics (UCCs), an estimated 50% of patients diagnosed with OME receive antibiotic prescriptions.

Objectives/Goal: To determine the provider diagnosis validity and the rates of antibiotics prescribed among pediatric OME patients evaluated in 3 UCCs within a pediatric healthcare system.

Methods/Design: We randomly selected 75% of encounters for children age 0-18 years who had a billing diagnosis of OME in 2019. Charts were …

Covid-19 Newsletter (Vol. 71), Center For Disaster Medicine, New York Medical College

COVID-19 Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Increased Diagnosis Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma In Hospitalized Patients With Alcohol Related Hepatitis After The Covid-19 Outbreak: A Global Multi-Center Propensity Matched Analysis., Abhilash Perisetti Md, Randeep Kaur, Ragesh Thandassery

PCI Publications and Projects

No abstract provided.

Pulmonary Severity Score As A Measure Of Sepsis-Induced Acute Lung Injury In Preterm Infants, Megan H. Tucker

Research Days

Background: Sepsis is the most common indirect cause of acute lung injury (ALI) in adult and pediatric patients, yet no studies have described this phenomenon in preterm infants. We hypothesize that sepsis-induced ALI occurs in neonates and increases the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants.

Objectives/Goal: 1) To investigate whether late onset sepsis (LOS) and other systemic inflammatory diseases are temporally correlated with ALI as quantified by pulmonary severity score (PSS) trajectory. 2) To determine the sepsis subtypes associated with the greatest severity of ALI.

Methods/Design: We included infants < 31 weeks gestational age and < 1500 grams with LOS in this retrospective case control study. The PSS was calculated at 72, 48, and 24 hours (hr) prior to, at the time of, and 24, 48, 72, and 168hr after sepsis diagnosis. We further defined rule out (RO) sepsis (blood culture negative; antibiotics continued only 48-72hr), blood culture positive (Cx+) sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), urinary tract infection (UTI), and culture negative (Cx-) clinical sepsis (blood culture negative; antibiotics continued > 6 days; specific lab criteria met). PSS trajectories for …

Multimodal Neuroimaging Of Hiv And Aging, Brandon Lew

Theses & Dissertations

HIV infection remains a significant contributor to disease burden, and with the success of antiretroviral therapies, the population of people with HIV is aging. A growing literature suggests a relationship between HIV-infection and a profile of age advancement, most notably in molecular studies of epigenetics. However, despite the widely-known high prevalence of HIV-related brain atrophy, functional deficits, and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), epigenetic age advancement has not been linked to HIV-related changes in neuroimaging metrics.

We applied three neuroimaging methods, structural MRI, resting state functional MRI, and resting state MEG, to study the brain structure and function of 121 virally-suppressed …

Development Of Long-Acting Antiviral Drug Nanoformulations, Denise Cobb

Theses & Dissertations

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved the quality and duration of life for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. However, opportunities to improve its profile abound. ART is limited by putative viral reservoir penetrance, emergence of viral mutations, inherent toxicities, and regimen non-adherence. These highlight the need improved drug delivery schemes. Previously, our lab has demonstrated that targeting mononuclear phagocytes for antiretroviral drug delivery extends drug half-life and improves penetrance into viral reservoirs, addressing these limitations of ART. Herein, we developed synthetic and biologic antiretroviral (ARV) drug nanocarriers improve the pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profiles of ARVs through …

Clinical Consequences And Determinants Of False Positive Blood Cultures In Adult Hospitalized Patients, Sidra Liaquat

Theses & Dissertations

Blood cultures are the gold standard for detecting blood stream infections. However, in the US, 0.6-6% of all blood cultures get contaminated leading to adverse clinical outcomes such as unnecessarily prolonged hospital stay and antibiotic therapy. Using electronic medical records, we explored the clinical outcomes and patient-specific risk factors of contaminated blood cultures in an era where rapid blood culture testing was being utilized to provide blood culture results within hours. Rapid blood culture test results can help clinicians in early and more effective management of patients with contaminated blood cultures, thus improving clinical outcomes. We also studied the impact …

Fire Service Covid-19 Infection Prevention And Control Policy Comparison, Saaddedine Dichari

Theses & Dissertations

To date, there have been over 2.7 million deaths and more than 126 million cases attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic (JHU, 2021). This pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of daily life. Among those impacted are U.S. firefighters, as they provide many services beyond simply extinguishing structure fires and are frequently dual certified as emergency medical technicians. Many of the victims of this pandemic have relied on first responders to provide them with emergency medical care and hospital transport. When caring for these infected patients, firefighters have an increased risk of exposure and must be provided with adequate …