Risk factors for symptomatic hyperlactatemia and lactic acidosis among combination antiretroviral therapy-treated adults in Botswana: Results from a clinical trial
Nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors are an integral component of combination antiretroviral treatment regimens. However, their ability to inhibit polymerase-γ has been associated with several mitochondrial toxicities, including potentially life-threatening lactic acidosis.
Applying propensity scores estimated in a full cohort to adjust for confounding in subgroup analyses
Background: A correctly specified propensity score (PS) estimated in a cohort (“cohort PS”) should, in expectation, remain valid in a subgroup population. Objective: We sought to determine whether using a cohort PS can be validly applied to subgroup analyses and, thus, add efficiency to studies with many subgroups or restricted data.
Expanding dependent coverage for young adults: Lessons from state initiatives
Abstract: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that adults up to age twenty-six be permitted to enroll as dependents on their parents’ health plans. This article examines the experiences of states that enacted dependent expansion laws. Drawing on public information from thirty-one enacting states and case studies of four diverse reform states, it derives lessons that are pertinent to the implementation of this ACA provision. Dependent coverage laws vary across the states, but most impose residency, marital status, and other restrictions…
Nurse staffing and postsurgical outcomes in black adults
OBJECTIVES: To determine the association between nurse staffing and postsurgical outcomes for older black adults, including 30-day mortality and failure to rescue. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of University of Pennsylvania Multi-State Nursing Care and Patient Safety Survey data, linked to 2006-2007 administrative patient discharge data from four states (CA, PA, NJ, FL), American Hospital Association Annual Survey data, and a U.S. Census-derived measure of socioeconomic status (SES).
Elevated risk of preeclampsia in pregnant women with depression: Depression or antidepressants?
A previous study suggested an increased risk of preeclampsia among women treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Using population-based health-care utilization databases from British Columbia (1997-2006), the authors conducted a study of 69,448 pregnancies in women with depression.
Gender-sensitive reporting in medical research
Sex and gender differences influence the health and wellbeing of men and women. Although studies have drawn attention to observed differences between women and men across diseases, remarkably little research has been pursued to systematically investigate these underlying sex differences.
Racial and ethnic disparities in depression care in community-dwelling elderly in the United States
Objectives. We investigated racial/ethnic disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of depression among community-dwelling elderly. Methods. We performed a secondary analysis of Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data (n=33708) for 2001 through 2005.
Unresolved antiretroviral treatment management issues in HIV-infected children
Antiretroviral therapy in children has expanded dramatically in low-income and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization revised its pediatric HIV guidelines to recommend initiation of antiretroviral therapy in all HIV-infected children younger than 2 years, regardless of CD4 count or clinical stage.
Design and rationale of a retrospective clinical effectiveness study of aldosterone antagonist therapy in patients with heart failure
Background: Despite demonstrated efficacy in randomized trials, aldosterone antagonist therapy is not used in many eligible patients with heart failure. Questions remain about its clinical effectiveness and safety for patients who are underrepresented in randomized trials and those at risk for hyperkalemia.
A systematic review of validated methods for identifying suicide or suicidal ideation using administrative or claims data
Purpose: As part of the Mini-Sentinel pilot program, under contract with the Food and Drug Administration, an effort has been made to evaluate the validity of algorithms useful for identifying health outcomes of interest, including suicide and suicide attempt.
Factors Influencing School Psychologists’ “Willingness to Implement” Evidence-Based Interventions
Cognitive-behavioral interventions are effective in preventing and treating various child and adolescent mental health problems and are useful components in treating pediatric medical disorders.
The integrality of situated caring in nursing and the environment
Much emphasis has been placed on the importance of the environment as a determinant of health; however, little theoretical work in nursing has specifically articulated the importance of the nursing practice environment as a factor in patient outcomes. This work advances the unitary-transformative- caring paradigm by focusing on the concept of integrality and exploring the nursing meta-paradigm concepts (nursing, environment, human being, and health) through integral philosophical inquiry.
‘We eat meat every day’: Ecology and economy of dietary change among Oaxacan migrants from Mexico to New Jersey
In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the USA has experienced large-scale and continuing immigration from around the world, especially Latin America and, within Latin America, from Mexico.
Contextualizing the trauma experience of women immigrants from Central America, South America, and Mexico
Trauma has been understudied among Latina immigrants from Central and South America. This study examined the types and context of trauma exposure experienced by immigrant women from Central America, South America, and Mexico living in the United States.
Validation of a point-of-care lactate device for screening at-risk adults receiving combination antiretroviral therapy in Botswana
Background: Nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are a major component of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) worldwide but they have been associated with mitochondrial toxicities, with one of the most significant being lactic acidosis.
Antidepressant treatment and adherence to antiretroviral medications among privately insured persons with HIV/AIDS
In order to examine relationships between depression treatments (antidepressant and/or psychotherapy utilization) and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), we conducted a retrospective analysis of medical and pharmacy insurance claims for privately insured persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) diagnosed with depression (n = 1,150). Participants were enrolled in 80 insurance plans from all 50 states. Adherence was suboptimal. Depression treatment initiators were significantly more likely to be adherent to ART than the untreated. We did not observe an association between psychotherapy utilization and ART adherence, yet given the limitations of the data (e.g., there is no information on types of psychological treatment and its targets), the lack of association should not be interpreted as lack of efficacy.
Improving data accuracy of commercial food outlet databases
Purpose. Assessing food environments often requires using commercially available data. Disparate methods used for classifying food outlets in these databases call for creating a classification approach using common definitions. A systematic strategy for reclassifying food stores and restaurants, as they appear in commercial databases, into categories that differentiate the availability of healthy options is described here.
Antiretroviral drugs for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV: A review of potential effects on HIV-exposed but uninfected children
The provision of antiretroviral drugs for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission has been rising sharply in low- and middle-income countries. Changes to the World Health Organization guidelines support further extension of these programs.
Non-AIDS-defining events among HIV-1-infected adults receiving combination antiretroviral therapy in resource-replete versus resource-limited urban setting
Objective: To compare incidence and distribution of non-AIDS-defining events (NADEs) among HIV-1-infected adults receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in urban sub-Saharan African versus United States settings.
Diagnosis and treatment of depression in older community-dwelling adults: 1992-2005
OBJECTIVE: To examine evolving patterns of depression diagnosis and treatment in older U.S. adults in the era of newer-generation antidepressants. DESIGN: Trend analysis using data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, a nationally representative survey of Medicare enrollees, from 1992 to 2005.