INTRODUCTION: HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding adolescents are a particularly vulnerable group that require special attention and enhanced support to achieve optimal maternal and infant outcomes. The objective of this paper is to review published evidence about antenatal care (ANC) service delivery and outcomes for HIV-infected pregnant adolescents in low-income country settings, identify gaps in knowledge and programme services and highlight the way forward to improve clinical outcomes of this vulnerable group. DISCUSSION: Emerging data from programmes in sub-Saharan Africa highlight that HIV-infected pregnant adolescents have poorer prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) service outcomes, including lower PMTCT service uptake, compared to HIV-infected pregnant adults. In addition, the limited evidence available suggests that there may be higher rates of mother-to-child HIV transmission among infants of HIV-infected pregnant adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: While the reasons for the inferior outcomes among adolescents in ANC need to be further explored and addressed, there is sufficient evidence that immediate operational changes are needed to address the unique needs of this population. Such changes could include integration of adolescent-friendly services into PMTCT settings or targeting HIV-infected pregnant adolescents with enhanced retention and follow-up activities.
Background-In a previous study, we found that a biomarker risk score (BRS) comprised of C-reactive protein, fibrin-degradation products, and heat shock protein-70 predicts risk of myocardial infarction and death in coronary artery disease patients. We sought to: (1) validate the BRS in the independent BARI 2D (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes) cohort, (2) investigate whether 1 year of intensive medical therapy is associated with improved BRS, and (3) elucidate whether an altered BRS parallels altered risk. Methods and Results-Two thousand thirty-two subjects with coronary artery disease were followed for 5.3±1.1 years for cardiovascular events. Biomarkers were measured at baseline and retested in 1304 subjects at 1 year. BRS was determined as the biomarker number above previously defined cut-off values (C-reactive protein > 3 mg/L, heat shock protein-70 > 0.313 ng/mL, and fibrin-degradation products > 1 lg/mL). After adjustment for covariates, those with a BRS of 3 had a 4-fold increased risk of allcause death and a 6.8-fold increased risk of cardiac death compared with those with a BRS of 0 (95% CI, 2.9-16.0; P < 0.0001). All individual biomarkers decreased by 1 year, with ≈80% of patients decreasing their BRS. BRS recalibrated at 1 year also predicted risk. Those with 1-year BRS of 2 to 3 had a 4-year mortality rate of 21.1% versus 7.4% for those with BRS of 0 to 1 (P < 0.0001). Conclusions-Our results validate the ability of the BRS to identify coronary artery disease patients at very high near-term risk of myocardial infarction/death. After 1 year of intensive medical therapy, the BRS decreased significantly, and the reclassified BRS continued to track with risk. Our results suggest that repeated BRS measurements might be used to assess risk and recalibrate therapy.
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Efrain Reisin;
John W. Graves;
Jose-Miguel Yamal;
Joshua Barzilay;
Sara L. Pressel;
Paula T. Einhorn;
Richard A. Dart;
Tamrat M. Retta;
Mohammad G. Saklayen;
Barry R. Davis
Rates and risk factors for acquired drug resistance and association with outcomes among patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) are not well defined. In an MDR TB cohort from the country of Georgia, drug susceptibility testing for second-line drugs (SLDs) was performed at baseline and every third month. Acquired resistance was defined as any SLD whose status changed from susceptible at baseline to resistant at follow-up. Among 141 patients, acquired resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis was observed in 19 (14%); prevalence was 9.1% for ofloxacin and 9.8% for capreomycin or kanamycin. Baseline cavitary disease and resistance to >6 drugs were associated with acquired resistance. Patients with M. tuberculosis that had acquired resistance were at significantly increased risk for poor treatment outcome compared with patients without these isolates (89% vs. 36%; p<0.01). Acquired resistance occurs commonly among patients with MDR TB and impedes successful treatment outcomes.
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Sogol Mostoufi-Moab;
Kristy Seidel;
Wendy M. Leisenring;
Gregory T. Armstrong;
Kevin C. Oeffinger;
Marilyn Stovall;
Lillian Meacham;
Daniel M. Green;
Rita Weathers;
Jill P. Ginsberg;
Leslie L. Robison;
Charles A. Sklar
Purpose: The development of endocrinopathies in survivors of childhood cancer as they age remains understudied. We characterized endocrine outcomes in aging survivors from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study on the basis of therapeutic exposures. Patients and Methods: We analyzed self-reported conditions in 14,290 5-year survivors from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, with a median age 6 years (range, < 1 to 20 years) at diagnosis and 32 years (range, 5 to 58 years) at last follow-up. Identification of high-risk therapeutic exposures was adopted from the Children's Oncology Group Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines. Cumulative incidence curves and prevalence estimates quantified and regression models compared risks of primary hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, thyroid neoplasms, hypopituitarism, obesity, diabetes mellitus, or gonadal dysfunction between survivors and siblings. Results: The cumulative incidence and prevalence of endocrine abnormalities increased across the lifespan of survivors (P < .01 for all). Risk was significantly higher in survivors exposed to high-risk therapies compared with survivors not so exposed for primary hypothyroidism (hazard ratio [HR], 6.6; 95% CI, 5.6 to 7.8), hyperthyroidism (HR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.8), thyroid nodules (HR, 6.3; 95% CI, 5.2 to 7.5), thyroid cancer (HR, 9.2; 95% CI, 6.2 to 13.7), growth hormone deficiency (HR, 5.3; 95% CI, 4.3 to 6.4), obesity (relative risk, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.7 to 2.0), and diabetes mellitus (relative risk, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.6 to 2.4). Women exposed to high-risk therapies had six-fold increased risk for premature ovarian insufficiency (P < .001), and men demonstrated higher prevalence of testosterone replacement (P < .001) after cyclophosphamide equivalent dose of 20 g/m2 or greater or testicular irradiation with 20 Gy or greater. Survivors demonstrated an increased risk for all thyroid disorders and diabetes mellitus regardless of treatment exposures compared with siblings (P < .001 for all). Conclusion: Endocrinopathies in survivors increased substantially over time, underscoring the need for lifelong subspecialty follow-up of those at risk.
Background Patient's knowledge about heart failure (HF) contributes to successful HF self-care, but less is known about shared patient-caregiver knowledge. Objectives The purpose of this analysis was to: 1) identify configurations of shared HF knowledge in patient-caregiver dyads; 2) characterize dyads within each configuration by comparing sociodemographic factors, HF characteristics, and psychosocial factors; and 3) quantify the relationship between configurations and patient self-care adherence to managing dietary sodium and HF medications. Methods This was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data (N = 114 dyads, 53% spousal). Patient and caregiver HF knowledge was measured with the Atlanta Heart Failure Knowledge Test. Patient dietary sodium intake was measured by 3-day food record and 24 h urine sodium. Medication adherence was measured by Medication Events Monitoring System caps. Patient HF-related quality of life was measured by the Minnesota Heart Failure Questionnaire; caregiver health-related quality of life was measured by the Short Form-12 Physical Component Summary. Patient and caregiver depression were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Patient and caregiver perceptions of caregiver-provided autonomy support to succeed in heart failure self-care were measured by the Family Care Climate Questionnaire. Multilevel and latent class modeling were used to identify dyadic knowledge configurations. T-tests and chi-square tests were used to characterize differences in sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial characteristics by configuration. Logistic/linear regression were used to quantify relationships between configurations and patient dietary sodium and medication adherence. Results Two dyadic knowledge configurations were identified: “Knowledgeable Together” (higher dyad knowledge, less incongruence; N = 85, 75%) and “Knowledge Gap” (lower dyad knowledge, greater incongruence; N = 29, 25%). Dyads were more likely to be in the “Knowledgeable Together” group if they were White and more highly educated, if the patient had a higher ejection fraction, fewer depressive symptoms, and better autonomy support, and if the caregiver had better quality of life. In unadjusted comparisons, patients in the “Knowledge Gap” group were less likely to adhere to HF medication and diet. In adjusted models, significance was retained for dietary sodium only. Conclusions Dyads with higher shared HF knowledge are likely more successful with select self-care adherence behaviors.
Background. This study introduces a framework for analyzing and visualizing health care utilization for millions of children, with a focus on pediatric asthma, one of the major chronic respiratory conditions. Methods. The data source is the 2005 to 2012 Medicaid Analytic Extract claims for 10 Southeast states. The study population consists of Medicaid-enrolled children with persistent asthma. We translate multiyear, individual-level medical claims into sequences of discrete utilization events, which are modeled using Markov renewal processes and model-based clustering. Network analysis is used to visualize utilization profiles. The method is general, allowing the study of other chronic conditions. Results. The study population consists of 1.5 million children with persistent asthma. All states have profiles with high probability of asthma controller medication, as large as 60.6% to 90.2% of the state study population. The probability of consecutive asthma controller prescriptions ranges between 0.75 and 0.95. All states have utilization profiles with uncontrolled asthma with 4.5% to 22.9% of the state study population. The probability for controller medication is larger than for short-term medication after a physician visit but not after an emergency department (ED) visit or hospitalization. Transitions from ED or hospitalization generally have a lower probability into physician office (between 0.11 and 0.38) than into ED or hospitalization (between 0.20 and 0.59). Conclusions. In most profiles, children who take asthma controller medication do so regularly. Follow-up physician office visits after an ED encounter or hospitalization are observed at a low rate across all states. Finally, all states have a proportion of children who have uncontrolled asthma, meaning they do not take controller medication while they have severe outcomes.
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Bryce B. Reeve;
Lloyd J. Edwards;
Byron C. Jaeger;
Pamela S. Hinds;
Carlton Dampier;
Debbie S. Gipson;
David T. Selewski;
Jonathan P. Troost;
David Thissen;
Vaughn Barry;
Heather E. Gross;
Darren A. DeWalt
Purpose: Previous studies provided evidence for the validity of the PROMIS Pediatric measures in cross-sectional studies. This study evaluated the ability of the PROMIS Pediatric measures to detect change over time in children and adolescents with cancer, nephrotic syndrome (NS), or sickle cell disease (SCD). Methods: Participants (8–17 years) completed measures of fatigue, pain interference, anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, mobility, upper extremity, and peer relationships at three or four time points (T1–T4). Between T1 and T2, children with cancer received chemotherapy and children with SCD experienced a pain exacerbation. Children with NS were first assessed during active disease (T2), with T3 and T4 conducted at disease remission. For the primary analysis of responsiveness, we expected better scores at T3 (recovery) compared to T2 (event) for all diseases. T1 and T4 are also expected to have better scores than T2. Linear mixed models were used and adjusted for time, gender, age, race/ethnicity, education, comorbid conditions, and disease. Results: Enrolled were 96 children with cancer, 121 children with SCD, and 127 children with NS. Fatigue, pain interference, mobility, and upper extremity scores worsened from T1 (baseline) to T2 (event) (p < 0.01), and significantly improved from T2 to T3 and T4 (p < 0.01). Similarly, anxiety and depressive symptoms significantly improved from T2 to T3 and T4 (p < 0.01). Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the responsiveness of seven PROMIS Pediatric measures to clinical disease state in three chronic illnesses. The findings support use of PROMIS Pediatric measures in clinical research.
Factors that patients value when choosing a transplant center have not been well studied. In order to guide the improvement of patient-facing materials, we conducted an anonymous electronic survey of patients that assessed the relative importance of patient experience, practical considerations, transplant center reputation, center experience, and waitlist when selecting a transplant center. A total of 409 respondents completed the survey, of whom 68% were kidney transplant recipients and 32% had chronic kidney disease or were on dialysis. Participants had mean age 56 ± 12 years and were predominantly female (61%), white (79%), and had an associate’s degree or higher (68%). Participants most often prioritized waitlist when evaluating transplant centers (transplanted 26%, chronic kidney disease 40%), and waitlist was almost twice as likely as outcomes to be ranked most important (30% vs 17%). Education level and transplant status were significantly associated with factors used for center prioritization. Waitlisted respondents most commonly (48%) relied on physicians for information when selecting a center, while a minority cited transplant-specific organizations. In order to improve shared decision-making, materials outlining center-specific waitlist features should be prioritized. Novel patient-oriented metrics for measuring transplant center quality that align with patient priorities must be explored.
Aims: Historically, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) response in non-left bundle branch block (non-LBBB) patients has been suboptimal in comparison with that observed in left bundle branch block patients. The electrical activation pattern of the left ventricle (LV) is different between these two QRS morphologies. Small non-randomized studies have suggested that targeting the LV wall with greatest electrical delay may be superior to conventional anatomical pacing from the lateral wall in non-LBBB patients. This article outlines the design and rationale of a prospective, randomized, pilot study, which assesses the effect of a non-traditional LV lead implant strategy on the clinical composite score after 12 months of follow-up in a non-LBBB patient population. Methods: All patients will receive an Abbott quadripolar CRT-D system (Quartet 1458Q LV lead with Unify Quadra™, Quadra Assura™ CRT-D or any market-approved CRT-D device with quadripolar pacing capabilities). Patients will be randomized in a 2:1 ratio between a QLV-based implant strategy vs. standard of care. Up to 250 patients will be enrolled in the study. Conclusions: If the primary endpoint is achieved, this study will provide important information about reducing the non-responder rate in non-LBBB patients and provide further evidence for the QLV-based implant strategy.