Using Pharmacies in a Structural Intervention to Distribute Low Dead Space Syringes to Reduce HIV and HCV Transmission in People Who Inject Drugs

Ongoing injection drug use contributes to the HIV and HCV epidemics in people who inject drugs. In many places, pharmacies are the primary source of sterile syringes for people who inject drugs; thus, pharmacies provide a viable public health service that reduces blood-borne disease transmission.Replacing the supply of high dead space syringes with low dead space syringes could have far-reaching benefits that include further prevention of disease transmission in people who inject drugs and reductions in dosing inaccuracies, medication errors, and medication waste in patients who use syringes.We explored using pharmacies in a structural intervention to increase the uptake of low dead space syringes as part of a comprehensive strategy to reverse these epidemics.There are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States.1 Over the past decade, the HIV incidence rate among people who inject drugs (PWID) has decreased; however, PWID remain disproportionately affected by HIV. It is estimated that 8% of new HIV cases in 2010 were among PWID.1 Co-occurring is the HCV epidemic; approximately 2.7 million people are chronically infected with HCV.2 Studies estimate that the prevalence of HCV among PWID ranges from 40% to 90%.3,4 Ongoing injection drug use and injection risk behaviors contribute to both epidemics.Although effective therapies exist, ultimately, preventing the transmission of HIV and HCV is essential to ending these epidemics, particularly in high-risk populations. PWID constitute a vulnerable population that faces numerous economic and personal barriers (e.g., comorbidities) that prevent them from receiving appropriate medical care.5,6 Public health resources and interventions that focus on the prevention of HIV and HCV in PWID are needed.Multiperson use of needles and syringes (i.e., direct sharing) and multiperson use of drug preparation materials (i.e., indirect sharing) are important risk factors for infection acquisition and transmission among PWID.7 An estimated 50% to 80% of PWID acquire HCV infection within the first year of injection drug use.8 Recommended interventions to discourage injection drug use include risk-reduction programs and substance abuse treatment.9 However, because of limited awareness of available programs, lack of access to treatment facilities, need for program referral, and cost of treatment, many PWID are unable to stop injecting drugs.7 A well-known public health measure to reduce the spread of infection is to promote the use of sterile syringes.10 We explored using pharmacies in a structural intervention to help prevent the transmission of HIV and HCV through syringes.     

Using Participatory Methods to Assess PrEP Interest and Uptake Among Young People Living in the Southeastern US: A Mixed Methods Assessment

AIDS and Behavior - Adolescents and young adults (AYA; 13–24 years-old) comprise 22% of new HIV infections in the United States (US), most of whom live in the South. We used the...     

Evaluation of erythropoiesis in long-term hamster bone marrow suspension cultures: absence of a requirement for adherent monolayer cells

In long-term hamster bone marrow cultures, proliferation and differentiation of hemopoietic stem cells occurs for several months without need for hydrocortisone or adherent stromal elements, which are requirements for bone marrow growth in all other species studied. Only the most primitive erythroid progenitors (BFU-E) are produced in the cultures. Following treatment of the cells with erythropoietin, these progenitor cells undergo differentiation into mature hemoglobinized red blood cells. Concomitant addition of erythropoietin (Epo) and prostaglandin-E1 (PGE1) results in the production of large numbers of maturing red blood cells. In cultures stimulated with Epo and PGE1, as many as 70% of the cells are benzidine-positive, while Epo alone stimulated as many as 45% of the cells to become erythroid. Epo and PGE1 do not have any apparent deleterious effect on the continuous hemopoiesis occurring in these cultures. Under identical conditions, syngeneic adherent cell cultures do not produce any erythroid elements. The development of mature red blood cells from primitive erythroid precursors occurs in the presence of Epo alone and without any apparent need for adherent stromal elements. These cultures provide a useful in vitro model for dissecting the positive and negative signals that regulate erythropoiesis.     

Fc gamma receptor II (CD32) on malignant B cells influences modulation induced by anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody

Antigenic modulation is one of many factors determining the effectiveness of monoclonal antibody (MoAb)-mediated therapy. To select the isotype of a CD19 MoAb most suitable for radioimmunotherapy of patients with B-cell malignancies, we studied the influence of MoAb isotype on modulation, after binding of the MoAb to different cell-line cells. The CD19-IgG1 MoAb was found to induce modulation of CD19 antigens on Daudi cell line cells more rapidly than did its IgG2a switch variant. We provide evidence that this difference in modulation rate is caused by the expression of Fc gamma receptor II (Fc gamma RII) on these cells. Experiments aimed at elucidating the mechanism of Fc gamma RII involvement in modulation induction by CD19-IgG1 showed that Fc gamma RII did not comodulate with CD19 MoAbs. However, cocrosslinking of CD19 and Fc gamma RII with CD19-IgG1 MoAb resulted in enhanced calcium mobilization in Daudi cells. This increased signal induction accompanies the enhanced capping and subsequent modulation of CD19 antigens. Because Fc gamma RII is expressed in varying densities on malignant B cells in all differentiation stages, our results have implications for the MoAb isotype most suitable for use in MoAb-based therapy of patients with B-cell malignancies.     

What effect does increasing inpatient time have on outpatient-oriented internist satisfaction?

OBJECTIVE: Because career satisfaction among general internists is relatively low, we sought to understand the impact on satisfaction of general internists managing patients both in and outside of the hospital. Using data from a national survey, we asked, “Among outpatient-oriented general internists (i.e., internists who spend less than 50% of their clinical time caring for inpatients), what effect does time spent in the hospital have on physician satisfaction, stress, and burnout?” DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS: The Physician Worklife Study, in which 5,704 physicians in primary and specialty nonsurgical care selected from the American Medical Association’s Masterfile were surveyed (adjusted response rate=52%), was used. Our analyses focused on clinically active outpatient-oriented general internists (N=339). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We constructed multivariate linear models to test for statistically significant associations between the amount of time spent seeing inpatients and physician satisfaction as measured by several satisfaction scales. Even after controlling for total hours worked and other possible confounding variables, we found that increased time working in the hospital was significantly associated with decreases in satisfaction with administration, specialty, autonomy, and personal time, and significantly associated with an increase in life stress. There was also a significant association between increased time spent in the hospital and burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings imply that there may be a tension between the practice of inpatient and outpatient medicine by general internists, and suggest that fewer hospital duties may increase career satisfaction for outpatient-oriented internists. Although additional studies are warranted in order to better understand why these relationships exist, our data suggest that the hospitalist model of inpatient care might be one approach to alleviate stress and improve satisfaction for many general internists.     

Implementing a Prison Medicaid Enrollment Program for Inmates with a Community Inpatient Hospitalization

In 2011, North Carolina (NC) created a program to facilitate Medicaid enrollment for state prisoners experiencing community inpatient hospitalization during their incarceration. The program, which has been described as a model for prison systems nationwide, has saved the NC prison system approximately $10 million annually in hospitalization costs and has potential to increase prisoners’ access to Medicaid benefits as they return to their communities. This study aims to describe the history of NC’s Prison-Based Medicaid Enrollment Assistance Program (PBMEAP), its structure and processes, and program personnel’s perspectives on the challenges and facilitators of program implementation. We conducted semi-structured interviews and a focus group with PBMEAP personnel including two administrative leaders, two “Medicaid Facilitators,” and ten social workers. Seven major findings emerged: 1) state legislation was required to bring the program into existence; 2) the legislation was prompted by projected cost savings; 3) program development required close collaboration between the prison system and state Medicaid office; 4) technology and data sharing played key roles in identifying inmates who previously qualified for Medicaid and would likely qualify if hospitalized; 5) a small number of new staff were sufficient to make the program scalable; 6) inmates generally cooperated in filling out Medicaid applications, and their cooperation was encouraged when social workers explained possible benefits of receiving Medicaid after release; and 7) the most prominent program challenges centered around interaction with county Departments of Social Services, which were responsible for processing applications. Our findings could be instructive to both Medicaid non-expansion and expansion states that have either implemented similar programs or are considering implementing prison Medicaid enrollment programs in the future.     

Unintended consequences of policy change to watchful waiting for asymptomatic inguinal hernias

Introduction

In 2009 the Department of Health instructed McKinsey & Company to provide advice on how commissioners might achieve world class National Health Service productivity. Asymptomatic inguinal hernia repair was identified as a potentially cosmetic procedure, with limited clinical benefit. The Birmingham and Solihull primary care trust cluster introduced a policy of watchful waiting for asymptomatic inguinal hernia, which was implemented across the health economy in December 2010. This retrospective cohort study aimed to examine the effect of a change in clinical commissioning policy concerning elective surgical repair of asymptomatic inguinal hernias.

Methods

A total of 1,032 patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair in the 16 months after the policy change were compared with 978 patients in the 16 months before. The main outcome measure was relative proportion of emergency repair in groups before and after the policy change. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to adjust the main outcome for age, sex and hernia type.

Results

The period after the policy change was associated with 59% higher odds of emergency repair (3.6% vs 5.5%, adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–2.47). In turn, emergency repair was associated with higher odds of adverse events (4.7% vs 18.5%, adjusted OR: 3.68, 95% CI: 2.04–6.63) and mortality (0.1% vs 5.4%, p<0.001, Fisher’s exact test).

Conclusions

Introduction of a watchful waiting policy for asymptomatic inguinal hernias was associated with a significant increase in need for emergency repair, which was in turn associated with an increased risk of adverse events. Current policies may be placing patients at risk.