Relationships Between Dimensions of Disability Experienced by Adults Living with HIV: A Structural Equation Model Analysis

As individuals age with HIV it is increasingly important to consider the health-related consequences of HIV and multiple morbidities, known as disability. We assessed relationships between four dimensions of disability among adults living with HIV. We conducted a structural equation modeling analysis using data from 913 participants in the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study to determine relationships between four latent variables of disability in the Episodic Disability Framework: physical symptoms and impairments, mental health symptoms and impairments, difficulties with day-to-day activities, and challenges to social inclusion. Results indicated that physical symptoms and impairments, mental health symptoms and impairments and difficulties with day-to-day activities directly or indirectly predicted challenges to social inclusion for adults living with HIV. Challenges to social inclusion were directly predicted by mental health symptoms and indirectly by physical health symptoms via (mediated by) having difficulties carrying out day-to-day activities and mental health symptoms and impairments. These findings provide a basis for conceptualizing disability experienced by people living with HIV.     

Hypomagnesemia in the intensive care unit: Choosing your gastrointestinal prophylaxis,a case report and review of the literature

We report a case of symptomatic hypomagnesaemia in medical intensive care unit that is strongly related to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and provide literature review. A 65-year-old male with severe gastroesophageal reflux on omeprazole 20 mg orally twice a day, who presented to the hospital with abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and new onset seizures. On admission, his serum magnesium level was undetectable. Electrocardiogram showed a new right bundle branch block with a prolonged QT interval. The hypomagnesemia was corrected with aggressive magnesium supplementation and hypomagnesemia resolved only after the PPI was stopped. Neurologic and cardiac abnormalities were corrected. This is a life-threatening case of an undetectable magnesium level strongly associated with PPI use. In critically, ill patients with refractory hypomagnesemia, we advocate considering changing gastrointestinal prophylaxis from a PPI to a histamine-receptor blocker.     

Total Economic Cost and Burden of Dengue in Nicaragua: 1996–2010

The burden of dengue in Nicaragua has been steadily rising during the last three decades; however, there have been few efforts to quantify the burden (measured in disability-adjusted life years [DALYs]) and cost to society. Using primary data from the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA), the total cost and burden of dengue were calculated from 1996 to 2010. Total costs included both direct costs from medical expenditures and prevention activities and indirect costs from lost productivity. The annual disease burden ranged from 99 to 805 DALYs per million, with a majority associated with classic dengue fever. The total cost was estimated to be US$13.5 million/year (range: US$5.1–27.6 million). This analysis can help improve allocation of dengue control resources in Nicaragua and the region. As one of the most comprehensive analyses of its type to date in Nicaragua and Latin America, this study can serve as a model to determine the burden and cost of dengue.     

Sphingosine-1-phosphate facilitates trafficking of hematopoietic stem cells and their mobilization by CXCR4 antagonists in mice

CXCL12 and VCAM1 retain hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the BM, but the factors mediating HSC egress from the BM to the blood are not known. The sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P(1)) is expressed on HSCs, and S1P facilitates the egress of committed hematopoietic progenitors from the BM into the blood. In the present study, we show that both the S1P gradient between the BM and the blood and the expression of S1P(1) are essential for optimal HSC mobilization by CXCR4 antagonists, including AMD3100, and for the trafficking of HSCs during steady-state hematopoiesis. We also demonstrate that the S1P(1) agonist SEW2871 increases AMD3100-induced HSC and progenitor cell mobilization. These results suggest that the combination of a CXCR4 antagonist and a S1P(1) agonist may prove to be sufficient for mobilizing HSCs in normal donors for transplantation purposes, potentially providing a single mobilization procedure and eliminating the need to expose normal donors to G-CSF with its associated side effects.     

Effects of an electronic health record-based mobility assessment and automated referral for inpatient physical therapy on patient outcomes: A quasi-experimental study

Objective

To assess the effectiveness of a hospital physical therapy (PT) referral triggered by scores on a mobility assessment embedded in the electronic health record (EHR) and completed by nursing staff on hospital admission.

Data Sources

EHR and billing data from 12 acute care hospitals in a western Pennsylvania health system (January 2017–February 2018) and 11 acute care hospitals in a northeastern Ohio health system (August 2019–July 2021).

Study Design

We utilized a regression discontinuity design to compare patients admitted to PA hospitals with stroke who reached the mobility score threshold for an EHR-PT referral (treatment) to those who did not (control). Outcomes were hospital length of stay (LOS) and 30-day readmission or mortality. Control variables included demographics, insurance, income, and comorbidities. Hospital systems with EHR-PT referrals were also compared to those without (OH hospitals as alternative control). Subgroup analyses based on age were also conducted.

Data Extraction

We identified adult patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of stroke and mobility assessments completed by nursing (n = 4859 in PA hospitals, n = 1749 in OH hospitals) who completed their inpatient stay.

Principal Findings

In the PA hospitals, patients with EHR-PT referrals had an 11.4 percentage-point decrease in their 30-day readmission or mortality rates (95% CI −0.57, −0.01) relative to the control. This effect was not observed in the OH hospitals for 30-day readmission (β = 0.01; 95% CI −0.25, 0.26). Adults over 60 years old with EHR-PT referrals in PA had a 26.2 percentage-point (95% CI −0.88, −0.19) decreased risk of readmission or mortality compared to those without. Unclear relationships exist between EHR-PT referrals and hospital LOS in PA.

Conclusions

Health systems should consider methodologies to facilitate early acute care hospital PT referrals informed by mobility assessments.