Virtua Health

From October 4 to November 2, 2001, the first 10 confirmed cases of inhalational anthrax caused by intentional release of Bacillus anthracis were identified in the United States. Epidemiologic investigation indicated that the outbreak, in the District of Columbia, Florida, New Jersey, and New York, resulted from intentional delivery of B. anthracis spores through mailed letters or packages. We describe the clinical presentation and course of these cases of bioterrorism-related inhalational anthrax. The median age of patients was 56 years (range 43 to 73 years), 70% were male, and except for one, all were known or believed to have processed, handled, or received letters containing B. anthracis spores. The median incubation period from the time of exposure to onset of symptoms, when known (n=6), was 4 days (range 4 to 6 days). Symptoms at initial presentation included fever or chills (n=10), sweats (n=7), fatigue or malaise (n=10), minimal or nonproductive cough (n=9), dyspnea (n=8), and nausea or vomiting (n=9). The median white blood cell count was 9.8 X 10(3)/mm(3) (range 7.5 to 13.3), often with increased neutrophils and band forms. Nine patients had elevated serum transaminase levels, and six were hypoxic. All 10 patients had abnormal chest X-rays; abnormalities included infiltrates (n=7), pleural effusion (n=8), and mediastinal widening (seven patients). Computed tomography of the chest was performed on eight patients, and mediastinal lymphadenopathy was present in seven. With multidrug antibiotic regimens and supportive care, survival of patients (60%) was markedly higher (<15%) than previously reported.

INTRODUCTION: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) is a minimally invasive technology that guides endoscopic tools to pulmonary lesions. ENB has been evaluated primarily in small, single-center studies; thus, the diagnostic yield in a generalizable setting is unknown. METHODS: NAVIGATE is a prospective, multicenter, cohort study that evaluated ENB using the superDimension navigation system (Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota). In this United States cohort analysis, 1215 consecutive subjects were enrolled at 29 academic and community sites from April 2015 to August 2016. RESULTS: The median lesion size was 20.0 mm. Fluoroscopy was used in 91% of cases (lesions visible in 60%) and radial endobronchial ultrasound in 57%. The median ENB planning time was 5 minutes; the ENB-specific procedure time was 25 minutes. Among 1157 subjects undergoing ENB-guided biopsy, 94% (1092 of 1157) had navigation completed and tissue obtained. Follow-up was completed in 99% of subjects at 1 month and 80% at 12 months. The 12-month diagnostic yield was 73%. Pathology results of the ENB-aided tissue samples showed malignancy in 44% (484 of 1092). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for malignancy were 69%, 100%, 100%, and 56%, respectively. ENB-related Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 2 or higher pneumothoraces (requiring admission or chest tube placement) occurred in 2.9%. The ENB-related Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 2 or higher bronchopulmonary hemorrhage and grade 4 or higher respiratory failure rates were 1.5% and 0.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: NAVIGATE shows that an ENB-aided diagnosis can be obtained in approximately three-quarters of evaluable patients across a generalizable cohort based on prospective 12-month follow-up in a pragmatic setting with a low procedural complication rate.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer may be at high risk of adverse outcomes from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We analyzed a cohort of patients with cancer and coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) reported to the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) to identify prognostic clinical factors, including laboratory measurements and anticancer therapies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with active or historical cancer and a laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis recorded between 17 March and 18 November 2020 were included. The primary outcome was COVID-19 severity measured on an ordinal scale (uncomplicated, hospitalized, admitted to intensive care unit, mechanically ventilated, died within 30 days). Multivariable regression models included demographics, cancer status, anticancer therapy and timing, COVID-19-directed therapies, and laboratory measurements (among hospitalized patients). RESULTS: A total of 4966 patients were included (median age 66 years, 51% female, 50% non-Hispanic white); 2872 (58%) were hospitalized and 695 (14%) died; 61% had cancer that was present, diagnosed, or treated within the year prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Older age, male sex, obesity, cardiovascular and pulmonary comorbidities, renal disease, diabetes mellitus, non-Hispanic black race, Hispanic ethnicity, worse Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, recent cytotoxic chemotherapy, and hematologic malignancy were associated with higher COVID-19 severity. Among hospitalized patients, low or high absolute lymphocyte count; high absolute neutrophil count; low platelet count; abnormal creatinine; troponin; lactate dehydrogenase; and C-reactive protein were associated with higher COVID-19 severity. Patients diagnosed early in the COVID-19 pandemic (January-April 2020) had worse outcomes than those diagnosed later. Specific anticancer therapies (e.g. R-CHOP, platinum combined with etoposide, and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors) were associated with high 30-day all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical factors (e.g. older age, hematological malignancy, recent chemotherapy) and laboratory measurements were associated with poor outcomes among patients with cancer and COVID-19. Although further studies are needed, caution may be required in utilizing particular anticancer therapies. CLINICAL TRIAL IDENTIFIER: NCT04354701.

OBJECTIVES: To explore initially how low levels of physical activity influence lower body functional limitations in participants of the Longitudinal Study of Aging. Changes in functional limitations are used subsequently to predict transitions in the activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL) disability, thus investigating a potential pathway for how physical activity may delay the onset of ADL/IADL disability and, thus, prolong independent living. DESIGN: Analysis of a complex sample survey of US civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 70 years and older in 1984, with repeated interviews in 1986, 1988, and 1990. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Analyses concentrated on 5151 men and women targeted for interview at all four LSOA interviews. MEASUREMENTS: Characteristics used in analyses: gender, age, level of physical activity, comorbid conditions including the presence of hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and atherosclerotic heart disease, levels of functional limitations, and ADL/IADL disability. RESULTS: Transitional models provide evidence that older adults who have varying levels of disability and who report at least a minimal level of physical activity experience a slower progression in functional limitations (OR = .45, P < .001 for severe vs less severe limitations). This low level of physical activity, through its influence on changes in functional limitations, is shown to slow the progression of ADL/IADL disability. CONCLUSIONS: Results from analyses provide supporting evidence that functional limitations can mediate the effect that physical activity has on ADL/IADL disability. These results contribute further to the increasing data that seem to suggest that physical activity can reduce the progression of disability in older adults.

Abstract Among 2,186 U.S. adults with invasive cancer and laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, we examined the association of COVID-19 treatments with 30-day all-cause mortality and factors associated with treatment. Logistic regression with multiple adjustments (e.g., comorbidities, cancer status, baseline COVID-19 severity) was performed. Hydroxychloroquine with any other drug was associated with increased mortality versus treatment with any COVID-19 treatment other than hydroxychloroquine or untreated controls; this association was not present with hydroxychloroquine alone. Remdesivir had numerically reduced mortality versus untreated controls that did not reach statistical significance. Baseline COVID-19 severity was strongly associated with receipt of any treatment. Black patients were approximately half as likely to receive remdesivir as white patients. Although observational studies can be limited by potential unmeasured confounding, our findings add to the emerging understanding of patterns of care for patients with cancer and COVID-19 and support evaluation of emerging treatments through inclusive prospective controlled trials. Significance: Evaluating the potential role of COVID-19 treatments in patients with cancer in a large observational study, there was no statistically significant 30-day all-cause mortality benefit with hydroxychloroquine or high-dose corticosteroids alone or in combination; remdesivir showed potential benefit. Treatment receipt reflects clinical decision-making and suggests disparities in medication access. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1426

Electronic health records (EHRs) must support primary care clinicians and patients, yet many clinicians remain dissatisfied with their system. This article presents a consensus statement about gaps in current EHR functionality and needed enhancements to support primary care. The Institute of Medicine primary care attributes were used to define needs and meaningful use (MU) objectives to define EHR functionality. Current objectives remain focused on disease rather than the whole person, ignoring factors such as personal risks, behaviors, family structure, and occupational and environmental influences. Primary care needs EHRs to move beyond documentation to interpreting and tracking information over time, as well as patient-partnering activities, support for team-based care, population-management tools that deliver care, and reduced documentation burden. While stage 3 MU's focus on outcomes is laudable, enhanced functionality is still needed, including EHR modifications, expanded use of patient portals, seamless integration with external applications, and advancement of national infrastructure and policies.

Radiation science is dominated by a paradigm based on an assumption without empirical foundation. Known as the linear no-threshold (LNT) hypothesis, it holds that all ionizing radiation is harmful no matter how low the dose or dose rate. Epidemiological studies that claim to confirm LNT either neglect experimental and/or observational discoveries at the cellular, tissue, and organismal levels, or mention them only to distort or dismiss them. The appearance of validity in these studies rests on circular reasoning, cherry picking, faulty experimental design, and/or misleading inferences from weak statistical evidence. In contrast, studies based on biological discoveries demonstrate the reality of hormesis: the stimulation of biological responses that defend the organism against damage from environmental agents. Normal metabolic processes are far more damaging than all but the most extreme exposures to radiation. However, evolution has provided all extant plants and animals with defenses that repair such damage or remove the damaged cells, conferring on the organism even greater ability to defend against subsequent damage. Editors of medical journals now admit that perhaps half of the scientific literature may be untrue. Radiation science falls into that category. Belief in LNT informs the practice of radiology, radiation regulatory policies, and popular culture through the media. The result is mass radiophobia and harmful outcomes, including forced relocations of populations near nuclear power plant accidents, reluctance to avail oneself of needed medical imaging studies, and aversion to nuclear energy-all unwarranted and all harmful to millions of people.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the pathogenesis of pressure ulcers utilizing high-resolution ultrasound and to explore the utility of this technology for the detection of incipient pressure ulcers prior to visual clinical signs. DESIGN: An observational prospective study comparing high-resolution ultrasound images obtained from 119 long-term-care facility residents determined to be at risk for pressure ulcer development (Braden Scale score of 18 or less) with images obtained from 15 healthy volunteers (medical students and medical residents). Common pressure ulcer sites were scanned, including the heels, sacrum, and ischial tuberosity. SETTING: A medical center and a long-term-care facility. INTERVENTION: Anatomic sites universally accepted as at risk for pressure ulcer development were scanned using high-resolution ultrasound; the sites did not have visual evidence of skin breakdown. The images obtained from the long-term-care facility residents were compared with images considered normal that were obtained from healthy volunteers. In addition, documentation of the clinical assessment finding for erythema was reviewed, recorded, and compared with the high-resolution ultrasound finding for each specific site. MEASUREMENTS: The images obtained were classified as not readable, normal, or abnormal. The images classified as abnormal were further classified by depth of abnormal finding: pattern 1 (deep) or pattern 2 (superficial). The images classified with the abnormal finding pattern 1 (deep) were further classified and subdivided by anatomic location of abnormal finding(s): subgroup 1, abnormal findings in the subdermal area only; subgroup 2, subdermal and dermal abnormal findings; and subgroup 3, subdermal, dermal, and subepidermal edema. Pattern 2 (superficial) included images with abnormal findings limited to the dermal/epidermal junction. RESULTS: 630 (55.3%) of the images obtained from the long-term-care residents were different from the images obtained from the healthy volunteers. The healthy volunteers' images classified as normal had the expected ultrasound findings for homogeneous pattern of ultrasound reflections, allowing for visualization of various skin layers (epidermis, superficial papillary dermis, deep reticular dermis, and hypodermis) and subcutaneous tissue (subdermal). However, many images (55.3%) obtained from the residents at risk for pressure ulcer development had patterns where areas within the various skin layers were not visible, interrupted by areas indicative of fluid or edema. Moreover, most images (79.7%) with abnormal ultrasound patterns did not have documentation of erythema. CONCLUSION: High-resolution ultrasound is an effective tool for the investigation of skin and soft tissue changes consistent with the documented pathogenesis of pressure ulcers. A progressive process for pressure ulcer development from deep subdermal layers to superficial dermal then epidermal layers can be inferred. Dermal edema was only present with subdermal edema. In other words, there was never evidence of dermal edema in the absence of subdermal edema. A better understanding of the pathogenesis of pressure ulcers through the use of high-resolution ultrasound to detect soft tissue damage and edema before visible clinical signs could lead to earlier and more focused pressure ulcer prevention programs, resulting in reduced pain and suffering for improved patient quality of life and wound care cost savings.

BACKGROUND: Vaccination is an important preventive health measure to protect against symptomatic and severe COVID-19. Impaired immunity secondary to an underlying malignancy or recent receipt of antineoplastic systemic therapies can result in less robust antibody titers following vaccination and possible risk of breakthrough infection. As clinical trials evaluating COVID-19 vaccines largely excluded patients with a history of cancer and those on active immunosuppression (including chemotherapy), limited evidence is available to inform the clinical efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination across the spectrum of patients with cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We describe the clinical features of patients with cancer who developed symptomatic COVID-19 following vaccination and compare weighted outcomes with those of contemporary unvaccinated patients, after adjustment for confounders, using data from the multi-institutional COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19). RESULTS: Patients with cancer who develop COVID-19 following vaccination have substantial comorbidities and can present with severe and even lethal infection. Patients harboring hematologic malignancies are over-represented among vaccinated patients with cancer who develop symptomatic COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination against COVID-19 remains an essential strategy in protecting vulnerable populations, including patients with cancer. Patients with cancer who develop breakthrough infection despite full vaccination, however, remain at risk of severe outcomes. A multilayered public health mitigation approach that includes vaccination of close contacts, boosters, social distancing, and mask-wearing should be continued for the foreseeable future.

In the past several years, there has been a great deal of attention from the popular media focusing on the alleged carcinogenicity of low-dose radiation exposures received by patients undergoing medical imaging studies such as X-rays, computed tomography scans, and nuclear medicine scintigraphy. The media has based its reporting on the plethora of articles published in the scientific literature that claim that there is "no safe dose" of ionizing radiation, while essentially ignoring all the literature demonstrating the opposite point of view. But this reported "scientific" literature in turn bases its estimates of cancer induction on the linear no-threshold hypothesis of radiation carcinogenesis. The use of the linear no-threshold model has yielded hundreds of articles, all of which predict a definite carcinogenic effect of any dose of radiation, regardless of how small. Therefore, hospitals and professional societies have begun campaigns and policies aiming to reduce the use of certain medical imaging studies based on perceived risk:benefit ratio assumptions. However, as they are essentially all based on the linear no-threshold model of radiation carcinogenesis, the risk:benefit ratio models used to calculate the hazards of radiological imaging studies may be grossly inaccurate if the linear no-threshold hypothesis is wrong. Here, we review the myriad inadequacies of the linear no-threshold model and cast doubt on the various studies based on this overly simplistic model.

BACKGROUND: In the WRAP-IT trial (Worldwide Randomized Antibiotic Envelope Infection Prevention), adjunctive use of an absorbable antibacterial envelope resulted in a 40% reduction of major cardiac implantable electronic device infection without increased risk of complication in 6983 patients undergoing cardiac implantable electronic device revision, replacement, upgrade, or initial cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator implant. There is limited information on the cost-effectiveness of this strategy. As a prespecified objective, we evaluated antibacterial envelope cost-effectiveness compared with standard-of-care infection prevention strategies in the US healthcare system. METHODS: A decision tree model was used to compare costs and outcomes of antibacterial envelope (TYRX) use adjunctive to standard-of-care infection prevention versus standard-of-care alone over a lifelong time horizon. The analysis was performed from an integrated payer-provider network perspective. Infection rates, antibacterial envelope effectiveness, infection treatment costs and patterns, infection-related mortality, and utility estimates were obtained from the WRAP-IT trial. Life expectancy and long-term costs associated with device replacement, follow-up, and healthcare utilization were sourced from the literature. Costs and quality-adjusted life years were discounted at 3%. An upper willingness-to-pay threshold of $150 000 per quality-adjusted life year was used to determine cost-effectiveness, in alignment with the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association practice guidelines and as supported by the World Health Organization and contemporary literature. RESULTS: The base case incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the antibacterial envelope compared with standard-of-care was $112 603/quality-adjusted life year. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio remained lower than the willingness-to-pay threshold in 74% of iterations in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis and was most sensitive to the following model inputs: infection-related mortality, life expectancy, and infection cost. CONCLUSIONS: The absorbable antibacterial envelope was associated with a cost-effectiveness ratio below contemporary benchmarks in the WRAP-IT patient population, suggesting that the envelope provides value for the US healthcare system by reducing the incidence of cardiac implantable electronic device infection. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02277990.

Importance: Cytokine storm due to COVID-19 can cause high morbidity and mortality and may be more common in patients with cancer treated with immunotherapy (IO) due to immune system activation. Objective: To determine the association of baseline immunosuppression and/or IO-based therapies with COVID-19 severity and cytokine storm in patients with cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants: This registry-based retrospective cohort study included 12 046 patients reported to the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) registry from March 2020 to May 2022. The CCC19 registry is a centralized international multi-institutional registry of patients with COVID-19 with a current or past diagnosis of cancer. Records analyzed included patients with active or previous cancer who had a laboratory-confirmed infection with SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction and/or serologic findings. Exposures: Immunosuppression due to therapy; systemic anticancer therapy (IO or non-IO). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was a 5-level ordinal scale of COVID-19 severity: no complications; hospitalized without requiring oxygen; hospitalized and required oxygen; intensive care unit admission and/or mechanical ventilation; death. The secondary outcome was the occurrence of cytokine storm. Results: The median age of the entire cohort was 65 years (interquartile range [IQR], 54-74) years and 6359 patients were female (52.8%) and 6598 (54.8%) were non-Hispanic White. A total of 599 (5.0%) patients received IO, whereas 4327 (35.9%) received non-IO systemic anticancer therapies, and 7120 (59.1%) did not receive any antineoplastic regimen within 3 months prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Although no difference in COVID-19 severity and cytokine storm was found in the IO group compared with the untreated group in the total cohort (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.80; 95% CI, 0.56-1.13, and aOR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.41-1.93, respectively), patients with baseline immunosuppression treated with IO (vs untreated) had worse COVID-19 severity and cytokine storm (aOR, 3.33; 95% CI, 1.38-8.01, and aOR, 4.41; 95% CI, 1.71-11.38, respectively). Patients with immunosuppression receiving non-IO therapies (vs untreated) also had worse COVID-19 severity (aOR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.36-2.35) and cytokine storm (aOR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.42-3.79). Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study found that in patients with cancer and COVID-19, administration of systemic anticancer therapies, especially IO, in the context of baseline immunosuppression was associated with severe clinical outcomes and the development of cytokine storm. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04354701.

COVID-19 has brought challenging times and forced hospital librarians with some exceptions out of the hospital library to work from home. Worse, some have been furloughed. This has drastically limi...

OBJECTIVE: Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) sometimes fails to provide a test result, usually as a result of low cell-free DNA fetal fraction. We investigated how initial fetal fraction, maternal weight, gestational age, and time between blood sampling contribute to obtaining an informative result when a redraw is performed. METHODS: We performed a retrospective data review of NIPT samples received between January and October 2016 by a commercial laboratory, where the initial blood draw did not yield a result and a second sample was drawn between 5 and 28 days after the initial sampling. We included cases with fetal fraction less than 2.8% (the threshold for "no result" in this laboratory) and those with higher fetal fraction but where the NIPT results could not be interpreted with high confidence. RESULTS: For 4,018 cases in which a redraw was recommended, a result was obtained for the second sample in 2,835 cases (70.6%) (95% CI 69.1-72.0%). For the 2,959 cases with insufficient fetal fraction, there was a result for the second sample in 1,861 cases (62.9%) (95% CI 61.1-64.6%). For this subset, the average increase in fetal fraction was 1.2% with an average interval between draws of 14 days. Informative redraw rate was strongly dependent on maternal weight and fetal fraction measured at the first draw. Gestational age was not an important determinant. Informative redraw rate increased rapidly over the first 8 days after the initial draw and more slowly thereafter. CONCLUSION: Based on fetal fraction in the initial sample, maternal weight, and interval between blood draws, women can be provided with a personalized estimate of their likelihood of a result on redraw. This should aid in the counseling of women faced with the choice of reattempting NIPT, conventional screening, or an invasive diagnostic test.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Burnout is considered a public health crisis among physicians and is related to poor quality of life, increased medical errors, and lower patient satisfaction. A recent literature review and conceptual model suggest that awareness of life meaning, or meaning salience, is related to improved stress and coping, and may also reduce experience of burnout. This study examined associations among meaning salience, burnout, fatigue, and quality of life among family medicine residency program directors. METHODS: Data were collected via an online survey administered by the Council of Academic Family Medicine (CAFM) Educational Research Alliance (CERA; n=268, response rate of 45.4%) in December 2018. Program directors completed measures of meaning salience, burnout, fatigue, and quality of life. Data were analyzed using Spearman correlations and path analysis. RESULTS: Program directors who reported greater experienced meaning salience also reported significantly less burnout (β=-.40, P<.001) and less fatigue (β=-.38, P<.001), which were then both significantly associated with greater quality of life (Ps<.001). Program directors who reported greater meaning salience also reported greater quality of life (β=.21, P<.001). Additionally, there were significant indirect associations between meaning salience and quality of life through less burnout and fatigue (β=.26, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The potential for increasing physicians' awareness of their sense of meaning as a means to prevent or decrease burnout is underresearched and warrants further study. Both preventive measures (eg, wellness curricula) and interventions with already-distressed physicians may encourage regular reflection on meaning in life, especially during busy workdays.

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears remains challenging and controversial, with several traditional options including debridement with acromioplasty, transtendon or in situ repair, and take-down and repair. A resorbable bioinductive bovine collagen implant has shown promise as an alternative treatment option for partial-thickness tears. PURPOSE: Data from a registry were analyzed to further establish that the implant contributes to improved patient-reported outcome (PRO) scores across a large number of patients treated for partial-thickness rotator cuff tears. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: A total of 19 centers in the United States enrolled patients >21 years old with partial-thickness tears of the rotator cuff in a comprehensive prospective multicenter registry. PRO scores were recorded preoperatively and postoperatively at 2 and 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months, and 1 year: American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation, Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (physical and mental component scores), and Western Ontario Rotator Cuff scores. Revisions were reported throughout the study. RESULTS: The registry included 272 patients with partial-thickness tears (49 grade 1 tears, 101 grade 2 tears, and 122 grade 3 tears), 241 who underwent isolated bioinductive repair (IBR; collagen implant placed after bursectomy without a traditional rotator cuff repair), and 31 who had take-down and repair with bioinductive augmentation. Patients experienced statistically significant and sustained improvement from baseline for all PRO scores beginning at 3 months. Among patients with grade ≥2 tears, those with take-down and repair had significantly inferior scores at 2 and 6 weeks for most PRO scores as compared with those who underwent IBR, but the difference was no longer significant at 1 year for all but the physical component score of the Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey. There were 11 revisions, which occurred at a mean ± SD of 188.7 ± 88.0 days after the index surgery. There were no infections. CONCLUSION: This registry analysis further establishes across a large data set that this resorbable bioinductive bovine collagen implant improves PROs in all grades of partial-thickness tears, whether used as IBR or in conjunction with take-down and repair. IBR may offer improved early clinical outcomes (≤6 weeks) and comparable outcomes at 1 year when compared with a more invasive "take-down and repair" approach.

The issue of whether pressure injuries are avoidable or preventable has been and continues to be an issue of great debate and discussion for many years, and it has significant legal and regulatory implications related to prevention of wounds due to pressure. The following position paper outlines the position of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN) on avoidable versus unavoidable pressure injuries. It includes the following information: statement of position, purpose/rationale for the position, definitions of avoidable versus unavoidable pressure injuries, alternative definitions, historical overview, supportive statements from expert opinion and research in the literature, and recommendations for research.

Severe infection can lead to sepsis. In sepsis, the host mounts an inappropriately large inflammatory response in an attempt to clear the invading pathogen. This sustained high level of inflammation may cause tissue injury and organ failure. Later in sepsis, a paradoxical immunosuppression occurs, where the host is unable to clear the preexisting infection and is susceptible to secondary infections. A major issue with sepsis treatment is that it is difficult for physicians to ascertain which stage of sepsis the patient is in. Sepsis treatment will depend on the patient's immune status across the spectrum of the disease, and these immune statuses are nearly polar opposites in the early and late stages of sepsis. Furthermore, there is no approved treatment that can resolve inflammation without contributing to immunosuppression within the host. Here, we review the major mechanisms of sepsis-induced immunosuppression and the biomarkers of the immunosuppressive phase of sepsis. We focused on reviewing three main mechanisms of immunosuppression in sepsis. These are lymphocyte apoptosis, monocyte/macrophage exhaustion, and increased migration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). The biomarkers of septic immunosuppression that we discuss include increased MDSC production/migration and IL-10 levels, decreased lymphocyte counts and HLA-DR expression, and increased GPR18 expression. We also review the literature on the use of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) in different models of infection and/or sepsis, as these compounds have been reported to resolve inflammation without being immunosuppressive. To obtain the necessary information, we searched the PubMed database using the keywords sepsis, lymphocyte apoptosis, macrophage exhaustion, MDSCs, biomarkers, and SPMs.

Background: Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections following vaccination against COVID-19 are of international concern. Patients with cancer have been observed to have worse outcomes associated with COVID-19 during the pandemic. We sought to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with cancer who developed breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections after 2 or 3 doses of mRNA vaccines. Methods: We evaluated the clinical characteristics of patients with cancer who developed breakthrough infections using data from the multi-institutional COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19; NCT04354701). Analysis was restricted to patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 diagnosed in 2021 or 2022, to allow for a contemporary unvaccinated control population; potential differences were evaluated using a multivariable logistic regression model after inverse probability of treatment weighting to adjust for potential baseline confounding variables. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported. The primary endpoint was 30-day mortality, with key secondary endpoints of hospitalization and ICU and/or mechanical ventilation (ICU/MV). Findings: The analysis included 2486 patients, of which 564 and 385 had received 2 or 3 doses of an mRNA vaccine prior to infection, respectively. Hematologic malignancies and recent receipt of systemic anti-neoplastic therapy were more frequent among vaccinated patients. Vaccination was associated with improved outcomes: in the primary analysis, 2 doses (aOR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.44-0.88) and 3 doses (aOR: 0.20, 95% CI: 0.11-0.36) were associated with decreased 30-day mortality. There were similar findings for the key secondary endpoints of ICU/MV (aOR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.45-0.82 and 0.37, 95% CI: 0.24-0.58) and hospitalization (aOR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.48-0.75 and 0.35, 95% CI: 0.26-0.46) for 2 and 3 doses, respectively. Importantly, Black patients had higher rates of hospitalization (aOR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.12-1.92), and Hispanic patients presented with higher rates of ICU/MV (aOR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.06-2.44). Interpretation: Vaccination against COVID-19, especially with additional doses, is a fundamental strategy in the prevention of adverse outcomes including death, among patients with cancer. Funding: This study was partly supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute grant number P30 CA068485 to C-YH, YS, SM, JLW; T32-CA236621 and P30-CA046592 to C.R.F; CTSA 2UL1TR001425-05A1 to TMW-D; ACS/FHI Real-World Data Impact Award, P50 MD017341-01, R21 CA242044-01A1, Susan G. Komen Leadership Grant Hunt to MKA. REDCap is developed and supported by Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research grant support (UL1 TR000445 from NCATS/NIH).

Importance: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been theorized to decrease the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with prostate cancer owing to a potential decrease in the tissue-based expression of the SARS-CoV-2 coreceptor transmembrane protease, serine 2 (TMPRSS2). Objective: To examine whether ADT is associated with a decreased rate of 30-day mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients with prostate cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study analyzed patient data recorded in the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium registry between March 17, 2020, and February 11, 2021. The consortium maintains a centralized multi-institution registry of patients with a current or past diagnosis of cancer who developed COVID-19. Data were collected and managed using REDCap software hosted at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Initially, 1228 patients aged 18 years or older with prostate cancer listed as their primary malignant neoplasm were included; 122 patients with a second malignant neoplasm, insufficient follow-up, or low-quality data were excluded. Propensity matching was performed using the nearest-neighbor method with a 1:3 ratio of treated units to control units, adjusted for age, body mass index, race and ethnicity, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score, smoking status, comorbidities (cardiovascular, pulmonary, kidney disease, and diabetes), cancer status, baseline steroid use, COVID-19 treatment, and presence of metastatic disease. Exposures: Androgen deprivation therapy use was defined as prior bilateral orchiectomy or pharmacologic ADT administered within the prior 3 months of presentation with COVID-19. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the rate of all-cause 30-day mortality after COVID-19 diagnosis for patients receiving ADT compared with patients not receiving ADT after propensity matching. Results: After exclusions, 1106 patients with prostate cancer (before propensity score matching: median age, 73 years [IQR, 65-79 years]; 561 (51%) self-identified as non-Hispanic White) were included for analysis. Of these patients, 477 were included for propensity score matching (169 who received ADT and 308 who did not receive ADT). After propensity matching, there was no significant difference in the primary end point of the rate of all-cause 30-day mortality (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.42-1.42). Conclusions and Relevance: Findings from this cohort study suggest that ADT use was not associated with decreased mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, large ongoing clinical trials will provide further evidence on the role of ADT or other androgen-targeted therapies in reducing COVID-19 infection severity.