Faculty Bibliography

Background. HPV vaccination has been shown to reduce the incidence of high grade cervical abnormalities in girls under 18 years old and the incidence of genital warts in young men and women under 21 years old. HPV vaccine uptake in the US is low. The 2012 National Immunization Survey-Teen indicated that of girls and boys aged 13-17 years, 33.4% and 6.8% respectively had completed the three dose HPV vaccine. It has been suggested that opportunities for HPV vaccination in less traditional health care settings and using reminder and recall systems may improve HPV vaccine uptake. Methods. Adolescents aged 13-18 years old were recruited prospectively from two pediatric EDs in New York City. Recruited patients took part in a researcher-administered questionnaire based on the validated Carolina HPV Attitudes and Beliefs Scale. Demographic information was also collected. Patients were recruited between 8 am and 8 pm and approached consecutively within 4-hour time blocks. Standard descriptive statistics were used to summarize response data. Results. Between September 21, 2016 and May 31, 2017, 117 adolescents were interviewed (70 females, 47 males). 76 (65%) had never had their parent or anyone else talk to them about the HPV vaccine. 71 (61%) of adolescents knew the HPV vaccine was not for girls only. 83 (71%) thought that the HPV vaccine was safe. Only 10 (8.5%) of participants thought they were too young to get the vaccine. 35 (30%) answered "yes" when asked if they had ever had sex but only 14 (12%) thought that the HPV vaccine was only for people who are sexually active. 83 (71%) of adolescents would agree, if their parent agreed, to have the HPV vaccine in the ED on the day they were interviewed. 104 (89%) of interviewed adolescents had a mobile phone and 88 (75%) stated they would have no problem with receiving a text message reminder for a vaccine shot. Conclusion. Adolescents find it acceptable to receive HPV vaccination in these EDs and text message reminders for subsequent vaccine doses. Exploration of initial HPV vaccination of unvaccinated adolescents in the ED, with follow up doses in more traditional clinic settings aided by text message reminders warrants further investigation. Tough a challenging care environment, the ED should not be ignored as a potential site for public health interventions such as HPV vaccination in adolescents

Background. Only half of the 3.5 million individuals with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) in the US are aware of their infection. Emergency departments (ED) provide a primary point of entry to the healthcare system for marginalized populations who are traditionally at elevated risk for HCV and are becoming an important venue for screening and linkage efforts. Optimal methods for HCV screening (universal versus targeted) in ED remain undefined. We aim to ascertain the relative prevalence of HCV infection by age and other risk factors through non-targeted screening for HCV in our high-volume urban ED. Methods. In this ongoing prospective observational cohort study, consenting adult ED patients participate in a researcher-administered structured interview and are offered a rapid HCV antibody (HCV Ab) screening test. If reactive, confirmatory serologic HCV Ab and HCV RNA are sent immediately and a clinic appointment is scheduled within 4 weeks. Participants are contacted with HCV RNA PCR results; those with detectable viral load are encouraged to attend follow-up appointment and receive a reminder call one week prior to appointment. Successful linkage to care is defined as appointment attendance. Results. A total of 2018 eligible patients were approached July 2015-April 2016. Seven hundred thirty-two participated in a structured interview. Seven hundred seven accepted an HCVAb rapid test. HCV antibody prevalence in the ED was 3.8% (0.43% in non-baby boomers without injection drug use (IDU), 7.6% in baby boomers, 34% in persons endorsing IDU). Twenty-three HCVAb-reactive participants submitted blood for confirmatory testing. A total of 12 of 23 (52%) had detectable HCV RNA, corresponding to 1.7% prevalence of chronic infection. Targeted screening of the birth cohort and those with IDU would have missed 7.4% (2 of 27) of HCVAb positive patients and 8.3% (1 of 12) with chronic infection. A total of 4 of 12 (33.3%) with chronic infection were linked to care, 2 have upcoming appointments, 1 died before appointment. Conclusion. Prevalence of HCV in our ED was higher than the national estimate of 3.4% among baby boomers used to justify national birth cohort screening. Optimal ED HCV screening methods should target baby boomers and those endorsing IDU, but a modest proportion of infections will be missed without universal screening

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is responsible for the most common chronic bloodborne infection in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently recommended screening all patients born between 1945-1965 (baby boomers) at least once for HCV infection. New York State has since mandated screening of baby boomers for HCV in nearly all patient care settings and encouraged it in the emergency department (ED). OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aimed to ascertain acceptability of an HCV screening test among the 1945-1965 birth cohort presenting to the ED in advance of a study investigating the prevalence of HCV infection in this birth cohort in the ED setting. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of health knowledge about HCV and government recommendations regarding HCV testing using a convenience sample of baby boomers in an ED in a large public hospital in the New York metropolitan area. Surveys were administered via a series of semistructured interviews. RESULTS: There were 81 patient participants. Fifty-two percent of patients were born outside of the United States, 69% had a high school diploma level of education or lower, and 37% were unemployed. Patients demonstrated misconceptions about HCV transmission and curability and poor knowledge about the necessity of testing in their age cohort. Knowledge that "HCV can cause the liver to stop working" was significantly associated with acceptance of testing. CONCLUSIONS: Baby boomers showed limited knowledge about the necessity of HCV screening in their age group, but testing for HCV infection in the ED was acceptable for the majority.

INTRODUCTION: The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends one-time screening of the 1945-1965 birth cohort (baby boomers) for hepatitis C (HCV) infection. New York State legislation mandates screening of baby boomers for HCV in most patient care settings except the emergency department (ED). This cross-sectional study explores baby boomer knowledge of HCV, prevalence of HCV infection, and linkage to care from a large urban ED. METHOD: Patients participated in a researcher-administered structured interview and were offered an HCV screening test. If HCV antibody reactive, a follow-up clinic appointment was made within 6 weeks. Reminder telephone calls were made a week before the appointment. Attendance at the follow-up appointment was considered successful linkage to care. RESULTS: A total of 915 eligible patients were approached between October 21, 2014, and July 13, 2015. A total of 427 patients participated in the structured interview; 383 agreed to an HCV rapid test. Prevalence of HCV antibody reactivity was 7.3%. Four patients were successfully linked to care. General knowledge about HCV was fair. Misconceptions about transmission were apparent. Beliefs that "if someone is infected with HCV they will most likely carry the virus all their lives unless treated" and that "someone with hepatitis can look and feel fine" were significantly associated with agreement to testing. CONCLUSIONS: Better linkage to care is needed to justify HCV screening in the 1945-1965 birth cohort in this particular ED setting. Linkage to care from the ED is challenging but can potentially be improved with specific measures including simplified screening algorithms and supportive resources.

There are few data from tuberculosis (TB) endemic settings of the performance and outcome predictors of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold in Tube assay (QFT) in children with suspected TB. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Papua New Guinea children with suspected TB evaluated at Port Moresby General Hospital (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea). Two hundred sixteen children were enrolled including 106 probable TB, 87 possible TB and 23 without TB. Concordance between QFT and tuberculin skin test results was 86% (P < 0.001, kappa = 0.70). QFT was significantly more likely to be positive than tuberculin skin test, overall and within the probable or possible TB categories, with no difference in prevalence of positivity between these 2 categories. The role of QFT in supporting the clinical diagnosis of TB in endemic settings, where resources are limited, remains uncertain especially as cost and technical requirements remain considerable.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a clinical algorithm to identify paediatric patients who should be offered HIV testing in a setting of moderate HIV prevalence and limited resources. METHODS: In a prospective cross-sectional study at Port Moresby General Hospital, Papua New Guinea, carers of inpatients were offered HIV testing and counselling for their children. Recruited children were tested for HIV antibodies and DNA. Standardised clinical information was collected. Multivariate regression analysis was used to ascertain independent predictors of HIV infection and these were used to develop a predictive algorithm. RESULTS: From September 2007 to October 2008, 487 children were enrolled. Overall, 55 (11%) with a median age of 7 months were found to be HIV-infected. In multivariate analysis, independent predictors of HIV infection were: persistent fever (OR = 2.05 (95% CI 1.11 to 4.68)), lymphadenopathy (OR = 2.29 (1.12 to 4.68)), oral candidiasis (OR = 3.94 (2.17 to 7.14)) and being underweight for age (OR = 2.03 (1.03 to 3.99)). The presence of any one of these conditions had a sensitivity of 96% in detecting a child with HIV infection. Using an algorithm based on the presence of at least one of these conditions would result in around 40% of hospitalised children being offered testing. CONCLUSIONS: This clinical algorithm may be a useful screening tool for HIV infection in hospitalised children in situations where it is not feasible to offer universal HIV testing, providing guidance for HIV testing practices for increased identification and management of HIV-infected children in Papua New Guinea.

AIM: To assess the acceptability of voluntary counselling and testing among the carers of children admitted to hospital in Papua New Guinea. METHODS: Forty semistructured interviews were carried out between February and April 2007. RESULTS: All the carers interviewed were women, mostly from Port Moresby. Virtually all of them attended primary school. About half of them attended secondary school but none completed it. Half of them knew an adult or child with HIV. Three quarters of the women interviewed would consent to having a child in their care tested for HIV, and over half of those who had never been tested would agree to be tested themselves. Correct answers to more than half the HIV knowledge questions posed were significantly related to agreement to an HIV test. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the need for further evaluation of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and opportunities for health promotion in this group of women, particularly in view of the implication for voluntary counselling and testing and prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission programmes in Papua New Guinea.