Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:A consensus on a central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) surveillance definition in home infusion is needed to standardize measurement and benchmark CLABSI to provide data to drive improvement initiatives METHODS: Experts across fields including home infusion therapy, infectious diseases, and healthcare epidemiology convened to perform a 3-step modified Delphi approach to obtain input and achieve consensus on a candidate home infusion CLABSI definition. RESULTS:The numerator criterion was identified by participants as involving one of the 2 following: (1) recognized pathogen isolated from blood culture and pathogen is not related to infection at another site, or (2) one of the following signs or symptoms: fever of 38°C (100.4°F), chills, or hypotension (systolic blood pressure ≤90 mm Hg), and one of the 2 following: (A) common skin contaminant isolated from 2 blood cultures drawn on separate occasions and organism is not related to infection at another site, or (B) common skin contaminant isolated from blood culture from patient with intravascular access device and provider institutes appropriate antimicrobial therapy. The criteria for a denominator included days from the day of admission with a central venous catheter to day of removal of central venous catheter. In addition, 11 inclusion criteria and 4 exclusion criteria were included. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS:Home infusion therapy and healthcare epidemiology experts developed candidate criteria for a home infusion CLABSI surveillance definition. CONCLUSIONS:Home care and home infusion agencies can use this definition to monitor their own CLABSI rates and implement preventative strategies.

There is a need to understand which housing and personal capacity factors facilitate and hinder maximum community participation among people with psychiatric disabilities. The present study examined housing and personal capacity factors associated with community participation in a large sample of persons with psychiatric disabilities living in the same neighborhoods (defined by specified zip codes). Three hundred and forty-three persons with psychiatric disabilities were recruited from congregate and independent scatter-site housing programs in 3 New York City-area neighborhoods with high concentrations of housing for persons with psychiatric disabilities. Participants completed measures of community participation, psychiatric symptoms, substance use, independent living-skill, self-efficacy, and coping style. Community participation measures grouped into 3 factors: social community participation, physical community participation, and vocational involvement. Social community participation was associated with negative symptoms and active coping, but not by housing. Independent living-skill moderated the relationship between independent scatter-site housing and social community participation. Physical community participation was associated with negative symptoms, active coping, independent living-skill, and residence in independent scatter-site housing. Vocational involvement was only associated with negative symptoms. Findings suggest that a complex array of personal capacity and housing factors are associated with community participation among persons with psychiatric disabilities.

OBJECTIVE:This study examined the association between neighborhood characteristics, stigma related to mental illness reported by local community members, and measures of perceived stigma and community participation among individuals with psychiatric disabilities living in independent scattered-site housing or in congregate housing in three neighborhoods in the New York City metropolitan area. METHODS:Neighborhood characteristics were drawn from the 2010 U.S. Census. Surveys focusing on attitudes and intended behavior toward people with mental illness were administered to 608 general community members, and clinical interviews were conducted with 343 persons with psychiatric disabilities. RESULTS:Of neighborhood characteristics, both greater socioeconomic disadvantage and more "suburban values" (lower housing density and greater political conservativism) predicted more perpetrated stigma reported by community members. There was no significant relationship between stigma reported by community members and perceived stigma among participants with psychiatric disabilities. Community stigma predicted vocational involvement and demonstrated interaction effects with housing, such that persons living in congregate housing demonstrated more community participation in communities with more stigma, whereas persons living in scattered-site housing demonstrated less participation in these communities. Perceived stigma was significantly negatively related to community participation. CONCLUSIONS:Findings suggest that effects of neighborhood characteristics and community stigma on people with psychiatric disabilities are complex and are partly conditioned by housing context.

Spirituality is important to many psychiatric patients, and these patients may be moved toward recovery more effectively if their spiritual needs are addressed in treatment. This, however, is rarely given expression in the psychiatric services of teaching hospitals. In order to develop this potential area of improved care, we (1) evaluated the differential attitudes of patients and psychiatric trainees toward the value of spirituality in the recovery process, (2) established a program of group meetings conducted by psychiatric residents and staff where patients can discuss how to draw on their spirituality in coping with their problems, and (3) established related training experiences for psychiatric residents. The results and implications of these three initiatives are presented

OBJECTIVE: Suicide is a devastating public health problem, and research indicates that people with prior attempts are at the greatest risk of completing suicide, followed by persons with depression and other major mental and substance use conditions. Because there has been little direct input from individuals with serious mental illness and a history of suicidal behavior concerning suicide prevention efforts, this study examined how this population copes with suicidal thoughts. METHODS: Participants in 14 regional consumer-run Hope Dialogues in New York State (N=198) wrote up to five strategies they use to deal with suicidal thoughts. Strategies were classified according to grounded theory. RESULTS: First responses included spirituality, talking to someone, positive thinking, using the mental health system, considering consequences of suicide to family and friends, using peer supports, and doing something pleasurable. Although a majority reported that more formal therapeutic supports were available, only 12% indicated that they considered the mental health system a frontline strategy. Instead, respondents more frequently relied on family, friends, peers, and faith as sources of hope and support. CONCLUSIONS: Consumers' reliance on formal therapeutic supports and support from peers and family suggests that education and support for dealing with individuals in despair and crisis should be targeted to the social networks of this high-risk population. The disparity between availability of formal mental health services and reliance on them when consumers are suicidal suggests that suicide prevention efforts should evaluate whether they are effectively engaging high-risk populations as they struggle to cope with despair

A genomewide linkage scan was carried out in eight clinical samples of informative schizophrenia families. After all quality control checks, the analysis of 707 European-ancestry families included 1615 affected and 1602 unaffected genotyped individuals, and the analysis of all 807 families included 1900 affected and 1839 unaffected individuals. Multipoint linkage analysis with correction for marker-marker linkage disequilibrium was carried out with 5861 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; Illumina version 4.0 linkage map). Suggestive evidence for linkage (European families) was observed on chromosomes 8p21, 8q24.1, 9q34 and 12q24.1 in nonparametric and/or parametric analyses. In a logistic regression allele-sharing analysis of linkage allowing for intersite heterogeneity, genomewide significant evidence for linkage was observed on chromosome 10p12. Significant heterogeneity was also observed on chromosome 22q11.1. Evidence for linkage across family sets and analyses was most consistent on chromosome 8p21, with a one-LOD support interval that does not include the candidate gene NRG1, suggesting that one or more other susceptibility loci might exist in the region. In this era of genomewide association and deep resequencing studies, consensus linkage regions deserve continued attention, given that linkage signals can be produced by many types of genomic variation, including any combination of multiple common or rare SNPs or copy number variants in a region.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan. According to the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association, there are now 750,000 new strokes that occur each year, resulting in 200,000 deaths, or 1 of every 16 deaths, per year in the USA alone. Endovascular therapy for patients with acute ischemic stroke is an area of intense investigation. The American Stroke Association has given a qualified endorsement of intra-arterial thrombolysis in selected patients. Intra-arterial thrombolysis has been studied in two randomized trials and numerous case series. Although two devices have been granted FDA approval with an indication for mechanical stroke thrombectomy, none of these thrombectomy devices has demonstrated efficacy for the improvement of patient outcomes. The purpose of the present document is to define what constitutes adequate training to perform neuroendovascular procedures in patients with acute ischemic stroke and what performance standards should be adopted to assess outcomes. These guidelines have been written and approved by multiple neuroscience societies which historically have been directly involved in the medical, surgical and endovascular care of patients with acute stroke. The participating member organizations of the Neurovascular Coalition involved in the writing and endorsement of this document are the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery, the American Academy of Neurology, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Cerebrovascular Section, and the Society of Vascular & Interventional Neurology.

BACKGROUND: The Warfarin-Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease (WASID) trial showed that patients with symptomatic 70% to 99% intracranial arterial stenosis are at particularly high risk of ipsilateral stroke on medical therapy: 18% at 1 year (95% CI = 3% to 24%). The Wingspan intracranial stent is another therapeutic option but there are limited data on the technical success of stenting and outcome of patients with 70% to 99% stenosis treated with a Wingspan stent. METHODS: Sixteen medical centers enrolled consecutive patients treated with a Wingspan stent in this registry between November 2005 and October 2006. Data on stenting indication, severity of stenosis, technical success (stent placement across the target lesion with <50% residual stenosis), follow-up angiography, and outcome were collected. RESULTS: A total of 129 patients with symptomatic 70% to 99% intracranial stenosis were enrolled. The technical success rate was 96.7%. The mean pre and post-stent stenoses were 82% and 20%. The frequency of any stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, or death within 30 days or ipsilateral stroke beyond 30 days was 14.0% at 6 months (95% CI = 8.7% to 22.1%). The frequency of >or=50% restenosis on follow-up angiography was 13/52 (25%). CONCLUSION: The use of a Wingspan stent in patients with severe intracranial stenosis is relatively safe with high rate of technical success with moderately high rate of restenosis. Comparison of the event rates in high-risk patients in Warfarin-Aspirin Symptomatic Intracranial Disease (WASID) vs this registry do not rule out either that stenting could be associated with a substantial relative risk reduction (e.g., 50%) or has no advantage compared with medical therapy. A randomized trial comparing stenting with medical therapy is needed.