Faculty Bibliography

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Maintaining high water intake decreases kidney stone recurrence but is difficult to do. Strategies to reduce stone recurrence among adolescents are lacking. We conducted an ecological momentary assessment study to identify factors associated with water intake in adolescents with nephrolithiasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:The study population consisted of 15 female and 10 male patients 12 to 18 years old with at least 1 prior kidney stone. For 7 days participants used "smart" bottles to self-monitor water intake and received questionnaires randomly 4 times daily, which were completed in real time on mobile devices. The questionnaires ascertained awareness of water intake volume, awareness of water intake goals, perceived need to drink, access to water, alternative beverage consumption and attitudes toward bathrooms. Linear mixed effects models were fit to estimate the association between momentary responses and daily water intake. RESULTS:During 175 person-days 595 assessments (85%) were completed. Median daily water intake was 1,304 ml (IQR 848-1,832) and 20% of participants met their intake goal for 4 days or more. Unawareness of water intake volume was associated with drinking 690 ml less water per day (p = 0.04). A strong self-perceived need to drink more was associated with drinking 1,954 ml less water each day compared to no self-perceived need to drink more (p <0.01). Unawareness of intake goals was weakly associated with drinking 1,129 ml less water each day (p = 0.1). Access to water, alternative beverage consumption and bathroom aversion were not associated with water intake. CONCLUSIONS:Unawareness of water volume consumed and low responsiveness to perceived need to drink more were associated with low water intake. Interventions that help adolescents recognize when and identify how to increase water intake may be effective in decreasing stone recurrence.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Improving children's tap water intake and reducing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is beneficial for health and health equity, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color. Existing community level interventions to improve the intake of tap water have predominantly occurred in schools and have focused on promoting water consumption in cafeterias during lunch or snack periods. METHODS:The "Hydrate Philly" intervention was developed to target multiple environmental and social factors to improve tap water consumption in community recreation centers in low-income communities: replacing old and unappealing water fountains with appealing water-bottle-filling "hydration stations", conducting water safety testing and publicizing results, disseminating reusable water bottles, promoting tap water, and discouraging SSB consumption. Efficacy of the intervention will be tested through a group-randomized controlled trial (n = 28 centers) of the intervention's impact on center-level water fountain/station use as measured by flow meters during a youth summer camp program primarily for children aged 6-12 years. Intervention impact on the primary outcome (use of drinking water sources) will be examined with a difference-in-differences approach using an ordinary least squares regression model for analysis at the center level. Secondary outcomes include SSBs brought to summer camp, reusable and single-use bottled water use, program trash, and recreation center staff SSB consumption. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS:Multilevel approaches are needed to increase tap water intake and decrease SSB consumption among low-income and minority youth beyond school and meal settings. The current study describes the Hydrate Philly intervention, the study design, and baseline characteristics of recreation centers participating in the study. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration: #NCT03637465.

Many practicing health care providers find themselves ill-prepared to meet the complex care needs of older adults. The Geriatric Certificate Program (GCP) represents a collaborative partnership leveraging existing educational courses, with new courses developed to fill existing education gaps, aimed at improving quality of care for older adults. This paper describes the GCP and examines its impact on knowledge, skills, clinical practice, as well as confidence, comfort, and competence in providing geriatric care. Upon program completion, all graduates (N = 146; 100%) completed an online evaluation survey. The majority of graduates reported (5-point scale: 1 = much less now; 5 = much more now) being more confident (88%), comfortable (83%), and competent (89%) to provide optimal geriatric care than prior to the program. The GCP provides a significant opportunity for health care providers to build their capacity for the care of older adults. Key lessons learned in implementing the GCP and suggestions for further development are discussed.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) increase risk of cardiometabolic disease. Young people consume the largest amounts of SSBs and have experienced the greatest relative gains in obesity in the past several decades. There is evidence of addictive properties of both caffeine and sugar, the primary ingredients in SSBs, but little research into such properties of SSBs in naturally occurring consumption patterns. Thus, in this exploratory study, we sought to examine potentially addictive properties of SSBs during a 3-day SSB cessation intervention in overweight and obese adolescents who typically consume ≥3 SSBs daily. Participants (n = 25) were aged 13-18 years, mostly female (72%), and African American (56%) or Hispanic (16%) with a BMI≥95th percenttile (76%). Withdrawal symptoms and SSB craving were assessed approximately 1-week apart, during both regular SSB consumption and a 3-day period of SSB cessation in which participants were instructed to drink only plain milk and water. During SSB cessation, adolescents reported increased SSB cravings and headache and decreased motivation, contentment, ability to concentrate, and overall well-being (uncorrected Ps < 0.05). After controlling the false discovery rate, changes in motivation, craving, and well-being remained significant (corrected Ps < 0.05). Using 24-hr recalls and drink journals, participants reported lower total daily consumption of sugar (-80 g) and added sugar (-16 g) (Ps < 0.001) during cessation. This study provides preliminary evidence of withdrawal symptoms and increased SSB cravings during cessation in a diverse population of overweight or obese adolescents.

BACKGROUND:Circulating free DNA sequencing (cfDNA-Seq) can portray cancer genome landscapes, but highly sensitive and specific technologies are necessary to accurately detect mutations with often low variant frequencies. METHODS:We developed a customizable hybrid-capture cfDNA-Seq technology using off-the-shelf molecular barcodes and a novel duplex DNA molecule identification tool for enhanced error correction. RESULTS:mutations originating from clonal hematopoiesis. Furthermore, cfDNA-Seq off-target read analysis allowed simultaneous genome-wide copy number profile reconstruction in 20 of 28 cases. Copy number profiles were validated by low-coverage whole-genome sequencing. CONCLUSIONS:This error-corrected, ultradeep cfDNA-Seq technology with a customizable target region and publicly available bioinformatics tools enables broad insights into cancer genomes and evolution. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER/UNASSIGNED:NCT02112357.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:Following a diagnosis of cancer, the detailed assessment of prognostic stage by radiology is a crucial determinant of initial therapeutic strategy offered to patients. Pretherapeutic stage by imaging is known to be inconsistently documented. We tested whether the completeness of cancer staging radiology reports could be improved through a nationally introduced pilot of proforma-based reporting for a selection of six common cancers. DESIGN/METHODS:Prospective interventional study comparing the completeness of radiology cancer staging reports before and after the introduction of proforma reporting. SETTING/METHODS:Twenty-one UK National Health Service hospitals. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:1283 cancer staging radiology reports were submitted. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES/METHODS:Radiology staging reports across the six cancers types were evaluated before and after the implementation of proforma-based reporting. Report completeness was assessed using scoring forms listing the presence or absence of predetermined key staging data. Qualitative data regarding proforma implementation and usefulness were collected from questionnaires provided to radiologists and end-users. RESULTS:Electronic proforma-based reporting was successfully implemented in 15 of the 21 centres during the evaluation period. A total of 787 preproforma and 496 postproforma staging reports were evaluated. In the preproforma group, only 48.7% (5586/11 470) of key staging items were present compared with 87.3% (6043/6920) in the postproforma group. Thus, the introduction of proforma reporting produced a 78% improvement in staging completeness . This increase was seen across all cancer types and centres. The majority of participants found proforma reporting improved cancer reporting quality for their clinical practice . CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The implementation of proforma reporting results in a significant improvement in the completeness of cancer staging reports. Proforma-based assessment of cancer stage enables objective comparisons of patient outcomes across centres. It should therefore become an auditable quality standard for cancer care.

Background Immunotherapy is emerging as the cornerstone for treatment of patients with advanced cancer, but significant toxicity (immune-related adverse events [irAEs]) associated with unbridled T cell activity remains a concern. Patients and methods A retrospective review of the electronic medical records of 290 patients with advanced cancer treated on an immunotherapy-based clinical trial in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between February 2010 and September 2015 was performed. Clinical and laboratory parameters were collected to determine the incidence of irAEs, risk factors, and their association with treatment outcomes. Results Ninety eight of 290 patients (34%) experienced any grade irAEs. Among the 15 (5.2%) patients with grade ≥ 3 irAEs, the most common irAEs were dermatitis and enterocolitis. Although 80% of the patients with grade ≥ 3 irAEs required systemic corticosteroids, all the 15 patients recovered from the irAEs. On re-challenge, 4 of the 5 patients who had received systemic corticosteroids for irAE continued to respond. There were no irAE-related deaths. Importantly, patients with grade ≥ 3 irAEs had improved overall response rate (25 vs. 6%; p = 0.039) and longer median time to progression (30 weeks vs. 10 weeks; p = 0.0040) when compared to those without grade ≥ 3 irAEs. Conclusion Incidence of irAEs with immunotherapeutic agents indicates an active immune status, suggestive of potential clinical benefit to the patient. Further validation of this association in a large prospective study is warranted.

INTRODUCTION:Treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in children and adolescents is particularly challenging. Metformin monotherapy is the standard initial treatment for youth with T2D, once metabolic control is restored with insulin in patients who present with ketosis and/or marked hyperglycemia. Insulin, the only other drug approved for use in youth with T2D, is also used as add-on therapy when patients fail metformin mono-therapy. Areas covered: In this paper, we will summarize the current use of both metformin and insulin in the treatment of pediatric type 2 diabetes, as well as comment on their limitations. Given the rapid progression of T2D in youth, there is also considerable interest in treating youth with new oral and injectable agents that have been approved for use in adults with T2D. The potential for improving clinical outcomes of each of the main classes of new drugs for the treatment of pediatric T2D will be summerized. Expert commentary: We will conclude by reviewing why phase 3 randomized clinical trials examining the safety and efficacy of these medications in the pediatric population have been difficult to complete and discuss a potential pathway to overcome these obstacles to regulatory approval for these drugs for adolescents with T2D.

Microcystic adnexal carcinoma (MAC) is a low-grade malignant tumor of the skin. Histologically, this tumor shows a biphasic pattern, with cords and nests of basaloid cells, as well as keratin horn cysts. This biphasic histological appearance has been interpreted by some authors as a sign of double eccrine and folliculosebaceous-apocrine differentiation, whereas some other authors defend a solely eccrine differentiation. In this context, sebaceous differentiation in MAC would support the first option. However, there are only 3 cases of MAC with sebaceous differentiation in the literature, and all of them were reported before adipophilin was available, which in the appropriate context (eg, testing clear cells for sebaceous vs eccrine differentiation) is very useful. In this study, we present 3 cases of MAC with focal sebaceous differentiation confirmed by immunoexpression of adipophilin in the sebaceous foci.