Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND: Ecstasy (MDMA) in the US is commonly adulterated with other drugs, but research has not focused on purity of ecstasy since the phenomenon of "Molly" (ecstasy marketed as pure MDMA) arose in the US. METHODS: We piloted a rapid electronic survey in 2015 to assess use of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and other drugs among 679 nightclub/festival-attending young adults (age 18-25) in New York City. A quarter (26.1%) of the sample provided a hair sample to be analyzed for the presence of select synthetic cathinones ("bath salts") and some other NPS. Samples were analyzed using fully validated UHPLC-MS/MS methods. To examine consistency of self-report, analyses focused on the 48 participants with an analyzable hair sample who reported lifetime ecstasy/MDMA/Molly use. RESULTS: Half (50.0%) of the hair samples contained MDMA, 47.9% contained butylone, and 10.4% contained methylone. Of those who reported no lifetime use of "bath salts", stimulant NPS, or unknown pills or powders, about four out of ten (41.2%) tested positive for butylone, methylone, alpha-PVP, 5/6-APB, or 4-FA. Racial minorities were more likely to test positive for butylone or test positive for NPS after reporting no lifetime use. Frequent nightclub/festival attendance was the strongest predictor of testing positive for MDMA, butylone, or methylone. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that many ecstasy-using nightclub/festival attendees may be unintentionally using "bath salts" or other NPS. Prevention and harm reduction education is needed for this population and "drug checking" (e.g., pill testing) may be beneficial for those rejecting abstinence.

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for hematological malignancies experience a number of challenges during treatment. There is growing evidence that malglycemia (hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and/or increased glycemic variability) contributes to HCT-related complications, even in patients without preexisting diabetes. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate factors influencing glycemic status and associated infection occurrences in nondiabetic autologous HCT recipients. METHODS: Oncology patients without preexisting diabetes treated with autologous HCT at a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center were followed from admission through discharge or 28 days post-HCT. Patients had morning fasting laboratory tests. Descriptive statistics and Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine associations between BG levels and risk for infection while adjusting for baseline covariates including age, body mass index (BMI), cumulative glucocorticoid dose, and diagnosis. RESULTS: The sample included 28 female and 25 male predominately non-Hispanic White patients (mean age 55.7 years, SD = 11.32). Blood glucose (BG) range was 35-325 mg/dl. Twenty-three patients incurred at least one infection. BMI >/= 25 kg/m2 was associated with high BG and infections. In the multivariate Cox model, an increase of 1 interquartile range in BG 2 days before infection was associated with a moderately increased risk of infection (hazard ratio = 1.44, p = .008). CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the contributors to and consequences of malglycemic events can lead to better protocols for identifying patients at greater risk for infection. Further investigation is warranted for interventions to mitigate BG events for improved outcomes.

Background: In the US, nearly half of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) occur among 15-24-year-olds, and disproportionate rates of infections exist among blacks. Modifiable factors that drive STI transmission from adolescence into young adulthood should be identified, especially among this vulnerable population.Methods: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n=13123) was used to examine racial differences in the prevalence of adolescent inhalant use and unadjusted and adjusted longitudinal associations between inhalant use and adulthood STI risk.Results: Adolescent inhalant use was more commonly reported by whites than blacks. Inhalant use was an indicator of adulthood multiple partnerships among all groups except black females and was an especially strong indicator of 10 or more past year partnerships among men (white risk ratio (RR): 3.48, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.46-8.32; black RR: 4.47, 95% CI: 1.34-14.90). Adolescent inhalant use was also predictive of adulthood STI among white women and black men, with black male inhalant users having more than twice the risk of a biologically-confirmed or self-reported STI in adulthood than non-users (RR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.29-4.25).Conclusions: White adolescents and, more so, black male adolescents inhalant users experience disproportionate adulthood STI risk and, thus, constitute a priority population for STI prevention.

We evaluated performance, accuracy, and acceptability parameters of unsupervised oral fluid (OF) HIV self-testing (HIVST) in a general population in western Kenya. In a prospective validation design, we enrolled 240 adults to perform rapid OF HIVST and compared results to staff administered OF and rapid fingerstick tests. All reactive, discrepant, and a proportion of negative results were confirmed with lab ELISA. Twenty participants were video-recorded conducting self-testing. All participants completed a staff administered survey before and after HIVST to assess attitudes towards OF HIVST acceptability. HIV prevalence was 14.6 %. Thirty-six of the 239 HIVSTs were invalid (15.1 %; 95 % CI 11.1-20.1 %), with males twice as likely to have invalid results as females. HIVST sensitivity was 89.7 % (95 % CI 73-98 %) and specificity was 98 % (95 % CI 89-99 %). Although sensitivity was somewhat lower than expected, there is clear interest in, and high acceptability (94 %) of OF HIV self-testing.

AIM/OBJECTIVE:To illustrate with the example of a secondary data analysis study the use of the multiple imputation method to replace missing data. BACKGROUND:Most large public datasets have missing data, which need to be handled by researchers conducting secondary data analysis studies. Multiple imputation is a technique widely used to replace missing values while preserving the sample size and sampling variability of the data. DATA SOURCE/METHODS:The 2004 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. REVIEW METHODS/METHODS:The authors created a model to impute missing values using the chained equation method. They used imputation diagnostics procedures and conducted regression analysis of imputed data to determine the differences between the log hourly wages of internationally educated and US-educated registered nurses. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS:The authors used multiple imputation procedures to replace missing values in a large dataset with 29,059 observations. Five multiple imputed datasets were created. Imputation diagnostics using time series and density plots showed that imputation was successful. The authors also present an example of the use of multiple imputed datasets to conduct regression analysis to answer a substantive research question. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Multiple imputation is a powerful technique for imputing missing values in large datasets while preserving the sample size and variance of the data. Even though the chained equation method involves complex statistical computations, recent innovations in software and computation have made it possible for researchers to conduct this technique on large datasets. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH/PRACTICE/CONCLUSIONS:The authors recommend nurse researchers use multiple imputation methods for handling missing data to improve the statistical power and external validity of their studies.

BACKGROUND: An estimated 14 % of the 1.2 million individuals living with HIV in the U.S. are unaware of their status. Yet this modest proportion of individuals with undiagnosed HIV is linked to 44-66 % of all new infections. Thus innovative intervention approaches are needed to seek out and test those with undiagnosed HIV, and link them to HIV treatment with high retention, an approach referred to as "Seek, Test, Treat, and Retain" (STTR). The present protocol describes a creative "hybrid" STTR approach that uses anonymous HIV testing followed by confidential care linkage, focused on heterosexuals at high risk (HHR) for HIV, who do not test as frequently as, and are diagnosed later, than other risk groups. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a single-arm exploratory intervention efficacy trial. The study has two phases: one to seek out and test HHR, and another to link those found infected to HIV treatment in a timely fashion, with high retention. We will recruit African American/Black and Latino adult HHR who reside in urban locations with high poverty and HIV prevalence. Participants will be recruited with respondent-driven sampling, a peer recruitment method. The "Seek and Test" phase is comprised of a brief, convenient, single-session, anonymous HIV counseling and testing session. The "Treat and Retain" component will engage those newly diagnosed with HIV into a confidential research phase and use a set of procedures called care navigation to link them to HIV primary care. Participants will be followed for 6 months with objective assessment of outcomes (using medical records and biomarkers). DISCUSSION: Undiagnosed HIV infection is a major public health problem. While anonymous HIV testing is an important part of the HIV testing portfolio, it does not typically include linkage to care. The present study has potential to produce an innovative, brief, cost-effective, and replicable STTR intervention, and thereby reduce racial/ethnic disparities in HIV/AIDS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02421159 , Registered April 15, 2015.

Breast cancer-related lymphedema is a syndrome of abnormal swelling coupled with multiple symptoms resulting from obstruction or disruption of the lymphatic system associated with cancer treatment. Research has demonstrated that with increased number of symptoms reported, breast cancer survivors' limb volume increased. Lymphedema symptoms in the affected limb may indicate a latent stage of lymphedema in which changes cannot be detected by objective measures. The latent stage of lymphedema may exist months or years before overt swelling occurs. Symptom report may play an important role in detecting lymphedema in clinical practice. The purposes of this study were to: 1) examine the validity, sensitivity, and specificity of symptoms for detecting breast cancer-related lymphedema and 2) determine the best clinical cutoff point for the count of symptoms that maximized the sum of sensitivity and specificity. Data were collected from 250 women, including healthy female adults, breast cancer survivors with lymphedema, and those at risk for lymphedema. Lymphedema symptoms were assessed using a reliable and valid instrument. Validity, sensitivity, and specificity were evaluated using logistic regression, analysis of variance, and areas under receiver operating characteristic curves. Count of lymphedema symptoms was able to differentiate healthy adults from breast cancer survivors with lymphedema and those at risk for lymphedema. A diagnostic cutoff of three symptoms discriminated breast cancer survivors with lymphedema from healthy women with a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 97% (area under the curve =0.98). A diagnostic cutoff of nine symptoms discriminated at-risk survivors from survivors with lymphedema with a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 80% (area under the curve =0.72). In the absence of objective measurements capable of detecting latent stages of lymphedema, count of symptoms may be a cost-effective initial screening tool for detecting lymphedema.

Nationally up to 60 % of persons living with HIV are neither taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) nor well engaged in HIV care, mainly racial/ethnic minorities. This study examined a new culturally targeted multi-component intervention to address emotional, attitudinal, and social/structural barriers to ART initiation and HIV care. Participants (N = 95) were African American/Black and Latino adults with CD4 < 500 cells/mm(3) not taking ART, randomized 1:1 to intervention or control arms, the latter receiving treatment as usual. Primary endpoints were adherence, evaluated via ART concentrations in hair samples, and HIV viral load suppression. The intervention was feasible and acceptable. Eight months post-baseline, intervention participants tended to be more likely to evidence "good" (that is, 7 days/week) adherence (60 vs. 26.7 %; p = 0.087; OR = 3.95), and had lower viral load levels than controls (t(22) = 2.29, p = 0.032; OR = 5.20), both large effect sizes. This highly promising intervention merits further study.

Using latent class analysis, this study examined the pattern of non-opioid substance misuse among 19,101 enrollees into 85 opioid treatment programs. The most frequent non-opioid drugs were cannabis, anti-anxiety medications, and cocaine. Four non-opioid drug use latent classes were identified: low-use (73%), prescription drug use (16%), marijuana and cocaine use (8.5%), and poly-drug use (2.5%). Compared to the low-use class, participants in the other classes were more likely to be female, Caucasian, use tobacco, have chronic pain, and use prescription opioids either with or without heroin. Recognition of characteristics derived from these classes can improve opioid treatment program services.

OBJECTIVE: The epidemiology of the incidence of sexually transmitted hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in HIV-positive MSM is only partially understood. In the presence of HIV, HCV infection is more likely to become chronic and liver fibrosis progression is accelerated. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis was used to synthesize data characterizing sexually transmitted HCV in HIV-positive MSM. METHODS: Electronic and other searches of medical literature (including unpublished reports) were conducted. Eligible studies reported on HCV seroconversion or on reinfection postsuccessful HCV treatment in HIV-positive MSM who were not injecting drugs. Pooled incidence rates were calculated using random-effects meta-analysis, and meta-regression was used to assess study-level moderators. Attributable risk measures were calculated from statistically significant associations between exposures and HCV seroconversion. RESULTS: More than 13 000 HIV-positive MSM in 17 studies were followed for more than 91 000 person-years between 1984 and 2012; the pooled seroconversion rate was 0.53/100 person-years. Calendar time was a significant moderator of HCV seroconversion, increasing from an estimated rate of 0.42/100 person-years in 1991 to 1.09/100 person-years in 2010, and 1.34/100 person-years in 2012. Reinfection postsuccessful HCV treatment (n = 2 studies) was 20 times higher than initial seroconversion rates. Among the seroconverters, a large proportion of infections were attributable to high-risk behaviours including mucosally traumatic sex and sex while high on methamphetamine. CONCLUSION: The high reinfection rates and the attributable risk analysis suggest the existence of a subset of HIV-positive MSM with recurring sexual exposure to HCV. Approaches to HCV control in this population will need to consider the changing epidemiology of HCV infection in MSM.