Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Through diet and exercise interventions, community centers offer an opportunity to address health-related issues for some of the oldest, most vulnerable members of our society. OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this investigation is to draw upon nationwide data to better characterize the population served by the congregate meals program and to gather more detailed information on a local level to identify opportunities for service enhancement to improve the health and well-being of older adults. DESIGN/METHODS:We examined community center data from two sources: 2015 National Survey of Older Americans Act and surveys from two New York City community centers. To assess nationwide service delivery, we analyzed participant demographics, functional status defined by activities of daily living, and perceptions of services received. MEASUREMENTS/METHODS:Participants from the two New York City community centers completed a four-day food record. Functional measures included the short physical performance battery, self-reported physical function, grip strength, and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. RESULTS:Nationwide (n=901), most participants rated the meal quality as good to excellent (91.7%), and would recommend the congregate meals program to a friend (96.0%). Local level data (n=22) were collected for an in-depth understanding of diet, physical activity patterns, body weight, and objective functional status measures. Diets of this small, local convenience sample were higher in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and lower in calcium, magnesium, and fiber than recommended by current United States Dietary Guidelines. Average time engaged in moderate physical activity was 254 minutes per week (SD=227), exceeding the recommended 150 minutes per week, but just 41% (n=9) and 50% (n=11) of participants engaged in strength or balance exercises, respectively. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Research is warranted to test whether improvements in the nutritional quality of food served and access/supports for engaging in strength training within community centers could help older adults achieve diet and physical activity recommendations.

Needs and Objectives: Given the rise in mobile devices, it is critical that academic medical centers create new ways to support the educational, research, and patient care missions through mobile technology. Companion isa mobile app with a primary objective of promoting the use of evidence-based medicine at the point-of-care and enhancing the educational experience for medical students and residents through the rapid dissemination of knowledge. Setting and Participants:Companion launched in July 2017 across NYU Langone Health (NYULH), a tertiary-care academic medical center, and NYU School of Medicine. The Companion app was made available to all faculty, housestaff, and medical students for download on any Apple iPhone or iPad through NYULH's internal app catalog. Though available throughout the institution, special attention was given to the internal medicine residency program and medical students including dedicated training sessions on how to maximize the app's features for rounds and conferences. Description: Companion's core feature is a search function, similar to Google, where a user types in a keyword they are interested in looking up. For example, if a resident were admitting a patient with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), and types "CHF" into the search box, the app will return NYULH institutional clinical guidelines related to CHF. From the results page, users can also use their finger to "swipe" into additional medical databases such as UpToDate and PubMed if they do not find what they are looking for in the institutional guidelines all from within the app. Once users find the document they are looking for they can "Favorite" the document for future reference, "Mark Up" the document with a virtual pen or highlighter, or "share" the document via QR code technology. Companion also utilizes location-aware technology for virtual "check-in" at conferences and pushing relevant clinical guidelines based on a user's physical location. Evaluation: Since launching in July 2017 our evaluation data is limited, but thus far, we have 747 active "60-day users" and over 5, 000 downloads of institutional clinical guidelines through the app. Further, there have been 5, 200 total "searches" performed within the app and over 10, 000 unique location check-ins at conference by medical students and residents. Discussion/Reflection/Lessons Learned: While still in the early stages of rolling out Companion, initial signs indicate that the app has potential to accomplish its goal of bringing evidence-based medicine to the bedside and enhancing the academic environment at our AMC. User feedback from front-line users has been instrumental in helping to refine the app and idenitfy new features that would improve the app. Since launching, we've pushed out 6 new version updates and recognize the importance of constantly iterating and adding new features to make the app as useful as possible. Next steps include integrating Companion with our electronic medical record and focusing on publicizing the app to other departments outside of internal medicine

The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) is increasing globally, with different molecular mechanisms described. Here we studied the molecular mechanisms of carbapenem resistance, including clonal and plasmid dissemination, of 67 CRE isolates collected between 2012 and 2016 from a tertiary hospital in Eastern China, an CRE endemic region. Species identification and susceptibility testing were performed using the BD Phoenix Automated Microbiology System. Isolates were characterized by PCR (for carbapenemases, ESBLs, AmpC and porin genes), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and conjugation transfer experiments. Selected bla_KPC-2 -harboring plasmids were subjected to next-generation sequencing using the Illumina Miseq platform. Among the 67 CRE isolates, 42 Klebsiella pneumoniae, 10 Serratia marcescens, 6 Enterobacter cloacae, 2 Raoultella ornithinolytica, 2 K. oxytoca, 1 K. aerogenes, and 4 Escherichia coli isolates were identified. Six different carbapenemases were detected, including bla_KPC-2 (n = 45), bla_KPC-3 (n = 1), bla_NDM-1 (n = 6), bla_NDM-5 (n = 1), bla_IMP-4 (n = 2), and bla_VIM-1 (n = 2); bla_OXA-48-like genes were not detected. One E. cloacae strain possessed both bla_NDM-1 and bla_KPC-3, while two E. cloacae isolates harbored bla_NDM-1 and bla_VIM-1. ESBLs (CTX-M, SHV, and TEM) and/or AmpC (CMY, DHA, and ACT/MIR) genes were also identified in 59 isolates, including 13 strains that lacked carbapenemases. Several insertions or stop codon mutations were found within porin genes of K. pneumoniae, E. coli and S. marcescens isolates, both with and without carbapenemases. The 42 K. pneumoniae isolates belonged to 12 different sequence types (ST), with ST11 being the most common, while the 6 E. cloacae isolates comprised 4 different STs. The 10 S. marcescens all shared the same PFGE pulsotype, suggestive of clonal spread. Complete plasmid sequencing and PCR screening revealed both intra-strain and inter-species spread of a common bla_KPC-2-harboring plasmid in our hospital. Taken together, our study revealed extensive genetic diversity among CRE isolates form a single Chinese hospital. CRE isolates circulating in the hospital differ significantly in their species, STs, porin genes, carbapenemase genes, and their plasmid content, highlighting the complex dissemination of CRE in this endemic region.

In December 2017, the National Academy of Neuropsychology convened an interorganizational Summit on Population Health Solutions for Assessing Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Patients in Denver, Colorado. The Summit brought together representatives of a broad range of stakeholders invested in the care of older adults to focus on the topic of cognitive health and aging. Summit participants specifically examined questions of who should be screened for cognitive impairment and how they should be screened in medical settings. This is important in the context of an acute illness given that the presence of cognitive impairment can have significant implications for care and for the management of concomitant diseases as well as pose a major risk factor for dementia. Participants arrived at general principles to guide future screening approaches in medical populations and identified knowledge gaps to direct future research. Key learning points of the summit included: recognizing the importance of educating patients and healthcare providers about the value of assessing current and baseline cognition; emphasizing that any screening tool must be appropriately normalized and validated in the population in which it is used to obtain accurate information, including considerations of language, cultural factors, and education; and recognizing the great potential, with appropriate caveats, of electronic health records to augment cognitive screening and tracking of changes in cognitive health over time.

Recreational drugs are commonly abused in all age groups. Intoxication with these substances can induce silent but significant electrocardiographic signs which may lead to sudden death. In this case study, we present a 49-year-old male with no medical comorbidities who came to the emergency department requesting opioid detoxification. Toxicology screen was positive for cocaine, heroin, and cannabis. Initial electrocardiogram (EKG) showed features of a Brugada pattern in the right precordial leads, which resolved within one day into admission. This presentation is consistent with the recently recognized clinical entity known as Brugada phenocopy.

Background: Many uremic retention solutes are products of gut bacterial metabolism. Protein-binding renders these solutes poorly dialyzable. In a prior study we observed that a single dose of 250 mg of vancomycin, given by mouth, resulted in a significant (40%) decrease in the plasma concentration of indoxyl sulfate and p-cresyl sulfate over a period of one week. In this study we compared the changes in plasma concentration of a panel of protein-bound uremic retention solutes in response to the once-weekly oral administration of 250 mg of vancomycin or placebo over a period of 8 weeks.
Method(s): Eight subjects with chronic, stable ESRD on thrice-weekly hemodialysis via AV fistula in the River Renal Dialysis Unit in Bellevue Hospital, were randomized to two groups, utilizing a single-blinded procedure. Baseline plasma samples were collected prior to the initial dose of vancomycin or placebo and at weeks one, two, three, four, and eight. Uremic retention solutes were measured by MS-HPLC.
Result(s): Six of the eight uremic retention solutes (Table 1) demonstrated a significant decline in concentration over the eight week period of once-weekly vancomycin administration. The magnitude of the decline makes it more likely that gut production was reduced rather than renal excretion increased. Solute concentrations remained unchanged over the same period of placebo administration.
Conclusion(s): The significant decline in the plasma concentrations of multiple uremic retention solutes provides evidence of the importance of the gut microbiome in the generation of these solutes. The reduction in concentrations of indoxyl sulfate, p-cresyl sulfate, and kynurenic acid, recognized as likely uremic toxins, suggests that altering the gut microbiome might provide a valuable therapeutic strategy in the management of ESRD