Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:Characterising disparities in HIV infection across populations by gender, age, and HIV risk is key information to guide intervention priorities. We aimed to assess how indicators measuring HIV acquisitions, transmissions, or potential long-term infections influence estimates of the contribution of different populations to new infections, including key populations (including female sex workers, their clients, men who have sex with men). METHODS:) measured the proportion of new infections averted if transmission involving a specific population was blocked over a specific time period. We compared estimates of the four indicators across seven populations and 15 settings and assessed if the contribution of specific populations ranked differently across indicators for ten settings. FINDINGS/RESULTS:), whereas more infections were transmitted than acquired in non-key population men aged 25 years and older (median 1·4 times more) and clients of female sex workers (1·6 times more) in all but one model. Estimates of the 10-year tPAFs accounting for transmission in the long-term were substantially larger than the direct transmission indicator for all populations, especially for female sex workers (2·0 times higher). INTERPRETATION/CONCLUSIONS:Indicators that reflect HIV acquisitions and transmissions in the short and long term can be used to capture the complexity of HIV epidemics across different populations and timeframes. The added nuance would improve the effectiveness of the HIV prevention response across all populations at risk. FUNDING/BACKGROUND:US National Institutes of Health and UK Medical Research Council. TRANSLATION/UNASSIGNED:For the French translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

BACKGROUND:Stakeholders have called for measures of how much time patients spend at home and in the community to incentivize coordinated, timely, and primary care-based services and reduce unnecessary acute care. OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:We developed a claims-based "Days at Home" Accountable Care Organization (ACO) measure for Medicare beneficiaries, intended to assess the number of days in a calendar year that adults with complex chronic disease spend at outside acute or postacute inpatient facilities. METHODS:Testing used 2017 and 2018 Medicare claims for fee-for-service patients enrolled in 610 Shared Savings Program ACOs. We used a split-half method for reliability testing, and a survey of technical experts and comparison to related measures for validity. The measure adjusts for 51 clinical and demographic variables and one social determinant of health (Medicaid dual-eligibility). To avoid unintended consequences of discouraging medically appropriate care and excessive reliance on nursing homes, the measure adjusts for mortality and new admissions to long-term nursing home care. RESULTS:The cohort (N=1,154,779) was predominantly White (84.9%) and aged 65 years or older (84.0%), and 22.8% were Medicaid dual-eligible. Mean ACO-level adjusted days at home was 330.4, ranging from 291.0 to 345.9 days (interquartile range: 329.1-332.1). Split-sample reliability was 0.833. External experts rated the measure as having face validity; in assessing external validity the measure generally correlated with related measures. CONCLUSIONS:The Days at Home ACO measure is a reliable and valid measure that can be used to promote coordinated and prevention-focused home-based and community-based care.

Obesity constitutes a substantial burden in psoriatic disease that affects approximately half of patients. Importantly, increased adiposity and psoriatic disease are strongly linked, with obesity functioning as both a possible trigger and a disease modifier. Obesity predisposes individuals to develop psoriasis and is likely to drive, at least partially, the progression from psoriasis to psoriatic arthritis. For people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, obesity is associated with lower rates of remission and poorer responses to treatment. Several mechanisms probably underlie this relationship, including systemic and local pro-inflammatory properties of adipose tissue, increased biomechanical stress on joints and entheses, gut dysbiosis and synergistic effects of osteoarthritis. Notably, weight loss can improve both psoriatic disease course and response to therapy; however, current approaches (such as dietary interventions or bariatric surgery) are difficult to implement. Glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapies are an effective strategy for weight loss in psoriatic disease and might even have additive disease-modifying effects to conventional immunomodulators. Although often overlooked, weight loss intervention and obesity management should be included as an integral part of psoriatic disease treatment algorithms.

BACKGROUND:Concerns regarding information inaccuracy when using general-purpose large language models have prompted the quest for alternative tools. OpenEvidence has emerged as a healthcare-focused large language model trained exclusively on data from peer-reviewed medical literature. OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:This study compared the quality, accuracy, and readability of aesthetic surgery patient education materials generated by OpenEvidence and ChatGPT. METHODS:A standardized prompt requesting comprehensive postoperative discharge instructions for twenty of the most common aesthetic surgery procedures was entered into OpenEvidence and ChatGPT-5. Outputs were evaluated using four validated assessment tools: the DISCERN instrument for information quality (1-5), the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable Materials (PEMAT-P) for information understandability and actionability (0-100), the Flesch-Kincaid scale for estimated grade level (fifth grade to professional level) and reading ease (0-100), and a Likert scale for citation accuracy (1-4). RESULTS:OpenEvidence scored significantly higher than ChatGPT-5 in DISCERN (3.3 ± 0.4 vs. 1.7 ± 0.4, p<0.001) and the citation accuracy scale (2.4 ±1.3 vs. 1.5 ± 0.7, p=0.007). Scores were comparable among both tools in PEMAT-P understandability (71 ± 5 vs. 69 ± 0, p=0.3) and actionability (52 ± 12 vs. 54 ± 5, p=0.6), as well as on the Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (9.3 ± 1.0 vs. 9.2 ± 0.6, p=0.8) and the Flesch Reading Ease Score (40.0 ± 6.6 vs. 41.0 ± 5.5, p=0.6). CONCLUSIONS:OpenEvidence generated materials of significantly higher quality and reliability than ChatGPT, suggesting it may serve as a more reliable alternative for patient education in aesthetic surgery practice.

Obstructed hemivagina and ipsilateral renal anomaly is a Mullerian anomaly with variable presentations. A patient with this syndrome had a superinfected fluid collection in an obstructed hemivagina after mifepristone and misoprostol administration for an embryonic demise, identifying a potential complication in this population.

IMPORTANCE/UNASSIGNED:Approximately 27% of adults in the US and Canada report having ever used cannabis for medical purposes. An estimated 10.5% of the US population reports using cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical compound extracted from cannabis that does not have psychoactive effects, for therapeutic purposes. OBSERVATIONS/UNASSIGNED:Conditions for which cannabinoids have approval from the US Food and Drug Administration include HIV/AIDS-related anorexia, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and certain pediatric seizure disorders. A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials reported a small but significant reduction in nausea and vomiting from various causes (eg, chemotherapy, cancer) when comparing prescribed cannabinoids (eg, dronabinol, nabilone) with placebo or active comparators (eg, alizapride, chlorpromazine; standardized mean difference [SMD], -0.29 [95% CI, -0.39 to -0.18]). A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials among patients with HIV/AIDS reported that cannabinoids had a moderate effect on increasing body weight compared with placebo (SMD, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.22 to 0.92]). Evidence-based guidelines do not recommend the use of inhaled or high-potency cannabis (≥10% or 10 mg Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol [Δ9-THC]) for medical purposes. High-potency cannabis compared with low-potency cannabis use is associated with increased risk of psychotic symptoms (12.4% vs 7.1%) and generalized anxiety disorder (19.1% vs 11.6%). A meta-analysis of observational studies reported that 29% of individuals who used cannabis for medical purposes met criteria for cannabis use disorder. Daily inhaled cannabis use compared with nondaily use was associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (2.0% vs 0.9%), myocardial infarction (1.7% vs 1.3%), and stroke (2.6% vs 1.0%). Evidence from randomized clinical trials does not support the use of cannabis or cannabinoids for most conditions for which it is promoted, such as acute pain and insomnia. Before considering cannabis or cannabinoids for medical use, clinicians should consult applicable institutional, state, and national regulations; evaluate for drug-drug interactions; and assess for contraindications (eg, pregnancy) or conditions in which risks likely outweigh benefits (eg, schizophrenia or ischemic heart disease). For patients using cannabis or cannabinoids for treatment of medical conditions, clinicians should discuss harm reduction strategies, including avoiding concurrent use with alcohol or other central nervous system depressants such as benzodiazepines, using the lowest effective dose, and avoiding use when driving or operating machinery. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE/UNASSIGNED:Evidence is insufficient for the use of cannabis or cannabinoids for most medical indications. Clear guidance from clinicians is essential to support safe, evidence-based decision-making. Clinicians should weigh benefits against risks when engaging patients in informed discussions about cannabis or cannabinoid use.

Hereditary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 5-8% of all renal cancers. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the seven hereditary RCC syndromes recognized by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network: Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL), Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Cancer (HLRCC), Hereditary Papillary Renal Carcinoma (HPRC), Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHDS), Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH)-deficient RCC/Hereditary Paraganglioma/Pheochromocytoma (PGL/PCC) syndrome, and BAP1 tumor predisposition syndrome (BAP1-TPDS). For each syndrome, the underlying inheritance, epidemiology, and clinicopathologic features of their associated RCCs are detailed. Furthermore, radiographic challenges faced in the diagnosis of RCC in some of these syndromes are discussed, including differentiating RCC from the more common lipid-poor AML in TSC, distinguishing papillary RCC from hemorrhagic cysts in HPRC, and discerning chromophobe RCC from oncocytomas in BHDS. Radiologists are integral to the multidisciplinary management of hereditary RCC, as they are often the first to identify clinicopathologic features suggestive of an underlying genetic syndrome. Recognizing these patterns is crucial for prompting timely genetic evaluation, guiding decisions for nephron-sparing interventions, and establishing appropriate surveillance for patients and their at-risk family members. Advances in radiogenomics and artificial intelligence hold promise for further refining non-invasive diagnosis and personalizing patient care.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of dexmedetomidine as the primary sedative in neonates. STUDY DESIGN/METHODS:Single center, retrospective study of mechanically ventilated neonates sedated with dexmedetomidine (study group) or opioids/benzodiazepines (control group). Primary outcome was requirement of opioids/benzodiazepines. Secondary outcomes included duration of mechanical ventilation, time to full feeds, bradycardia/hypotension, and unplanned extubation. A subgroup analysis was conducted in premature neonates. RESULTS:There were 148 patients (study group n = 91, control group n = 57) included. Patients who received dexmedetomidine had less cumulative exposure to opioids/benzodiazepines. The median opioid/benzodiazepine requirement was 0 mg/kg/day in the study group compared to the control group with 0.36-0.96 mg/kg/day midazolam equivalents and 1.75-4.1 mg/kg/day morphine equivalents. Unplanned extubations were not different between groups indicating similar efficacy. The study group reached full feeds faster than the control group. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Dexmedetomidine as the primary sedative in neonates is safe and efficacious at minimizing opioids and benzodiazepines in both term and premature neonates. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION/BACKGROUND:N/A.

STUDY OBJECTIVE/OBJECTIVE:To characterize opioid and nonopioid drug use in the week following emergency department (ED)-initiated extended-release buprenorphine (XR-BUP) treatment using both self-reported data and urine drug screens (UDS). METHODS:This study uses data collected during a nonrandomized clinical trial of patients with untreated opioid use disorder (OUD), testing the safety and feasibility of initiating XR-BUP in patients presenting with minimal to mild withdrawal. The study was conducted from July 2020 to May 2023 across four urban academic EDs in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Pacific regions of the United States. A total of 100 participants, 18 years or older with OUD defined by DSM-5 criteria, a clinical opiate withdrawal scale (COWS < 8), and a positive opioid urine screen were included. Individuals with recent MOUD treatment, presentation for overdose, or concurrent methadone use were excluded. All participants received a single subcutaneous injection of 24 mg XR-BUP (CAM2038) during their ED visit. The primary outcomes were self-reported daily opioid and nonopioid drug use over 7 days postinjection using daily Qualtrics surveys and UDS results on day 7. RESULTS:Among participants who received XR-BUP and completed daily surveys, 98% reported at least one opioid-free day, and 63% reported no opioid use across all 7 days. Day 7 UDS results showed decreased detection of opioids, stimulants, and benzodiazepines. Reported polysubstance use also declined over the observation period. CONCLUSIONS:ED-initiated XR-BUP was associated with substantial reductions in opioid and polysubstance use during the first week post-discharge, supporting its role in early overdose risk mitigation and highlighting its value as an ED-based intervention for opioid use disorder. TRIAL REGISTRATION/BACKGROUND:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03658642.