Institutional Barriers to the Successful Implementation of Telemedicine for Type 1 Diabetes Care.

The aim of this study was to describe rates of telemedicine use 18 months after the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and to assess the institutional barriers to its implementation for type 1 diabetes care across centers of the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative. Observational electronic health record data capturing telemedicine rates from 15 U.S. centers between September 2020 and September 2021 and a survey of 33 centers capturing telemedicine rates and key components of telemedicine were analyzed. A capacity score was developed and summed to a total capacity score and compared with overall telemedicine rates across centers. Telemedicine visits decreased by 17.4% from September 2020 to September 2021. Generally, it was observed that the lower the average telemedicine capacity score, the lower the rate of telemedicine visits. Despite a decline in the utilization of telemedicine 18 months after the start of the pandemic, visit rates were still 20% higher than in the pre-pandemic period. However, there is a need to improve structural components to ensure telemedicine capacity and robust telemedicine utilization.

Insulin Pump Utilization in 2017-2021 for More Than 22,000 Children and Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Multicenter Observational Study.

This large type 1 diabetes cohort study showed that insulin pump utilization has increased over time and that use differs by sex, insurance type, and race/ethnicity. Insulin pump use was associated with more optimal A1C, increased use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), and lower rates of diabetic ketoacidosis and severe hypoglycemia. People who used an insulin pump with CGM had lower rates of acute events than their counterparts who used an insulin pump without CGM. These findings highlight the need to improve access of diabetes technology through provider engagement, multidisciplinary approaches, and efforts to address health inequities.

Benchmarking Diabetes Technology Use Among 21 U.S. Pediatric Diabetes Centers.

The American Diabetes Association's Standards of Care in Diabetes recommends the use of diabetes technology such as continuous glucose monitoring systems and insulin pumps for people living with type 1 diabetes. Unfortunately, there are multiple barriers to uptake of these devices, including local diabetes center practices. This study aimed to examine overall change and center-to-center variation in uptake of diabetes technology across 21 pediatric centers in the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative. It found an overall increase in diabetes technology use for most centers from 2021 to 2022 with significant variation.

Making Diabetes Electronic Medical Record Data Actionable: Promoting Benchmarking and Population Health Improvement Using the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Portal.

This article describes how the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative leverages an innovative web platform, the QI Portal, to gather and store electronic medical record (EMR) data to promote benchmarking and population health improvement in a type 1 diabetes learning health system. The authors explain the value of the QI Portal, the process for mapping center-level data from EMRs using standardized data specifications, and the QI Portal's unique features for advancing population health.

Implementation of Specialty Tobacco Use Disorder Services in a Community Health Setting: Support for Enhanced Prescription Practices.

OBJECTIVES: Although public efforts to reduce tobacco use have been successful, millions of US adults currently smoke tobacco. Reducing the public health burden of tobacco use disorder (TUD) and eliminating disparities experienced by underresourced communities requires increased accessibility to services. The goal of this study was to assess whether prescriptions for evidence-based medications for tobacco treatment showed steeper growth rates among community health clinics providing specialty TUD services as compared with treatment as usual. METHODS: Clinic-wide data on prescriptions for smoking cessation pharmacotherapy at 18 primary care or mental health community clinics operated by Los Angeles County were retrieved for 4 years of an ongoing implementation trial. Specialty services included behavioral counseling and medications for tobacco treatment. Descriptive statistics characterized prescriptions rates across clinics and time. Analyses compared the slopes of the changes between intervention groups across time for primary care and mental health sites. RESULTS: Within primary care clinics, the most commonly prescribed smoking cessation medications were nicotine patches, nicotine gum, and varenicline. Throughout the trial, all clinics displayed increased rates of prescribing smoking cessation medications. Analytic results supported overall steeper increases in prescription rates for these medications among clinics randomized to specialty services versus treatment as usual within primary care ( P = 0.020) and mental health sites ( P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: This work provides support for the effectiveness of community-based implementation interventions that promote prescribing smoking cessation medications with the potential to reduce health disparities among communities at greater risk for TUD and its consequences.

Embedding comprehensive smoking cessation programs into community clinics: study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking among adults in the USA is a leading cause of preventable death worldwide, even though there has been a decline in prevalence since 2005. The addictive nature of nicotine is the chief reason smokers continue to use tobacco. Although the majority of smokers report a desire to quit smoking, a small minority who attempt to quit achieve long-term cessation. Combined, smoking cessation best practices include coordinated medication and behavioral treatments. However, these treatments are not currently adequately delivered to Medi-Cal beneficiaries in the publicly funded patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) and community mental health clinics operated by Los Angeles County (LAC)-Department of Health Services (LACDHS) and LAC-Department of Mental Health (LACDMH). METHODS: This is a 5-year implementation, cluster-randomized comparative effectiveness trial that will support the implementation of smoking cessation services delivered in LAC-LACDHS-operated outpatient primary care clinics and in LAC-LACDMH-operated community mental health clinics. We will enroll 1000 participants from clinics that will offer smoking cessation services and 200 from clinics that will offer treatment as usual. Participants will be asked to complete assessments at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. The assessments will include self-reports on smoking history, anxiety, stress, quality of life, and participant satisfaction. Participants who are assigned to clinics that provide smoking cessation services will also be asked about the frequency of their participation in the smoking cessation services during the 12-month period. DISCUSSION: This study will evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of implementing smoking cessation services in outpatient primary care and community mental health clinics. It will also determine if there will be higher rates of smoking cessation in the implementation sites as compared to the sites with treatment as usual. If the implementation proves to be effective, the plan is to sustain these services using a workflow we will develop in the LAC-operated sites. This would lead to ameliorating the significant smoking cessation treatment gaps among those served within the LAC Health Agency departments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04717544 "Embedding comprehensive smoking cessation programs into community clinics." Registered on January 22, 2021.

Safety Net Provider Attitudes Toward Smoking Cessation Treatment.

Background: Cigarette smoking, which poses significant health risks, is prevalent among vulnerable populations commonly treated by safety net providers. A large-scale implementation science project on specialty tobacco use treatment was launched within the Los Angeles County Health Agency. The first phase of this study seeks to summarize and compare smoking cessation treatment attitudes of providers at the Department of Health Services (DHS) and Department of Mental Health (DMH). Methods: In total, 467 safety net health care providers (DHS = 322; DMH = 145) completed a survey inquiring about attitudes on smoking cessation treatment consisting of locally developed items and those informed by a scale on readiness for organizational change. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were conducted to examine treatment attitudes for DHS and DMH providers. Results: Between agencies, providers largely reported similar attitudes on smoking cessation treatment and expressed positive beliefs regarding the efficacy of smoking cessation aids. Providers slightly or moderately agreed with being prepared to identify and diagnose tobacco use among patients. DMH providers stated that identification of tobacco use was less in line with their job responsibilities (p < 0.0001) and less strongly agreed that varenicline is effective for smoking cessation (p = 0.003), compared with DHS providers. Conclusions: Providers supported smoking cessation aid efficacy but may benefit from additional training on identification and treatment of tobacco use. These findings support the implementation of specialty tobacco cessation treatment programs with training on medications in safety net health care systems, which has the potential to yield large-scale public health benefits.

Bisphosphonate therapy improves the outcome of conventional periodontal treatment: results of a 12-month, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

BACKGROUND: Bone loss in periodontitis results from inflammatory reactions that stimulate osteoclastic bone resorption. Bisphosphonates inhibit bone resorption and increase bone mass. This study evaluated the effect of bisphosphonate therapy as an adjunct to non-surgical periodontal treatment in patients with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis. METHODS: Patients were randomized (2:1) to one of two bisphosphonate therapies or placebo for 1 year. All patients received non-surgical periodontal treatment (scaling, root planing) and periodontal maintenance therapy every 3 months. Clinical assessments at baseline and 6 and 12 months included clinical attachment level (CAL), probing depth (PD), and bleeding on probing (BOP). Periodontal bone mass was assessed by dental radiographs at baseline and 12 months using fractal analysis and digital subtraction radiography (DSR). RESULTS: Seventy patients were randomized, 43 to the bisphosphonate group and 27 to the placebo group. Bisphosphonate therapy significantly improved CAL, PD, and BOP relative to the placebo group during the 6- to 12-month period (CAL, P = 0.0002; PD, P = 0.0156; BOP, P = 0.0079). There was no difference in the change in periodontal bone mass between the bisphosphonate and placebo groups as measured by fractal analysis and DSR. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that bisphosphonate treatment improves the clinical outcome of non-surgical periodontal therapy and may be an appropriate adjunctive treatment to preserve periodontal bone mass.

Presentation of primary adrenal insufficiency in childhood.

CONTEXT: Primary adrenal insufficiency is usually diagnosed in infancy or adulthood, and cases presenting in childhood have not been systematically reviewed. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine etiologies, signs, and symptoms of primary adrenal insufficiency presenting in childhood. DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a retrospective chart review at a tertiary-care pediatric hospital. PATIENTS: Patients were children with corticoadrenal insufficiency, glucocorticoid deficiency, or mineralocorticoid deficiency. RESULTS: Seventy-seven cases were identified in 1999-2010. Thirty-five had congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and were not reviewed further. Forty-two patients (20 diagnosed at our institution) had primary adrenal insufficiency. These had etiologies as follows: autoimmune (18), autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome (an additional five), ACTH resistance (four), adrenoleukodystrophy (three), adrenal hypoplasia congenita (two), adrenal hemorrhage (two), IMAGe syndrome (one), and idiopathic (two). Of 20 patients diagnosed at our institution, two were being monitored when adrenal insufficiency developed and were not included in the analysis of presenting signs and symptoms: 13 of 18 patients were hypotensive; 12 of 18 had documented hyperpigmentation. Hyponatremia (<135 mEq/liter) occurred in 16 of 18. However, hyperkalemia (>5.0 mEq/liter) was noted in only nine. Hypoglycemia and ketosis were documented in four of 15 and four of six patients in whom it was sought, respectively. Fifteen patients underwent cosyntropin stimulation testing with median baseline and stimulated cortisol of 1.1 and 1.2 µg/dl, respectively. ACTH and renin were markedly elevated in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperkalemia is not a consistent presenting sign of primary adrenal insufficiency in childhood, and its absence cannot rule out this condition. A combination of chronic or subacute clinical symptoms, hypotension, and hyponatremia should raise suspicion of adrenal insufficiency.

Association of cyclophosphamide use with dental developmental defects and salivary gland dysfunction in recipients of childhood antineoplastic therapy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of antineoplastic therapy on dental development and saliva function in recipients of childhood antineoplastic therapy. METHODS: Patients attending the long-term follow-up clinic at Children's Hospital at Westmead, NSW, Australia, were included if they had received treatment prior to 16 years of age and were in remission for more than 5 years. A dental examination and saliva test were performed for each participant. Holtta's Defect Index (HDI) was used to assess tooth aplasia, microdontia, and root-crown ratio on an orthopantomogram (OPG). Multivariable-adjusted regression analyses were used to estimate the association of patient characteristics and treatment modalities with dental outcomes. RESULTS: One hundred six participants (61% male) were recruited (response rate = 88%). The mean HDI score was 24.7 ± 17.8. A cumulative dose of cyclophosphamide >7500 mg/m(2) increased the HDI score by 13.06 (P = .01). Recipients of cyclophosphamide also had significantly increased odds of exhibiting very low saliva flow (<0.7 mL/min) (odds ratio = 12.43; 95% confidence interval, 2.08-74.35; P = .006). CONCLUSIONS: Children and adolescents who received high doses of cyclophosphamide were at increased risk of dental disturbances. Cyclophosphamide recipients were also at greater risk of exhibiting very low saliva flow. This study applied the HDI to patients receiving all forms of antineoplastic treatment and highlights the dose-dependent relation between cumulative dose of cyclophosphamide and dental disturbances.