Risk Factors for Early Lower Limb Re-Amputation in Vascular Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Numerous risk factors for lower limb amputations are known; however, this study aimed to identify risk factors for re-amputation in patients within 6 months from an initial lower limb amputation procedure. METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study was performed at the Hospital Regional Hans Dieter Schmidt in Brazil. The study included patients who were aged at least 18 years and had undergone lower limb amputation between 2013 and 2022. Patients who died while hospitalized and patients who were lost to follow-up after hospital discharge were excluded from the study. Patient age, sex, number of amputations, revision time, comorbidities, and potential risk factors were extracted from the physical therapy service database and electronic medical records of the hospital. Chi-squared test and student's t-test were used to identify statistical significance. RESULTS: A total of 652 patients were included, of which 35.2% (230) patients underwent re-amputation within 6 months of the first operation. We found that dialysis (P = 0.004; odds ratio [OR] 8.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.09-20.5), smoking (P = 0.004; OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.18-2.35), and hypertension (P = 0.02; OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.09-2.19) were predictive factors for re-amputation within 6 months of lower limb amputation. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, it is important to intervene early and provide additional support to patients undergoing lower limb amputation with these risk factors to reduce the potential for re-amputation in the future.

HIV testing inside Brazilian female prisons: results of a national survey.

This study aimed to identify the prevalence of women in prisons who have already had an HIV test inside prison and the factors associated with this test. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 1327 women in 15 prisons in 9 states in Brazil. Almost 60% (95% CI: 57.8-63.7) of women have already been tested for HIV in prison. The factors associated with this HIV test were age ≥41 years (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.2-2.9), highest level of education (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.3-2.8), having been arrested 3 or more times (OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.3-2.8), having received information about HIV/STI in the lifetime (OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.1-1.9) and perceived themselves to be at no risk for HIV infection (OR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.2-2.5), black or mixed race (OR = 0.7; 95% CI = 0.5-0.9) and having a male sexual partner (OR = 0.6; 95% CI = 0.5-0.9). The routine HIV testing in prisons needs to be expanded to promote HIV prevention for a population with limited access to these services outside of prison.

COVID-19 drive-through mass vaccination in Northwest Louisiana.

Background: Vaccinating susceptible populations quickly and safely is vital during a pandemic. Mass vaccination programs using a drive-through method have been shown to reach large numbers of people efficiently during vaccine campaigns. Methods: We performed a quantitative, cross-sectional study analyzing data collected by the COVID-19 mass vaccination program conducted by Louisiana State University Health Shreveport (LSUSH). Results: Between December 2020 and September 2021, the vaccination program administered 90,655 COVID-19 vaccines. Among those who received at least the first dose of the vaccine, there were 21,700 men and 28,269 women; 22,820 were ≥60 years of age; 28,031 identified as Caucasian, 19,249 as African American, 47,916 as non-Hispanic, and most of them reported that they had not tested positive for COVID-19 before vaccination. Discussion: The LSUHS vaccination center served people from different regions within Louisiana as well as those from outside Louisiana. Vaccination is a crucial public health measure in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: Our study showed that the mass vaccination program conducted by LSUHS had a considerable positive impact on communities in Northwest Louisiana. This drive-through method is an effective strategy with which to reach a significant number of people during a pandemic.