The Role of Unobtrusive Home-Based Continuous Sensing in the Management of Postacute Sequelae of SARS CoV-2.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been reported that greater than 35% of patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 develop postacute sequelae of SARS CoV-2 (PASC). PASC is still a disease for which preliminary medical data are being collected-mostly measurements collected during hospital or clinical visits-and pathophysiological understanding is yet in its infancy. The disease is notable for its prevalence and its variable symptom presentation, and as such, management plans could be more holistically made if health care providers had access to unobtrusive home-based wearable and contactless continuous physiologic and physical sensor data. Such between-hospital or between-clinic data can quantitatively elucidate a majority of the temporal evolution of PASC symptoms. Although not universally of comparable accuracy to gold standard medical devices, home-deployed sensors offer great insights into the development and progression of PASC. Suitable sensors include those providing vital signs and activity measurements that correlate directly or by proxy to documented PASC symptoms. Such continuous, home-based data can give care providers contextualized information from which symptom exacerbation or relieving factors may be classified. Such data can also improve the collective academic understanding of PASC by providing temporally and activity-associated symptom cataloging. In this viewpoint, we make a case for the utilization of home-based continuous sensing that can serve as a foundation from which medical professionals and engineers may develop and pursue long-term mitigation strategies for PASC.

A Case Demonstration of the Open Health Natural Language Processing Toolkit From the National COVID-19 Cohort Collaborative and the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery Programs for a Natural Language Processing System for COVID-19 or Postacute Sequelae of SARS CoV-2 Infection: Algorithm Development and Validation.

BACKGROUND: A wealth of clinically relevant information is only obtainable within unstructured clinical narratives, leading to great interest in clinical natural language processing (NLP). While a multitude of approaches to NLP exist, current algorithm development approaches have limitations that can slow the development process. These limitations are exacerbated when the task is emergent, as is the case currently for NLP extraction of signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). OBJECTIVE: This study aims to highlight the current limitations of existing NLP algorithm development approaches that are exacerbated by NLP tasks surrounding emergent clinical concepts and to illustrate our approach to addressing these issues through the use case of developing an NLP system for the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and PASC. METHODS: We used 2 preexisting studies on PASC as a baseline to determine a set of concepts that should be extracted by NLP. This concept list was then used in conjunction with the Unified Medical Language System to autonomously generate an expanded lexicon to weakly annotate a training set, which was then reviewed by a human expert to generate a fine-tuned NLP algorithm. The annotations from a fully human-annotated test set were then compared with NLP results from the fine-tuned algorithm. The NLP algorithm was then deployed to 10 additional sites that were also running our NLP infrastructure. Of these 10 sites, 5 were used to conduct a federated evaluation of the NLP algorithm. RESULTS: An NLP algorithm consisting of 12,234 unique normalized text strings corresponding to 2366 unique concepts was developed to extract COVID-19 or PASC signs and symptoms. An unweighted mean dictionary coverage of 77.8% was found for the 5 sites. CONCLUSIONS: The evolutionary and time-critical nature of the PASC NLP task significantly complicates existing approaches to NLP algorithm development. In this work, we present a hybrid approach using the Open Health Natural Language Processing Toolkit aimed at addressing these needs with a dictionary-based weak labeling step that minimizes the need for additional expert annotation while still preserving the fine-tuning capabilities of expert involvement.

A novel curcumin-based vaginal cream Vacurin selectively eliminates apposed human cervical cancer cells.

OBJECTIVE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections remain a leading cause of mortality worldwide. In the U.S. strategies via screening and vaccination prevent HPV-associated cervical neoplasms, but consume immense healthcare costs. The spice component curcumin has potent anticancer and antiviral properties, which have been difficult to harness as a treatment, due to its poor systemic bioavailability. This project tests the possibility of developing a curcumin-based therapy for cervical cancer. METHODS: Using four HPV(+) cervical cancer cell lines and normal fibroblasts we first tested the selectivity and potency of curcumin in eliminating HPV(+) cells. Subsequently, we developed a curcumin-based cervical cream and tested its efficacy in eliminating apposed HPV(+) cells and also its possible side effects on the vaginal epithelium of healthy mice. RESULTS: Curcumin selectively eliminates a variety of HPV(+) cervical cancer cells (HeLa, ME-180, SiHa, and SW756), suppresses the transforming antigen E6, dramatically inhibits the expression of the pro-cancer protein epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and concomitantly induces p53. Additionally, Vacurin, a uniform colloidal solution of curcumin in a clinically used amphipathic vaginal cream, eliminates apposed HeLa cells while suppressing the expression of EGFR. In mice, daily intravaginal application of Vacurin for three weeks produced no change in body weight and when the mice were sacrificed, the vaginal tract epithelium showed no Vacurin-evoked adverse effects. CONCLUSION: We have developed a curcumin-based vaginal cream, which effectively eradicates HPV(+) cancer cells and does not affect non-cancerous tissue. Our preclinical data support a novel approach for the treatment of cervical HPV infection.

Evolution of Population Health Within US Schools of Medicine and Academic Medical Centers.

Schools of medicine are increasingly focusing on efforts beyond the immediate needs of individual patients and addressing the needs of whole populations. This study examined the characteristics of population health departments and related programs within, and affiliated with, schools of medicine and how these programs address the schools' educational, clinical care, research, and service missions. Structured reviews of school of medicine websites were used to identify population health departments and related programs. An on-line survey was distributed to a subset of these programs to capture details on their activities and organizational characteristics. The authors convened leaders of population health programs to elaborate on core themes. Of 154 school of medicine websites reviewed, 37 (24%) had affiliated population health programs, including 28 (18%) with distinct departments of population health. Departments reported a variety of teaching activities related to undergraduate medical education, graduate degree programs, and certificate programs addressing a variety of population health domains including public health, health administration, epidemiology, biostatistics, informatics, and research methods. Research was a core activity for most departments with significant support coming from federal funding, with many playing major roles in clinical and translational research institutes and cancer centers. Most departments had research, data sharing, and other collaborations with affiliated health systems. All departments engaged in community service activities, including activities supporting the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Population health programs are playing an increasingly important role in the teaching, clinical care, research, and community service missions in schools of medicine and academic medical centers.

Differences in disease prevalence among homeless and non-homeless veterans at an urban VA hospital.

OBJECTIVES: Approximately 10% of homeless adults in the US are veterans and that number is increasing. Veterans who experience homelessness tend to do so for longer periods compared to non-veterans; and homelessness is associated with more chronic disease complications. We compared the prevalence of five chronic, ambulatory-care sensitive conditions in homeless and domiciled individuals who received primary care at an urban VA hospital. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Veteran's Hospital Administration clinical data warehouse. Differences in disease prevalence were compared between the two groups using chi-square analyses and then adjusted for age, gender, race/ethnicity, BMI, and other risk factors where appropriate, using logistic regression. All analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.4. RESULTS: Homeless individuals were 46% more likely to have asthma (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.16-1.84) and 40% more likely to have COPD (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.14-1.73) after adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, BMI, and tobacco use status. After adjustment for covariates, there was no difference between homeless and domiciled veterans in the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, or congestive heart failure. DISCUSSION: Future quality improvement projects should identify social-environmental risk factors like employment characteristics, and housing quality that can impact chronic respiratory illness prevalence and associated complications.

Improving Intranasal Naloxone Prescribing Through EMR Modification and Automation.

BACKGROUND: In 2017, approximately 11.4 million Americans used opioids inappropriately. Nearly 47,600 deaths in 2017 were attributable to overdose on opioids. Intranasal naloxone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2015 as a rescue medication for opioid overdose. New York State launched a prescription drug monitoring program in 2012, the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing (I-STOP), that required completion before dispensing any controlled substance. Currently, prescribing naloxone at our institution requires 10 clicks and 2 free text boxes. The goal of this project was to increase the prescribing of intranasal naloxone by utilizing EMR automation and visualization tools. METHODS: Our intervention embedded a section within the required I-STOP note, displaying the last date naloxone was prescribed and an option to "prescribe intranasal naloxone." If checked, a prepopulated order dialog box was generated. RESULTS: Intranasal naloxone orders for the institution totaled 65 for 2 months before the intervention and 203 for 2 months after the intervention, with 112 (55%) coming directly from the I-STOP note modification. Ease of prescribing improved as total clicks were reduced from 10 to 2, and free text boxes from 2 to 0. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that a clinical decision support system can be an effective way to increase hospital-wide naloxone prescribing rates. We were able to increase prescribing rates by more than three-fold, significantly increasing the availability of a rescue medication to individuals at high-risk for overdose. Intranasal naloxone prescribing increased with the implementation of a visual reminder and a more intuitive ordering experience while preserving provider autonomy.

Improving smoking cessation referrals among elective surgery clinics through electronic clinical decision support.

INTRODUCTION: Preoperative visits are an exceptional opportunity to encourage smoking cessation, as studies demonstrate the experience of scheduling elective surgery produces an actionable incentive to quit. However, studies suggest surgeons do not regularly assess smoking behavior or offer cessation therapies. Clinical decision support (CDS) is a system in which providers are presented with clinically integrated tools to enhance decision-making. METHODS: A CDS tool was designed to facilitate treatment referrals for smoking cessation services among patients seeking elective surgery. Two clinics were selected: the plastic and vascular surgeries. The study objectives were to assess the utilization rate and effectiveness of this system. RESULTS: No smoking cessation referrals had been submitted by the plastic surgery or vascular surgery clinics in the year before CDS tool implementation. Providers at the plastic surgery clinic utilized the CDS tool in 95.0% (191 of 201) eligible patient encounters. Of these patients, 16.3% were identified as active smokers, and 16.1% of these smokers accepted treatment referrals. Providers at the vascular surgery clinic utilized the CDS tool in 50.3% (98 of 195) eligible patient encounters. Of these patients, 10.2% were identified as active smokers, and 30.0% of these smokers accepted treatment referrals. CONCLUSIONS: The CDS tool improved the incidence of smoking cessation referrals in two surgical clinics from pretest baselines and achieved satisfactory utilization rates. This report demonstrates the feasibility of CDS tools to actualize the preoperative visit as an opportunity to promote smoking cessation.

Using Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) data to identify missed opportunities for HPV vaccination.

Despite high HPV prevalence and low vaccination rates in the military, HPV vaccination is not required upon military service initiation. Given that national HPV vaccination rates remain low among people age 19-26 years, military service may represent an opportune time for intervention. The purpose of this study was to quantify the rate of HPV vaccination among young patients entering primary care at a single Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). Vaccination rates among veterans age ≤ 26 years old at first primary care visit were identified from the institutional data warehouse. Among 1,258 eligible patients, most were male (n = 782). The HPV vaccine initiation rate was 21.2%. Overall, 10.4% of patients received at least 1 HPV vaccine prior to initiating care at the VA (25.2% females and 1.4% males). An additional 10.8% of patients received their first HPV vaccine upon initiating care at the VA. Median age of first HPV vaccination was 21.4 years among patients that initiated the vaccine in the military versus 24.8 years among those that initiated vaccination at the VA. In conclusion, this study demonstrated low HPV vaccination rates both prior to transitioning to VA primary care and once receiving care at the VA. Additionally, among veterans that had not received vaccination upon initiating care at the VA, older age at vaccination was observed. Older age at vaccination may reduce HPV vaccine effectiveness given higher risk of exposure. Addition of HPV to the list of mandated vaccines upon military service initiation should be considered.

Improving Physical Activity among Residents of Affordable Housing: Is Active Design Enough?

Physical inactivity increases risk of chronic disease. Few studies examine how built environment interventions increase physical activity (PA). Active design (AD) utilizes strategies in affordable housing to improve resident health. We assessed how AD housing affects PA among low-income families in Brooklyn, New York. Participants were recruited at lease signings in 2016 from a new AD apartment complex and two recently renovated comparison buildings without AD features. Eligibility included age ≥18 years with no contraindications to exercise. Anthropometric data were collected. PA was self-reported using the Recent and Global Physical Activity Questionnaires. Smartphone users shared their tracked step. Data collection was repeated one year after move-in. All data were analyzed using SPSS. Eighty-eight eligible participants completed the initial questionnaire (36 AD and 52 from 2 comparison buildings) at baseline (T0). There were no differences between AD and comparison cohorts in: stair use, PA, sitting time or, mean waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) at T0. However, the AD cohort had a lower baseline BMI (27.6 vs. 31.0, p = 0.019). At one-year follow-up (T1), 75 participants completed our survey including a 64% retention rate among those who previously completed the T0 questionnaire. Among T0 questionnaire respondents, mean daily steps increased at T1 among AD participants who moved from an elevator building (∆6782, p = 0.051) and in the comparison group (∆2960, p = 0.023). Aggregate moderate work-related activity was higher at T1 in the AD building (746 vs. 401, p = 0.031). AD building women reported more work-related PA overall but AD men engaged in more moderate recreational PA. Living in an AD building can enhance low-income residents' PA. More research with objective measures is needed to identify strategies to sustain higher PA levels and overall health.

Active design in affordable housing: A public health nudge.

This pilot study investigates the impact of active design (AD) strategies on physical activity (PA) among adults living in two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified affordable housing developments in the South Bronx, New York. One building incorporates LEED Innovation in Design (ID) Credit: Design for Health through Increased Physical Activity. Tenants in an affordable housing building (AH) incorporating active design strategies completed PA self-assessments at their lease signing and one year later in 2015. Trained research assistants obtained body measurements. Residents of neighboring non-AD affordable housing (MCV) served as a comparison. Thirty four adults were recruited from AH and 29 from MCV, retention was 56% (n = 19) and 52% (n = 15) respectively at one year. The two groups' body mass index (BMI) and high-risk waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were not statistically significantly different when analyzed as continuous variables, although BMI category had a greater decline at AH than at MCV (p = 0.054). There was a 31.5% increase in AH participants meeting MPA requirements and a statistically significant improvement in females (p = 0.031); while there was no change in the MCV participants overall or when stratified by gender. AH participants were significantly more likely to have reported increased stair use and less likely to have reported no change or decreased stair use than participants from MCV participants (p = 0.033). Housing has a role in individual health outcomes and behavior change, broad adoption of active design strategies in affordable housing is warranted to improve physical activity measures.

Attitudes About Lung Cancer Screening: Primary Care Providers Versus Specialists.

BACKGROUND: On the basis of the results of the National Lung Screening Trial, the US Preventive Services Task Force now recommends yearly low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) for lung cancer screening among high-risk individuals. There is limited information regarding physician attitudes toward LDCT screening and whether these vary according to provider specialty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Primary care providers (PCPs) and specialists were surveyed about their knowledge and attitudes toward lung cancer screening and likelihood to order an LDCT screening. Descriptive and univariate analyses were used to assess differences between PCPs versus specialists. RESULTS: Of the 103 respondents 69% were PCPs, 45% were attending-level physicians, 42% were male, and most (51%) worked in mixed outpatient/inpatient practice settings. Compared with specialists, PCPs were less likely to feel confident in their ability to identify appropriate patients for lung cancer screening (63.8% vs. 93.5%; P < .01) or to decide the workup of patients with positive LDCT findings (52.9% vs. 93.5%; P < .01). PCPs were also less likely to believe that the recommended yearly screening interval is feasible (27.5% vs. 86.7%; P < .01), to feel comfortable counseling patients on LDCT (51.4% vs. 82.8%; P = .01) or have sufficient time for counseling (14.3% vs. 50%; P < .01). Despite these differences, PCPs were equally as likely as specialists to recommend LDCT for their high-risk smokers. CONCLUSION: Despite feeling less confident and knowledgeable about lung cancer screening, PCPs are as likely as specialists to recommend LDCT screening. However, PCPs need further education to ensure the success of lung cancer screening programs.

Assessing the Efficacy of a Breastfeeding-Friendly Quality Improvement Project in a Large Federally Qualified Health Center Network.

BACKGROUND: Provider attitudes can influence breastfeeding decision making, initiation, and duration, although much of this research has suffered from a "hospital-limited view." OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a Breastfeeding-Friendly Initiative (BFI) on knowledge and attitudes of providers and staff, as well as breastfeeding rates of patients within a large Federally Qualified Health Center network with no lactation consultants on staff. METHODS: We evaluated breastfeeding rates before and throughout the BFI. In addition, surveys of 136 primary care providers and staff before and after they were exposed to a breastfeeding education module were assessed to measure changes in breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes. RESULTS: Breastfeeding initiation and duration improved over the course of the BFI, with mean breastfeeding duration increasing by nearly 1 month following the education module compared with baseline rates (P = .01). Following participation in the breastfeeding education module, we observed a statistically significant improvement in provider and staff knowledge (P < .01) and attitudes (P < .01). These improvements were consistent across employment type, gender, geography, and personal experience as a parent. CONCLUSION: Implementing a BFI in a large multispecialty primary care network was found to improve breastfeeding initiation and duration up to 1 year, with a further increase in breastfeeding duration of 1 month following a 45-minute staff education module. After exposure to this module, health care providers and staff across our network improved in breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes. Given that expectant and new mothers regularly come into contact with staff and providers in primary care, sound knowledge and positive attitudes toward breastfeeding appear to have had a favorable effect on mothers that correlates with improved breastfeeding duration.

Diagnostic imaging of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia based on hematoxylin and eosin fluorescence.

BACKGROUND: Pathological classification of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is problematic as it relies on subjective criteria. We developed an imaging method that uses spectroscopy to assess the fluorescent intensity of cervical biopsies derived directly from hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained tissues. METHODS: Archived H&E slides were identified containing normal cervical tissue, CIN I, and CIN III cases, from a Community Hospital and an Academic Medical Center. Cases were obtained by consensus review of at least 2 senior pathologists. Images from H&E slides were captured first with bright field illumination and then with fluorescent illumination. We used a Zeiss Axio Observer Z1 microscope and an AxioVision 4.6.3-AP1 camera at excitation wavelength of 450-490 nm with emission captured at 515-565 nm. The 32-bit grayscale fluorescence images were used for image analysis. RESULTS: We reviewed 108 slides: 46 normal, 33 CIN I and 29 CIN III. Fluorescent intensity increased progressively in normal epithelial tissue as cells matured and advanced from the basal to superficial regions of the epithelium. In CIN I cases this change was less prominent as compared to normal. In high grade CIN lesions, there was a slight or no increase in fluorescent intensity. All groups examined were statistically different. CONCLUSION: Presently, there are no markers to help in classification of CIN I-III lesions. Our imaging method may complement standard H&E pathological review and provide objective criteria to support the CIN diagnosis.

Not just another cause of dyspnea: common complaint leads to a rare diagnosis.

A 62-year-old man with past medical history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) and hypertension presented with progressive shortness of breath since three months. He was diagnosed with diabetic polyradiculopathy with diaphragmatic involvement and was started on intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) therapy. Rapid improvement was seen as evidenced by increased vital capacity and other pulmonary function parameters. Considering the patient's positive response to intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg), this case strengthens the fact that diaphragmatic involvement in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus can be a part of focal or polyneuropathy and that the pathogenesis is immune mediated.