Cannabis use and the risk of tuberculosis: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis has been identified as a possible risk factor in some tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks. As the most widely used (largely) illegal substance in Western countries this may be an important public health concern. We aim to systematically review the evidence on the association between cannabis use and TB (latent infection and active disease) to inform ongoing and future TB prevention and control strategies. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review. We searched Ovid Medline, Embase and PsycInfo, together with the World Health Organization website and Google Scholar, for all years to January 2018. Reference lists and conference abstracts were hand-searched, a forward citation search was conducted on the Web of Science, and experts were contacted. Two authors independently screened studies for inclusion, extracted data and assessed risk of bias using an adapted version of ROBINS-I ("Risk of Bias in Non-randomised Studies - of Interventions"). Data were narratively synthesised. RESULTS: Of 377 records identified, 11 studies were eligible. Study designs were heterogeneous. Six studies utilised a relevant comparator group. Four of these investigated the association between cannabis use and latent TB infection; all provided some evidence of an association, although only two of these had adjusted for confounders. The remaining two comparator studies investigated the association between cannabis use and active TB disease; neither found evidence of an association after adjusting for confounding. All six studies were at "Serious" risk of bias. The five studies which did not utilise a relevant comparator group were all indicative of TB outbreaks occurring among cannabis users, but the quality of the evidence was very weak. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence for an association between cannabis use and TB acquisition is weak. The topic warrants further robust primary research including the collection of consistent and accurate exposure information, including cannabis use practices, dose and frequency, and adjustment for confounders.

Antibody Fab-Fc properties outperform titer in predictive models of SIV vaccine-induced protection.

Characterizing the antigen-binding and innate immune-recruiting properties of the humoral response offers the chance to obtain deeper insights into mechanisms of protection than revealed by measuring only overall antibody titer. Here, a high-throughput, multiplexed Fab-Fc Array was employed to profile rhesus macaques vaccinated with a gp120-CD4 fusion protein in combination with different genetically encoded adjuvants, and subsequently subjected to multiple heterologous simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) challenges. Systems analyses modeling protection and adjuvant differences using Fab-Fc Array measurements revealed a set of correlates yielding strong and robust predictive performance, while models based on measurements of response magnitude alone exhibited significantly inferior performance. At the same time, rendering Fab-Fc measurements mathematically independent of titer had relatively little impact on predictive performance. Similar analyses for a distinct SIV vaccine study also showed that Fab-Fc measurements performed significantly better than titer. These results suggest that predictive modeling with measurements of antibody properties can provide detailed correlates with robust predictive power, suggest directions for vaccine improvement, and potentially enable discovery of mechanistic associations.

Ongoing outbreak of invasive and non-invasive disease due to group A Streptococcus (GAS) type emm66 among homeless and people who inject drugs in England and Wales, January to December 2016.

We report an outbreak of invasive and non-invasive disease due to an unusual type of Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, emm66) among a vulnerable, largely homeless population in southern England and Wales, detected in September 2016. Twenty-seven confirmed cases were subsequently identified between 5 January and 29 December 2016; 20 injected drugs and six reported problematic alcohol use. To date, we have ruled out drug-related vehicles of infection and identified few common risk factors.

Community paediatric respiratory infection surveillance study protocol: a feasibility, prospective inception cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Paediatric respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are common reasons for primary care consultations and antibiotic prescribing. Locally relevant syndromic and microbiological surveillance information has the potential to improve the care of children with RTIs by normalising illness (parents) and reducing uncertainty (clinicians). Currently, most RTI studies are conducted at the point of healthcare service consultation, leaving the community burden, microbiology, symptom duration and proportion consulting largely unknown. This study seeks to establish the feasibility of (mainly online) participant recruitment and retention, and the acceptability/comparability of parent versus nurse-collected microbiological sampling, to inform the design of a future surveillance intervention study. Evidence regarding consultation rates and symptom duration is also sought. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A community-based, feasibility prospective inception cohort study, recruiting children aged ≥3 months and <16 years and their parents via general practitioner surgery invitation letter, aiming to collect data on 300 incident RTIs by July 2016. Following informed consent, parents provide baseline (demographic) data online, and respond to weekly emails to confirm the absence/presence of new RTI symptoms. Once symptomatic, parents provide daily data online (RTI symptoms, school/day-care attendance, time off work, health service use, medication), and a research nurse visits to collect clinical examination data and microbiological (nasal and saliva) swabs. Parents are invited to provide symptomatic (at nurse visit, but without nurse assistance) and asymptomatic (alone) swabs on recovery. A review of primary care medical notes will gather medical history, health service utilisation, referral and antibiotic prescribing rates. Feasibility will be assessed using recruitment and retention rates, data completeness; and acceptability by quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. Symptomatic parent and nurse swab pairs will be compared for microbe isolation.

Influenza vaccination for immunocompromised patients: systematic review and meta-analysis by etiology.

Many national guidelines recommend annual influenza vaccination of immunocompromised patients, although the decision to vaccinate is usually at clinical discretion. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses to assess the evidence for influenza vaccination in this group, and we report our results by etiology. Meta-analyses showed significantly lower odds of influenza-like illness after vaccination in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, patients with cancer, and transplant recipients and of laboratory-confirmed influenza in HIV-positive patients, compared with patients receiving placebo or no vaccination. Pooled odds of seroconversion and seroprotection were typically lower in HIV-positive patients, patients with cancer, and transplant recipients, compared with immunocompetent controls. Vaccination was generally well tolerated, with variation in mild adverse events between etiological groups. Limited evidence of a transient increase in viremia and a decrease in the percentage of CD4(+) cells in HIV-positive patients was found although not accompanied by worsening of clinical symptoms. Clinical judgment remains important when discussing the benefits and safety profile with immunocompromised patients.

Comparison of the collagen meniscus implant with partial meniscectomy. A prospective randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Loss of meniscal tissue leads to increased pain and decreased clinical function and activity levels. We hypothesized that patients receiving a collagen meniscus implant would have better clinical outcomes than patients treated with partial medial meniscectomy alone. METHODS: Three hundred and eleven patients with an irreparable injury of the medial meniscus or a previous partial medial meniscectomy, treated by a total of twenty-six surgeon-investigators at sixteen sites, were enrolled in the study. There were two study arms, one consisting of 157 patients who had had no prior surgery on the involved meniscus (the "acute" arm of the study) and one consisting of 154 patients who had had one, two, or three prior meniscal surgical procedures (the "chronic" arm). Patients were randomized either to receive the collagen meniscus implant or to serve as a control subject treated with a partial meniscectomy only. Patients underwent frequent clinical follow-up examinations over two years and completed validated outcomes questionnaires over seven years. The patients who had received a collagen meniscus implant were required by protocol to have second-look arthroscopy at one year to determine the amount of new tissue growth and to perform a biopsy to assess tissue quality. Reoperation and survival rates were determined. RESULTS: In the acute group, seventy-five patients received a collagen meniscus implant and eighty-two were controls. In the chronic group, eighty-five patients received the implant and sixty-nine were controls. The mean duration of follow-up was fifty-nine months (range, sixteen to ninety-two months). The 141 repeat arthroscopies done at one year showed that the collagen meniscus implants had resulted in significantly (p = 0.001) increased meniscal tissue compared with that seen after the original index partial meniscectomy. The implant supported meniscus-like matrix production and integration as it was assimilated and resorbed. In the chronic group, the patients who had received an implant regained significantly more of their lost activity than did the controls (p = 0.02) and they underwent significantly fewer non-protocol reoperations (p = 0.04). No differences were detected between the two treatment groups in the acute arm of the study. CONCLUSIONS: New biomechanically competent meniscus-like tissue forms after placement of a collagen meniscus implant, and use of the implant appears safe. The collagen meniscus implant supports new tissue ingrowth that appears to be adequate to enhance meniscal function as evidenced by improved clinical outcomes in patients with a chronic meniscal injury. The collagen meniscus implant has the utility to be used to replace irreparable or lost meniscal tissue in patients with a chronic meniscal injury. The implant was not found to have any benefit for patients with an acute injury.

Postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis.

BACKGROUND: Recent reports have noted the appearance of postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis. Although this devastating process has been identified, no cause has been directly identified. HYPOTHESIS: A cause of postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis will be associated with a specific factor (ie, implanted device, surgical technique, etc), and this factor can be identified by a review and comparison of cases seen in the senior author's office. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: Analyze possible etiologic factors with imaging studies, demographics, history, and physical examinations of 10 patients (12 shoulders) with postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis, and then compare perisurgical information with a focused chart review and comparison with the rest of the 177 arthroscopic shoulder surgeries in the same period of time. RESULTS: There were 12 cases of postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (all were the senior author's patients). Four common factors were identified, and only high-flow intra-articular pain pump catheters filled with bupivacaine and epinephrine were a new addition to years of shoulder surgery by the senior author; 177 shoulders underwent arthroscopy in the identified time frame, and only 19 shoulders, of 30 with capsular procedures, had intra-articular pain pump catheters filled with bupivacaine and epinephrine. Of these, 12 have been identified with chondrolysis. CONCLUSION: Use of intra-articular pain pump catheters eluting bupivacaine with epinephrine appear highly associated with postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Intra-articular pain pump catheters, especially those eluting bupivacaine with epinephrine, should be avoided until further investigation.

The effect of chronic tobacco smoking on arterial stiffness.

AIMS: Cardiovascular disease caused by smoking is related to the pathophysiological burden placed on the vascular endothelium. We studied the effect of chronic cigarette smoking on arterial wave reflection (study 1) and smoking cessation on pulse wave analysis (study 2). METHODS: Fifty smokers and 50 age- and sex-matched nonsmokers participated in study 1. Study 2 recruited 20 volunteers from the stop smoking clinic at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK. Systemic augmentation index (AIx) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured using the SphygmoCor system. Brachial blood pressure (BP) (Omron 705-CP-E), AIx and PWV were recorded at a single visit in study 1. Study 2 measured these variables on 'quit day' and 4 weeks later. RESULTS: In study 1, AIx was significantly higher in smokers than in nonsmokers (median 17.25 vs. 11.75%, P = 0.004). Multiple regression analysis showed a significant correlation between AIx and age, diastolic BP, smoking status (P < 0.001), blood glucose (P = 0.045) and weight (P = 0.049). In study 2, AIx significantly reduced after 4 weeks of abstinence in successful quitters (n = 10) compared with relapsed smokers (n = 4) (median 5.0 vs.- 9.5; P = 0.013). PWV did not reach significance in either study. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic tobacco smoking is associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased AIx in subjects of a wide age range free from additional cardiovascular risk factors, which is partially reversible after 4 weeks of smoking cessation.

Development of a statewide hospital plan for radiologic emergencies.

Although general guidelines have been developed for triage of victims in the field and for hospitals to plan for a radiologic event, specific information for clinicians and administrators is not available for guidance in efficient management of radiation victims during their early encounter in the hospital. A consensus document was developed by staff members of four Connecticut hospitals, two institutions of higher learning, and the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and Office of Emergency Preparedness, with assistance of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. The objective was to write a practical manual for clinicians (including radiation oncologists, emergency room physicians, and nursing staff), hospital administrators, radiation safety officers, and other individuals knowledgeable in radiation monitoring that would be useful for evaluation and management of radiation injury. The rationale for and process by which the radiation response plan was developed and implemented in the State of Connecticut are reviewed. Hospital admission pathways are described, based on classification of victims as exposed, contaminated, and/or physically injured. This manual will be of value to those involved in planning the health care response to a radiologic event.

Arthroscopic removal of a loose body osteophyte fragment after superior patellar dislocation with locked osteophytes.

The authors report the case of a loose body from a fractured osteophyte after a superiorly dislocated patella with locked osteophytes. Few cases of superiorly dislocated patellae have been reported in the literature and no cases of osteophyte fracture fragments after locked osteophytes with subsequent arthroscopic loose body removal have been reported. The loose body was removed and the distal pole of the patella was debrided arthroscopically. This patient and the majority of previously reported cases, herein reviewed, had patella alta with pre-existing patellofemoral arthrosis. Patella alta in the face of patellofemoral arthrosis should be considered a risk factor for loose body formation. Therefore, recurrent superior patellar dislocation and locking osteophytes may be a relative indication for pre-emptive arthroscopic debridement of locked osteophytes.