Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) use Among Members of a Community Engagement Program.

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are relatively new and ENDS use data from community engagement programs may help us understand usage patterns and facilitate targeted longitudinal studies. Community members in Florida, USA, were asked about ENDS use, tobacco use, and health history/concerns by Community Health Workers. Among 7253 members recruited during 2014 to 2021 into our HealthStreet program, 1177 had ever used ENDS; the proportion increased from 12 to 27% from 2014 to 2021 (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.5; 95% CI 1.7-3.5; Ever versus never used ENDS). Ever tobacco use was strongly associated with ENDS use; 69% of ever users were current tobacco users. Demographic determinants (sex, age, race) and food insecurity were strongest predictors of ENDS use. Most who had ever used ENDS were aged 18-25 (aOR 5.9; 95% CI 4.6-7.6; vs. aged 60 + years), White (aOR 3.7; 95% CI 3.2-4.3; vs. Black/African American), male (aOR 1.5; 95% CI 1.3-1.7; vs. female), and recently food insecure (aOR 1.8; 95% CI 1.5-2.0; vs. not recently food insecure). Those with respiratory issues were more likely to have used ENDS compared to those without (aOR 2.0; 95% CI 1.6-2.6; aOR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1-1.5). Members concerned about hypertension were less likely to have used ENDS (aOR 0.7; 95% CI 0.5-0.9). In this relatively rural, micropolitan sample, tobacco use, socio-economic determinants, and certain health history/concerns were strongly associated with ENDS use. Community outreach approaches are needed to further understand these factors and implement interventions.

Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infective Endocarditis: Eight year Experience of an Infectious Disease Team in a Private Tertiary Care Centre.

Background: The profile of Infective endocarditis (IE) has been evolving continuously. Like other infectious Diseases (ID) syndromes, IE has not escaped from antibiotic resistance issues. The aim of this study was to determine the implications for diagnosis and treatment by studying the clinical profile and outcome of patients admitted with IE in a tertiary care centre in Mumbai during the period from 2007-2015. Methods: 53 patients having definite or possible IE as per Modified Duke's Criteria (MDC), that were referred to the ID division, were included in this study. Results: 44 (83%) patients had definite IE and 9 (17%) patients had possible IE. 77.4% of the patients were above 40 years of age. 3 patients presented as euthermic IE. Vegetations were not seen on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in 3 patients and were seen only on transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). 15 patients had prosthetic valve IE. 7 patients had rheumatic heart disease. 3 patients had bicuspid aortic valve and 4 had ventricular septal defect (VSD). The rest had no apparent underlying heart disease (45.3%). 41 patients (77.3%) had culture-positive IE and 12 patients (22.6%) had culture-negative IE. Streptococcus spp. was found in 14 (26.4%) patients, Enterococcus spp. in 9 patients (17%). Other organisms isolated were methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (3), Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (1), Eikenella corrodens (1), B. cepacia (2), Salmonella Typhi (1), P. aeruginosa (1), M. abscessus (2) and other rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) (5), Candida parapsilosis (1), Candida pelliculosa (1) and Aspergillus fumigatus (1). Notably there was only one case of MRSA. Among the Streptococcus spp., Penicillin MIC testing was done in 11 cases of the 14 cases of Strep spp. 3 of them showed intermediate resistance and 2 were resistant. Among enterococcal IE, 3 had high level aminoglycoside resistance (HLAR) and 2 had ß-lactamase producing enterococci with HLAR and 1 had Vancomycin resistance. These were successfully treated with combinations of Ampicillin with Ceftriaxone, Ampicillin-Sulbactam with Imipenem and Daptomycin respectively. The only case of MRSA prosthetic valve endocarditis was successfully treated with Vancomycin and Rifampicin in addition to surgery. Surgery for IE was performed in 26 out of 53 (49%) patients. Early valve surgery (within 15 days of hospital admission) was performed in 6 of these 26 patients. . Conclusion: There is a change in the spectrum and antimicrobial susceptibility of organisms causing IE. We encountered several difficulties with the use of the MDC as 43.5% patients had no predisposing factors for IE and blood cultures were negative in 22.6% cases. In our study, PVE was the most common predisposing condition for IE. VGS followed by enterococci were found to be the commonest cause for IE in our setting. Both organisms show variable drug resist patterns. MRSA was isolated in 1 patient only. Thus vancomycin may not be required as empiric treatment in our setting. This is important from the perspective of antimicrobial stewardship Good infection control practices are essential to prevent nosocomial IE due to pathogens such as non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). Important changes in the disease characteristic, treatment, and outcome are noted. Surgery, whenever indicated, helps in improving outcome in these patients thus reiterating the need for a team approach for optimal management of this complex, challenging condition..

The Concepts that Revolutionized the Field of Infectious Diseases.

The fields of Microbiology and Infectious diseases have developed tremendously in the 19th and the 20th centuries. Four revolutionary concepts that evolved during this period form the cornerstones on which these fields have developed further.

Drug Deactivation Pouches for Primary Prevention of Opioid Overdose: Perceptions and Attitudes of Community Members.

IMPORTANCE: A substantial number of opioid analgesics dispensed into communities will go unused and be susceptible to diversion for misuse. Convenient, efficient, and environmentally safe mechanisms for disposal are needed to prevent the diversion of unused opioid analgesics. OBJECTIVE: This initiative piloted the feasibility of distributing drug deactivation pouches in a community setting and examined community members' acceptance, intention to use drug deactivation pouches, and their current disposal practices of unused opioid analgesics. Although many studies have examined the benefits of deactivation pouches in preventing drug overdose, few have explored community members' perspectives, the feasibility, and the acceptability of these pouches in disposing of unused medications. METHODS: In the fall of 2017, we piloted the distribution of drug deactivation pouches to assess the overall interest in the pouches at a 3-day community event and continued the second wave of this pilot in the community from the summer of 2018 to the spring of 2019.Our main outcomes and measures included the acceptance of the drug deactivation pouches and the intention to use the pouches. "Acceptance" was defined as study participants physically taking the kit and "Intention" was how participants intended to use the pouch. RESULTS: A total of 170 community members were approached at a community event about the drug deactivation pouches and 116 accepted at least 1 pouch (68.2% acceptance rate). In the second wave, 124 community members were approached by Community Health Workers; 100% accepted the pouch. Overall, the acceptance rate was 81.6%. People mentioned significant interest in using the pouches. Furthermore, surveys that assessed community members' intention to use the deactivation pouches showed that 48% intended to use the pouch. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The distribution of drug deactivation pouches is feasible in a community setting and although community members expressed interest in using drug deactivation pouches to dispose of unused opioid analgesics and other drugs, the majority still disposed of their unused medications through other avenues. This, underscore the need to raise community members' awareness about the importance, benefits, and viability of these pouches as a tool for the primary prevention of opioid overdose because of their ease of use, safety, environmental considerations, and cost-effectiveness.

Insomnia among community members in Florida: Associations with demographics, health conditions, and social support.

Objectives: To identify associations between demographics, social determinants of health, health conditions, and reported history of insomnia. A cross-sectional study including 11,960 adult community members recruited through HealthStreet, a community outreach program at University of Florida. Methods: Health assessments were conducted via interviews. Participants reported their demographic background, level of social support, history of health conditions, and insomnia. Logistic regression was used to understand associations between risk factors and history of insomnia. Results: The prevalence of self-reported insomnia was 27.3%. Adults aged ≥ 65 years (OR = 1.16) and women (OR = 1.18) reported higher rates of insomnia than their counterparts. Black/African American individuals reported lower rates of insomnia (OR = 0.72) than White individuals. Individuals with food insecurity (OR = 1.53), a military history (OR = 1.30), lower social support (OR = 1.24), living alone (OR = 1.14), anxiety (OR = 2.33), cardiometabolic disease (OR = 1.58), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (OR = 1.44) were significantly more likely to endorse insomnia compared with their counterparts. Depression (OR = 2.57) had the strongest association with insomnia. Conclusions: This study provides evidence regarding who is at greater risk for insomnia among a large community-based sample. Our findings highlight the importance of screening for insomnia, particularly among patients who experience food insecurity, are military veterans, have anxiety, depression, ADHD, or cardiometabolic disease, as well as those who live alone or have lower levels of social support. Future public health campaigns should provide education on insomnia symptoms, treatments, and evidenced-based sleep-promotion strategies.

The HealthStreet Cancer Survivor Cohort: a Community Registry for Cancer Research.

PURPOSE: This report describes a cancer survivor cohort from a community engagement program and compares characteristics and willingness to participate in health research between the cancer survivors and non-cancer community members. METHODS: Among 11,857 members enrolled in HealthStreet at the University of Florida (10/2011-03/2020), 991 cancer survivors were identified and 1:1 matched to control members without cancer on sex, age, and zip code. Demographics, body weight, height, social determinants of health, history of cancer, and willingness to participate in research were recorded by Community Health Workers as a part of the baseline Health Needs Assessment. RESULTS: Among the cancer survivors, 71.6% were female and 19.2% lived in rural areas with a mean age of 56.7 years in females and 60.8 years in males. At baseline, 44.7% received a cancer diagnosis within 5 years, while 15.8%, more than 20 years. Cancer survivors (vs. matched non-cancer controls) were less likely to be Black (31.1% vs. 63.6%) but more likely to be divorced, separated, or widowed (49.5% vs. 41.2%), be normal/underweight (34.0% vs. 25.6%) and have health insurance (80.0% vs. 68.6%; all p < 0.05). Cancer survivors versus matched controls reported higher rates of ever being in a health research study (32.4% vs. 24.9%) and interest in participating in studies ranging from minimal risk to greater-than-minimal risk. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer survivors from this community engagement program agnostic to cancer types and treatment are diverse in geography, race, and social determinants of health and can be a valuable resource for observational, interventional, and biospecimen research in cancer survivorship.