Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Development of Type 2 Diabetes After Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate racial and ethnic disparities in type 2 diabetes mellitus after gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to investigate baseline pregnancy clinical and social or structural characteristics as mediators. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort of individuals with GDM using linked 2009-2011 New York City birth and hospital data and 2009-2017 New York City A1c Registry data. We ascertained GDM and pregnancy characteristics from birth and hospital records. We classified type 2 diabetes as two hemoglobin A 1c test results of 6.5% or higher. We grouped pregnancy characteristics into clinical (body mass index [BMI], chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, preterm delivery, caesarean, breastfeeding, macrosomia, shoulder dystocia) and social or structural (education, Medicaid insurance, prenatal care, and WIC [Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children] participation). We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate associations between race and ethnicity and 8-year type 2 diabetes incidence, and we tested mediation of pregnancy characteristics, additionally adjusting for age and nativity (U.S.-born vs foreign-born). RESULTS: The analytic data set included 22,338 patients with GDM. The 8-year type 2 diabetes incidence was 11.7% overall and 18.5% in Black, 16.8% in South and Southeast Asian, 14.6% in Hispanic, 5.5% in East and Central Asian, and 5.4% in White individuals with adjusted hazard ratios of 4.0 (95% CI 2.4-3.9), 2.9 (95% CI 2.4-3.3), 3.3 (95% CI 2.7-4.2), and 1.0 (95% CI 0.9-1.4) for each group compared with White individuals. Clinical and social or structural pregnancy characteristics explained 9.3% and 23.8% of Black, 31.2% and 24.7% of Hispanic, and 7.6% and 16.3% of South and Southeast Asian compared with White disparities. Associations between education, Medicaid insurance, WIC participation, and BMI and type 2 diabetes incidence were more pronounced among White than Black, Hispanic, and South and Southeast Asian individuals. CONCLUSION: Population-based racial and ethnic inequities are substantial in type 2 diabetes after GDM. Characteristics at the time of delivery partially explain disparities, creating an opportunity to intervene on life-course cardiometabolic inequities, whereas weak associations of common social or structural measures and BMI in Black, Hispanic and South and Southeast Asian individuals demonstrate the need for greater understanding of how structural racism influences postpartum cardiometabolic risk in these groups.

Predictors and Trends in First-Trimester Hemoglobin A1c Screening in New York City, 2009 to 2017.

Glycated hemoglobin is an adjunct tool in early pregnancy to assess glycemic control. We examined trends and maternal predictors for those who had A1c screening in early pregnancy using hospital discharge and vital registry data between 2009 and 2017 linked with the New York City A1C Registry (N = 798,312). First-trimester A1c screening increased from 2.3% in 2009 to 7.7% in 2017. The likelihood of screening became less targeted to high-risk patients over time, with a decrease in mean A1c values from 5.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.8, 5.9) to 5.3 (95% CI: 5.3, 5.4). The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus increased while testing became less discriminate for those with high-risk factors, including pregestational type 2 diabetes, chronic hypertension, obesity, age over 40 years, as well as Asian or Black non-Hispanic race/ethnicity. KEY POINTS: · First-trimester A1c screening increased from 2.3% in 2009 to 7.7% in 2017 in New York City.. · The likelihood of screening became less targeted to high-risk patients over time.. · The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus increased, while testing became less discriminate..

Early Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Preserves Muscle Size and Quality and Maintains Systemic Levels of Signaling Mediators of Muscle Growth and Inflammation in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: To investigate the effects of an early neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) protocol on muscle quality and size as well as signaling mediators of muscle growth and systemic inflammation in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design: Two-arm, single-blinded, parallel-group, randomized, controlled trial with a blinded assessment. Setting. Trauma intensive care unit at a university hospital. Participants. Forty consecutive patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) secondary to TBI were prospectively recruited within the first 24 hours following admission. Interventions. The intervention group (NMES; n = 20) received a daily session of NMES on the rectus femoris muscle for five consecutive days (55 min/each session). The control group (n = 20) received usual care. Main Outcome Measures. Muscle echogenicity and thickness were evaluated by ultrasonography. A daily blood sample was collected to assess circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), inflammatory cytokines, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP). Results: Both groups were similar at baseline. A smaller change in muscle echogenicity and thickness (difference between Day 1 and Day 7) was found in the control group compared to the NMES group (29.9 ± 2.1 vs. 3.0 ± 1.2, p < 0.001; -0.79 ± 0.12 vs. -0.01 ± 0.06, p < 0.001, respectively). Circulating levels of IGF-I, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-y), and MMP were similar between groups. Conclusion: An early NMES protocol can preserve muscle size and quality and maintain systemic levels of signaling mediators of muscle growth and inflammation in patients with TBI. This trial is registered with https://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br under number RBR-2db.

Is Increasing Parity Associated with Adverse Perinatal Outcomes in Dichorionic Twin Gestations?

OBJECTIVE: Dichorionic twins have increased risk of preterm birth and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Grand multiparity may be associated with adverse perinatal outcomes in singleton pregnancies, although the effect of increasing parity in twins is unclear. This study aimed to elucidate whether grand multiparity leads to adverse outcomes in dichorionic twins compared with multiparity and nulliparity. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective review of dichorionic twins at a single institution between January 2008 and December 2019 comparing pregnancy outcomes among grand multiparity, multiparity, and nulliparity. Primary outcome was preterm birth less than 37 weeks. Multivariable regression controlled for differing demographics, prior preterm birth, use of reproductive technologies, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Chi square and Fisher's exact were used for categorical variables and Kruskal-Wallis was used for continuous variables. RESULTS: A total of 843 (60.3%) pregnancies were nulliparous, 499 (35.7%) multiparous, and 57(4.1%) grand multiparous. Univariate analysis indicated that multiparous women had lower incidence of preterm birth less than 37, 34, and 32 weeks (57 vs. 51%, p = 0.04; 19.2 vs. 14.0%, p = 0.02; 9.6 vs. 5.6%, p = 0.01) and that grand multiparous women had lower incidence of preterm birth less than 34 weeks (19.2 vs. 5.3%, p = 0.008) compared with nulliparous women. Multivariable regression confirmed multiparous women had lower odds of preterm birth less than 34 and 32 weeks compared with nulliparous women (<34 wk: odds ratio [OR] = 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.49-0.97, p = 0.03; <32 wk: OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.29-0.79, p = 0.004) and that multiparous women (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.42-0.77, p = 0.0002) and grand multiparous women (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.08-0.68, p = 0.0074) had lower incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy when compared with nulliparous women. CONCLUSION: Grand multiparity is not associated with adverse perinatal outcomes compared with nulliparity or multiparity in dichorionic twins. Increasing parity may protect against incidence of preterm birth and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy even among grand multiparous women. KEY POINTS: · Incidence of preterm birth may decrease with increasing parity in twins.. · Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy may decrease with increasing parity in twins.. · Grand multiparity is not associated with adverse perinatal outcomes in twins..

Influence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus on Diabetes Risk and Glycemic Control in a Retrospective Population-Based Cohort.

OBJECTIVE: Racial/ethnic-specific estimates of the influence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on type 2 diabetes remain underexplored in large population-based cohorts. We estimated racial/ethnic differences in the influence of GDM on diabetes risk and glycemic control in a multiethnic, population-based cohort of postpartum women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Hospital discharge and vital registry data for New York City (NYC) births between 2009 and 2011 were linked with NYC A1C Registry data between 2009 and 2017. Women with baseline diabetes (n = 2,810) were excluded for a final birth cohort of 336,276. GDM on time to diabetes onset (two A1C tests of ≥6.5% from 12 weeks postpartum onward) or glucose control (first test of A1C <7.0% following diagnosis) was assessed using Cox regression with a time-varying exposure. Models were adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical factors and stratified by race/ethnicity. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence for diabetes was 11.8% and 0.6% among women with and without GDM, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of GDM status on diabetes risk was 11.5 (95% CI 10.8, 12.3) overall, with slight differences by race/ethnicity. GDM was associated with a lower likelihood of glycemic control (aHR 0.85; 95% CI 0.79, 0.92), with the largest negative influence among Black (aHR 0.77; 95% CI 0.68, 0.88) and Hispanic (aHR 0.84; 95% CI 0.74, 0.95) women. Adjustment for screening bias and loss to follow-up modestly attenuated racial/ethnic differences in diabetes risk but had little influence on glycemic control. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding racial/ethnic differences in the influence of GDM on diabetes progression is critical to disrupt life course cardiometabolic disparities.

Outcomes of Elective Compared to Non-Elective Fetal Reduction by Radiofrequency Ablation in Monochorionic Multifetal Pregnancies.

INTRODUCTION: Higher order fetal gestation is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, and monochorionic (MC) pregnancies have unique complications. Multifetal pregnancy reduction (MPR) by radiofrequency ablation (RFA) may be used to optimize the outcomes of a single fetus. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pregnancy outcomes differ for elective reduction compared to reduction for medically complicated MC multifetal pregnancies. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort of patients with MC twins and higher order multiples who underwent MPR via RFA at a single institution between 2008 and 2021. Patients undergoing elective reduction were compared to patients undergoing reduction due to a complication of MC pregnancy. Pregnancy outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients who underwent RFA reduction between 2008 and 2021 were included in the analysis. Sixteen patients (33.3%) underwent elective RFA for MPR, and 32 (66.7%) underwent an RFA procedure for a complicated pregnancy. All pregnancies with RFA performed for elective indication had a continuing pregnancy (live birth rate 100%). There were no reported pregnancy losses within 4 weeks of the procedure when performed for a solely elective indication (n = 0) compared to 6.3% of complicated multifetal pregnancy (n = 2; 6.3%) (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this retrospective cohort study, elective reduction of MC twins using RFA was associated with no cases of fetal loss or PPROM within 4 weeks of the procedure and a 100% live birth rate.

Bioelectrochemical synthesis of gluconate by glucose oxidase immobilized in a ferrocene based redox hydrogel.

The integration of redox enzymes on electrode surfaces enables the use of renewable energy for highly specific bioelectrochemical synthesis. Herein, we investigate the oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid on a bioanode, combining electrochemical and enzymatic components. Gluconic acid is a valuable chemical widely used in the industry. The bioanode consists of a redox hydrogel film of polyethylenimine (PEI) containing ferrocene (Fc) as a mediator, glycerol diglycidyl ether (GDGE) as a cross-linker, and the enzyme glucose oxidase (GOx). Optimization of the enzyme and cross-linker loading in the redox film led to faradaic efficiencies up to 96 ± 5 % for gluconate. The oxygen-free setup was highly stable for quantitative electrosynthesis, yielding gluconate concentrations of 6.4 ± 0.25 mmol L-1. Moreover, this catalase-free anaerobic system showed no production of H2O2 within 24 h, thereby eliminating the deactivation of the GOx caused by H2O2 and a high enzyme performance, with a turnover frequency (TOF) of 5 x10-3 s-1. This is the first quantitative bioelectrosynthesis of gluconate in an entirely anaerobic environment with electrode stability of at least 8 h.

Adesão ao tratamento da Tuberculose: estratégias biopolíticas de promoção da saúde na vertente neoliberal / Adherence to tuberculosis treatment: biopolitical health promotion strategies in the neoliberal perspective / Cumplimiento del tratamiento de la tuberculosis: tácticas biopolíticas para fomentar la salud en el contexto neoliberal

Objetivo: analisar como as recomendações sobre adesão terapêutica presentes em manuais de controle da tuberculose constituem estratégias biopolíticas de Promoção da Saúde na vertente neoliberal. Método: pesquisa documental e qualitativa que analisou cinco manuais publicados entre 2002 e 2019, a partir da metodologia pós-crítica de inspiração foucaultiana. Resultados: foram identificadas quatro estratégias biopolíticas, que correspondem às categorias analítica deste estudo: i) Exaltação do saber da estatística como fortalecimento da lógica gerencialista; ii) Priorização do tratamento dos casos bacilíferos e instituição de medidas de controle do risco da contaminação como forma de manter a segurança da população saudável; iii) Ênfase discursiva na população vulnerável como forma de omitir corpos precarizados; e iv) Discurso do empreendimento de si para superação da pobreza, como compensação da falta de políticas de proteção social. Conclusões: algumas recomendações de controle da tuberculose consistem em estratégias biopolíticas de Promoção da Saúde na vertente neoliberal, promovendo discursos sanitários que enfatizam os aspectos individuais, como o autocuidado, a autorresponsabilização, a autonomia e o empoderamento do sujeito. Mesmo nos casos em que percebemos associação do adoecimento com determinantes sociais da saúde e com situações de vulnerabilidade, as ações de controle da tuberculose insistem em ações inscritas numa perspectiva gerencialista da saúde. Na prática, parece haver um vazio de políticas de proteção social e de ações capazes de combater as iniquidades, o que é imprescindível para a efetiva adesão terapêutica e para a cura.(AU)

Objective: to analyze how the recommendations on therapeutic adherence present in tuberculosis control manuals constitute biopolitical Health Promotion strategies in the neoliberal perspective. Method: documentary and qualitative research that analyzed five manuals published between 2002 and 2019, based on the post-critical methodology inspired by Foucault. Results: four biopolitical strategies were identified, which correspond to the analytical categories of this study: i) Exaltation of statistical knowledge as a strengthening of managerial logic; ii) Prioritizing the treatment of bacilliferous cases and establishing measures to control the risk of contamination as a way of maintaining the safety of the healthy population; iii) Discursive emphasis on the vulnerable population as a way of omitting precarious bodies; and iv) Discourse about self-employment to overcome poverty, as compensation for the lack of social protection policies. Conclusions: some recommendations for tuberculosis control consist of biopolitical Health Promotion strategies in a neoliberal perspective, promoting health discourses that emphasize individual aspects, such as self-care, self-responsibility, autonomy, and empowerment of the subject. Even in cases where we perceive an association between illness and social determinants of health and situations of vulnerability, tuberculosis control actions insist on actions based on a health managerial perspective. In practice, there appears to be a lack of social protection policies and actions capable of combating inequities, which is essential for effective therapeutic adherence and cure.(AU)

Objetivo: el propósito es examinar de qué manera las directrices sobre el cumplimiento terapéutico en los manuales de control de la tuberculosis representan estrategias biopolíticas de Promoción de la Salud en el contexto neoliberal. Método:Se llevó a cabo una investigación documental cualitativa que analizó cinco Manuales publicados entre 2002 y 2019, utilizando un enfoque postcrítico inspirado en las ideas de Foucault.Resultados: se identificaron cuatro tácticas biopolíticas (categorías de análisis): 1) Enfatizar el valor del conocimiento estadístico como refuerzo de la lógica administrativa; 2) Priorizar el tratamiento de los casos con bacilos y establecer medidas de control del riesgo de contagio para salvaguardar a la población sana; 3) Poner un énfasis discursivo en la población vulnerable para dejar de lado a los cuerpos en situación precaria; y 4) Promover el autoempleo como solución para superar la pobreza, en sustitución de políticas de protección social insuficientes.Conclusiones: algunas recomendaciones dirigidas al control de la tuberculosis adoptan tácticas biopolíticas de fomento de la salud en el marco neoliberal, empleando discursos relacionados con la salud que ponen un énfasis en aspectos individuales como el autocuidado, la asunción de responsabilidad personal, la autonomía y el empoderamiento del individuo. Aun en situaciones en las que se percibe una correlación entre la enfermedad y los factores sociales que afectan la salud, así como con contextos de vulnerabilidad, las medidas de control de la tuberculosis siguen promoviendo enfoques alineados con una perspectiva de gestión...(AU)

Late preterm antenatal corticosteroids in singleton and twin gestations: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: In 2016, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended antenatal corticosteroids in the late preterm period for women at risk for preterm delivery. Limited real-world evidence exists on neonatal outcomes, particularly for twin gestations, following the guideline change. The study objective is to determine the association of antenatal corticosteroids in late preterm singleton and twin pregnancies with respiratory complications and hypoglycemia in a real-world clinical setting. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study comprising late preterm deliveries (4,341 mother-child pairs) within the Mount Sinai Health System, 2012-2018. The exposure of interest is antenatal corticosteroid administration of betamethasone during pregnancy between 34 0/7 and 36 6/7 weeks. Our primary outcomes are neonatal respiratory complications and hypoglycemia. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between antenatal corticosteroid exposure and these two outcomes. We stratified the study population by singleton gestations and twins to minimize the potential confounding from different obstetric management between the two groups. RESULTS: Among a total of 4,341 mother-child pairs (3,309 singleton and 1,032 twin mother-child pairs), 745 mothers received betamethasone, of which 40.94% (305/745) received the full course. Relative to no treatment, a full course of betamethasone was associated with reduced odds of respiratory complications (OR = 0.53, 95% CI:[0.31-0.85], p < 0.01) and increased odds of hypoglycemia (OR = 1.86, 95%CI:[1.34-2.56], p < 0.01) in singletons; however, the association with respiratory complications was not significant in twins (OR = 0.42, 95% CI:[0.11-1.23], p = 0.16), but was associated with increased odds of hypoglycemia (OR = 2.18, 95% CI:[1.12-4.10], p = 0.02). A partial course of betamethasone (relative to no treatment) was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes, other than respiratory complications in twins (OR = 0.34, 95% CI:[0.12-0.82], p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to antenatal corticosteroids in singletons and twins is associated with increased odds of hypoglycemia. Among singletons, exposure to the full dosage (i.e. two doses) was associated with decreased odds of respiratory complications but this was only the case for partial dose among twins. Twin gestations were not studied by the Antenatal Late Preterm Steroids trial. Therefore, our study findings will contribute to the paucity of evidence on the benefit of antenatal corticosteroids in this group. Health systems should systematically monitor guideline implementations to improve patient outcomes.

Improving preeclampsia risk prediction by modeling pregnancy trajectories from routinely collected electronic medical record data.

Preeclampsia is a heterogeneous and complex disease associated with rising morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and newborns in the US. Early recognition of patients at risk is a pressing clinical need to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes. We assessed whether information routinely collected in electronic medical records (EMR) could enhance the prediction of preeclampsia risk beyond what is achieved in standard of care assessments. We developed a digital phenotyping algorithm to curate 108,557 pregnancies from EMRs across the Mount Sinai Health System, accurately reconstructing pregnancy journeys and normalizing these journeys across different hospital EMR systems. We then applied machine learning approaches to a training dataset (N = 60,879) to construct predictive models of preeclampsia across three major pregnancy time periods (ante-, intra-, and postpartum). The resulting models predicted preeclampsia with high accuracy across the different pregnancy periods, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of 0.92, 0.82, and 0.89 at 37 gestational weeks, intrapartum and postpartum, respectively. We observed comparable performance in two independent patient cohorts. While our machine learning approach identified known risk factors of preeclampsia (such as blood pressure, weight, and maternal age), it also identified other potential risk factors, such as complete blood count related characteristics for the antepartum period. Our model not only has utility for earlier identification of patients at risk for preeclampsia, but given the prediction accuracy exceeds what is currently achieved in clinical practice, our model provides a path for promoting personalized precision therapeutic strategies for patients at risk.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Women Undergoing a Trial of Labor After Cesarean Delivery: Performance of the VBAC Calculator with and without Patients' Race/Ethnicity.

The Maternal Fetal Medicine Units Network (MFMU) vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) calculator is a clinical tool designed to predict trial of labor after cesarean delivery (TOLAC) success. The calculator has come under scrutiny for its inclusion of race and ethnicity, which systematically predicts a lower likelihood of success for patients who identify as African American or Hispanic. We hypothesized that the calculator would predict VBAC more accurately without the use of race or ethnicity. A retrospective chart review including all patients undergoing TOLAC from 2016 to 2019 was conducted. A multivariate logistic regression was used to compare one model that utilizes the original variables in predicting VBAC (model 1) and another that uses the same variables except for race and ethnicity (model 2). In model 1, race and ethnicity were the only variables not associated with the probability of successful TOLAC (p = 0.065). The area under the curve (AUC) for models 1 and 2 were 0.77 and 0.78, respectively. There was not a statistically significant difference between the predictive abilities of the two models (p = 0.40). Rates of PPH (p = 0.001), abruption (p = 0.04), intra-amniotic infection (p < 0.0001), and other postpartum complications (p = 0.005) differed significantly by race and ethnicity. The use of race and ethnicity did not contribute to the accuracy of VBAC prediction. The use of race and ethnicity in this predictive model should be omitted to prevent inherent bias and discrimination. There were also significant racial and ethnic differences in overall postpartum complication rates.

COVID-19 pandemic-related change in racial and ethnic disparities in exclusive breastmilk feeding during the delivery hospitalization: a differences-in-differences analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Exclusive breastmilk feeding during the delivery hospitalization, a Joint Commission indicator of perinatal care quality, is associated with longer-term breastfeeding success. Marked racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding exclusivity and duration existed prior to COVID-19. The pandemic, accompanied by uncertainty regarding intrapartum and postpartum safety practices, may have influenced disparities in infant feeding practices. Our objective was to examine whether the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was associated with a change in racial and ethnic disparities in exclusive breastmilk feeding during the delivery stay. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of electronic medical records from 14,964 births in two New York City hospitals. We conducted a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis to compare Black-white, Latina-white, and Asian-white disparities in exclusive breastmilk feeding in a pandemic cohort (April 1-July 31, 2020, n=3122 deliveries) to disparities in a pre-pandemic cohort (January 1, 2019-February 28, 2020, n=11,842). We defined exclusive breastmilk feeding as receipt of only breastmilk during delivery hospitalization, regardless of route of administration. We ascertained severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection status from reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction tests from nasopharyngeal swab at admission. For each DID model (e.g. Black-white disparity), we used covariate-adjusted log binomial regression models to estimate racial and ethnic risk differences, pandemic versus pre-pandemic cohort risk differences, and an interaction term representing the DID estimator. RESULTS: Exclusive breastmilk feeding increased from pre-pandemic to pandemic among white (40.8% to 46.6%, p<0.001) and Asian (27.9% to 35.8%, p=0.004) women, but not Black (22.6% to 25.3%, p=0.275) or Latina (20.1% to 21.4%, p=0.515) women overall. There was an increase in the Latina-white exclusive breastmilk feeding disparity associated with the pandemic (DID estimator=6.3 fewer cases per 100 births (95% CI=-10.8, -1.9)). We found decreased breastmilk feeding specifically among SARS-CoV-2 positive Latina women (20.1% pre-pandemic vs. 9.1% pandemic p=0.013), and no change in Black-white or Asian-white disparities. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a pandemic-related increase in the Latina-white disparity in exclusive breastmilk feeding, urging hospital policies and programs to increase equity in breastmilk feeding and perinatal care quality during and beyond this health emergency.

SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response among Women Infected during Pregnancy.

OBJECTIVES: Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization as of March 11, 2020. Pregnant women naturally have a reduced immune system due to immunological changes and decreased lung capacity due to respiratory adaptations, making them more susceptible to coronavirus complications. Within the Mount Sinai Health system, more than 15,000 deliveries are performed annually. We began to care for pregnant women with known COVID-19 infections in late March of 2020. In early April 2020, a policy was implemented to perform universal COVID-19 testing for all women planning to deliver within the Mount Sinai Health system. We examined the antibody response of postpartum women who delivered at Mount Sinai Hospital with a SARS-CoV-2 infection between the study intervals during March 15, 2020, through April 30, 2020. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective observational study examining the immune response of pregnant women who delivered at Mount Sinai Hospital with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Women with a SARS-CoV-2 infection were contacted via phone to discuss participation in the study. Patients who consented were scheduled for a phlebotomy visit to assess their antibody titer levels to COVID-19. The COVID-19 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) immunoglobulin (Ig)-G antibody test was used to evaluate the patients' antibody titers. The assay detects IgG antibodies for the detection of IgG seroconversion in patients following a known recent SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients were identified with a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection who delivered within the prespecified time frame. Of those patients, 25 women agreed to participate and were included. Of them, 64.00% were Caucasian with a mean age of 35 years. The mean body mass index (BMI) was 30 kg/m2 and the majority of patients had commercial insurance (88.00%). The majority of women were asymptomatic for COVID-19 at the time of admission (80.00%) and the average gestational age of delivery and diagnosis of COVID-19 was 39 weeks' gestation. The later the gestational age at the time of diagnosis, the lower the antibody titer response. When examining the interval from diagnosis to antibody titer analysis, patients with the highest titers (2,880) tended to have a shorter interval between their COVID-19 diagnosis and the time at which the titer level was drawn. Patients with symptoms on admission had similar antibody titer levels when compared with women who were asymptomatic. CONCLUSION: The antibody response among women infected with COVID-19 during pregnancy appears to be greater when the patients are diagnosed at an earlier gestational age. KEY POINTS: · COVID-19 antibody status appears to be greater when diagnosed at an earlier gestational age.. · Asymptomatic and symptomatic pregnant women had similar antibody responses.. · Patients with the highest titers tended to have a shorter interval between their COVID-19 diagnoses..

Improving postpartum hemorrhage risk prediction using longitudinal electronic medical records.

OBJECTIVE: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) remains a leading cause of preventable maternal mortality in the United States. We sought to develop a novel risk assessment tool and compare its accuracy to tools used in current practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a PPH digital phenotype that we developed and validated previously to identify 6639 PPH deliveries from our delivery cohort (N = 70 948). Using a vast array of known and potential risk factors extracted from electronic medical records available prior to delivery, we trained a gradient boosting model in a subset of our cohort. In a held-out test sample, we compared performance of our model with 3 clinical risk-assessment tools and 1 previously published model. RESULTS: Our 24-feature model achieved an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.71 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69-0.72), higher than all other tools (research-based AUROC, 0.67 [95% CI, 0.66-0.69]; clinical AUROCs, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.54-0.56] to 0.61 [95% CI, 0.59-0.62]). Five features were novel, including red blood cell indices and infection markers measured upon admission. Additionally, we identified inflection points for vital signs and labs where risk rose substantially. Most notably, patients with median intrapartum systolic blood pressure above 132 mm Hg had an 11% (95% CI, 8%-13%) median increase in relative risk for PPH. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a novel approach for predicting PPH and identified clinical feature thresholds that can guide intrapartum monitoring for PPH risk. These results suggest that our model is an excellent candidate for prospective evaluation and could ultimately reduce PPH morbidity and mortality through early detection and prevention.

A comprehensive digital phenotype for postpartum hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to establish a comprehensive digital phenotype for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Current guidelines rely primarily on estimates of blood loss, which can be inaccurate and biased and ignore complementary information readily available in electronic medical records (EMR). Inaccurate and incomplete phenotyping contributes to ongoing challenges in tracking PPH outcomes, developing more accurate risk assessments, and identifying novel interventions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We constructed a cohort of 71 944 deliveries from the Mount Sinai Health System. Estimates of postpartum blood loss, shifts in hematocrit, administration of uterotonics, surgical interventions, and diagnostic codes were combined to identify PPH, retrospectively. Clinical features were extracted from EMRs and mapped to common data models for maximum interoperability across hospitals. Blinded chart review was done by a physician on a subset of PPH and non-PPH patients and performance was compared to alternate PPH phenotypes. PPH was defined as clinical diagnosis of postpartum hemorrhage documented in the patient's chart upon chart review. RESULTS: We identified 6639 PPH deliveries (9% prevalence) using our phenotype-more than 3 times as many as using blood loss alone (N = 1,747), supporting the need to incorporate other diagnostic and intervention data. Chart review revealed our phenotype had 89% accuracy and an F1-score of 0.92. Alternate phenotypes were less accurate, including a common blood loss-based definition (67%) and a previously published digital phenotype (74%). CONCLUSION: We have developed a scalable, accurate, and valid digital phenotype that may be of significant use for tracking outcomes and ongoing clinical research to deliver better preventative interventions for PPH.

Avaliação do cuidado hospitalar pelo risco de óbito / Evaluation of hospital care by risk of death

A taxa de mortalidade hospitalar é tradicionalmente usada para medir a qualidade do cuidado nas unidades hospitalares, no entanto a mesma não consegue discriminar o risco de óbito proveniente da assistência oferecida e da carga de comorbidades que o paciente tem no momento da internação. A Razão de Mortalidade Hospitalar Padronizada (RMHP) é um índice que possibilita avaliar a qualidade do cuidado de acordo com o perfil dos pacientes atendidos pelo hospital. Resultados da RMHP < 1 indica uma qualidade melhor que a esperada e resultados > 1 apontam qualidade pior que a esperada. Assim este estudo propôs avaliar a qualidade da assistência hospitalar prestada no âmbito da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de Goiás, considerando seu perfil assistencial e os tipos de pacientes atendidos, no período de 2014 a 2019. O cálculo da RMHP foi baseado na metodologia de Jarman et al., no Índice de Comorbidades de Charlson (ICC) E Índice de Elixhauser para avaliar o risco de óbito, e posterior aplicação da curva ROC (para encontrar o modelo de ajuste de risco) e da regressão linear logística multivariada. A qualidade da assistência prestada no Estado de Goiás, considerando o perfil dos pacientes atendidos, foi pior que o esperado nos anos de 2014 a 2016, dentro do esperado no ano 2017 e melhor que o esperado nos anos de 2018 e 2019. Observou-se uma melhora gradativa na qualidade do cuidado nos últimos três anos

The hospital mortality rate is traditionally used to measure the quality of care in hospital units, however it cannot discriminate the risk of death resulting from the assistance provided and the burden of comorbidities that the patient has at the time of hospitalization. The Standardized Hospital Mortality Ratio (RMHP) is an index that makes it possible to assess the quality of care according to the profile of patients treated by the hospital. RMHP results < 1 indicate better quality than expected and results > 1 indicate worse quality than expected. Thus, this study proposed to assess the quality of hospital care provided by the State Health Department of Goiás, considering its care profile and the types of patients cared for, in the period from 2014 to 2019. The RMHP calculation was based on Jarman's methodology et al., in the Charlson Comorbidity Index (ICC) and Elixhauser Index to assess the risk of death, and subsequent application of the ROC curve (to find the risk adjustment model) and multivariate logistic linear regression. The quality of care provided in the State of Goiás, considering the profile of the patients cared for, was worse than expected in the years 2014 to 2016, within expectations in 2017 and better than expected in the years 2018 and 2019. A gradual improvement in the quality of care in the last three years

Gestão em foco / Management in focus

Este e-book tem como objetivo trazer um compêndio de relatos de experiência relacionados à gestão de saúde do Estado de Goiás. Cada capítulo traz a descrição dos projetos desenvolvidos no âmbito da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de Goiás, que são vinculados aos objetivos estratégicos do órgão. Estes projetos têm como objetivo fortalecer as ações estratégicas para otimizar o planejamento do Sistema Único de Saúde

This e-book aims to bring a compendium of experience reports related to health management in the State of Goiás. Each chapter brings a description of the projects developed within the scope of the State Department of Health of Goiás, which are linked to the strategic objectives of the agency. These projects aim to strengthen strategic actions to optimize the planning of the Unified Health System

Atenção, regulação e vigilância / Attention, regulation and surveillance

Relato de experiências das unidades da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de Goiás, no período de 2019 a 2022. Relata sobre a regionalização dos serviços de saúde, processo que possibilita a definição de recortes espaciais para fins de planejamento, organização e gestão de redes de ações e serviços de saúde. Discorre sobre o financiamento da Atenção Primária em Saúde, a estruturação da Rede Estadual de Policlínicas, o planejamento da alta hospitalar responsável ou desospitalização, os avanços e equipes especializadas em saúde mental

Report on the experiences of the units of the State Department of Health of Goiás, from 2019 to 2022. It reports on the regionalization of health services, a process that allows the definition of spatial cuts for planning, organization and management of action networks and health services. Discusses the financing of Primary Health Care, the structuring of the State Network of Polyclinics, the planning of responsible hospital discharge or dehospitalization, advances and specialized teams in mental health