Accidental Needlestick Exposures linked to the Administration of Local Anesthesia by Healthcare Workers

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health mandates that all Massachusetts hospitals maintain an active log to track sharps injuries due to the health risks related to such injuries. These logs are used to guide continuous quality improvement activities aimed at preventing sharps injuries. A review of sharps injuries at UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) in 2013 showed a seemingly high incidence occurring among healthcare workers who were administering local anesthesia. We undertook an investigation of the relative rate of needlesticks associated with local anesthesia administration compared to the rate of all sharps injuries over a 10-year period

Psychometric Evaluation of the Care Transition Measure in TRACE‐CORE: Do We Need a Better Measure?

Background: The quality of transitional care is associated with important health outcomes such as rehospitalization and costs. The widely used Care Transitions Measure (CTM‐15) was developed with a classic test theory approach; its short version (CTM‐3) was included in the CAHPS Hospital Survey. We conducted a psychometric evaluation of both measures and explored whether item response theory (IRT) could produce a more precise measure. Methods and Results: As part of the Transitions, Risks, and Actions in Coronary Events Center for Outcomes Research and Education, 1545 participants were interviewed during an acute coronary syndrome hospitalization, providing information on general health status (Short Form‐36), CTM‐15, health utilization, and care process questions at 1 month postdischarge. We used classic and IRT analyses and compared the measurement precision of CTM‐15–, CTM‐3–, and CTM‐IRT–based score using relative validity. Participants were 79% non‐Hispanic white and 67% male, with an average age of 62 years. The CTM‐15 had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.95) but demonstrated acquiescence bias (8.7% participants responded “Strongly agree” and 19% responded “Agree” to all items) and limited score variability. These problems were more pronounced for the CTM‐3. The CTM‐15 differentiated between patient groups defined by self‐reported health status, health care utilization, and care transition process indicators. Differences between groups were small (2 to 3 points). There was no gain in measurement precision from IRT scoring. The CTM‐3 was not significantly lower for patients reporting rehospitalization or emergency department visits. Conclusion: We identified psychometric challenges of the CTM, which may limit its value in research and practice. These results are in line with emerging evidence of gaps in the validity of the measure

The Association between Vitamin D and Depression among College-Aged Women

Approximately 15 million Americans are diagnosed with a major depressive disorder each year, with higher rates among women and college-aged adults. Recent research suggests a vitamin D insufficiency may be associated with an increased risk of depression among the elderly. However, studies have not been conducted among young women. A recent study of young adults in Massachusetts suggests that two-thirds of this population is vitamin D deficient. We evaluated the association between dietary vitamin D intake and serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D3) and history of depression using data from the UMass Vitamin D Status Study, a cross-sectional study of 237 college-aged women. Information on depression and health-related factors was collected by questionnaire at a single clinic visit. Dietary vitamin D intake was assessed by a Food Frequency Questionnaire, and serum 25(OH)D3 levels were assessed in fasting blood samples by radioimmunoassay. In multivariable analyses, we observed the suggestion of an association between vitamin D from food sources and history of depression. For each 100 IU/day increase of dietary vitamin D there is a 13% decreased risk of depression (95% CI: 0.6, 1.2). However, total vitamin D intake (foods and supplements combined) was not associated with history of depression. Compared to women in the lowest tertile (median=51 nmol/L) of serum 25(OH)D3, women in the second tertile (median=72 nmol/L) had an 82% decreased risk of depression (95% CI: 0.04, 0.90; ptrend=0.008). The results of this study are consistent with vitamin D as a modifiable risk factor for depression and may inform intervention studies among college-aged women

Surgical resection for recurrent retroperitoneal leiomyosarcoma and liposarcoma

Abstract Background Retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas (STS) include a number of histologies but are rare, with approximately 3000 cases in the USA per year. Retroperitoneal STS have a high incidence of local and distant recurrence. The purpose of this study was to review the University of Maryland Medical Center’s (UMMC) treatment experience of retroperitoneal STS, where the patient population served represents a diverse socioeconomic and ethnic catchment. Methods IRB approval was obtained. We constructed a de-identified database of patients diagnosed with retroperitoneal liposarcomas (LPS) or leiomyosarcomas (LMS) treated at UMMC between 2000 and 2013. A total of 49 patients (Pts) with retroperitoneal STS met our eligibility criteria. Kaplan-Meier plots were used to graphically portray progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The log-rank test was used to compare time-to-event distributions. Results The median OS for all patients (Pts) was 6.3 years, and the 2-year OS rate was 81%. The median PFS for all Pts was 1.8 years, and the 2-year PFS rate was 45%. There was no difference in OS and PFS among LMS and LPS patients; the median OS for LMS was 3.8 years vs. LPS 6.4 years (p = 0.33), and the median PFS for LMS was 1.2 years vs. LPS 2.5 years (p = 0.28). There was a significant difference between histology and race (p = 0.001). LPS were primarily Caucasian 86% vs. 14% black, whereas LMS were primarily black 52% vs. 33% Caucasian. OS was influenced by functional status, gender, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, grade, histology, tumor size, and extent of resection. PFS was influenced by AJCC stage, grade, and extent of resection. Neither adjuvant chemotherapy (1 Pt) nor neoadjuvant/adjuvant radiation therapy (18 Pts) influenced OS or PFS. There was a non-significant difference that Pts who could undergo resection of local recurrence had improved 2-year OS, with 100% LMS and LPS compared to 2-year OS of 71% (LMS) and 78% (LPS) not undergoing resection of local recurrence. Conclusions This study suggests a higher incidence of leiomyosarcoma in the African-American population. This study confirms the prognostic importance of grade, tumor size, AJCC stage, histology, and extent of resection in patient outcomes, at a large substantially diverse academic medical center. Future research into the biological features of liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma Pts imparting these characteristics will be important to define

Impact of elimination of contact precautions on noninfectious adverse events among MRSA and VRE patients

We read with great interest the article by Martin et al published online in May 2018 in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. We previously reported on the impact of elimination of contact precautions (CP) in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) patients on noninfectious complications, although our analysis was limited to falls and pressure ulcers. Our findings differed from those of Martin et al; we observed no statistically significant difference in the rate of falls or pressure ulcers among MRSA/VRE patients in the years before and after eliminating CP

Reduced frequencies of polyfunctional CMV-specific T cell responses in infants with congenital CMV infection

PURPOSE: CMV infection remains a priority for vaccine development. Vaccination of infants could modify congenital infection and provide lifetime immunity. Properties of CMV-specific T cells associated with control of viral replication in early life have not been fully defined. METHODS: CMV-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell responses were investigated in infants with congenital CMV infection and compared to adults with primary or chronic infection. PBMC were stimulated with UL83 (pp65) or UL122 (IE-2) peptide pools then stained with antibodies to markers of T cell subset (CD4 or CD8), phenotype (CD45RA, CCR7), or function (MIP1beta, CD107, IFNgamma, IL2) for flow cytometry analysis. RESULTS: Detection of CMV pp65-specific CD4 T cells was less common in infants than adults. Responder cells were primarily effector memory (EM, CD45RA-CCR7-) in adults, but mixed memory subsets in infants. Detection of CMV pp65-specific CD8 T cells did not differ between the groups, but infants had lower frequencies of total responding cells and of MIP1beta- or CD107-expressing cells. Responder cells were EM or effector memory RA (CD45RA + CCR7-) in all groups. Polyfunctional T cells were less commonly detected in infants than adults. Responses to IE-2 were detected in adults but not infants. All infants had detectable circulating CMV DNA at initial study (versus 60 % of adults with primary infection) despite longer duration of CMV infection. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced frequencies and altered functional profile of CMV-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell responses were detected in infants compared to adults, and were associated with persistent CMV DNA in peripheral blood

A Phase 1 Study of Nilotinib Plus Radiation in High-Risk Chordoma

Purpose: Chordomas are malignant tumors arising from remnant notochordal tissue. Despite improved local control with preoperative/postoperative radiation therapy (RT), progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) remain poor in patients with high-risk features. Chordoma has been identified to express and activate platelet-derived growth factor receptor signaling. We conducted a phase 1 trial to identify the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), safety, and feasibility of nilotinib with RT as either preoperative or definitive treatment for patients with high-risk chordoma. Methods and Materials: We recruited 23 patients with high-risk, nonmetastatic chordoma. High risk was defined as the presence of any of the following: local recurrence after surgery, previous intralesional resection, unplanned incomplete resection, unresectable or marginally resectable disease based on locally advanced stage, or declining surgery because of excessive morbidity. Patients were treated with nilotinib and concurrent RT to 50.4 Gy relative biological effectiveness (RBE) followed by surgery and postoperative RT to a cumulative dose up to 70.2 Gy RBE or definitively up to 77.4 Gy RBE without surgery. On completion of RT, patients were eligible to continue nilotinib until disease progression. Results: In patients receiving nilotinib 200 mg twice daily with RT, 3 dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) occurred in 5 patients. One DLT was seen among 6 patients receiving nilotinib 200 mg daily with RT. Therefore, 200 mg daily was declared the maximum tolerated dose. Eleven additional patients received nilotinib with RT at the maximum tolerated dose, and 1 additional DLT occurred. The objective best response rate was 6% (1 of 18 patients, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.1%-27%). The median progression-free survival was 58.15 months (95% CI, 39.10-infinity). The median OS was 61.5 months (43.1-infinity), and the 2-year OS rate was 95%. Conclusions: Nilotinib 200 mg/d with RT is safe and tolerated in patients with high-risk chordoma. Long-term follow-up is needed to understand whether nilotinib combined with RT, with or without surgery, adds greater improvement to progression-free survival or OS than with RT with or without surgery alone in patients with high-risk chordoma. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved