Nevin Manimala

J Opioid Manag. 2023 Special-Issue;19(7):73-81. doi: 10.5055/jom.2023.0801.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of establishing a Methadone Central Registry (MCR) as part of the HEALing (Helping to End Addiction Long-term^SM) Communities Study (HCS) and to support recommendations with evidence of its functionality relative to Medicaid claims data for monitoring utilization of methadone, an evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: The manuscript authors were active participants in establishing the MCR and include representation from state government, Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs), and HCS university partners. Secondary data were obtained from Kentucky’s (KY’s) MCR and Medicaid claims from July 2020 through June 2021. The functionality of data obtained from the MCR, as measured by data completeness and timeliness, is compared with Medicaid claims, the current standard.

MAIN OUTCOMES: Central registry and Medicaid data were each aggregated statewide and at the HCS-KY county level. Dual levels of analysis were selected to inform stakeholders at the study and state levels. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the number of patients in methadone treatment.

RESULTS: Statewide, the MCR provided a daily record of all individuals receiving methadone through an OTP within 72 hours. In contrast, Medicaid claims processing lagged 9 months and captured 57-62 percent of patients in the MCR.

CONCLUSIONS: Replacing a fax-based system, an MCR meets the converging need of providers, regulatory authorities, and researchers to monitor utilization, patient dual enrollment, and treatment outcomes. Implementation strategies included key stakeholder engagement, state partner leadership, training, and federal funding. Adoption of an MCR is recommended.

PMID:37879662 | DOI:10.5055/jom.2023.0801

J Opioid Manag. 2023 Special-Issue;19(7):11-15. doi: 10.5055/jom.2023.0794.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Emergency physicians (EPs) have a singular opportunity to prescribe naloxone and decrease fatal overdoses in opioid users. We surveyed EPs patterns of naloxone prescription and identified barriers to prescribing naloxone.

DESIGN: Surveys were conducted at an emergency medicine conference from 2018 to 2019. We used a Likert scale for all questions and a chi-square or chi-square for trend tests to determine statistical significance.

SETTING: Emergency medicine conferences and emergency departments.

PARTICIPANTS: Forty-one EPs were surveyed.

INTERVENTION: Oral survey.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of naloxone prescription and EP attitude toward naloxone.

RESULTS: 65.0 percent of residents and 33.3 percent of attending physicians had never prescribed naloxone to patients. 90.2 percent believed ED naloxone prescription is safe, 82.9 percent did not refrain from prescribing due to ethical concerns, and 73.2 percent believed it is not a waste of resources.

CONCLUSIONS: Many resident physicians had never prescribed naloxone despite agreeing it was safe, ethical, and a productive use of resources. The time needed to counsel patients on naloxone use was a barrier to prescription, and various interventions are needed to make this practice more common.

PMID:37879655 | DOI:10.5055/jom.2023.0794

AIDS Rev. 2023;26(3):127-135. doi: 10.24875/AIDSRev.23000015.

ABSTRACT

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have become the second in the global rating of infectious diseases after respiratory infections. Globally, over 1 million, new STI is diagnosed every day. Although four conditions are the most representative and of obligatory declaration (gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, and human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]), there are many other prevalent STI, including trichomona, herpes simplex, papillomavirus, and viral hepatitis. Herein, we perform a narrative and retrospective review, analyzing information from public databases from distinct Spanish government institutions. STI significantly declined in Spain during 2020 as a result of lockdown and social isolation measures dictated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. After releasing restrictions, a major STI rebound occurred in 2021. Increases were 49% for gonorrhea, 45% for HIV, 39% for chlamydia, and 32% for syphilis. Based on nationwide statistics, we build a narrative review of the recent STI surge after COVID-19. In summary, we propose a holistic approach to confront the current re-emergence of STI. On one hand, new innovative medical advances must be implemented, including new rapid tests, novel vaccines, pre-exposure prophylaxis beyond HIV, and long-acting antivirals. On the other hand, information to citizens needs to be reformulated with interventions aimed to build a healthier society, alike it has been undertaken with tobacco, alcohol, diet, and lifestyle. STI determines important sexual, reproductive, and maternal-child health consequences. To promote human well-being or flourishing, the education of adolescents and young adults should be aligned with human ecology. Therefore, it is urgent to address new approaches in sexual health that represent a clear benefit for individual persons and society. In this way, favoring a cultural evolution aimed to delay the age of first sexual intercourse and the avoidance of multiple sex partners should be prioritized.

PMID:37879632 | DOI:10.24875/AIDSRev.23000015

Eur Heart J. 2023 Oct 25:ehad715. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehad715. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: In the Partial Oral Treatment of Endocarditis (POET) trial, stabilized patients with left-sided infective endocarditis (IE) were randomized to oral step-down antibiotic therapy (PO) or conventional continued intravenous antibiotic treatment (IV), showing non-inferiority after 6 months. In this study, the first guideline-driven clinical implementation of the oral step-down POET regimen was examined.

METHODS: Patients with IE, caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus spp. or coagulase-negative staphylococci diagnosed between May 2019 and December 2020 were possible candidates for initiation of oral step-down antibiotic therapy, at the discretion of the treating physician. The composite primary outcome in patients finalizing antibiotic treatment consisted of embolic events, unplanned cardiac surgery, relapse of bacteraemia and all-cause mortality within 6 months.

RESULTS: A total of 562 patients [median age 74 years (IQR, interquartile range, 65-80), 70% males] with IE were possible candidates; PO was given to 240 (43%) patients and IV to 322 (57%) patients. More patients in the IV group had IE caused by S. aureus, or had an intra-cardiac abscess, or a pacemaker and more were surgically treated. The primary outcome occurred in 30 (13%) patients in the PO group and in 59 (18%) patients in the IV group (P = .051); in the PO group, 20 (8%) patients died vs. 46 (14%) patients in the IV group (P = .024). PO-treated patients had a shorter median length of stay [PO 24 days (IQR 17-36) vs. IV 43 days (IQR 32-51), P < .001].

CONCLUSIONS: After clinical implementation of the POET regimen almost half of the possible candidates with IE received oral step-down antibiotic therapy. Patients in the IV group had more serious risk factors for negative outcomes. At 6-month follow-up, there was a numerically but not statistically significant difference towards a lower incidence of the primary outcome, a lower incidence of all-cause mortality and a reduced length of stay in the PO group. Due to the observational design of the study, the lower mortality may to some extent reflect selection bias and unmeasured confounding. Clinical implementation of PO regimens seemed feasible and safe.

PMID:37879115 | DOI:10.1093/eurheartj/ehad715

Cutan Ocul Toxicol. 2023 Oct 25:1-22. doi: 10.1080/15569527.2023.2275025. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of commercial tattoo inks used in corneal tattooing on conjunctival microbiota.

METHOD: This prospective case control study consisted of 125 participants divided in the following three groups: 35 patients with corneal tattoos, 40 patients with corneal leukoma, and 50 healthy subjects. Corneal tattooing was performed in all the cases in this study using a tattoo pen machine and commercial tattoo ink. A total of 500 cultures were taken from 250 eyes of 125 individuals on chocolate and sheep blood agar. Bacteriological samples were taken from the inferior eyelid conjunctiva using a sterile cotton swab. Without any contact elsewhere, the swabs were smeared on bedside chocolate agars and 5% sheep blood agar.

RESULTS: In tattooed eyes, bacterial growth was detected in 42.9% of the chocolate and sheep blood agar samples. In other healthy eyes of patients with corneal tattoos, 54.5% bacterial growth on chocolate agar and 57.1% on sheep blood agar were detected. No statistical difference was detected in the conjunctival microbiota of chocolate and sheep blood agar (p = 0.254, p = 0.134, respectively) in the tattooed eyes compared to the other eye of the individual. No statistically significant difference was found in terms of bacterial growth in tattooed, leukoma, or healthy eyes on chocolate and sheep blood agar (p = 0.408, p = 0.349). The growth rate of Staphylococcus epidermidis decreased by 33.3% (from 12 to 8) on chocolate agar in 35 tattooed eyes, and it decreased by 28.5% (from 14 to 10) on sheep blood agar, while gram-negative bacteria Brevundimonas diminuta, Acinetobacter lwofii, and Psychrobacter faecalis were detected in three patients.

CONCLUSION: Corneal tattooing using commercial dye does not affect conjunctival microbiota. In the past 3 years, 120 patients have been tattooed with commercial tattoo ink in Istanbul Medeniyet University Göztepe Training and Research Hospital. No complications related to infection were found in the 3-year follow-up. The gram-negative bacteria detected in the healthy control group and tattooed eyes were bacteria found on normal skin or in the respiratory tract. Although some gram-negative bacteria do not cause infection, careful eye examination, follow-up, and culture are required in suspicious cases.

PMID:37879108 | DOI:10.1080/15569527.2023.2275025

Cutan Ocul Toxicol. 2023 Oct 25:1-8. doi: 10.1080/15569527.2023.2275018. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The amniotic membrane (AM), the inner layer of the placenta, is a semitransparent, avascular and thin tissue that is useful due to its structure. Amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) avoids the need for keratoplasty to prevent corneal perforating. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the visual (gain of or no change in visual acuity) and corneal outcomes (closure of the ulcer or corneal healing) of AMT in patients with ocular surface diseases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective case control study (success or failure of the surgery). It was undertaken at a single academic center. The study cohort consisted of subjects with ocular surface diseases. Patients were treated with AMT for refractory ocular surface diseases. They were divided into five subgroups according to the preoperative diagnosis. The technique of AMT used was the onlay method with two layers of AM. Primary outcome measures included best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the number of AMTs, and reepithelization of the corneal epithelium at the end of the treatment. Two weeks to 6 months were given to consider epithelial closure. Treatment success was defined as corneal healing within 6 months.

RESULTS: A total of the sixty-six eyes of 66 patients (39 male/27 female) with a mean age of 44 ± 23 years (range 1-88 years) were included in the study. A single AMT procedure achieved epithelial closure in 74.2% (n = 49) of the eyes (53% in <15 days, 19.6% in 15-30 days, and 1.5% in 1-6 months). The fastest reepithelization occurred in neurotrophic keratopathy, 76.9% of which cases occurred within fifteen days after the AMT procedure. Treatment failure was observed in 5 patients (7.5%), 4 with keratitis, and 1 with neurotrophic keratopathy. The highest closure rates were found in persistent epithelial defects, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), and bullous keratopathy, although there was no statistically significant difference in BCVA. Pairwise comparisons were made of neurotropic keratoplasty versus bullous keratopathy (p = 0.025), neurotrophic keratopathy versus keratitis (p = 0.004), GVHD versus keratitis (p= 0.003), and lastly, GvHD versus bullous keratopathy (p = 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS: AMT is a safe, valuable, and fast treatment technique to treat corneal epithelial defects stemming from different etiologies that are refractory to conventional treatment.

PMID:37879107 | DOI:10.1080/15569527.2023.2275018

Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent. 2023 Oct 24;(7):s264-s282. doi: 10.11607/prd.6152.

ABSTRACT

Periodontal intrabony defects (IBDs) are commonly encountered in dental practice and are usually treated by open flap debridement (OFD) with or without bone grafts and/or guided tissue regeneration (GTR), platelet-rich fibrin (PRF), or other additives. A difficulty with these approaches is maintaining the space for bone growth at the determined location. In this report, autologous sticky bone (ASB) was used and compared to a simple mixture of PRF and bone graft (PRF-BG) using the identical graft material-bioactive glass morsels-to assess its regenerative potential in IBDs, as sticky bone is known to maintain the space, according to previous research. A total of 21 IBDs were treated by OFD, PRF-BG mixture, or ASB. Regenerative assessment was clinically and radiographically performed by CBCT at 1 year. All the treatment modalities (OFD, PRF-BG, and ASB) showed statistically significant improvements clinically and radiographically at 1 year in terms of probing pocket depth reduction (PPDR), clinical attachment level gain (CALG), CBCT defect fill (CBCT-DF), and CBCT defect resolution (CBCT-DR); P < .05. The ASB group depicted the most favorable results (P < .05) in terms of the parameters at 1 year followed by the PRF-BG group and then the OFD group. Treatment of periodontal IBDs with ASB resulted in significant improvements in clinical and CBCT parameters compared to baseline at 1 year, and intrasurgical graft handling was much better in the ASB group.

PMID:37879062 | DOI:10.11607/prd.6152

Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent. 2023 Oct 24;(7):s227-s234. doi: 10.11607/prd.6163.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of experience level on the clinical and esthetic results of coronally advanced flap (CAF) surgery.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A postgraduate student’s first 40 CAF operations in the periodontology residency program were followed. The Miller Class I gingival recessions were divided into four chronologic groups (n: 10 in each). Clinical and esthetic evaluations were performed at baseline and after 6 months. The results of chronologic intervals were statistically compared.

RESULTS: While the overall mean root coverage (RC) percentage was 73.6% and the complete RC was 60%, the mean RC percentages of the groups, respectively, were 45%, 55%, 86%, and 95%, showing that the mean and complete RC percentage increased as the experience level increased (P < .05). Similarly, as the experience level increased, closure of the gingival recession depth and width and esthetic scores increased, while the surgical time decreased significantly (P < .05). Complications were observed in three patients during the first interval and in two patients during the second interval, while no complications were observed in the other groups.

CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that experience level can significantly affect the clinical and esthetic outcomes, operative time, and complication rates of CAF surgery. All education programs should determine how many of each surgical procedure residents must perform before they are considered experienced or expert surgeons who can work independently and predictably achieve safe, acceptable outcomes.

PMID:37879060 | DOI:10.11607/prd.6163

Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent. 2023 Oct 24;(7):s217-s226. doi: 10.11607/prd.6212.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To quantify the buccal bone thickness, area, and perimeter following guided bone regeneration (GBR) using stabilizing periosteal sutures. The loss in hard tissue volume may impair proper implant placement. GBR has been used to regenerate the lost alveolar ridge prior to or at the same time as dental implant placement. The most important factor for GBR success is graft stability. The periosteal mattress suture (PMS) stabilizing technique is an alternative to pins and screws to stabilize bone grafting material and has the advantage of not requiring the removal of the fixing devices.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A CBCT was acquired before and 6 months after surgery from six patients who underwent GBR with the PMS stabilizing technique. Images were analyzed for buccal bone thickness, area, and perimeter.

RESULTS: The mean change in buccal bone thickness was 3.42 mm (± 1.31 SD) and proved statistically significant (P = .005). The mean change in bone crest area also proved statistically significant (P = .001). No significant difference was found in bone perimeter (P = .12).

CONCLUSIONS: The PMS technique delivered optimal results without clinical complications. This study shows the potential of this technique as an alternative to pins or screws for graft stabilization in the esthetic zone.

PMID:37879059 | DOI:10.11607/prd.6212

Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent. 2023 Oct 24;(7):s156-s167. doi: 10.11607/prd.6294.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of erbium, chromium: yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser conditioning on dentin bond strength and nanoleakage of different universal and self-etch adhesives.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 84 intact human third molar teeth were cut at the dentin level, and half of them were laser conditioned. The specimens were divided into three groups; two different universal resins and one self-etch adhesive resin were applied and composite resin restorations were created. For the microtensile bond strength (µTBS) test, 20 microspecimens were prepared from the laser and control group of each adhesive (n = 20) and tested with a universal device. For nanoleakage observation, 10 specimens were prepared from each group (n = 10) and stored in silver nitrate solution, and then the amount of nanoleakage was analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA, Tukey’s honestly significant difference, and chi-square tests.

RESULTS: The mean dentin bond strength of all adhesives in the laser groups was found to be statistically significantly lower than those of the control groups (P < .05). No difference was found between the mean bond strength of the adhesives in the laser and control groups (P > .05). Higher nanoleakage was observed in all adhesives in the laser groups compared to the control groups (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Irradiation of the dentin surface with Er,Cr:YSGG could adversely affect the µTBS and nanoleakage, likely by affecting the structure of the hybrid layer.

PMID:37879055 | DOI:10.11607/prd.6294