National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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- Ambulatory Care and Surgery (2)
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- (-) Infectious Diseases (14)
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 14 of 14 Research Studies DisplayedCampbell JI, Tabatneck M, Wilt GE
Area-based sociodemographic factors associated with latent tuberculosis infection in a low-prevalence setting.
Researchers evaluated associations between census tract poverty, crowding, foreign-born population, and the CDC's Social Vulnerability Index (CDC-SVI) ranking and tuberculosis (TB) infection in children tested for TB infection in Boston, MA. Their findings indicated that census tract poverty was associated with increased odds of TB infection; in separate models, increasing CDC-SVI ranking was also associated with increased odds of TB infection. The researchers concluded that these findings suggest area-based sociodemographic factors may be valuable for characterizing TB infection risk and defining social ecology of pediatric TB infection in low-burden settings
AHRQ-funded; HS000063.
Citation: Campbell JI, Tabatneck M, Wilt GE .
Area-based sociodemographic factors associated with latent tuberculosis infection in a low-prevalence setting.
Am J Trop Med Hyg 2023 Sep 6; 109(3):595-99. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.22-0788..
Keywords: Respiratory Conditions, Infectious Diseases
Rao S, Armistead I, Tyler A
Respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and coronavirus disease 2019 hospitalizations in children in Colorado during the 2021-2022 respiratory virus season.
This study compared demographic characteristics, clinical features, and outcomes of children hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 during their cocirculation 2021-2022 respiratory virus season. The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study using Colorado's hospital respiratory surveillance data comparing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-, influenza-, and RSV-hospitalized cases < 18 years of age admitted and undergoing standardized molecular testing between October 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022. The cohort consisted of 847 hospitalized cases, of which 490 (57.9%) were RSV associated, 306 (36.1%) were COVID-19 associated, and 51 (6%) were influenza associated. Most RSV cases were children less than 4 years of age (92.9%), whereas influenza hospitalizations were observed in older children. RSV cases were more likely to require oxygen support higher than nasal cannula compared with COVID-19 and influenza cases, although COVID-19 cases were more likely to require invasive mechanical ventilation than influenza and RSV cases. Compared with children with COVID-19, the risk of intensive care unit admission was highest among children with influenza, whereas the risk of pneumonia, bronchiolitis, longer hospital length of stay, and need for oxygen were more likely among children with RSV.
AHRQ-funded; HS026512.
Citation: Rao S, Armistead I, Tyler A .
Respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, and coronavirus disease 2019 hospitalizations in children in Colorado during the 2021-2022 respiratory virus season.
J Pediatr 2023 Sep; 260:113491. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113491..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, COVID-19, Respiratory Conditions, Influenza, Hospitalization, Infectious Diseases
Campbell JI, Tabatneck M, Sun M
Increasing use of interferon gamma release assays among children ≥2 years of age in a setting with low tuberculosis prevalence.
This article describes a retrospective cohort study that examined interferon gamma release assays (IGRAs) use to diagnose tuberculosis (TB) infection in children aged 2–17. The objectives of the study were to evaluate whether testing approaches for TB has changed since 2015. Electronic health records were used to identify IGRAs and tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) completed by children in two Boston-area academic health systems. The researchers observed that the proportion of IGRA tests increased between 2015 and 2021 in this low TB-prevalence setting. Testing in public versus private insurance, inpatient/subspecialty settings, lower age, and non-English preferred language were associated with an increased chance of receiving an IGRA. Findings suggest that the TST is being “retired,” and that education and support for primary care clinicians could improve equitable access to IGRA testing for children.
AHRQ-funded; HS000063.
Citation: Campbell JI, Tabatneck M, Sun M .
Increasing use of interferon gamma release assays among children ≥2 years of age in a setting with low tuberculosis prevalence.
Pediatr Infect Dis J 2022 Dec;41(12):e534-e37. doi: 10.1097/inf.0000000000003685..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Treatments, Respiratory Conditions, Infectious Diseases
Campbell JI, Menzies D
Testing and scaling interventions to improve the tuberculosis infection care cascade.
The purpose of this study was to review and summarize current literature on barriers and solutions occurring within the tuberculosis (TB) infection care cascade, focusing on children in high- and low-burden settings, and obtaining data and information from studies on both children and adults. The researchers concluded that identifying and addressing gaps in the TB care cascade requires the utilization of tools both novel and long-standing, and will be facilitated by shared clinical practice with primary care providers, methods of quality improvement, and innovative study designs.
AHRQ-funded; HS000063.
Citation: Campbell JI, Menzies D .
Testing and scaling interventions to improve the tuberculosis infection care cascade.
J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc 2022 Oct 31;11(Suppl 3):S94-s100. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piac070..
Keywords: Respiratory Conditions, Infectious Diseases, Quality Improvement, Quality of Care
Rothberg MB, Imrey PB, Guo N MB, Imrey PB, Guo N
A risk model to identify Legionella among patients admitted with community-acquired pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study.
This study’s goal was to derive and externally validate a model to predict a positive Legionella test among adult inpatients diagnosed with pneumonia. The study used data from 177 US hospitals in the Premier Healthcare Database and 12 Cleveland Clinic Health System (CCHS) hospitals. Of 166,689 patients hospitalized for pneumonia, out of 43,070 tested for Legionella 642 (1.5%) tested positive. The strongest predictors of a positive test were a local outbreak, June-October occurrence, hyponatremia, smoking and diarrhea. A negative test was associated with prior admission within 6 months and chronic pulmonary disease.
AHRQ-funded; HS024277.
Citation: Rothberg MB, Imrey PB, Guo N MB, Imrey PB, Guo N .
A risk model to identify Legionella among patients admitted with community-acquired pneumonia: a retrospective cohort study.
J Hosp Med 2022 Aug;17(8):624-32. doi: 10.1002/jhm.12919..
Keywords: Pneumonia, Community-Acquired Infections, Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Conditions
Rhee C, Kanjilal S, Baker M
Duration of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infectivity: when is it safe to discontinue isolation?
This review examined the current evidence of when a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) patient is no longer infectious and no longer needs to be in isolation. Most patients have persistently positive tests for weeks to months following clinical recovery; but this may not indicate their infectivity. SARS-CoV-2 appears to be most contagious around the time of symptom onset. Infectivity decreases to near-zero after about 10 days in mild-moderately ill patients and 15 days in severely-critically ill and immunocompromised patients. The longest interval associated with replication-competent virus found so far is 20 days from symptom onset.
AHRQ-funded; HS025008.
Citation: Rhee C, Kanjilal S, Baker M .
Duration of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infectivity: when is it safe to discontinue isolation?
Clin Infect Dis 2021 Apr 26;72(8):1467-74. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1249..
Keywords: COVID-19, Respiratory Conditions, Public Health, Infectious Diseases
Lee BY, Bartsch SM, Ferguson MC
The value of decreasing the duration of the infectious period of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.
Researchers developed a computational model of the U.S. simulating the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the potential clinical and economic impact of reducing the infectious period duration. They reported that their study quantifies the potential effects of reducing the SARS-CoV-2 infectious period duration.
AHRQ-funded; HS023317.
Citation: Lee BY, Bartsch SM, Ferguson MC .
The value of decreasing the duration of the infectious period of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.
PLoS Comput Biol 2021 Jan;17(1):e1008470. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008470..
Keywords: COVID-19, Respiratory Conditions, Public Health, Prevention, Infectious Diseases
Soares WE, Schoenfeld EM, Visintainer P
Safety assessment of a noninvasive respiratory protocol for adults with COVID-19.
As evidence emerged supporting noninvasive strategies for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related respiratory distress, the investigators implemented a noninvasive COVID-19 respiratory protocol (NCRP) that encouraged high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and self-proning across our healthcare system. To assess safety, the investigators conducted a retrospective chart review evaluating mortality and other patient safety outcomes after implementation of the NCRP protocol (April 3, 2020, to April 15, 2020) for adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19, compared with preimplementation outcomes (March 15, 2020, to April 2, 2020).
AHRQ-funded; HS025701.
Citation: Soares WE, Schoenfeld EM, Visintainer P .
Safety assessment of a noninvasive respiratory protocol for adults with COVID-19.
J Hosp Med 2020 Dec;15(12):734-38. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3548..
Keywords: Patient Safety, COVID-19, Respiratory Conditions, Inpatient Care, Infectious Diseases
Haessler S, Lindenauer PK, Zilberberg MD
Blood cultures versus respiratory cultures: 2 different views of pneumonia.
This study examined characteristics and outcomes of patients with positive cultures for pneumonia by site. The authors compared results from blood and respiratory cultures to see if organisms and resistance patterns differed by site. They studied adult patients discharged from July 2010 to June 2015 with principal diagnoses of pneumonia, respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, respiratory arrest, or sepsis with a secondary diagnosis of pneumonia. Out of 138,651 hospitalizations of patients with pneumonia, 9.3% yielded positive cultures with 6438 from respiratory culture and 5992 blood cultures, and 45 both respiratory and blood cultures. Isolates from respiratory samples were often more resistant than were isolates from blood. Patients with positive cultures in both sites had higher case-fatality, longer lengths of stay and higher costs than patients who only had one culture site positive. Among respiratory cultures, the most common pathogens identified were Staphylococcus aureus (34%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (17%), whereas blood cultures most commonly grew Streptococcus pneumoniae (33%), followed by S. aureus (22%).
AHRQ-funded; HS024277.
Citation: Haessler S, Lindenauer PK, Zilberberg MD .
Blood cultures versus respiratory cultures: 2 different views of pneumonia.
Clin Infect Dis 2020 Oct 23;71(7):1604-12. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz1049..
Keywords: Pneumonia, Community-Acquired Infections, Respiratory Conditions, Infectious Diseases
Chou R, Dana T, Jungbauer R
Masks for prevention of respiratory virus infections, including SARS-CoV-2, in health care and community settings : a living rapid review.
This study examined the effectiveness of N95, surgical, and cloth masks in community and health care settings for preventing respiratory virus infections, including coronavirus. The effects of reuse or extended use of N95 masks was also studied. The authors used multiple electronic databases, including the World Health Organization COVID-19 database and medRxiv preprint server (2003 through 2020), and reference lists. Randomized trials of masks and risks for respiratory virus infection were included. The studies were abstracted and methodological limitations were assessed by one reviewer, with a second reviewer providing verification. Thirty-nine studies with 33,867 participants were included. No studies were found that evaluated reuse or extended use of N95 masks. The studies showed that COVID-19 and MERS probably decreased with use versus nonuse and possibly decreased with N95 versus surgical mask use. Random trials in community settings found not much difference between N95 versus surgical masks. The studies’ findings were not definitive.
AHRQ-funded; 290201500009I.
Citation: Chou R, Dana T, Jungbauer R .
Masks for prevention of respiratory virus infections, including SARS-CoV-2, in health care and community settings : a living rapid review.
Ann Intern Med 2020 Oct 6;173(7):542-55. doi: 10.7326/m20-3213..
Keywords: COVID-19, Respiratory Conditions, Infectious Diseases, Prevention, Public Health, Evidence-Based Practice
Shaker MS, Oppenheimer J, Grayson M
COVID-19: pandemic contingency planning for the allergy and immunology clinic.
In the event of a global infectious pandemic, drastic measures may be needed that limit or require adjustment of ambulatory allergy services. However, no rationale for how to prioritize service shut down and patient care exists. A consensus-based ad-hoc expert panel of allergy/immunology specialists from the United States and Canada developed a service and patient prioritization schematic to temporarily triage allergy/immunology services. This paper describes the process, recommendations and feedback.
AHRQ-funded; HS024599.
Citation: Shaker MS, Oppenheimer J, Grayson M .
COVID-19: pandemic contingency planning for the allergy and immunology clinic.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2020 May;8(5):1477-88.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2020.03.012..
Keywords: COVID-19, Respiratory Conditions, Emergency Preparedness, Public Health, Healthcare Delivery, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Infectious Diseases
Feemster K, Localio R, Grundmeier R
Incidence of healthcare-associated influenza-like illness after a primary care encounter among young children.
The authors evaluated whether exposure to a pediatric clinic visit was associated with subsequent influenza-like illness (ILI) using electronic health record data. They found that pediatric clinic visits during a respiratory virus season were significantly associated with an increased incidence of subsequent ILI among children aged 2 to 6 years but not among those aged less than 2 years. They concluded that their findings support the hypothesis that respiratory virus transmission in a pediatric clinic can result in healthcare-associated ILI in young children.
AHRQ-funded; HS020939.
Citation: Feemster K, Localio R, Grundmeier R .
Incidence of healthcare-associated influenza-like illness after a primary care encounter among young children.
J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc 2019 Jul 1;8(3):191-96. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piy023..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), Infectious Diseases, Influenza, Primary Care, Healthcare Delivery, Ambulatory Care and Surgery, Respiratory Conditions
Linder JA
Sore throat: avoid overcomplicating the uncomplicated.
In this editorial, the author described issues involving sore throat diagnosis and delineated various points concerning an article within the same journal issue, concluding that physicians should remember that the prevalence of group A streptococcus in adults with a sore throat is approximately 10%; and that they should use the Centor scoring criteria; selectively use rapid antigen-detection testing; limit antibiotic treatment to patients most likely to have group A streptococcus; and most of the time when prescribing antibiotics, use penicillin.
AHRQ-funded; HS018419.
Citation: Linder JA .
Sore throat: avoid overcomplicating the uncomplicated.
Ann Intern Med 2015 Feb 17;162(4):311-2. doi: 10.7326/m14-2899.
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Keywords: Antibiotics, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Infectious Diseases, Medication, Pneumonia, Respiratory Conditions, Practice Patterns
Pitzer VE, Viboud C, Alonso WJ
AHRQ Author: Steiner CA
Environmental drivers of the spatiotemporal dynamics of respiratory syncytial virus in the United States.
The authors examined the association between environmental variables and state-specific measures of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) seasonality. They found that states with low mean vapor pressure and the largest seasonal variation in potential evapotranspiration tended to experience biennial patterns of RSV activity, with alternating years of "early-big" and "late-small" epidemics. Their results successfully connected environmental drivers to the epidemic dynamics of RSV; however, the results do not fully explain why RSV activity begins in Florida, one of the warmest states, when RSV is a winter-seasonal pathogen.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Pitzer VE, Viboud C, Alonso WJ .
Environmental drivers of the spatiotemporal dynamics of respiratory syncytial virus in the United States.
PLoS Pathog 2015 Jan;11(1):e1004591. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004591.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Newborns/Infants, Infectious Diseases, Respiratory Conditions