Publications

The extent to which angina pectoris (AP) predicts secondary cardiovascular events beyond independent of measures of disease severity is unknown. We evaluated the association between AP frequency and secondary events in patients with stable coronary heart disease (CHD). We administered the Seattle Angina Questionnaire to 1,023 participants with stable CHD enrolled from September 2000 to December 2002 and followed for a median of 8.9 years. We used Cox proportional hazards to evaluate the association of AP frequency with death and subsequent hospitalization for AP, revascularization, myocardial infarction (MI), or heart failure. At enrollment, 633 (62%) participants reported no AP, 279 (27%) reported monthly AP, and 111 (11%) reported daily or weekly AP. During follow-up, 396 participants died, 204 were hospitalized for AP, 194 for revascularization, 140 for MI, and 188 for heart failure. Compared with participants without AP, participants with daily or weekly AP were more likely to be hospitalized for AP (hazard ratio [HR] 3.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.3 to 4.7; p<0.001), revascularization (HR 2.0; 95% CI 1.3 to 2.9; p=0.001), or heart failure (HR 1.6; 95% CI 1.0 to 2.5; p=0.03) and more likely to die (HR 1.5; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.0; p=0.01). AP was not independently associated with MI (HR 1.3; 95% CI 0.8 to 2.3; p=0.29). After adjusting for demographics, co-morbidities, treadmill exercise capacity, ejection fraction, and inducible ischemia, frequency of AP remained independently associated with hospitalization for AP (HR 2.4; 95% CI 1.6 to 3.6; p<0.001), revascularization (HR 1.7; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.7; p=0.02), and death (HR 1.4; 95% CI 1.0 to 2.0; p=0.045). In conclusion, in outpatients with stable CHD, AP frequency predicts higher rates of secondary cardiovascular events and death, independent of objective measures of disease severity.

BACKGROUND

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) emphasizes the use of technology to facilitate coordination of comprehensive care for people with HIV. We examined the effect of six health information technology (HIT) interventions in a Ryan White-funded Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) on care completion services, engagement in HIV care, and viral suppression.

METHODS

Interventions included use of surveillance data to identify out-of-care individuals, extending access to electronic health records to support service providers, use of electronic laboratory ordering and prescribing, and development of a patient portal. Data from a sample of electronic patient records from each site were analyzed to assess changes in utilization of comprehensive care (prevention screening, support service utilization), engagement in primary HIV medical care (receipt of services and use of antiretroviral therapy), and viral suppression. We used weighted generalized estimating equations to estimate outcomes while accounting for the unequal contribution of data and differences in the distribution of patient characteristics across sites and over time.

RESULTS

We observed statistically significant changes in the desired direction in comprehensive care utilization and engagement in primary care outcomes targeted by each site. Five of six sites experienced statistically significant increases in viral suppression.

DISCUSSION

These results provide additional support for the use of HIT as a valuable tool for achieving the NHAS goal of providing comprehensive care for all people living with HIV. HIT has the potential to increase utilization of services, improve health outcomes for people with HIV, and reduce community viral load and subsequent transmission of HIV.

INTRODUCTION

Exposure to tobacco smoke impacts the onset or exacerbation of most respiratory disorders, and respiratory therapists are well positioned to identify tobacco use and provide cessation assistance. The purpose of this study was to characterize the level of tobacco cessation education provided to students in U.S. respiratory care training programs.

METHODS

A national survey of 387 respiratory care programs assessed the extent to which tobacco is addressed in required coursework, methods of instruction, perceived importance, and adequacy of current levels of tobacco education in curricula and perceived barriers to enhancing the tobacco-related education.

RESULTS

A total of 244 surveys (63.0% response) revealed a median of 165 min (IQR, 88-283) of tobacco education throughout the degree program. Pathophysiology of tobacco-related disease (median, 45 min) is the most extensively covered content area followed by aids for cessation (median, 20 min), assisting patients with quitting (median, 15 min), and nicotine pharmacology and principles of addiction (median, 15 min). More than 40% of respondents believed that latter 3 content areas are inadequately covered in the curriculum. Key barriers to enhancing tobacco training are lack of available curriculum time, lack of faculty expertise, and lack of access to comprehensive evidence-based resources. Nearly three-fourths of the respondents expressed interest in participating in a nationwide effort to enhance tobacco cessation training.

CONCLUSIONS

Similar to other disciplines, enhanced tobacco cessation education is needed in respiratory care programs to equip graduates with the knowledge and the skills necessary to treat tobacco use and dependence.

In this study, we investigated the expression levels of host restriction factors in six untreated HIV-1-positive patients over the course of infection. We found that the host restriction factor gene expression profile consistently increased over time and was significantly associated with CD4+ T cell activation and viral load. Our data are among the first to demonstrate the dynamic nature of host restriction factors in vivo over time.