Over the past 5 years, we have been engaged in a cross-sectional evaluation of risk factors for higher asthma severity in adolescents aged 13–18. All recruitment takes place through public and private schools. The sample from which our current findings are derived includes 151 adolescents covering a wide spectrum of asthma severity and socioeconomic status (SES) and representing both African American and Caucasians. An asthma severity instrument has been developed and validated for the purpose of this study. This yields an asthma severity score which is a continuous variable. Female gender and the number of positive skin tests are the best independent correlates to the asthma severity score. Among the 18 aeroallergens used in the study, the American cockroach Periplaneta americana is the only one that relates to the asthma severity score in a stepwise regression model. The two other cockroaches, German and oriental, as well as the dust mites Dermatophagoídes farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, correlate with the asthma severity only in simple regression analysis. The relationship between asthma severity and cockroach sensitivity is strongest within the lowest-income per family member quartile. This is consistent with the additional observations that (1) significantly higher rates of sensitization for cockroaches are observed in the lowest-income quartile subjects and (2) higher levels of the cockroach allergen Bla g 1 are found in their homes. Preliminary analysis suggests that ethnic background may interact with environmental exposure in that, within the lowest-income quartile, Caucasians have lower sensitization rates to cockroaches and other allergens compared to African Americans. Within the Caucasian population, income does not appear to influence sensitization rates. The treatment that adolescents with asthma receive for their respiratory disease is characterized by an overall low rate of prescribed inhaled corticosteroids (37% in the moderately severe and severe groups). This inadequacy in treatment is accentuated by SES: 28% of adolescents in the highest and 6% in the lowest-income quartile are prescribed these medications. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the higher asthma morbidity and mortality observed in the African American population is related to higher exposure and sensitization to allergens such as those from cockroaches that are more prevalent in lower SES environments. It is possible that genetic factors contribute to the higher degree of sensitization. In addition, individuals of low SES are subjected to inadequate medical management of their asthma.

BackgroundWhether ambulatory BP monitoring is of value in evaluating risk for outcomes in patients with CKD is not clear.MethodsWe followed 1502 participants of the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study for a mean of 6.72 years. We evaluated, as exposures, ambulatory BP monitoring profiles (masked uncontrolled hypertension, white-coat effect, sustained hypertension, and controlled BP), mean ambulatory BP monitoring and clinic BPs, and diurnal variation in BP—reverse dipper (higher at nighttime), nondipper, and dipper (lower at nighttime). Outcomes included cardiovascular disease (a composite of myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, heart failure, and peripheral arterial disease), kidney disease (a composite of ESKD or halving of the eGFR), and mortality.ResultsCompared with having controlled BP, the presence of masked uncontrolled hypertension independently associated with higher risk of the cardiovascular outcome and the kidney outcome, but not with all-cause mortality. Higher mean 24-hour systolic BP associated with higher risk of cardiovascular outcome, kidney outcome, and mortality, independent of clinic BP. Participants with the reverse-dipper profile of diurnal BP variation were at higher risk of the kidney outcome.ConclusionsIn this cohort of participants with CKD, BP metrics derived from ambulatory BP monitoring are associated with cardiovascular outcomes, kidney outcomes, and mortality, independent of clinic BP. Masked uncontrolled hypertension and mean 24-hour BP associated with high risk of cardiovascular disease and progression of kidney disease. Alterations of diurnal variation in BP are associated with high risk of progression of kidney disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease. These data support the wider use of ambulatory BP monitoring in the evaluation of hypertension in patients with CKD.PodcastThis article contains a podcast at https://www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/JASN/2020_09_24_JASN2020030236.mp3

Objective Large health systems responding to the COVID-19 pandemic face a broad range of challenges; we describe 14 examples of innovative and effective informatics interventions. Materials and Methods A team of 30 physician and 17 nurse informaticists with an electronic health record (EHR) and associated informatics tools. Results To meet the demands posed by the influx of patients with COVID-19 into the health system, the team built solutions to accomplish the following goals: train physicians and nurses quickly to manage a potential surge of hospital patients; build and adjust interactive visual pathways to guide decisions; scale up video visits and teach communication; use tablets and remote monitors to improve in-hospital and post-hospital patient connections; allow hundreds of physicians to build rapid consensus; improve the use of advance care planning; keep clinicians aware of patients’ changing COVID-19 status; connect nurses and families in new ways; semi-automate Crisis Standards of Care; and predict future hospitalizations. Discussion During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UCHealth Joint Informatics Group applied a strategy of “practical informatics” to rapidly translate critical leadership decisions into understandable guidance and effective tools for patient care. Conclusion Informatics-trained physicians and nurses drew upon their trusted relationships with multiple teams within the organization to create practical solutions for onboarding, clinical decision-making, telehealth, and predictive analytics.

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To assess the clinical importance of emergence of beta-lactam resistance caused by stable derepression of chromosomal beta-lactamases, sequential cultures from patients treated with expanded-spectrum cephalosporins were monitored for the persistence of bacteria possessing these enzymes. Antibiotic susceptibilities and beta-lactamase production before and after cefoxitin induction were determined in sequential isolates of individual bacterial strains. Of 49 strains isolated from 44 patients, 25 strains (51%) were eradicated by cephalosporin therapy, 17 strains (35%) persisted with unchanged susceptibility in sequential cultures, and 7 strains (14%) from 7 patients developed multiple beta-lactam resistance during cephalosporin therapy. In 6 of the 7 strains, resistance was associated with stable derepression of beta-lactamases. In the patient group whose strains developed resistance, subsequent use of non-beta-lactam antibiotics was more frequent and mortality was higher.

A 79-year-old Caucasian man presented with multiple leg abscesses due toNocardia pseudobrasiliensis. He was on chronic steroid therapy for myasthenia gravis. We present the difficulties in diagnosis and treatment of this rare organism.N. pseudobrasiliensisis a new emerging species that was previously thought to belong to theN. brasiliensisspecies. The distinction between the two species is extremely important given the different antibiotic susceptibility pattern and association ofN. pseudobrasiliensiswith more invasive and disseminated disease.

The ability of a single oral 750-mg dose of ciprofloxacin to eradicate Neisseria meningiidis from persistent nasopharyngeal carriers was prospectively evaluated in a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blinded study. Cultures of specimens taken from all 23 ciprofloxacin-dosed subjects 1 day postdose were negative; cultures from 96% of these subjects were negative at 7 and 21 days postdose, including a specimen from a subject colonized with a minocydine-resistant strain. Of 22 placebo recipients, 20 (91%) remained culture positive. Single-dose ciprofloxacin appears efficacious for meningococcal prophylaxis.Rifampin and minocycline are currently recommended prophylactic antimicrobial agents for Neisseria meningitidis infections. Although both drugs are effective, their use entails multidose regimens, as well as a risk of toxicity or occasional emergence ofresistance (7, 10). The carboxyquinolone ciprofloxacin has excellent in vitro activity against N. meningitidis (3). In previous placebo-controlled studies, multidose regimens of ciprofloxacin have been shown to be effective in eradicating N. meningitidis from chronic nasopharyngeal carriers up to 2 weeks after dosing (13). Furthermore, in an uncontrolled study, 11 of 12 N. meningitidis carriers given a single oral 750-mg dose of ciprofloxacin remained culture negative for 2 weeks after the dose (14). We report here the results of a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blinded study of single-dose ciprofloxacin in persistent N. meningitidis carriers.Written informed consent was obtained from 620 healthy young volunteers, who were then evaluated for persistent nasopharyngeal carriage of N. meningitidis by means of two cultures taken 1 week apart, followed by a third culture taken 9 days later. Forty-six subjects whose cultures grew N. meningitidis on all three occasions were identified. These subjects provided a medical history and underwent a physical examination. They were tested for pregnancy by means of a qualitative test for human P-choriogonadotropin in urine; pregnant individuals were excluded from the trial. No subjects were allergic to quinolone drugs, had used antibiotics within 2 weeks of ciprofloxacin dosing, or had a symptomatic infection.Subjects were randomly assigned to take a single 750-mg oral dose of ciprofloxacin or a placebo tablet with an identical appearance. Nasopharyngeal cultures were taken 1, 7, and 21 days after dosing. All tablets were administered under supervision, and subjects were requested to report all adverse effects. At the time of the 7-day-postdose culture, a repeat physical examination was performed.Nasopharyngeal swabs were streaked onto modified Thayer-Martin agar and incubated at 37°C in 10% C02-90% air for 48 h. Colonies that resembled N. meningitidis were identified by Gram stain, positive oxidase reaction, and fermentation of glucose and maltose but not sucrose and lactose. Serogroups were determined by the slide agglutination technique with the cells suspended in physiological * Corresponding author.saline. Antise...

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