Institutes in the Lead: Identifying Environmental Factors in Breast Cancer.

What’s the Latest on Acrylamide?

Need for and Effectiveness of Menu Labeling

Removing the stigma of medication for opioid use disorder

Color lines: Disparities in pharmacy treatment, education, and practice

Universal hepatitis B vaccination in adults aged 19–59 years: Updated recommendations of the advisory committee on immunization practices—United States, 2022

Valuing oral health: Accomplishments and challenges

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BackgroundMultidrug-resistant (MDR) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) present significant treatment challenges and can cause serious morbidity and mortality. Ceftobiprole, the active moiety of the prodrug ceftobiprole medocaril, is an advanced cephalosporin approved in many European and other countries for the treatment of adults with community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia, excluding ventilator-associated pneumonia. Ceftobiprole is currently in phase 3 clinical development to support a New Drug Application in the United States for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections and S. aureus bacteremia. Here, the activity of ceftobiprole and comparators was evaluated against recent MDR S. aureus and MRSA clinical isolates.Methods13,868 S. aureus isolates were collected from patients with various infection types at 34 US medical centers from 2016–2020. Susceptibility to ceftobiprole and comparator agents was tested by CLSI methods. Current CLSI and EUCAST interpretive criteria were applied (Table). Isolates were categorized as MDR if they were non-susceptible (NS; CLSI criteria) to ≥3 of the following antimicrobials: clindamycin (CM), daptomycin (DAP), erythromycin (ERY), gentamicin (GM), levofloxacin (LEV), linezolid (LZD), tetracycline (TET), tigecycline (TGC), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), or vancomycin (VAN). Isolates displaying oxacillin MIC values ≥4 mg/L were categorized as MRSA.ResultsCeftobiprole was more active than ceftaroline (CPT) against MRSA (99.2% susceptible [S] versus 94.0% S, respectively) (Table). Ceftobiprole maintained activity against 88.0% of the CPT-NS isolates, but CPT was only active against 6.5% of the ceftobiprole-NS isolates. Ceftobiprole was also highly active (97.7–100.0% S) against isolates NS to CM, DAP, ERY, GM, LEV, LZD, TET, TGC, or TMP-SMX. No VAN-NS isolates were detected. Importantly, ceftobiprole was more active (97.7% S) than CPT (83.0% S) against the subset of MDR-MRSA isolates.ConclusionConclusions: Ceftobiprole was highly active in vitro against MRSA and MDR S. aureus collected at US medical centers during 2016–2020. These results support the further development of ceftobiprole to treat S. aureus infections in the US.DisclosuresLeonard R. Duncan, PhD, AbbVie (formerly Allergan) (Research Grant or Support)Basilea Pharmaceutica International, Ltd. (Research Grant or Support)Cipla Therapeutics (Research Grant or Support)Cipla USA Inc. (Research Grant or Support)Department of Health and Human Services (Research Grant or Support, Contract no. HHSO100201600002C)Shionogi (Research Grant or Support) Kamal Hamed, MD, MPH, Basilea Pharmaceutica International, Ltd (Employee)Department of Health and Human Services (Research Grant or Support, Contract no. HHSO100201600002C) Jennifer Smart, PhD, Basilea Pharmaceutica International, Ltd. (Employee)Department of Health and Human Services (Research Grant or Support, Contract no. HHSO100201600002C) Michael A Pfaller, MD, Basilea Pharmaceutica International, Ltd. (Research Grant or Support)Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (Research Grant or Support)Department of Health and Human Services (Research Grant or Support, Contract no. HHSO100201600002C)Pfizer, Inc. (Research Grant or Support) Helio S. Sader, MD, PhD, FIDSA, AbbVie (formerly Allergan) (Research Grant or Support)Basilea Pharmaceutica International, Ltd. (Research Grant or Support)Cipla Therapeutics (Research Grant or Support)Cipla USA Inc. (Research Grant or Support)Department of Health and Human Services (Research Grant or Support, Contract no. HHSO100201600002C)Melinta Therapeutics, LLC (Research Grant or Support)Nabriva Therapeutics (Research Grant or Support)Pfizer, Inc. (Research Grant or Support)Shionogi (Research Grant or Support)Spero Therapeutics (Research Grant or Support)

Creating an ideal system of care to address the care forpatients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) iscomplex from both the system’s and patient/family’s perspec-tives. In general, this care is unlike most other hospital care.It typically involves very fast and complex decision makingand, often, sudden transportation to another facility forpercutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). All of this occurswith a potentially critically ill patient and at a time when thefamily is often not immediately available. In this report, weaddress key perspectives from the patient and public point ofview of the current system of care for STEMI patients andhighlight the barriers and gaps that must be addressed by anideal system of care (Table 1).

Nationally, child maltreatment is at epidemic proportions. In 2006, the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) noted approximately 6.0 million children were referred for alleged maltreatment to child protective services (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Of the 3.3 million that were assessed, 30% of the investigations concluded that at least one child had been victimized (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Although in the last 5 years there has been an increase in the number of investigations by CPS, there is a slight decline in the number of substantiated reports of abuse and or neglect (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Of the 905,000 youth who were documented as being victimized in 2006, the vast majority were found to have been neglected (64.1%), followed by physical abuse (16%), sexual abuse (8.8%), psychological or emotional abuse (6.6%), and medical neglect (2.2%) (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2006).

Ovarian cancer afflicts approximately 204,000 women worldwide, with ∼125,000/year deaths. In the United States more than 22,000 new cases of ovarian cancer diagnosed with over 14,000 disease-related deaths.[1] The standard of care in ovarian cancer includes expedient access to the health care system, consultation with a gynecologic oncologist, surgical intervention, and multiagent platinum-based chemotherapy. Prognostic factors for improved survival in women with ovarian cancer include younger age; early stage; low-grade and serous histology; good performance status; disease biology (BRCA1 and 2 mutation carriers have a better prognosis); and low volume of residual disease at the time of cytoreductive surgery. In contrast, African-American race, low socioeconomic status (SES), geographic location, and insurance status have been associated with worse survival and increased probability of not receiving appropriate standard of care treatment.[2-7] These differences in ovarian cancer outcomes linked to race, social, and economic factors indicate that health care disparities exist in the treatment of this gynecologic cancer. In this presentation, we will (1) review the standard of care for epithelial ovarian cancer treatment, (2) discuss the variables affecting the outcome for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer, (3) describe the factors contributing to healthcare disparities, and (4) discuss the evidence for clinical disparities in epithelial ovarian cancer care and outcomes. Causes of healthcare disparities are complex and include differences in race/ethnicity, SES, insurance status, education level, geographic location, culture, healthcare system factors (adherence to treatment guidelines, and access to care), and disease biology.[2-7] The following are highlighted in this presentation: Population-based studies have demonstrated that African-American women are at increased risk of ovarian cancer death compared to non-Hispanic Caucasian women.Population-based studies have demonstrated that African-American women are less likely to undergo site-specific surgery or surgical staging for ovarian cancer compared to Caucasian women.African-American women were less likely to seek care at high-volume hospitals or be operated on by high-volume surgeons.African-American women and those with Medicaid/Medicare payer status are less likely to receive standard of care therapy based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines.Geographic location away from a high-volume hospital is associated with increased risk of non-adherent ovarian cancer care.Geographic barriers to standard treatment disproportionately affect racial minorities and women of low-SES.In contrast to population-based studies, retrospective single academic institution studies and ancillary analysis of large cooperative group phase III trials in advanced ovarian cancer have demonstrated no difference in overall survival in women of African-American and Caucasian descent. The reported research in ovarian cancer indicates that unequal delivery of quality care, obstacles to the delivery of recommended care, and limited access to expert care may account for the disparities seen in ovarian cancer care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has targeted disparities in access to health care as the centerpiece of the Healthy People 2020 campaign and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has unveiled an action plan to reduce racial and ethnic Health disparities.[8, 9] The 5 goals of the HHS Disparities Action Plan are: (1) transform health care; (2) strengthen the nation's Health and Human Services infrastructure and workforce; (3) advance the health, safety, and well-being of the American people; (4) advance scientific knowledge and innovation; and (5) increase the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of HHS programs. The HHS Disparities initiative will specifically target programs to increase knowledge of, access to, and utilization of biomedical and behavioral procedures to reduce cancer disparities.[9] Listed below are future research objectives that will reduce and potentially eliminate health care disparities in ovarian cancer in the United States: Improve our knowledge of the interaction between race, ethnicity, SES, geographic location and ovarian cancer health care disparities across the United States to harmonize existing data and identify opportunities for intervention.Improve our knowledge regarding cultural barriers to care.Promote community-based participatory research to increase ovarian cancer awareness and review standards of care.Develop interventions to provide expedient access to expert care by trained specialists in Gynecology Oncology, cytoreductive surgery, and administration of multiagent platinum-based chemotherapy in order to increase the likelihood of NCCN adherent standard of care therapy.

Regulation of assisted reproductive technologies in the United States

Erlotinib-related skin toxicities: Treatment strategies in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Family Physicians Sue to Shine Light on RUC Deliberations, Claim Specialists Skew Reimbursement Against Primary Care

Just 432 kilometers (270 miles) south of the Bethesda, Md, campus of the NIH lies yet another of the 11 NIH institutes—the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Being apart from the main campus takes a little extra effort on our part to ensure that the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services remember that we're down here [in Research Triangle Park, NC], says David P. Rall, MD, PhD, director of the institute. But we make a deliberate effort to ensure a scientific cross-fertilization between the Bethesda campus and our folks. The institute is the principal federal agency for investigating the effects of chemical, physical, and biologic environmental agents on human health. It was created in 1966 as the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, as federal officials recognized the need for a focal center among government agencies to coordinate the study of environmental health issues. After three