Defining Priorities in Value-Based Cancer Care: Insights From the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology National Cooperative Group Survey.

PURPOSE: We determine how stakeholders prioritize the importance of oncologic outcomes, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and cancer-related health care costs. METHODS: A survey was distributed to the National Clinical Trials Network Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology cooperative group membership from May 14 to June 30, 2022. Respondents were asked to rate (5-point Likert scale) and rank (1-9) evidence-based value domains: overall survival, treatment toxicities/complications, quality of life (QOL), financial toxicity, access to care, compliance with evidence-based care, health system performance, scientific discovery and innovation, and cost to the health care system. RESULTS: A total of 514 members responded, including researchers (24.7%), nurses (19.5%), medical oncologists (17.9%), administrators (9.3%), surgical and radiation oncologists (9.1%), patient advocates (3.1%), and nonphysician providers (16.4%). Participants represented various practice settings including National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers (29.8%), university-affiliated academic cancer centers (21%), hospital-owned oncology practices (21.8%), and others (27.4%). There was agreement in how respondents prioritized value domains (W = 0.39, P < .001). Respondents ranked patient QOL (mean rank: 2.6 ± 1.9) as most important above all other metrics including survival (mean rank: 3.5 ± 0.3) and access to care (mean rank: 3.5 ± 2.1; P < .001). Members engaged in direct patient care also ranked access to care of higher importance than nonclinicians (P = .026). Cost to the health care system (mean rank: 7.5 ± 2.1) and health system performance (mean rank: 7 ± 2) were ranked as least important (P < .001). Inclusion of PROs into therapeutic assessment (59.3%) was the most frequently selected priority of future cooperative group initiatives. CONCLUSION: Oncology community stakeholders deemed patient-centered value domains as most important and considered patient QOL the highest priority. Inclusion of PROs into clinical trials was endorsed as an important component of therapeutic assessment. These findings can be taken into consideration when creating a value framework for inclusion in cancer clinical trials.

Is 2-dimensional transvaginal ultrasonography necessary 6 weeks after insertion of the levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine device?

BACKGROUND: In Dutch practice, gynecologists are used to assessing the position of the LNG-IUD by performing a two-dimensional transvaginal ultrasonography (TVUS) directly after insertion and do not routinely invite patients for another consultation 4-12 weeks after insertion. There is no consensus whether a TVUS six weeks after insertion is routinely needed. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the incidence of malposition using 2-dimensional transvaginal ultrasonography during routine investigation 6 weeks after insertion. In addition, we investigated the relationship between malposition of the levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine device and unfavorable bleeding patterns and pelvic pain. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a large prospective cohort study. Patients seeking a levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine device were eligible for inclusion. Transvaginal ultrasonography was performed to check position of the levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine device immediately after insertion and 6 weeks later. Patients filled in questionnaires about bleeding pattern and pelvic pain 6 weeks after insertion. RESULTS: From March 2015 to December 2016, we enrolled 500 patients. Data from the transvaginal ultrasonography assessment 6 weeks after insertion were available for 448 patients, and complete data (transvaginal ultrasonography and questionnaire data) were available for 363 patients (72.6%). Malposition rate was 6.3% (28/448 patients). Malposition was seen in 15 of 198 patients (7.6%) with unfavorable bleeding and/or pelvic pain and in 3 of 165 patients (1.8%) with favorable bleeding patterns and no pelvic pain (P=.03).Malposition was seen in 14 of 186 patients (7.5%) with an unfavorable bleeding pattern and in 4 of 177 patients (2.3%) with favorable bleeding patterns (P=.008). Malposition was seen in 5 of 50 patients (10%) with pelvic pain and in 13 of 313 patients (4.2%) without pelvic pain (P=.08). CONCLUSION: The malposition rate of the levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine device observed using transvaginal ultrasonography 6 weeks after insertion was 6.3%. If patients have no complaints of unfavorable bleeding and/or pelvic pain, the risk for malposition is low (1.8%) and a routine transvaginal ultrasonography is not necessary. However, if patients experience unfavorable bleeding, a transvaginal ultrasonography should be considered to exclude malposition, because the effect of malposition on contraceptive effectiveness is unsure. Future research should focus on cost-benefit analysis.

Full-Thickness Scar Resection After R1/Rx Excised T1 Colorectal Cancers as an Alternative to Completion Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Local full-thickness resections of the scar (FTRS) after local excision of a T1 colorectal cancer (CRC) with uncertain resection margins is proposed as an alternative strategy to completion surgery (CS), provided that no local intramural residual cancer (LIRC) is found. However, a comparison on long-term oncological outcome between both strategies is missing. METHODS: A large cohort of patients with consecutive T1 CRC between 2000 and 2017 was used. Patients were selected if they underwent a macroscopically complete local excision of a T1 CRC but positive or unassessable (R1/Rx) resection margins at histology and without lymphovascular invasion or poor differentiation. Patients treated with CS or FTRS were compared on the presence of CRC recurrence, a 5-year overall survival, disease-free survival, and metastasis-free survival. RESULTS: Of 3,697 patients with a T1 CRC, 434 met the inclusion criteria (mean age 66 years, 61% men). Three hundred thirty-four patients underwent CS, and 100 patients underwent FTRS. The median follow-up period was 64 months. CRC recurrence was seen in 7 patients who underwent CS (2.2%, 95% CI 0.9%-4.6%) and in 8 patients who underwent FTRS (9.0%, 95% CI 3.9%-17.7%). Disease-free survival was lower in FTRS strategy (96.8% vs 89.9%, P = 0.019), but 5 of the 8 FTRS recurrences could be treated with salvage surgery. The metastasis-free survival (CS 96.8% vs FTRS 92.1%, P = 0.10) and overall survival (CS 95.6% vs FTRS 94.4%, P = 0.55) did not differ significantly between both strategies. DISCUSSION: FTRS after local excision of a T1 CRC with R1/Rx resection margins as a sole risk factor, followed by surveillance and salvage surgery in case of CRC recurrence, could be a valid alternative strategy to CS.

Telehealth and eHealth in nurse practitioner training: current perspectives.

Telehealth is becoming a vital process for providing access to cost-effective quality care to patients at a distance. As such, it is important for nurse practitioners, often the primary providers for rural and disadvantaged populations, to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to utilize telehealth technologies in practice. In reviewing the literature, very little information was found on programs that addressed nurse practitioner training in telehealth. This article provides an overview of both the topics and the techniques that have been utilized for training nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students in the delivery of care utilizing telehealth. Specifically, this article focuses on topics including 1) defining telehealth, 2) telehealth etiquette, 3) interprofessional collaboration, 4) regulations, 5) reimbursement, 6) security/Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), 7) ethical practice in telehealth, and 8) satisfaction of patients and providers. A multimodal approach based on a review of the literature is presented for providing the training: 1) didactics, 2) simulations including standardized patient encounters, 3) practice immersions, and 4) telehealth projects. Studies found that training using the multimodal approach allowed the students to develop comfort, knowledge, and skills needed to embrace the utilization of telehealth in health care.

Open Globe Injury Patient Identification in Warfare Clinical Notes.

The aim of this study is to utilize the Defense and Veterans Eye Injury and Vision Registry clinical data derived from DoD and VA medical systems which include documentation of care while in combat, and develop methods for comprehensive and reliable Open Globe Injury (OGI) patient identification. In particular, we focus on the use of free-form clinical notes, since structured data, such as diagnoses or procedure codes, as found in early post-trauma clinical records, may not be a comprehensive and reliable indicator of OGIs. The challenges of the task include low incidence rate (few positive examples), idiosyncratic military ophthalmology vocabulary, extreme brevity of notes, specialized abbreviations, typos and misspellings. We modeled the problem as a text classification task and utilized a combination of supervised learning (SVMs) and word embeddings learnt in a unsupervised manner, achieving a precision of 92.50% and a recall of89.83%o. The described techniques are applicable to patient cohort identification with limited training data and low incidence rate.

Assessing Structural Quality Elements of Pediatric Emergency Care.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Emergency departments must have appropriate resources and equipment available to meet the unique needs of children. We assessed the availability of stakeholder-endorsed quality structure performance measures for pediatric emergency department patients. METHODS: A survey of Child Health Corporation of America member hospitals was conducted. Six broad equipment groups were queried: general, monitoring, respiratory, vascular access, fracture-management, and specialized pediatric trays. Equipment availability was determined at the level of the individual item, 6 broad groups, and 44 equipment subgroups. The survey queried the availability of 8 protocol/procedure elements: method to identify age-based abnormal vital signs, patient-centered care advisory council, bronchiolitis evidence-based guideline, pediatric radiation dosing standards, suspected child abuse protocols, use of validated pediatric triage tool, and presence of nurse and physician pediatric coordinators. RESULTS: Fifty-two percent (22/42) of sites completed the survey. Forty-one percent reported availability of all 113 recommended equipment items. Every hospital reported complete availability of equipment in 77% of the subgroups. The most common missing items were adult-sized lumbar puncture needles, hypothermia thermometers, and various sizes of laryngeal mask airways. Regarding the protocol/procedure elements, a method to identify age-based abnormal vital signs, pediatric radiation dosing standard, and nurse and physician pediatric coordinators were present in 100%. Ninety-five percent used a validated triage tool and had suspected child abuse protocols. CONCLUSIONS: Presence of necessary pediatric emergency equipment is better in the surveyed hospitals than in prior reports. Most responding hospitals have important protocol/procedures in place. These data may provide benchmarks for optimal care.

Successful Oocyte Cryopreservation in Reproductive-Aged Cancer Survivors.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate that oocyte cryopreservation is a feasible reproductive option for patients with cancer of childbearing age who require gonadotoxic therapies. METHODS: This study is a university-based retrospective review of reproductive-aged cancer patient treatment cycles that included ovarian stimulation, transvaginal oocyte retrieval, oocyte cryopreservation, and, in some cases, subsequent oocyte thaw, in vitro fertilization, and embryo transfer. Outcome measures included ovarian stimulation response, number of oocytes retrieved, cryopreserved, and thawed, and pregnancy data. RESULTS: From 2005 to 2014, 176 reproductive-aged patients with cancer (median age 31 years, interquartile range 24-36) completed 182 oocyte cryopreservation cycles. Median time between consult request and oocyte retrieval was 12 days (interquartile range 10-14). Median peak stimulation estradiol was 1,446 pg/mL (interquartile range 730-2,687); 15 (interquartile range 9-23) oocytes were retrieved and 10 (interquartile range 5-18) metaphase II oocytes were cryopreserved per cycle. Ten patients (11 cycles) have returned to attempt pregnancy with their cryopreserved oocytes. Among thawed oocytes, the cryopreservation survival rate was 86% (confidence interval [CI] 78-94%). Nine of 11 thaw cycles resulted in embryos suitable for transfer. The embryo implantation rate was 27% (CI 8-46%) and the live birth rate was 44% (CI 12-77%) per embryo transfer. Chance for live birth with embryos created from cryopreserved oocytes was similar between the patients with cancer in this study and noncancer patients who underwent the same treatment at our center (44% [CI 12-77%] compared with 33% [CI 22-44%] per embryo transfer). CONCLUSION: Oocyte cryopreservation is now a feasible fertility preservation option for reproductive-aged patients with cancer who require gonadotoxic therapies.

The Haemophilus ducreyi trimeric autotransporter adhesin DsrA protects against an experimental infection in the swine model of chancroid.

Adherence of pathogens to cellular targets is required to initiate most infections. Defining strategies that interfere with adhesion is therefore important for the development of preventative measures against infectious diseases. As an adhesin to host extracellular matrix proteins and human keratinocytes, the trimeric autotransporter adhesin DsrA, a proven virulence factor of the Gram-negative bacterium Haemophilus ducreyi, is a potential target for vaccine development. A recombinant form of the N-terminal passenger domain of DsrA from H. ducreyi class I strain 35000HP, termed rNT-DsrAI, was tested as a vaccine immunogen in the experimental swine model of H. ducreyi infection. Viable homologous H. ducreyi was not recovered from any animal receiving four doses of rNT-DsrAI administered with Freund's adjuvant at two-week intervals. Control pigs receiving adjuvant only were all infected. All animals receiving the rNT-DsrAI vaccine developed antibody endpoint titers between 3.5 and 5 logs. All rNT-DsrAI antisera bound the surface of the two H. ducreyi strains used to challenge immunized pigs. Purified anti-rNT-DsrAI IgG partially blocked binding of fibrinogen at the surface of viable H. ducreyi. Overall, immunization with the passenger domain of the trimeric autotransporter adhesin DsrA accelerated clearance of H. ducreyi in experimental lesions, possibly by interfering with fibrinogen binding.

Textual standardization and the DSM-5 "common language".

In February 2010, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) launched their DSM-5 website with details about the development of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The APA invited "the general public" to review the draft diagnostic criteria and provide written comments and suggestions. This revision marks the first time the APA has solicited public review of their diagnostic manual. This article analyzes reported speech on the DSM-5 draft diagnostic criteria for the classification Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. It demonstrates how textual standardization facilitates the cultural portability of the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria such that a community of speakers beyond the borders of the APA come to be seen as exemplary speakers, writers, and revisers of the professional style. Furthermore, analysis shows how co-authoring practices recontextualize the "voice" and persona of putative patient reported speech on Criterion D2. As a consequence of textual standardization, spoken discourse becomes recontextualized as the product of scientific inquiry and the organization of psychiatric knowledge.

Dietary estimates of dioxins consumed in U.S. Department of Agriculture-regulated meat and poultry products.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) examined whether levels of dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) measured in FSIS-regulated meat and poultry products indicate possible concern for U.S. public health based on usual and recommended consumption patterns of meat and poultry for the U.S. population. The FSIS estimated daily dietary exposures and compared them with the reference dose (RfD) established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for potential noncancer risks from 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), assuming that all measured DLCs were represented by the RfD (i.e., not just TCDD alone). The estimates indicate that a typical U.S. adult daily exposure of DLCs from FSIS-regulated products is below the EPA-established RfD. Only children consuming chronic average daily servings of meat or poultry products containing the highest measured levels of DLCs may exceed the RfD. If one follows the recommendations from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, all expected exposures to DLCs from FSIS-regulated products are estimated to be well below the RfD.

Topical anesthetic cream is associated with spontaneous cutaneous abscess drainage in children.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to determine whether use of topical anesthetic cream increases spontaneous drainage of skin abscesses and reduces the need for procedural sedation. METHODS: A retrospective multicenter cohort study from 3 academic pediatric emergency departments was conducted for randomly selected children with a cutaneous abscess in 2007. Children up to 18 years of age were eligible if they had a skin abscess at presentation. Demographics, abscess characteristics, and use of a topical analgesic were obtained from medical records. RESULTS: Of 300 subjects, 58% were female and the median age was 7.8 years (interquartile range, 2-15 years). Mean abscess size was 3.5 ± 2.4 cm, most commonly located on the lower extremity (30%), buttocks (24%), and face (12%). A drainage procedure was required in 178 children, of whom 9 underwent drainage in the operating room. Of the remaining 169 children who underwent emergency department-based drainage, 110 (65%) had a topical anesthetic agent with an occlusive dressing placed on their abscess before drainage. Use of a topical anesthetic resulted in spontaneous abscess drainage in 26 patients, of whom 3 no longer required any further intervention. In the 166 patients who underwent additional manipulation, procedural sedation was required in 26 (24%) of those who had application of a topical anesthetic and in 24 (41%) of those who had no topical anesthetic (odds ratio, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.23-0.89). CONCLUSIONS: Topical anesthetic cream application before drainage procedures promotes spontaneous drainage and decreases the need for procedural sedation for pediatric cutaneous abscess patients.

Passive immunization with a polyclonal antiserum to the hemoglobin receptor of Haemophilus ducreyi confers protection against a homologous challenge in the experimental swine model of chancroid.

Haemophilus ducreyi, the etiologic agent of chancroid, has an obligate requirement for heme. Heme is acquired by H. ducreyi from its human host via TonB-dependent transporters expressed at its bacterial surface. Of 3 TonB-dependent transporters encoded in the genome of H. ducreyi, only the hemoglobin receptor, HgbA, is required to establish infection during the early stages of the experimental human model of chancroid. Active immunization with a native preparation of HgbA (nHgbA) confers complete protection in the experimental swine model of chancroid, using either Freund's or monophosphoryl lipid A as adjuvants. To determine if transfer of anti-nHgbA serum is sufficient to confer protection, a passive immunization experiment using pooled nHgbA antiserum was conducted in the experimental swine model of chancroid. Pigs receiving this pooled nHgbA antiserum were protected from a homologous, but not a heterologous, challenge. Passively transferred polyclonal antibodies elicited to nHgbA bound the surface of H. ducreyi and partially blocked hemoglobin binding by nHgbA, but were not bactericidal. Taken together, these data suggest that the humoral immune response to the HgbA vaccine is protective against an H. ducreyi infection, possibly by preventing acquisition of the essential nutrient heme.

Making use of a natural stress test: pregnancy and cardiovascular risk.

The gestational period serves as a natural stress test that can be used to predict future cardiovascular health risks of female patients. Recent evidence confirms that mothers with hypertensive pregnancies have higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks compared to other women of similar age. In women with preeclampsia, those delivering before 37 weeks of gestation and mothers with recurring preeclampsia in subsequent pregnancies carry the greater risks. These sex-specific risks are of similar magnitude to traditional CVD risk factors, such as smoking and obesity. Unfortunately, none of the commonly used CVD risk stratification models make use of these sex-specific markers, which can powerfully predict future CVD outcomes. Because women have historically posed a greater diagnostic challenge than men in assessing CVD risks, better models for risk stratification in this sex group are needed. A history of hypertension in pregnancy should be included as a variable in cardiovascular risk stratification. In addition, screening women for a history of preeclampsia should become routine practice, with greater emphasis placed on therapies to modify adverse outcomes for these higher-risk women.

Airway pressure release ventilation and successful lung donation.

HYPOTHESIS: Donor management with airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) improves oxygenation and increases lung donation while maintaining equivalent graft survival. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SETTING: Private, tertiary care, level I trauma center. PATIENTS: Forty-five consecutive organ donors. INTERVENTIONS: Management with assist/control ventilation (ACV) or APRV. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic characteristics, medical history, mode of brain death, and partial pressure of arterial oxygen (Pao(2))/fraction of inspired oxygen (Fio(2)) ratios on admission and after 100% oxygen challenge, percentage of lungs transplanted, and graft survival. RESULTS: Twenty potential donors were managed with ACV and 25 were managed with APRV during the study period. The APRV patients were younger than the ACV patients (mean [SD] age, 34 [11] vs 41 [12] years, respectively; P = .05). Otherwise, there was no difference between the ACV and APRV groups with respect to demographic characteristics, medical history, or mode of brain death. Although the ACV and APRV groups had similar Pao(2)/Fio(2) ratios on admission and the mean time on the ventilator was the same, the APRV group had a higher Pao(2)/Fio(2) ratio than the ACV group (mean [SD], 498 [43] vs 334 [104] mm Hg, respectively; P < .001) after 100% oxygen challenge. The ACV group ultimately donated 7 of 40 potential lungs (18%) compared with 42 of 50 potential lungs (84%) in the APRV group (P < .001). There was no difference in the number of other organs per donor procured from the 2 groups. Survival of grafts managed with both APRV and ACV compared favorably with national averages. CONCLUSION: The use of APRV prior to procurement may increase the rate of successful lung donation.

Prevalence and risks of allosensitization in HeartMate left ventricular assist device recipients: the impact of leukofiltered cellular blood product transfusions.

OBJECTIVE: Allosensitization of left ventricular assist device recipients has been associated with perioperative transfusion of cellular blood products. The relative sensitizing contribution of leukofiltered cellular blood products, however, remains unclear. We investigated the pattern of sensitization in left ventricular assist device recipients in relation to cellular blood product transfusions received. METHODS: Seventy-one consecutive nonsensitized recipients of the HeartMate left ventricular assist device (Thoratec Corporation, Pleasanton, Calif) as a bridge to transplantation were reviewed. Panel-reactive HLA antibody levels at consecutive times after device implantation were correlated with perioperative cellular blood product transfusions. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients received leukofiltered cellular blood products (transfused), whereas 17 patients received only fresh-frozen plasma (nontransfused). Among nontransfused patients, 58.8% (10/17) became sensitized during mechanical support, versus 35.2% of transfused patients (19/54, P = .15). There was a trend toward more sensitization during the 12 weeks after device placement in nontransfused patients. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed significantly more sensitization in nontransfused patients than in transfused patients, despite equal rates of transplantation (P = .05). A dose-response analysis revealed significant trends toward less sensitization and lower peak panel-reactive antibody level with more cellular blood product transfusions (P = .04). Multivariate Cox regression revealed only increasing transfusions to be associated with a reduced risk of sensitization (hazard ratio 0.18, P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Sensitization becomes more prevalent with increasing length of support. Avoidance of perioperative leukocyte-filtered cellular blood product transfusions does not decrease the incidence or degree of HLA sensitization. Conversely, cellular blood product transfusions may be associated with lessened alloimmunization and may mitigate the sensitization seen in recipients of the HeartMate left ventricular assist device as a bridge to transplantation.

Expression and localization of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha mRNA in the porcine ovary.

Angiogenesis is an essential process during follicular development and corpora lutea (CL) formation. Recent studies have shown that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an essential regulator of ovarian angiogenesis. Several lines of evidence have indicated that the production of VEGF is regulated by hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha), especially under hypoxic conditions, but the expression of HIF-1alpha has not been well characterized in the porcine ovary. The present study examined the expression of HIF-1alpha mRNA and its localization in porcine ovaries at different stages of the estrous cycle. Northern blot analyses of total CL RNA indicated hybridization of the porcine HIF-1alpha probe to transcripts of approximately 3.8 kb. The mRNA expression of HIF-1alpha was highest in CL during the early luteal phase, followed by a decrease during the mid- and late-luteal phases. Using in situ hybridization, abundant HIF-1alpha mRNA was evident in follicles and CL. Within non-atretic follicles, HIF-1alpha mRNA was highly expressed in the granulosa cell layer, while weaker labeling was evident in the theca interna. These results suggest that HIF-1alpha may play a role in the regulation of cellular metabolism and blood supply during follicular growth and CL formation.

Activity of tigecycline tested against a global collection of Enterobacteriaceae, including tetracycline-resistant isolates.

Steadily increasing resistance among the Enterobacteriaceae to beta-lactams, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole has compromised the utility of these commonly used antimicrobial classes for many community- or hospital-acquired infections. The development of tigecycline, the sentinel representative of a novel class of broad-spectrum agents (the glycylcyclines), represents an important milestone in addressing this critical need. Resistance to tigecycline might be expected to occur via the same mechanisms that produce tetracycline resistance; however, tigecycline remains stable and largely unaffected by the commonly occurring efflux and ribosomal protection resistance mechanisms. In this study, an international collection of Enterobacteriaceae (11327 isolates; 32.8% tetracycline-resistant) from global surveillance studies (2000-2004) were evaluated against tigecycline and other comparator antimicrobials. Although the most active agents were the carbapenems and aminoglycosides (97.5-99.7% susceptible), tigecycline displayed high potency (MIC50 and MIC90, 0.25 and 1 microg/mL) with 95.7% of all strains being inhibited at < or =2 microg/mL. Despite higher MIC values observed with Serratia spp. and Proteae, between 90.5% and 97.5% of isolates were inhibited by < or =4 microg/mL of tigecycline. Tetracycline-resistant populations demonstrated only modest decreases in potency to tigecycline, which appeared to be species-dependent (up to 2-fold only for Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and Panteoa agglomerans; and up to 4-fold for Klebsiella spp., Enterobacter spp., and Citrobacter spp.). Among E. coli (263 isolates) and Klebsiella spp. (356) that meet recognized screening definitions for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase production, 100.0% and 94.4% were inhibited by tigecycline at 2 microg/mL, respectively. These findings confirm that tigecycline exhibits potency, breadth of spectrum, and stability to the commonly occurring resistance mechanisms found in contemporary Enterobacteriaceae isolates, attributes that make this parenteral agent an attractive candidate for use against serious infections produced by these species.