Comparison of respiratory virus shedding by conventional and molecular testing methods in patients with haematological malignancy.

Respiratory viruses (RV) are a leading cause of infection-related morbidity and mortality for patients undergoing treatment for cancer. This analysis compared duration of RV shedding as detected by culture and PCR among patients in a high-risk oncology setting (adult patients with haematological malignancy and/or stem cell transplant and all paediatric oncology patients) and determined risk factors for extended shedding. RV infections due to influenza virus, parainfluenza virus (PIV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) from two study periods-January 2009-September 2011 (culture-based testing) and September 2011-April 2013 (PCR-based testing)-were reviewed retrospectively. Data were collected from patients in whom re-testing for viral clearance was carried out within 5-30 days after the most recent test. During the study period 456 patients were diagnosed with RV infection, 265 by PCR and 191 by culture. The median range for duration of shedding (days) by culture and PCR, respectively, were as follows-influenza virus: 13 days (5-38 days) versus 14 days (5-58 days), p 0.5; RSV: 11 days (5-35 days) versus 16 days (5-50 days), p 0.001; PIV: 9 days (5-41 days) versus 17 days (5-45 days), p ≤0.0001; HMPV 10.5 days (5-29 days) versus 14 days (5-42 days), p 0.2. In multivariable analysis, age and underlying disease or transplant were not independently associated with extended shedding regardless of testing method. In high-risk oncology settings for respiratory illness due to RSV and PIV, the virus is detectable by PCR for a longer period of time than by culture and extended shedding is observed.

Height and the risk of gestational diabetes: variations by race/ethnicity.

AIMS: Gestational diabetes is a common pregnancy complication affecting races/ethnicities disproportionally. Adult height, an indicator of both genetic and early-life factors, is inconsistently associated with gestational diabetes risk. We examined the association and whether it varies by races in a nationally representative US cohort. METHODS: Analyses were conducted among 135 861 pregnancies in the Consortium on Safe Labor, 5567 of which were diagnosed with gestational diabetes based on medical records review. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) of gestational diabetes, controlling for other risk factors including body weight. Additionally, a meta-analysis of 15 761 pregnancies with gestational diabetes and 205 828 without gestational diabetes was conducted to estimate the pooled mean difference in height between those with gestational diabetes and control subjects. RESULTS: Height was inversely associated with gestational diabetes risk across races/ethnicities, with the strongest association among Asians (P for interaction < 0.01). Comparing extreme quartiles (> 168 vs. < 157 cm), adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 0.18 (0.09-0.36) for Asians/Pacific Islanders, 0.33 (0.29-0.38) for non-Hispanic white women, 0.39 (0.31-0.51) for Hispanics and 0.59 (0.47-0.75) for non-Hispanic black women. Meta-analysis found women with gestational diabetes to be significantly shorter than others. CONCLUSIONS: Taller women are at lower risk of developing gestational diabetes, with the magnitude of association varying significantly across races/ethnicities.

Maternal overweight and obesity and risk of congenital heart defects in offspring.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is a risk factor for congenital heart defects (CHDs), but whether risk is independent of abnormal glucose metabolism remains unknown. Data on whether overweight status increases the risk are also conflicting. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We included 121 815 deliveries from a cohort study, the Consortium on Safe Labor (CSL), after excluding women with pregestational diabetes as recorded in the electronic medical record. CHD was identified via medical record discharge summaries. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for any CHD were calculated for prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) categories of overweight (25-<30 kg m(-2)), obese (30-<40 kg m(-2)) and morbidly obese (≥40 kg m(-2)) compared with normal weight (18.5-<25 kg m(-2)) women, and for specific CHD with obese groups combined (≥30 kg m(-2)). A subanalysis adjusting for oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results where available was performed as a proxy for potential abnormal glucose metabolism present at the time of organogenesis. RESULTS: There were 1388 (1%) infants with CHD. Overweight (OR=1.15, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.01-1.32), obese (OR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.09-1.44) and morbidly obese (OR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.02-1.76) women had greater OR of having a neonate with CHD than normal weight women (P<0.001 for trend). Obese women (BMI≥30 kg m(-2)) had higher OR of having an infant with conotruncal defects (OR = 1.33, 95% CI: (1.03­1.72) [corrected], atrial septal defects (OR=1.22, 95% CI: 1.04-1.43) and ventricular septal defects (OR=1.38, 95% CI: 1.06-1.79). Being obese remained a significant predictor of CHD risk after adjusting for OGTT. CONCLUSION: Increasing maternal weight class was associated with an increased risk for CHD. In obese women, abnormal glucose metabolism did not completely explain the increased risk for CHD; the possibility that other obesity-related factors are teratogenic requires further investigation.

Gestational diabetes, pre-pregnancy obesity and pregnancy weight gain in relation to excess fetal growth: variations by race/ethnicity.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The escalating rate of childhood obesity is a public health concern worldwide, with children in certain ethnic groups being disproportionately affected. Our objective was to examine the joint effects of pre-pregnancy adiposity, pregnancy weight gain and gestational diabetes (GDM) in relation to excess fetal growth and to identify susceptible races or ethnic populations. METHODS: The risk for delivery of a large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infant, specific to race and fetal sex, was evaluated in 105,985 pregnancies in the Consortium on Safe Labor from 2002-2008. Generalised estimating equations were used to estimate the risk for delivery of LGA infants. Joint effects were employed to evaluate the interplay of three risk factors. Models were stratified by racial group considering one, two or three factors (i.e. pre-pregnancy adiposity, pregnancy weight gain and GDM, with 0 factors as the reference group). RESULTS: Greater pre-pregnancy adiposity, pregnancy weight gain and GDM were independently associated with increased risk of giving birth to an LGA infant across all races (except GDM among non-Hispanic whites), in both underweight and normal-weight women. Among non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women, the three-factor joint effect was associated with substantially increased odds of LGA (OR [95% CI] 11.27 [8.40, 15.11], 7.09 [4.81, 10.45] and 10.19 [6.84, 15.19], respectively). However, for Asian women the joint effect of all three factors (OR [95% CI] 5.14 [2.11, 12.50]) was approximately the same as any of the two factors. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: GDM, pre-pregnancy obesity and excessive pregnancy weight gain were jointly associated with elevated risk of giving birth to an LGA infant and the effects varied by race. This suggests that those involved in public health efforts aimed at preventing LGA deliveries should consider variations in racial groups when devising effective strategies.