National HIV and HCV Screening Rates for Hospitalized People who Use Drugs Are Suboptimal and Heterogeneous Across 11 US Hospitals.

Background: To end the HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemics, people who use drugs (PWUD) need more opportunities for testing. While inpatient hospitalizations are an essential opportunity to test people who use drugs (PWUD) for HIV and HCV, there is limited research on rates of inpatient testing for HIV and HCV among PWUD. Methods: Eleven hospital sites were included in the study. Each site created a cohort of inpatient encounters associated with injection drug use. From these cohorts, we collected data on HCV and HIV testing rates and HIV testing consent policies from 65 276 PWUD hospitalizations. Results: Hospitals had average screening rates of 40% for HIV and 32% for HCV, with widespread heterogeneity in screening rates across facilities. State consent laws and opt-out testing policies were not associated with statistically significant differences in HIV screening rates. On average, hospitals that reflexed HCV viral load testing on HCV antibody testing did not have statistically significant differences in HCV viral load testing rates. We found suboptimal testing rates during inpatient encounters for PWUD. As treatment (HIV) and cure (HCV) are necessary to end these epidemics, we need to prioritize understanding and overcoming barriers to testing.

Racial differences in testing for infectious diseases: An analysis of jail intake data.

HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing for all people in jail is recommended by the CDC. In the community, there are barriers to HIV and HCV testing for minoritized people. We examined the relationship between race and infectious diseases (HIV, HCV, syphilis) testing in one Massachusetts jail, Middlesex House of Corrections (MHOC). This is a retrospective analysis of people incarcerated at MHOC who opted-in to infectious diseases testing between 2016-2020. Variables of interest were race/ethnicity, self-identified history of psychiatric illness, and ever having experienced restrictive housing. Twenty-three percent (1,688/8,467) of people who were incarcerated requested testing at intake. Of those, only 38% received testing. Black non-Hispanic (25%) and Hispanic people (30%) were more likely to request testing than white people (19%). Hispanic people (16%, AOR 1.69(1.24-2.29) were more likely to receive a test result compared to their white non-Hispanic (8%, AOR 1.54(1.10-2.15)) counterparts. Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic people were more likely to opt-in to and complete infectious disease testing than white people. These findings could be related to racial disparities in access to care in the community. Additionally, just over one-third of people who requested testing received it, underscoring that there is room for improvement in ensuring testing is completed. We hope our collaborative efforts with jail professionals can encourage other cross-disciplinary investigations.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in HIV Testing in People Who Use Drugs Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Ending the HIV epidemic requires increased testing, diagnosis, and linkage to care. In the past 10 years, rates of HIV have increased among people with substance use disorder (SUD). HIV testing is recommended during hospitalization. Despite rising rates of infections and recommendations, HIV testing remains suboptimal. This study sought to detect differences in HIV testing by race and ethnicity in people who use drugs (PWUD) admitted to Tufts Medical Center (TuftsMC). This study is a retrospective review of hospitalized PWUD admitted from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020. PWUD were identified through toxicology results, medication prescribed for SUD, and nursing intake questions. The primary outcome of interest was whether an HIV test was ordered during hospitalization. The indicator of interest was race and ethnicity. Of 13,486 PWUD admitted to TuftsMC, only 10% had an HIV test ordered. Compared with White patients, Black patients [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.59-0.83)] and Hispanic patients [AOR: 0.68, 95% CI (0.55-0.84)] had decreased odds of receiving an HIV test. Our report is the first to show racial and ethnic differences in HIV testing ordering for hospitalized PWUD. Without access to harm reduction tools and expanded systems-based testing strategies, the HIV epidemic will continue and disproportionately impact minoritized communities.

Area Deprivation Index and Magnitude of Scoliosis at Presentation to a Tertiary Referral Scoliosis Clinic in Massachusetts.

BACKGROUND: There is growing interest in identifying predictors of large scoliosis curves at initial presentation, but few data to guide such preventive efforts. The association of neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation with curve magnitude in this context has not been previously evaluated. The purpose of our study was to determine the correlation of socioeconomic deprivation with scoliosis curve magnitude at initial presentation. Secondarily, we assessed the correlation of body mass index (BMI) with curve severity. METHODS: We retrospectively identified 202 patients presenting with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis to a single tertiary care center in Massachusetts from January 2015 to August 2018. The Area Deprivation Index (ADI), a validated composite measure of neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, was calculated for each patient. Curve magnitude, age, sex, BMI, race, and insurance status were recorded. Pearson correlation was used to determine the association of the ADI and BMI with scoliosis severity. RESULTS: There was no correlation between the ADI and the magnitude of scoliosis at presentation (r=0.055; P=0.43). Greater BMI was moderately correlated with increased scoliosis curve magnitude (r=0.28; P<0.001). There was no association between curve magnitude and patient age, sex, race, or insurance status. CONCLUSIONS: The finding that neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation did not correlate with greater scoliosis severity at presentation may be suggestive of equitable access to specialized scoliosis care. Future research should determine whether this reassuring finding is unique to Massachusetts--a state with high rates of health insurance coverage--or generalizable to other US states. In addition, our study further corroborates the notion that greater BMI is associated with larger scoliosis curves, and calls for targeted interventions to facilitate early scoliosis detection in the growing childhood obese population. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II-prognostic study and retrospective study.

A bipartite network approach to inferring interactions between environmental exposures and human diseases.

Environmental exposure is a key factor of understanding health and diseases. Beyond genetic propensities, many disorders are, in part, caused by human interaction with harmful substances in the water, the soil, or the air. Limited data is available on a disease or substance basis. However, we compile a global repository from literature surveys matching environmental chemical substances exposure with human disorders. We build a bipartite network linking 60 substances to over 150 disease phenotypes. We quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the network and its projections as simple networks. We identify mercury, lead and cadmium as associated with the largest number of disorders. Symmetrically, we show that breast cancer, harm to the fetus and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are associated with the most environmental chemicals. We conduct statistical analysis of how vertices with similar characteristics form the network interactions. This dyadicity and heterophilicity measures the tendencies of vertices with similar properties to either connect to one-another. We study the dyadic distribution of the substance classes in the networks show that, for instance, tobacco smoke compounds, parabens and heavy metals tend to be connected, which hint at common disease causing factors, whereas fungicides and phytoestrogens do not. We build an exposure network at the systems level. The information gathered in this study is meant to be complementary to the genome and help us understand complex diseases, their commonalities, their causes, and how to prevent and treat them.