readmission rates, risk-adjusted 30-day readmission declined despite inclusion of clinical variables in risk adjustment, but mortality did not decline. Future investigations should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of specific approaches to readmission reduction to inform efficient and effective application in individual health systems, hospitals, and practices.

In this analysis of an integrated health care system that provided guidance and nonfinancial incentives for reducing readmissions, such as public reporting of readmission rates, risk-adjusted 30-day readmission declined despite inclusion of clinical variables in risk adjustment, but mortality did not decline. Future investigations should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of specific approaches to readmission reduction to inform efficient and effective application in individual health systems, hospitals, and practices.

Administration of hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated pneumonia carries increased risk of corrected QT (QTc) prolongation and cardiac arrhythmias.

To characterize the risk and degree of QT prolongation in patients with COVID-19 in association with their use of hydroxychloroquine with or without concomitant azithromycin.

This was a cohort study performed at an academic tertiary care center in Boston, Massachusetts, of patients hospitalized with at least 1 positive COVID-19 nasopharyngeal polymerase chain reaction test result and clinical findings consistent with pneumonia who received at least 1 day of hydroxychloroquine from March 1, 2020, through April 7, 2020.

Change in QT interval after receiving hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin; occurrence of other potential adverse drug events.

Among 90 patients given hydroxychloroquine, 53 received concomitant azithromycin; 44 (48.9%) were female, and the mean (SD) binicians should carefully weigh risks and benefits if considering hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, with close monitoring of QTc and concomitant medication usage.

Investigating outcomes after marginal allograft transplant is essential in determining appropriate and more aggressive use of these allografts.

To determine the time trends in the outcomes of marginal liver allografts as defined by 6 different sets of criteria.

In this cohort, multicenter study, 75 050 patients who received a liver transplant between March 1, 2002, and September 30, 2016, were retrospectively analyzed to last known follow-up (n = 55 395) or death (n = 19 655) using the United Network for Organ Sharing Database. The study period was divided into three 5-year eras 2002-2006, 2007-2011, and 2012-2016. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were used to examine the allograft after transplant with marginal allografts, which were defined as 90th percentile Donor Risk Index allografts (calculated over the entire study period), donor after circulatory death allografts, national share allografts, old age (donors >70 years) allograftsage the aggressive use of liver allografts and may indicate a need for a redefinition of allograft marginality in liver transplantation.

The study’s findings encourage the aggressive use of liver allografts and may indicate a need for a redefinition of allograft marginality in liver transplantation.Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with human abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA); however, its role in AAA pathogenesis is unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of vitamin D deficiency on AAA development and examine if administering cholecalciferol (CCF) could limit growth of established AAA within the angiotensin-II (AngII) infused apolipoprotein E-deficient mouse model. SBFI-26 research buy Mice were rendered vitamin D deficiency through dietary restriction and during AngII infusion developed larger AAAs as assessed by ultrasound and ex vivo morphometry that ruptured more commonly (48% vs. 19%; P=0.028) than controls. Vitamin D deficiency was associated with increased aortic expression of osteopontin and matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 than controls. CCF administration to mice with established aortic aneurysms limited AAA growth as assessed by ultrasound (P less then 0.001) and ex vivo morphometry (P=0.036) and reduced rupture rate (8% vs. 46%; P=0.031). This effect was associated with up-regulation of circulating and aortic sclerostin. Incubation of human aortic smooth muscle cells with 1,25-dihyroxyvitamin D3 (the active metabolite of vitamin D) for 48 h induced up-regulation of sclerostin (P less then 0.001) and changed the expression of a range of other genes important in extracellular matrix remodeling. The present study suggests that vitamin D deficiency promotes development of large rupture-prone aortic aneurysms in an experimental model. CCF administration limited both growth and rupture of established aneurysms. These effects of vitamin D appeared to be mediated via changes in genes involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, particularly sclerostin.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a complex multifactorial disease. Previous studies have revealed genetic variations associated with the risk of gastric cancer. The purpose of the present study was to determine the correlation between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ZBTB20 and the risk of gastric cancer in Chinese Han population.

We conducted a ‘case-control’ study involving 509 GC patients and 507 healthy individuals. We selected four SNPs of ZBTB20 (10934270 T/C, rs9288999 G/A, rs9841504 G/C and rs73230612 C/T), and used logistic regression to analyze the relationship between those SNPs and GC risk under different genetic models; multi-factor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was used to analyze the interaction of “SNP-SNP” in gastric cancer risk; ANOVA and univariate analysis were used to analyze the differences in clinical characteristics among different genotypes.

Our results showed that ZBTB20 rs9288999 is a protective factor for the risk of gastric cancer in multiple genetic models, of which the homozygous model is the most significant (OR = 0.