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Background Although victimization is a known contributor to the development of substance use disorders, no research has simultaneously examined how characteristics of victimization experienced over time, such as the type of abuse, the presence of poly-victimization, closeness to perpetrator(s), life threat or fear, and negative social reactions to disclosing victimization, cluster into profiles that predict substance use disorders. Objective The aim of the current study is to assess how profiles of victimization and trauma characteristics are associated with substance use disorders and assess potential gender differences. Participants and Setting Participants were 20,092 adolescents entering substance use treatment. Methods We used latent class and multi-group latent class analysis to extract classes of victimization and associated characteristics. Emergent classes were used to predicted substance use disorder status at treatment intake. Results Five classes were extracted: poly-victimization + high harmful trauma characteristics, sexual abuse + negative social reaction and perceived life threat, emotional abuse + trusted perpetrator, physical abuse and low all. Similar classes were found for the multi-group model. In both the overall and female-specific models, the poly-victimization + high harmful trauma characteristics class was more severe than all other classes in terms of opioid use disorder, tobacco use disorder, and dual diagnosis. Other class differences were found across gender. Conclusions Adolescents entering treatment can be distinguished by their profiles of victimization experiences and associated characteristics, and these profiles evidence different associations with substance use disorder diagnoses. Results point to a need for more nuanced assessment of victimization experiences and gender-specific interventions.

Study objectives The findings from conventional imaging modalities, such as chest CT, are frequently unreliable in patients with lung cancer. This study was designed to compare the relative diagnostic accuracies and utility of the two most widely used functional imaging examinations, F-18–2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) and 99m Tc depreotide scintigraphy, for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Design Prospective, experimental investigation. Setting Academic medical center. Patients One hundred sixty-six subjects with suspected lung cancer were enrolled in the study. Interventions Whole-body and single-photon emission CT imaging of the chest was performed after IV administration of 99m Tc depreotide. Attenuation-corrected FDG PET imaging was performed after IV administration of FDG. Image findings were compared with the biopsy results or clinical follow-up. Measurements and results In 157 subjects with evaluable lung lesions, the sensitivities and specificities for detecting malignant disease (95% confidence intervals) of FDG PET are 96% (90 to 98%) and 71% (54 to 85%), and of 99m Tc depreotide are 94% (88 to 98%) and 51% (34 to 68%). In the 139 subjects with available complete staging data, FDG PET correctly staged 76 of 139 patients (55%), and 99m Tc depreotide correctly staged 63 of 139 patients (45%). Conclusions The sensitivity for detection of lung cancer in the primary lesion is equally high for FDG PET and 99m Tc depreotide. The specificity is superior for FDG PET. The staging accuracy of FDG PET and 99m Tc depreotide is similar, but when read with the chest CT neither scintigraphic examination is sufficiently accurate to stage patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Although electrophysiologic studies are often used to assess antiarrhythmic drug efficacy in patients with ventricular tachycardia (VT), the reproducibility of these studies during therapy has not been definitively established. Confirmation studies were performed during drug therapy in 64 patients (51 men, mean age 63 years) with sustained ventricular arrhythmias induced during initial study to assess the reproducibility of drug effect. All patients had coronary artery disease. The stimulation protocol used included the serial introduction of up to 3 premature ventricular stimuli during sinus rhythm and with ventricular pacing at 2 pacing rates. Rapid ventricular pacing techniques were also used. Antiarrhythmic drug efficacy was confirmed in 77% of patients. Sustained VT was induced at repeat electrophysiologic study in 19% of patients during antiarrhythmic therapy that was previously thought to be effective. In summary, electrophysiologic study results during antiarrhythmic therapy exhibit significant day-to-day variability. Sustained VT can be induced during antiarrhythmic therapy that was previously defined as effective by programmed stimulation in a substantial number of patients.