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Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using the CARTO 3D mapping system is a common approach for pulmonary vein isolation to treat atrial fibrillation (AF). Linkage between CARTO procedural data and patients' electronical health records (EHR) provides an opportunity to identify the ablation-related parameters that would predict AF recurrence. The objective of this study is to assess the incremental accuracy of RFA procedural data to predict post-ablation AF recurrence using machine learning model. Procedural data generated during RFA procedure were downloaded from CARTONET and linked to deidentified Mercy Health EHR data. Data were divided into train (70%) and test (30%) data for model development and validation. Automate machine learning (AutoML) was used to predict 1 year AF recurrence, defined as a composite of repeat ablation, electrical cardioversion, and AF hospitalization. At first, AutoML model only included Patients' demographic and clinical characteristics. Second, an AutoML model with procedural variables and demographical/clinical variables was developed. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and net reclassification improvement (NRI) were used to compare model performances using test data. Among 306 patients, 67 (21.9%) patients experienced 1-year AF recurrence. AUROC increased from 0.66 to 0.78 after adding procedural data in the AutoML model based on test data. For patients with AF recurrence, NRI was 32% for model with procedural data. Nine of 10 important predictive features were CARTO procedural data. From CARTO procedural data, patients with lower contact force in right inferior site, long ablation duration, and low number of left inferior and right roof lesions had a higher risk of AF recurrence. Patients with persistent AF were more likely to have AF recurrence. The machine learning model with procedural data better predicted 1-year AF recurrence than the model without procedural data. The model could be used for identification of patients with high risk of AF recurrence post ablation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundReformulating opioid analgesics to deter abuse is one approach toward improving their benefit-risk balance. To assess sentiment and attempts to defeat these products among difficult-to-reach populations of prescription drug abusers, evaluation of posts on Internet forums regarding reformulated products may be useful. A reformulated version of OxyContin (extended-release oxycodone) with physicochemical properties to deter abuse presented an opportunity to evaluate posts about the reformulation in online discussions. ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to use messages on Internet forums to evaluate reactions to the introduction of reformulated OxyContin and to identify methods aimed to defeat the abuse-deterrent properties of the product. MethodsPosts collected from 7 forums between January 1, 2008 and September 30, 2013 were evaluated before and after the introduction of reformulated OxyContin on August 9, 2010. A quantitative evaluation of discussion levels across the study period and a qualitative coding of post content for OxyContin and 2 comparators for the 26 month period before and after OxyContin reformulation were conducted. Product endorsement was estimated for each product before and after reformulation as the ratio of endorsing-to-discouraging posts (ERo). Post-to-preintroduction period changes in ERos (ie, ratio of ERos) for each product were also calculated. Additionally, post content related to recipes for defeating reformulated OxyContin were evaluated from August 9, 2010 through September 2013. ResultsOver the study period, 45,936 posts related to OxyContin, 18,685 to Vicodin (hydrocodone), and 23,863 to Dilaudid (hydromorphone) were identified. The proportion of OxyContin-related posts fluctuated between 6.35 and 8.25 posts per 1000 posts before the reformulation, increased to 10.76 in Q3 2010 when reformulated OxyContin was introduced, and decreased from 9.14 in Q4 2010 to 3.46 in Q3 2013 in the period following the reformulation. The sentiment profile for OxyContin changed following reformulation; the post-to-preintroduction change in the ERo indicated reformulated OxyContin was discouraged significantly more than the original formulation (ratio of ERos=0.43, P

Anti-HIV-1 T-cell immune responses among 363 unvaccinated adults infected with diverse HIV-1 clades is compared. It is revealed that the response rates to clade B Gag and/or clade B Nef in Botswana, with 95 percent and Cameroon, with 98 percent are similar.

There appears to be no link between hepatitis B vaccination and multiple sclerosis, according to a study of 192 women with multiple sclerosis and 534 healthy women. There was also no increased risk of multiple sclerosis in women who received more than one dose of the vaccine.

Background: Among patients with chronic pain using long-term opioid therapy, the incidence of opioid abuse, addiction, overdose, and associated death are not well quantified. The range of estimates for these adverse outcomes varies drastically and may depend on how they are measured (i.e. study definitions of outcomes) and on patient characteristics and opioid-use factors (e.g. regimen, daily dose).Methods: Based on a review of the literature, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required companies that manufacture and sell extended-release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioids conduct as a postmarketing requirement (PMR) a series of observational studies to estimate the rates of treatment-emergent misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose, and death using validated measures. The companies formed a consortium, the Opioid PMR Consortium (OPC), to conduct the studies.Results: The FDA initially requested four observational studies (a cohort study, a questionnaire validation study, a code validation study, and a doctor-shopping validation study), but in order to achieve the FDA's goals of the 4 studies, OPC and FDA agreed to 10 observational studies (a prospective cohort study, a retrospective database cohort study, three questionnaire validation studies, two code validation studies, and three doctor-shopping validation studies). The studies are continuing through 2020.Conclusions: A series of 10 observational studies was or are being conducted in response to the FDA's postmarketing requirement. All studies have been feasible to conduct, although a validated algorithm for measuring abuse and addiction in databases was not successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]