LSU Health Digital Scholar (Louisiana State Univ.)
Not a member yet
8182 research outputs found
Sort by
Recent Alcohol Use Influences Associations between Cortisol Levels and Negative Affect: The New Orleans Alcohol Use in HIV Study
No full textHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection contributes to both neurological and psychiatric disorders. People with HIV (PWH) are disproportionately affected by chronic pain and negative affective comorbidities, such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PWH are also more likely to consume alcohol, further exacerbating these conditions. Dysregulation of biological stress systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, is believed to contribute to these comorbidities. The current analysis sourced data from the New Orleans Alcohol Use in HIV (NOAH) study, a longitudinal investigation of alcohol use patterns in an underserved cohort of PWH. Prior findings from this cohort demonstrated that higher alcohol consumption is associated with worse mental health outcomes (e.g., greater depression and anxiety). Here we examined the relationships between negative affective comorbidities (anxiety, depression, and PTSD), pain, alcohol use, and plasma levels of cortisol, the major stress hormone, in PWH. Our analysis revealed significant associations between cortisol levels, PTSD symptoms, and pain intensity. Moreover, the relationship between PTSD and cortisol was stronger among recent alcohol drinkers (PEth-positive participants) and males. The association between pain intensity and cortisol was also stronger in recent alcohol drinkers. Although depression and cortisol levels showed no overall relationship, females with the highest depression scores exhibited significantly higher cortisol levels. Our findings emphasize the need for further investigation into how ongoing alcohol use may increase relationships between cortisol and the deterioration of mental health in male and female PWH
Female military service members and veterans: Understanding treatment seeking behavior and previous suicide risk among suicide decedents.
No full textTo examine the differences in treatment seeking behaviors, previous suicidal thoughts, previous suicide attempts, and disclosure of suicidal thoughts among female service members (SM)/Veteran suicide decedents who used a firearm and those who used another method. Data was acquired from the National Violent Death Reporting System which is maintained and monitored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Data included in the present study were from suicide deaths that occurred between 2003–2018. Female SM/Veterans who died by firearm suicide had lower proportions of current mental health or substance use treatment, lifetime mental health or substance use treatment, and previous suicide attempts compared to those who used another method. Female SM/Veterans who die by firearm suicide are less likely to encounter mental health services than those who use another method. Conversations on secure firearm storage need to occur outside of the health care setting
Local Antibiotics and the Risk of Antimicrobial Resistance in Extremity Fractures Complicated by Fracture-Related Infection.
No full textBackground: We evaluated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns following local antibiotic use in a large cohort of patients with fractures from the PREP-IT (A Program of Randomized Trials to Evaluate Preoperative Antiseptic Skin Solutions in Orthopaedic Trauma) study. We hypothesized that, among patients with extremity fractures who developed fracture-related infection (FRI), there would be no difference in AMR rates between those who had or had not received local antibiotic therapy with surgical fixation. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of all patients in the PREP-IT trial who developed FRI. Patient demographics, injury and fracture characteristics, and the primary outcome of the presence of an antimicrobial-resistant FRI were evaluated on the basis of whether the patient had or had not received local antibiotics in the operating room prior to, or at, definitive fixation. Results: A total of 555 FRIs in 546 patients (mean age, 50 years; 39% female; and 82% White) were included. A total of 268 fractures (264 patients) received local antibiotics. The Injury Severity Score and the proportion of open fractures were higher among patients and fractures that received local antibiotics, respectively. There were more Gustilo-Anderson type-IIIB or IIIC fractures in the local antibiotic group, but the rate did not differ significantly from that in the group with no local antibiotics (20% versus 14%; p = 0.14). Other baseline and fracture characteristics were similar between the groups, with the exception of age (lower in the group with local antibiotics). When examining FRIs with gram-positive organisms, we found that 3 (1.7%) of the FRIs in fractures that had been treated with local vancomycin had organisms resistant to vancomycin compared with 2 (0.9%) of the FRIs in fractures for which local vancomycin had not been used (p = 0.67). When examining FRIs with gram-negative organisms, the number of FRIs with aminoglycoside-resistant organisms was 8 (11.6%) among fractures that received local aminoglycosides and 10 (6.2%) among fractures that did not receive local aminoglycosides (p = 0.26). Conclusions: Among extremity fractures that developed FRI, we were unable to detect differences in the rates of AMR between fractures treated with or without local antibiotic prophylactic strategies in our analysis of a randomized trial of various skin preparation solutions for extremity trauma surgery. These findings provide cautious reassurance regarding the safety of local antibiotics but underscore the need for further prospective analysis. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence
Hurricane Katrina Archive: Faculty Publications Bibliography 2020-2025
Get PDFThis bibliography includes 10 articles about Hurricane Katrina written by authors affiliated with LSU Health – New Orleans between January 2020 and August 2025.https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/biblio/1003/thumbnail.jp
LSU-CrescentCare Sexual Health Center: An inter-organizational partnership initiative to improve access to sexual health services in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Get PDFObjectives: To describe a partnership between CrescentCare and Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Medicine that created a new Sexual Health Clinic in New Orleans, and to assess the health services that patients sought and received at the new clinic in the opening months of its creation. Methods: When the new clinic opened, signs were posted on New Orleans streets, flyers were placed in selected emergency rooms and healthcare facilities, radio and bus stop advertisements were purchased, and the CrescentCare website was updated with the addition of a page for the new clinic. The new clinic opened on 15 June 2015. A survey questionnaire was administered to 706 patients who visited the new clinic from 1 October 2015 to 30 December 2015 to capture 3 quality improvement patient indicators. Their medical records were retrospectively reviewed to assess the services they came to seek at the new clinic. Results: Patients were 64.7% men, 35.0% women, 0.3% transgender women, 64.9% black, 94.6% non-Hispanic, 35.4% men who have sex with women, 23.4% men who have sex with men, and 29.5% women who have sex with men. Patients most frequently learned about the new clinic from friends. They mostly chose the new clinic because of the walk-in availability of services and the convenience of its location. Reasons for the visits included sexually transmitted infection (STI) symptoms, STI screening, STI treatment, STI contact, and laboratory test results. Past STI histories were highly frequent, as well as the prevalence of positive STI tests the day of the visit. Conclusions: The LSU-CrescentCare Sexual Health Center is a model of a successful community-driven, public-private collaborative initiative aimed at ensuring that in the New Orleans region, everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve their best possible sexual health, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, income, education, or zip code
Building a collaborative ecosystem across the IDeA-CTR networks in response to a public health emergency
No full textIntroduction: The urgency and scale of the COVID-19 pandemic demanded a coordinated response from public health agencies and the biomedical research community. The National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) was established as a centralized enclave in 2020 to support the study of COVID-19 across the U.S. The Institutional Development Award for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) centers enhanced N3C’s national response by bringing representation from rural and medically underserved communities. This improved the representation of our diverse populations in the N3C Enclave and its use for research by IDeA-state investigators. Methods: We developed an organizational structure across the IDeA-CTRs to improve research productivity in resource-challenged areas of the U.S. This socio-technical ecosystem, informed by community input, included a governance committee and two workstreams. The operations workstream focused on data management and regulatory compliance, while the navigation, education, analysis, and training (NEAT) workstream supported educational and analytical activities for the N3C Enclave. Results: Our collaborative approach led to participation by 12 IDeA-CTRs, representing over 400 investigators from 23 sites. The shared governance, investigator engagement, and resource pooling enhanced research productivity and engagement with researchers across IDeA states. Participation in this IDeA-CTR N3C consortium enhanced informatics research capacity and collaboration across the IDeA-CTRs for participating networks. Conclusions: This collaborative model provides a roadmap and framework for future efforts among IDeA-CTRs and other academic partnerships. The socio-technical ecosystem fostered collectivism and team science, enabling the consortium to achieve far more than isolated efforts could, offering valuable insights for interdisciplinary research across geographically dispersed communities
Case Report: Sarcina ventriculi, a masquerade of motility
Get PDFSarcina ventriculi is a rare bacterium that has the potential to cause severe disease in the gastric mucosa. According to our search, there are less than 100 prior published case reports. This case discusses a 69-year-old man who presented to the hospital with severe gastric distention noted on CT of the abdomen with intractable nausea and emesis, for which endoscopy was performed and ruled out gastric outlet obstruction, with biopsies resulting as S. ventriculi. This bacterium has previously been reported to cause gastric dysmotility, as well as severe side effects including gastric perforation
Rodney Walter Jr. Interview
No full textThis interview of Rodney Walter Jr. was conducted by Chandler Smith on August 22, 2025. Interview transcribed by Sam Howat.https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/oral_hist/1020/thumbnail.jp
Curatorial Statement for Oral Histories Collection
Get PDFThis curatorial statement includes details about the conception and execution of the LSUHSC Hurricane Katrina Archive Oral Histories collection project by library faculty and staff.https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/oral_hist/1013/thumbnail.jp
Margaret Bishop-Baier Interview
No full textThis interview of Margaret Bishop-Baier was conducted by Chandler Smith on August 25, 2025. Interview transcribed by Sam Howat.https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/oral_hist/1017/thumbnail.jp