Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

About: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a government organization based out in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 58238 authors who have published 82592 publications receiving 4405701 citations. The organization is also known as: CDC & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Intersecting Epidemics -- Crack Cocaine Use and HIV Infection among Inner-City Young Adults

Abstract: Background and Methods The smoking of “crack” cocaine is thought to be associated with high-risk sexual practices that accelerate the spread of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We studied 2323 young adults, 18 to 29 years of age, who smoked crack regularly or who had never smoked crack. The study participants, recruited from the streets of inner-city neighborhoods in New York, Miami, and San Francisco, were interviewed and tested for HIV. This report presents the findings for the 1967 participants (85 percent) who had never injected drugs. Results Of the 1137 crack smokers, 15.7 percent were positive for HIV antibody, as compared with 5.2 percent of the 830 nonsmokers (prevalence ratio adjusted for the city, 2.4; 99 percent confidence interval, 1.7 to 3.6). The prevalence of HIV was highest among the crack-smoking women in New York (29.6 percent) and Miami (23.0 percent). In these two cities, of the 283 women who had sex in exchange for money or drugs, 30.4 percent were infected with...

Community-wide effects of permethrin-treated bed nets on child mortality and malaria morbidity in western kenya

Abstract: Spatial analyses of the effect of insecticide (permethrin)-treated bed nets (ITNs) on nearby households both with and without ITNs was performed in the context of a large-scale, group-randomized, controlled mortality trial in Asembo, western Kenya. Results illustrate a protective effect of ITNs on compounds lacking ITNs located within 300 meters of compounds with ITNs for child mortality, moderate anemia, high-density parasitemia, and hemoglobin levels. This community effect on nearby compounds without nets is approximately as strong as the effect observed within villages with ITNs. This implies that in areas with intense malaria transmission with high ITN coverage, the primary effect of insecticide-treated nets is via area-wide effects on the mosquito population and not, as commonly supposed, by simple imposition of a physical barrier protecting individuals from biting. The strength of the community effect depended upon the proportion of nearby compounds with treated nets. To maximize their public health impact, high coverage with treated nets is essential.

Recommendations for Surveillance of Clostridium difficile-Associated Disease

Abstract: Background. The epidemiology of Clostridium difficile–associated disease (CDAD) is changing, with evidence of increased incidence and severity. However, the understanding of the magnitude of and reasons for this change is currently hampered by the lack of standardized surveillance methods. Objective and methods. An ad hoc C. difficile surveillance working group was formed to develop interim surveillance definitions and recommendations based on existing literature and expert opinion that can help to improve CDAD surveillance and prevention efforts. Definitions and recommendations. A CDAD case patient was defined as a patient with symptoms of diarrhea or toxic megacolon combined with a positive result of a laboratory assay and/or endoscopic or histopathologic evidence of pseudomembranous colitis. Recurrent CDAD was defined as repeated episodes within 8 weeks of each other. Severe CDAD was defined by CDAD‐associated admission to an intensive care unit, colectomy, or death within 30 days after onset. Case pat...

Trends in postpartum hemorrhage in high resource countries: a review and recommendations from the International Postpartum Hemorrhage Collaborative Group.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a major cause of maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide. Several recent publications have noted an increasing trend in incidence over time. The international PPH collaboration was convened to explore the observed trends and to set out actions to address the factors identified. METHODS: We reviewed available data sources on the incidence of PPH over time in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the USA. Where information was available, the incidence of PPH was stratified by cause. RESULTS: We observed an increasing trend in PPH, using heterogeneous definitions, in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. The observed increase in PPH in Australia, Canada and the USA was limited solely to immediate/atonic PPH. We noted increasing rates of severe adverse outcomes due to hemorrhage in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. CONCLUSION: Key Recommendations 1. Future revisions of the International Classification of Diseases should include separate codes for atonic PPH and PPH immediately following childbirth that is due to other causes. Also, additional codes are required for placenta accreta/percreta/increta. 2. Definitions of PPH should be unified; further research is required to investigate how definitions are applied in practice to the coding of data. 3. Additional improvement in the collection of data concerning PPH is required, specifically including a measure of severity. 4. Further research is required to determine whether an increased rate of reported PPH is also observed in other countries, and to further investigate potential risk factors including increased duration of labor, obesity and changes in second and third stage management practice. 5. Training should be provided to all staff involved in maternity care concerning assessment of blood loss and the monitoring of women after childbirth. This is key to reducing the severity of PPH and preventing any adverse outcomes. 6. Clinicians should be more vigilant given the possibility that the frequency and severity of PPH has in fact increased. This applies particularly to small hospitals with relatively few deliveries where management protocols may not be defined adequately and drugs or equipment may not be on hand to deal with unexpected severe PPH.