Lincoln Hospital

About: Lincoln Hospital is a healthcare organization based out in New York, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Emergency department. The organization has 1033 authors who have published 929 publications receiving 14486 citations. The organization is also known as: Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center & Lincoln Hospital.

Contribution of Epithelial Cells to Defense Mechanisms in the Human Vagina

Abstract: The vaginal milieu in women differs from that of other mammals, including non-human primates, in composition of secretions, the endogenous microbiota, and level of acidity. These changes apparently reflect evolutionary variations that maximized productive responses to a uniquely human vaginal environment. This review will highlight recent findings on properties of human vaginal epithelial cells that contribute to maintenance of a healthy vaginal environment. Vaginal epithelial cells are responsive to the composition of the vaginal microbiome even in women who are in apparently good health and do not exhibit any adverse physical symptoms. This is especially important during pregnancy when immune defenses are modified and an effective epithelial cell-derived anti-microbial activity is essential to prevent the migration to the uterus of bacteria potentially harmful to pregnancy progression. When Lactobacillus crispatus numerically predominates in the vagina, epithelial cell activity is low. Conversely, predominance of Lactobacillus iners, Gardnerella vaginalis, or other non-Lactobacilli evokes production and release of a large variety of compounds to minimize the potentially negative consequences of an altered microbiome. The extent of autophagy in vaginal epithelial cells, a basic process that functions to maintain intracellular homeostasis and engulf microbial invaders, is also sensitive to the external microbial environment Vaginal epithelial cells bind and release norepinephrine and upregulate their anti-microbial activity in response to external stress. Vaginal epithelial cells in women are responsive to local conditions that are unique to humans and, thereby, contribute to maintenance of a healthy milieu.

Evaluation of the "medication fall risk score".

Abstract: Purpose Results of a study evaluating the predictive validity of a fall screening tool in hospitalized patients are reported. Methods Administrative claims data from two hospitals were analyzed to determine the discriminatory ability of the “medication fall risk score” (RxFS), a medication review fall-risk screening tool that is designed for use in conjunction with nurse-administered tools such as the Morse Fall Scale (MFS). Through analysis of data on administered medications and documented falls in a population of adults who underwent fall-risk screening at hospital admission over a 15-month period ( n = 33,058), the predictive value of admission MFS scores, alone or in combination with retrospectively calculated RxFS-based risk scores, was assessed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and net reclassification improvement (NRI) analysis were used to evaluate improvements in risk prediction with the addition of RxFS data to the prediction model. Results The area under the ROC curve for the predictive model for falls compromising both MFS and RxFS scores was computed as 0.8014, which was greater than the area under the ROC curve associated with use of the MFS alone (0.7823, p = 0.0030). Screening based on MFS scores alone had 81.25% sensitivity and 61.37% specificity. Combined use of RxFS and MFS scores resulted in 82.42% sensitivity and 66.65% specificity (NRI = 0.0587, p = 0.0003). Conclusion Reclassification of fall risk based on coadministration of the MFS and the RxFS tools resulted in a modest improvement in specificity without compromising sensitivity.