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In the United States, 8,000,000 people seek emergency care for traumatic injury annually. Motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) and sexual assault are two common sources of trauma, with evidence that reduced neighborhood‐level socioeconomic characteristics increase posttraumatic pain and stress after an MVC. We evaluated whether neighborhood disadvantage was also associated with physical and mental posttrauma outcomes after sexual assault in a sample of adult women (N = 656) who presented for emergency care at facilities in the United States following sexual assault and were followed for 1 year. Neighborhood characteristics were assessed via the Area Deprivation Index, and self‐reported pain, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were collected at 6 weeks posttrauma. Adjusted log‐binomial regression models examined the association between each clinical outcome and neighborhood disadvantage. Women in more disadvantaged neighborhoods were more likely to be non‐White and have lower annual incomes. At 6 weeks posttrauma, the prevalence of clinically significant pain, anxiety, and depressive symptoms more than doubled from baseline (41.7% vs. 18.8%, 62.4% vs. 23.9%, and 55.2% vs. 22.7%, respectively); 40.7% of women also reported PTSD symptoms. Black, Hispanic, and lower‐income participants were more likely to report pre‐ and postassault pain, anxiety, and depression. After adjusting for race, ethnicity, and income, no significant association existed between neighborhood disadvantage and any outcome, ps = .197 ‐ .859. Although neighborhood disadvantage was not associated with posttrauma outcomes, these findings highlight the need for continued research in diverse populations at high risk of adverse physical and mental health symptoms following sexual assault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study investigated the tolerability and preliminary efficacy of duloxetine as an alternative nonopioid therapeutic option for the prevention of persistent musculoskeletal pain (MSP) among adults presenting to the emergency department with acute MSP after trauma or injury. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, eligible participants (n = 78) were randomized to 2 weeks of a daily dose of one of the following: placebo (n = 27), 30 mg duloxetine (n = 24), or 60 mg duloxetine (n = 27). Tolerability, the primary outcome, was measured by dropout rate and adverse effects. Secondary outcomes assessed drug efficacy as measured by (1) the proportion of participants with moderate to severe pain (numerical rating scale ≥ 4) at 6 weeks (pain persistence); and (2) average pain by group over the six-week study period. We also explored treatment effects by type of trauma (motor vehicle collision [MVC] vs non-MVC). In both intervention groups, duloxetine was well tolerated and there were no serious adverse events. There was a statistically significant difference in pain over time for the 60 mg vs placebo group (P = 0.03) but not for the 30 mg vs placebo group (P = 0.51). In both types of analyses, the size of the effect of duloxetine was larger in MVC vs non-MVC injury. Consistent with the role of stress systems in the development of chronic pain after traumatic stress, our data indicate duloxetine may be a treatment option for reducing the transition from acute to persistent MSP. Larger randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these promising results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early reports suggested increased mortality from COVID‐19 in patients with cancer but lacked rigorous comparisons to patients without cancer. We investigated whether a current cancer diagnosis or cancer history is an independent risk factor for death in hospitalized patients with COVID‐19. Patients and Methods: We identified patients with a history of cancer admitted to two large hospitals between March 13, 2020, and May 10, 2020, with laboratory‐confirmed COVID‐19 and matched them 1:2 to patients without a history of cancer. Results: Men made up 56.2% of the population, with a median age of 69 years (range, 30–96). The median time since cancer diagnosis was 35.6 months (range, 0.39–435); 80% had a solid tumor, and 20% had a hematologic malignancy. Among patients with cancer, 27.8% died or entered hospice versus 25.6% among patients without cancer. In multivariable analyses, the odds of death/hospice were similar (odds ratio [OR], 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65–1.82). The odds of intubation (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.28–0.78), shock (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.32–0.91), and intensive care unit admission (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.32–0.81) were lower for patients with a history of cancer versus controls. Patients with active cancer or who had received cancer‐directed therapy in the past 6 months had similar odds of death/hospice compared with cancer survivors (univariable OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.66–2.60; multivariable OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 0.69–3.16). Conclusion: Patients with a history of cancer hospitalized for COVID‐19 had similar mortality to matched hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 without cancer, and a lower risk of complications. In this population, patients with active cancer or recent cancer treatment had a similar risk for adverse outcomes compared with survivors of cancer. Implications for Practice: This study investigated whether a current cancer diagnosis or cancer history is an independent risk factor for death or hospice admission in hospitalized patients with COVID‐19. Active cancer, systemic cancer therapy, and a cancer history are not independent risk factors for death from COVID‐19 among hospitalized patients, and hospitalized patients without cancer are more likely to have severe COVID‐19. These findings provide reassurance to survivors of cancer and patients with cancer as to their relative risk of severe COVID‐19, may encourage oncologists to provide standard anticancer therapy in patients at risk of COVID‐19, and guide triage in future waves of infection. This article focuses on whether a current cancer diagnosis or cancer history is an independent risk factor for death or hospice admission in hospitalized patients with COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study examined if emergency department (ED) operational metrics, such as wait time or length of stay, are associated with interest in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment referral among patients at high risk of opioid overdose. METHODS: In this observational study, 648 ED patients at high risk of opioid overdose completed a baseline questionnaire. Operational metrics were summarized using electronic health record data. The association between operational metrics and treatment interest was estimated with multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Longer time to room (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.01-1.25) and length of stay (AOR=1.02, 95% CI=1.00-1.05) were associated with treatment referral interest. Time to provider and number of treating providers showed no significant association. CONCLUSION: Longer rooming wait times and longer ED visits were associated with increased SUD treatment referral interest. This suggests patients who wait for longer periods may be motivated for treatment and warrant further resource investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapamycin, an inhibitor of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (m TOR), robustly extends the lifespan of model organisms including mice. We recently found that chronic treatment with rapamycin not only inhibits m TOR complex 1 (m TORC1), the canonical target of rapamycin, but also inhibits m TOR complex 2 (m TORC2) in vivo. While genetic evidence strongly suggests that inhibition of m TORC1 is sufficient to promote longevity, the impact of m TORC2 inhibition on mammalian longevity has not been assessed. RICTOR is a protein component of m TORC2 that is essential for its activity. We examined three different mouse models of Rictor loss: mice heterozygous for Rictor, mice lacking hepatic Rictor, and mice in which Rictor was inducibly deleted throughout the body in adult animals. Surprisingly, we find that depletion of RICTOR significantly decreases male, but not female, lifespan. While the mechanism by which RICTOR loss impairs male survival remains obscure, we find that the effect of RICTOR depletion on lifespan is independent of the role of hepatic m TORC2 in promoting glucose tolerance. Our results suggest that inhibition of m TORC2 signaling is detrimental to males, which may explain in part why interventions that decrease m TOR signaling show greater efficacy in females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Chronic posttraumatic pain (CPTP) is common after traumatic stress exposure (TSE) and disproportionately burdens women. We previously showed across 3 independent longitudinal cohort studies that, in women, increased peritraumatic 17β-estradiol (E2) levels were associated with substantially lower CPTP over 1 year. Here, we assessed this relationship in a fourth longitudinal cohort and also assessed the relationship between E2 and CPTP at additional time points post-TSE. Furthermore, we used a well-validated animal model of TSE to determine whether exogenous E2 administration protects against mechanical hypersensitivity. Using nested samples and data from the Advancing Understanding of RecOvery afteR traumA study (n = 543 samples, 389 participants), an emergency department-based prospective study of TSE survivors, we assessed the relationship between circulating E2 levels and CPTP in women and men using multivariate repeated-measures mixed modeling. Male and ovariectomized female Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to TSE and administered E2 either immediately after or 3 days post-TSE. Consistent with previous results, we observed an inverse relationship between peritraumatic E2 and longitudinal CPTP in women only (β = -0.137, P = 0.033). In animals, E2 protected against mechanical hypersensitivity in female ovariectomized rats only if administered immediately post-TSE. In conclusion, peritraumatic E2 levels, but not those at post-TSE time points, predict CPTP in women TSE survivors. Administration of E2 immediately post TSE protects against mechanical hypersensitivity in female rats. Together with previous findings, these data indicate that increased peritraumatic E2 levels in women have protective effects against CPTP development and suggest that immediate post-TSE E2 administration in women could be a promising therapeutic strategy for reducing risk of CPTP., (Copyright © 2024 International Association for the Study of Pain.)