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Background The association of social isolation or lack of social network ties in older adults is unknown. This knowledge gap is important since the risk of heart failure (HF) and social isolation increase with age. The study examines whether social isolation is associated with incident HF in older women, and examines depressive symptoms as a potential mediator and age and race and ethnicity as effect modifiers. Methods and Results This study included 44 174 postmenopausal women of diverse race and ethnicity from the WHI (Women's Health Initiative) study who underwent annual assessment for HF adjudication from baseline enrollment (1993-1998) through 2018. We conducted a mediation analysis to examine depressive symptoms as a potential mediator and further examined effect modification by age and race and ethnicity. Incident HF requiring hospitalization was the main outcome. Social isolation was a composite variable based on marital/partner status, religious ties, and community ties. Depressive symptoms were assessed using CES-D (Center for Epidemiology Studies-Depression). Over a median follow-up of 15.0 years, we analyzed data from 36 457 women, and 2364 (6.5%) incident HF cases occurred; 2510 (6.9%) participants were socially isolated. In multivariable analyses adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical, and general health/functioning; socially isolated women had a higher risk of incident HF than nonisolated women (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.08-1.41). Adding depressive symptoms in the model did not change this association (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.07-1.40). Neither race and ethnicity nor age moderated the association between social isolation and incident HF. Conclusions Socially isolated older women are at increased risk for developing HF, independent of traditional HF risk factors. Registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT00000611.

Purpose: Studies demonstrate similar long-term Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) outcomes in patients with significant versus minimal preoperative coronal plane deformity. Limited short-term outcomes data, which determine costs of care, exist. Methods: We retrospectively explored the impact of preoperative coronal plane deformity on operative time, length of stay (LOS), and discharge to skilled nursing facility (SNF) in TKA. A total of 3,964 patients undergoing unilateral primary TKA at our institution from 2014 to 2019 were included (1,158 > 10˚ deformity: mean age 67.2 years, 47% male; 2,806 < 10˚ deformity: mean age 67 years, 37.4% male). The degree of coronal plane deformity (mechanical axis deviation on preoperative radiographs) was recorded. Patients with no knee radiographs ≤ 3 years preoperatively were excluded. Statistical analysis included Chi-Square tests, Student’s t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and uni- and multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses. Results: The > 10˚ deformity cohort had a longer time from procedure start to finish (113.56 vs. 110.68 min; p = 0.020), greater deviation from surgeon mean operative time (+ 6.19 vs. + 0.69 min; p < 0.001), and higher proportion of cases requiring > 15 (26.8% vs. 22%;p = 0.001) and > 30 (12.3% vs. 7.8%;p < 0.001) additional minutes over their scheduled times. LOS was similar between cohorts (median 2 days, IQR 1–3). The deformity cohort more likely discharged to SNF (19.9% vs. 15.8%;p = 0.002). For every 1˚ increase in coronal plane deformity, operative time increased by 0.566 min (p = 0.000). The odds of SNF discharge increased with increasing coronal plane deformity (OR 1.029 [1.009,1.050]; p = 0.004). Conclusion: Greater preoperative coronal deformity is associated with increased operative time and odds of discharge to SNF in TKA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acitretin, commonly used for severe psoriasis and keratinocyte carcinoma chemoprevention in high-risk patients, is contraindicated in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on haemodialysis (HD). However, these patients often lack medication choices and in certain clinical scenarios the benefits of acitretin may outweigh the potential risks. We identified 24 patients with ESRD on HD undergoing acitretin treatment from the Duke and Vanderbilt University Medical Centers. While adverse effects were common, they were not a frequent cause of treatment discontinuation among patients. We also found no association between acitretin treatment and hospital admissions or mortality. Lastly, we found statistically significant increases in alkaline phosphatase (ALP; P = 0.03) and total bilirubin (P < 0.001) when patients were receiving acitretin and HD compared with baseline. However, there was no dose dependency or temporal association with acitretin or HD initiation. Based on these preliminary findings, we find that acitretin may safely be used in patients receiving HD, with close monitoring of ALP and bilirubin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]