Visual Functioning and Mortality of Age-Related Macular Degeneration Patients in a Colorado Cohort.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between visual functioning as measured by the National Eye Institute 25-Item Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) and mortality in patients with various stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design: Observational cohort study.

Participants: Patients with AMD enrolled in the University of Colorado AMD Registry between July 9, 2014 and December 31, 2021 were included.

Trends in Retinopathy of Prematurity over 12 Years in a Colorado Cohort.

Purpose: To determine trends in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a Colorado cohort between 2006 and 2017 and compare trends in risk factors between our cohort and statewide data.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted by the use of records from two registry databases: 1) an academic center's ROP registry, and 2) vital statistics birth data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). ROP was categorized as severe (type 1 or type 2), low grade (not type 1 or type 2), or no ROP.

High-altitude residence alters blood-pressure course and increases hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Objectives: To determine whether the full spectrum of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) - comprising gestational hypertension; preeclampsia with or without severe features; eclampsia; and emolysis, levated iver enzymes, and ow latelets (HELLP) Syndrome - is increased at high (≥2500 m, 8250 ft) compared with lower altitudes in Colorado independent of maternal background characteristics, and if so their relationship to neonatal well-being.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using statewide birth-certificate data to compare the frequency of gestational hypertension, preeclampsia (with or without severe features), eclampsia, HELLP Syndrome, or all HDP combined in 617,958 Colorado women who lived at high vs. low altitude (<2500 m) and delivered during the 10-year period, 2007-2016.

Epidemiology and Molecular Characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae During an Outbreak of M. pneumoniae-associated Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

Background: An increase in Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) cases at a Colorado pediatric hospital led to an outbreak investigation. We describe the epidemiologic and molecular characteristics of M. pneumoniae among SJS case-patients and surrounding community members during the outbreak.

Sudden infant death syndrome and residential altitude.

Background: Theories of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) suggest hypoxia is a common pathway. Infants living at altitude have evidence of hypoxia; however, the association between SIDS incidence and infant residential altitude has not been well studied.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study by using data from the Colorado birth and death registries from 2007 to 2012.

Assessment of the quality of publicly reported central line-associated bloodstream infection data in Colorado, 2010.

Background: Validation of self-reported health care-associated infection data is essential to verify correct understanding of definition criteria, surveillance practices, and reporting integrity. Recent studies have found significant under-reporting of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) leading Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to examine the quality of Colorado's CLABSI data.

Methods: Trained Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment staff members performed onsite validation visits that included interviews with infection preventionists to assess surveillance practices and retrospective chart reviews of patients with positive blood cultures in specific intensive care units (adult and neonatal) and long-term acute care hospitals during the first quarter of 2010.

Survival of infants with neural tube defects in the presence of folic acid fortification.

Objective: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are preventable through preconceptional and periconceptional folic acid intake. Although decreases in the prevalence of NTDs have been reported since folic acid fortification of United States grain products began, it is not known whether folic acid plays a role in reducing the severity of occurring NTDs. Our aim was to determine whether survival among infants born with spina bifida and encephalocele has improved since folic acid fortification and to measure the effects of selected maternal, pregnancy, and birth characteristics on first-year (infant) survival rates.

Case fatality among infants with congenital malformations by lethality.

Objective: Infant mortality rates continue to show that congenital anomalies are the leading cause of infant death in the United States. However, studies of factors contributing to increased mortality across different types of congenital anomalies have been limited. The objective of this study was to assess whether the likelihood of infant mortality varied by maternal race and ethnic group while considering the severity of the birth defect.