Uncomplicated postoperative lipoid meningitis secondary to autologous fat graft necrosis.
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Publications and source records attributed to W Mandell.
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In this study, we examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and needle-sharing behavior in a community sample of intravenous drug users (N = 499) in Baltimore, Maryland. Based on the polytomous logistic regression, higher depressive symptoms were positively associated both with needle sharing after cleaning with bleach and with needle sharing without first cleaning with bleach at the bivariate analyses. This relationship remained significant (OR = 1.66) even after adjusting for demographic characteristics, life events, drug use patterns, and social and drug networks. A significant synergistic effect of depressive symptoms and drug network on needle sharing after cleaning with bleach and needle sharing without cleaning was observed. More depressed intravenous drug users who also had a larger drug network were found to be at higher risk of needle sharing after cleaning with bleach, as well as needle sharing without cleaning (OR = 2.59). Depression status is discussed as a predisposing factor and drug network size as a precipitating factor for needle-sharing behavior. Implications for preventing needle-sharing behavior by reducing depressive symptoms are discussed.
Few studies have examined recovery from opiate and cocaine dependence without treatment, referred to as "natural recovery," "spontaneous recovery," and "spontaneous remission." The present study examined the relationship between network characteristics and cessation of heroin, cocaine, and crack use in a sample of underclass inner-city injection drug users in Baltimore, Maryland. Participants were enrolled in an experimental human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) preventive intervention. Between the baseline and follow-up interviews, which averaged 5.2 months, 24 (7%) of 335 participants reported ceasing to use heroin, cocaine, and crack. Individuals who had reported cessation of drug use at follow-up had reported at baseline a smaller proportion of their network members with whom they used drugs (p < .02). Using multiple logistic regression analyses and adjusting for baseline drug use, enrollment in drug treatment, and demographic and background variables, cessation of drug use was associated with a lower proportion of personal network members in one's drug network (odds ratio [OR] = 25.4, p < .05). The data from this study suggest that network members have potential for social influence on the cessation of drug use.
Baseline data from 640 injection drug users in the Stop AIDS for Everyone study, an HIV preventive intervention were used to examine gender differences in self-reports of injection behaviors. In both the bivariate and multivariate analyses men reported injecting alone, in semipublic areas, and at their mother's residence more often than women. In the bivariate analyses, women reported denser personal networks, and in the multivariate analyses, women reported significantly greater overlap between their drug and sex networks. These data suggest that this overlap of sex and drug networks may reduce women drug injectors' ability to adopt and maintain HIV protective behaviors. The data also suggest that interventions need to address gender differences in the social context of risk behaviors.
As an alternative approach to individually-focused understanding of HIV risk behavior, this study explored the relationship between social network characteristics and HIV-risk injecting behaviors. Subjects were 499 inner-city injection drug users (IDUs) recruited from the streets of Baltimore, Maryland. Analysis of structural and functional network data indicates that a substantial proportion of drug sharing network members also provided social support, often because of family and sexual partner relationships. IDUs with larger drug networks which also provided social support were more likely to share needles, while IDUs with larger drug networks which did not provide social support were more likely to inject in commercial settings. The findings suggest that social support from drug network members has differential effects on injecting HIV-risk behaviors among IDUs. HIV prevention efforts should be expanded to reach drug-sharing networks and should take into account their social support relationships.
Sharing of contaminated needles constitutes one of the primary modes of HIV transmission in the U.S. This study examined social and environmental factors as possible correlates of needle sharing in a sample of inner-city drug users in Baltimore, Maryland. Drug users' social context was assessed through an analysis of personal networks, and the environmental context of drug use was assessed through a delineation of injection settings. The 330 respondents participating in an HIV prevention study were administered two surveys an average of 5.2 months apart. An examination of the association of network characteristics at baseline and needle sharing at followup revealed that the factors of higher total network density, larger drug network size, and injecting at friends' residences were positively associated with reports of sharing needles that had been cleaned with bleach. Sharing of needles that had not been disinfected with bleach was positively associated with reports of injecting in semipublic areas (streets, rooftops, parks, cars, public bathrooms, and abandoned buildings). These data support ecological and resource models of needle sharing and suggest the potential utility of network-oriented strategies for reducing needle sharing among injecting drug users.
Social influence processes have been found to affect numerous drug and health-related behaviors. We postulated that by using a network-oriented intervention it may be possible to capitalize on social influence processes to reduce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors. The present study used an experimental study design for delivering a psychoeducational acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) preventive intervention to injection drug sharing networks. Participants were recruited from the ALIVE study, an epidemiological study in Baltimore. In the present paper we examine the self-reported behavioral outcomes of 117 injection drug users 18 months after the baseline interview. HIV seronegative experimental participants reported significantly less frequent needle sharing and less injecting of heroin and cocaine than controls. In multiple logistic regression models of HIV seronegative participants, there was a significant negative association between assignment to the experimental group and the HIV-related behaviors of needle sharing and sharing of cookers in the prior 6 months; controls were 2.8 times more likely than experimentals to report needle sharing and were 2.7 times more likely to report sharing cookers. The results of this 18-month follow-up suggest that among injection drug users network-oriented interventions may be a promising approach to HIV prevention.
Social context may be an important determinant of drug and alcohol consumption and HIV-related behaviors. To assess the influence of peers on drug users' risk behaviors this study examined the association between individual level and group level behaviors. This analysis reports on the prospective association between baseline self-reported drug and alcohol use of the network members of injection drug users, and self-reported sexual behaviors and alcohol use at 5-month follow-up. Participants were a nontreatment sample of inner-city injection drug users who volunteered for a network-oriented HIV preventive intervention. They were predominantly unemployed, African American males. Of the 71 index participants who completed both the baseline and follow-up interviews, 227 of their drug network members were enrolled in the study. At baseline indexes' sexual risk behaviors were significantly associated with their drug network members' level of crack cocaine use. At follow-up higher levels of alcohol and crack use among drug network members were associated with indexes' reports of multiple sex partners and increased alcohol consumption. Higher levels of crack use among the drug network members were associated with the indexes' reporting casual sex partners at follow-up. These results highlight the importance of studying the role of peer group influence and the social context of risk behaviors.
Few studies have examined the current social relationships of injecting drug users. This paper examines the structural and relationship characteristics of the social networks of injecting drug users, and the relation of social network characteristics to the HIV infection risk behavior of frequency of injecting heroin and cocaine. The study sample was comprised of 293 inner city injecting drug users in Baltimore, Maryland. Most participants (89%) reported at least one family member in their social network, and 44% listed their mother or step-mother in their network. Presence of family members in personal social networks was not related to patterns of drug use examined here; however, those who reported a partner in their personal social network injected significantly less often than those who did not report a partner. Network density and size of drug subnetworks were positively associated with frequency of drug injection. The results of this study suggest that social network analysis may be a useful tool for understanding the social context of HIV/AIDS risk behaviors.
Information is sparse on the social context of illicit drug injection behaviors and their relationship to HIV infection. This study examined relationships between injection settings, injecting with others, and HIV risk behaviors of sharing needles and not cleaning contaminated needles in a sample of 630 inner-city injecting drug users in Baltimore, MD. Through open-ended interviews, five primary settings of injection behavior were identified. These settings included one's own, friends' and mother's residence, shooting galleries, and semipublic areas. Most participants reported injecting in their own residence (92%) and friends' residence (86%) in the prior 6 months. In a multiple regression analysis, injecting at friends' residence, in shooting galleries, and in semipublic areas and frequency of injecting with others were significantly associated with frequency of sharing uncleaned needles, "slipping" (i.e., failure to disinfect shared needles), and not always cleaning used needles before injecting. Results suggest that interventions may benefit from targeting settings as well as behaviors to reduce the spread of HIV.
OBJECTIVES: The sharing of contaminated injection equipment is the primary mode of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission for injection drug users. This study examined demographic factors, life events, and drug use practices that are potential risk factors for sharing injection equipment. METHODS: Between February 1988 and March 1989, 2921 active injection drug users were interviewed and questioned about their backgrounds, life-styles, and patterns of injection drug use. RESULTS: Of 2524 participants who reported injecting drugs within the 6 months prior to study enrollment, 70.4% reported recent needle sharing. A multivariate analysis found needle sharing to be more frequent among those with a history of arrest and lower socioeconomic status, even after accounting for other demographic and drug use variables. In addition, recent needle sharing was higher in male homosexual or bisexual men than in their heterosexual counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that injection drug users have an economic motive to share needles and that the availability of free and legal needles may reduce levels of needle sharing.
This study examines the relationship between children's reports of their parents' drinking patterns, and the child's alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use in early adolescence. Subjects were 2,213 fifth and sixth grade students. Data on the child's alcohol use and misuse, and parent alcohol use, were derived from classroom-administered questionnaires. Increased reported level of drinking by mother or by father was significantly associated with increased odds of alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use among the children; these results held for both boys and girls when examined separately. Examination for possible confounding effects of assortative mating by parental drinking suggests that reports of heavy drinking in either parent increases the risk of alcohol misuse and heavy alcohol use in children. Implications for prevention efforts are discussed.
The present study examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and frequency of drug use in 91 low income nontreatment intravenous drug users in Baltimore, Maryland. The majority of participants were injecting both heroin and cocaine. Scores on the depression scale at both waves were correlated with frequency of injection at wave two. Depression at wave one had a higher correlation with frequency of injections at wave two than did concurrent depression at wave two. Even after accounting for several confounds between depression and frequency of injection, depression at wave one remained highly correlated with frequency of injection at wave two.
A review of the many attempts to establish an association between occupations and alcoholism reveals that most do not deal with data about clinically defined alcoholism but instead use data about cirrhosis mortality, self-reported alcohol problems, and frequent and heavy drinking. The present study establishes an association between occupations and diagnoses of Alcohol Dependence Disorder and Alcohol Abuse Disorder, using data from a large population-based household interview study. Statistical adjustment using logistic methods reveals that apparent associations between occupations and alcohol-related disorders previously reported in the literature are due to characteristics of those employed in various occupations. The prevalence of alcohol dependence and abuse in two high risk industries, construction and transportation, is confirmed. More than one in four construction laborers and one in five skilled construction trades workers received a DIS/DSM-III diagnosis related to alcohol abuse. In the transportation industry one in six heavy truck drivers and material movers received an alcohol diagnosis. Analyses of the data from individuals currently employed and not employed in their occupation reveals reduction in risk for those who leave some occupations and increased risk for those who leave other occupations. Evidence is presented that employment in some occupations may be protective for Alcohol Dependence. The findings support the view that occupation may be associated with Alcohol Dependence and Alcohol Abuse independent of demographic variations. Previously proposed explanatory models for associations between occupations and alcohol problems are called into question because they do not take into account the demographic characteristics and employment status of workers.
In Baltimore, Maryland, between 1988 and 1989, 2,921 intravenous drug users were recruited into a study of drug injection practices and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Sixty-three percent reported both current use and sharing of needles; almost all these (N = 1,757) reported using injection equipment immediately after it was used by another intravenous drug user. Of the 1,757, 62% said that they "typically" cleaned the used equipment with bleach or alcohol before injecting. These data suggest that information about disinfecting needles has disseminated into this population and identifies several groups to target for interventions.
We report a case of prostate abscess due to Histoplasma capsulatum in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The diagnosis and management are discussed, and the literature is reviewed.
This study employs a prospective design to examine possible personality, drug use, stressful life event, and social support-related variables associated with the onset of a depressive episode in a cohort of psychoactive drug using young adults. Two waves of data, collected one year apart, were available on 942 individuals. Cases (n = 62) were free of depressive symptoms at time 1 but reported significant symptomatology at time 2 as measured by the depression subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory. Controls (n = 490) were those free of depressive symptoms at both time points. In multivariate analyses, users of the central nervous system depressant methaqualone had a nearly four-fold elevated risk for depressed mood as compared to nonusers. Additional risk factors significant after multivariate adjustment included lower self-esteem at time 1 and negative life events. These results highlight the multifactorial nature of depressive symptomatology.
Three cases are reported of gastrointestinal histoplasmosis in patients who came from the Caribbean or South America and had lymphoma, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and prior local radiation therapy. The patients had small-bowel obstruction with ileal involvement, mucosal erythema, and friability on colonoscopy with colonic involvement and an exophytic rectal mass with rectal involvement. Review of the 77 reported cases of gastrointestinal histoplasmosis shows that this is a clinical subset of disseminated histoplasmosis. With gastrointestinal involvement, pulmonary symptoms are uncommon and gastrointestinal symptoms predominate. Fever is less common than in other forms of dissemination. The most common lesions are a mass or ulcers, which often mimic inflammatory bowel disease or carcinoma. Terminal ileal involvement predominates in one third. The complement fixation test was positive in about three quarters of cases tested, but the skin test is not diagnostically useful. In one quarter of patients there is other evidence of immunosuppression. In the immunosuppressed, gastrointestinal histoplasmosis must be considered, even in a patient from a nonendemic area, who presents with lesions appearing like carcinoma or inflammatory bowel disease. When feasible, endoscopic examination and biopsy with stains and culture for histoplasmosis is recommended for diagnosis. Medical management is recommended, with surgery reserved for acute emergencies or when mandatory for diagnosis.