ObjectivesHIV-infected patients are commonly prescribed several medications and are thus at risk for drug interactions that may result in QTc prolongation. We sought (1) to identify the frequency of electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring (2), to determine the prevalence of drug interactions involving QTc-prolonging medications, and (3) to quantify the prevalence of QTc prolongation. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV-infected adults. Demographics, medications, drug interactions and comorbidities were abstracted from patients' medical records. Abnormal QTc interval was defined per the UK Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products. Clinical characteristics were compared among ECG recipients and nonrecipients. Among ECG recipients, the prevalence and predictors of QTc prolongation were assessed. ResultsAmong the 454 patients included in the study, 80.8% were prescribed a medication associated with QTc prolongation and 39% had drug interactions expected to increase QTc prolongation risk. There were 138 patients (30.3%) who received ECG testing. Receipt of ECG monitoring was associated with increasing age, diabetes, increasing total number of medications and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Among ECG recipients, the prevalence of abnormal QTc interval was 27.5%. Chronic kidney disease [prevalence ratio (PR) 3.47; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-8.83; P = 0.009], hepatitis C virus coinfection (PR 2.26;; P = 0.06) and hypertension (PR 2.11;; P = 0.07) were independently associated with an abnormal QTc interval. ConclusionsA low frequency of ECG testing was observed, despite a high use of medications associated with QTc prolongation. The risk of abnormal QTc interval was highest among patients with chronic kidney disease, hypertension and hepatitis C virus coinfection.

This study examined rationales for alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use among Indian and non-Indian youth. Differences were found between reservation Indian and rural non-Indian rationales for alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use. A majority of both Indian and non-Indian eighth graders indicate that they use drugs to enhance positive affective states, for excitement, for parties, to be with friends, to relax, and to handle negative affective states including worries and nervousness. Indian youth appear to also use drugs to cope with boredom. Unlike non-Indian youth, Indian youth have no strong rationales for their use of other drugs. Interventions will have to be impactful and pervasive in order to counter the many positive and negative rationales associated with drug use.

This study explored the relationship between parental satisfaction with special education IEP staffings and six variables. Together the six variables accounted for 78% of the variance in satisfaction. Simply allowing enough time for a staffing accounted for the most variance. In addition, the following three variables also had a statistically significant impact on satisfaction: (a) input from a number of people to formulate a good educational program, (b) attribution of blame to sources other than the parents, and (c) amount of parent participation. Preparing parents for what to expect, and the number of people present at a staffing had relatively minor, though statistically significant, contributions to the total explained variation in satisfaction. Strategies are discussed for improving parental satisfaction with staffings.

The present study is an introduction to the construct of religious judgmentalism, defined as a willingness to make religious or moral judgments of others based on a limited period of observation; the study offers a prediction about which individuals will engage in such judgmental behavior. It was predicted that agency motives would significantly predict religious judgmentalism in a religious population but that communion motives and intrinsic religiosity would moderate this effect. Overall, the findings supported these predictions. Agency motives were positively correlated with religious judgmentalism. Intrinsic religiosity predicted a general unwillingness to make religious evaluations of others. Both intrinsic religiosity and communion motives did moderate the effects of high agency motives. Specifically, increases in communion motive and intrinsic religiosity, at high levels of agency motives, significantly predicted lower scores for religious judgmentalism. These findings were conceptualized as preliminary evidence for the position that interpersonal motives, rather than religiousness or religious motivation, predict social intolerance and criticism in religious individuals.

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