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Previous studies found Hawaiians and Asian-Americans/Pacific Islanders to be independently at increased risk for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTMPD) and tuberculosis (TB). To better understand NTM infection and TB risk patterns in Hawaii, USA, we evaluated data on a cohort of patients in Hawaii for 2005–2013. Period prevalence of NTMPD was highest among Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese patients (>300/100,000 persons) and lowest among Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (50/100,000). Japanese patients were twice as likely as all other racial/ethnic groups to have Mycobacterium abscessus isolated (adjusted odds ratio 2.0, 95% CI 1.2–3.2) but were not at increased risk for infection with other mycobacteria species. In contrast, incidence of TB was stable and was lowest among Japanese patients (no cases) and highest among Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese patients (>50/100,000). Substantial differences exist in the epidemiology of NTMPD by race/ethnicity, suggesting behavioral and biologic factors that affect disease susceptibility.

Abstract. Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the most common infectious cause of eosinophilic meningitis. Timely diagnosis of these infections is difficult, partly because reliable laboratory diagnostic methods are unavailable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of A. cantonensis DNA in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens. A total of 49 CSF specimens from 33 patients with eosinophilic meningitis were included: A. cantonensis DNA was detected in 32 CSF specimens, from 22 patients. Four patients had intermittently positive and negative real-time PCR results on subsequent samples, indicating that the level of A. cantonensis DNA present in CSF may fluctuate during the course of the illness. Immunodiagnosis and/or supplemental PCR testing supported the real-time PCR findings for 30 patients. On the basis of these observations, this real-time PCR assay can be useful to detect A. cantonensis in the CSF from patients with eosinophilic meningitis.

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Purpose To examine Lynch Syndrome (LS) screening of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients in integrated healthcare delivery organizations. Methods We determined the availability of LS screening criteria and actual LS screening in the medical records among 1,188 patients diagnosed with mCRC between 2004–2009 at seven institutions in the Cancer Research Network (CRN). Results We found infrequent use of LS screening (41/1188). Family history was available for 937 of the 1188 patients (79%). There was sufficient information to assess LS risk using family history based criteria in 719 of the 937 patients (77%) with family history documentation. In 391 individuals with a family history of a LS-associated cancer, 107 (27%) could not be evaluated due to missing information such as age of cancer onset. Eleven percent of patients who met Bethesda criteria and 25% of individuals who met the Amsterdam II criteria were screened for LS. When screening occurred, it followed recommended guidelines, but no testing method was preferred. Conclusions The information required for LS screening decisions is routinely collected but seldom utilized. There is a critical gap between collection of family history and its use to guide LS screening, which may support a case for implementation of universal screening guidelines.