scholarly journals Self-audits as alternatives to travel-audits for improving data quality in the Caribbean, Central and South America network for HIV epidemiology

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-132
Author(s):  
Sarah C. Lotspeich ◽  
Mark J. Giganti ◽  
Marcelle Maia ◽  
Renalice Vieira ◽  
Daisy Maria Machado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Audit Process ◽  
Hiv Diagnosis ◽  
Hiv Epidemiology ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Clinical Source

AbstractIntroduction:Audits play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of observational cohort data. While previous work has validated the audit process, sending trained auditors to sites (“travel-audits”) can be costly. We investigate the efficacy of training sites to conduct “self-audits.”Methods:In 2017, eight research groups in the Caribbean, Central, and South America network for HIV Epidemiology each audited a subset of their patient records randomly selected by the data coordinating center at Vanderbilt. Designated investigators at each site compared abstracted research data to the original clinical source documents and captured audit findings electronically. Additionally, two Vanderbilt investigators performed on-site travel-audits at three randomly selected sites (one adult and two pediatric) in late summer 2017.Results:Self- and travel-auditors, respectively, reported that 93% and 92% of 8919 data entries, captured across 28 unique clinical variables on 65 patients, were entered correctly. Across all entries, 8409 (94%) received the same assessment from self- and travel-auditors (7988 correct and 421 incorrect). Of 421 entries mutually assessed as “incorrect,” 304 (82%) were corrected by both self- and travel-auditors and 250 of these (72%) received the same corrections. Reason for changing antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen, ART end date, viral load value, CD4%, and HIV diagnosis date had the most mismatched corrections.Conclusions:With similar overall error rates, findings suggest that data audits conducted by trained local investigators could provide an alternative to on-site audits by external auditors to ensure continued data quality. However, discrepancies observed between corrections illustrate challenges in determining correct values even with audits.

scholarly journals Temporal Trends in Age at HIV Diagnosis in Cohorts in the United States, the Caribbean, and Central and South America

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1599-1608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Crabtree-Ramírez ◽  
Yanink Neried Caro Vega ◽  
Bryan E. Shepherd ◽  
Megan Turner ◽  
Gabriela Carriquiry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South America ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
The United States ◽  
Hiv Diagnosis ◽  
The Caribbean

scholarly journals Durability of Efavirenz Compared With Boosted Protease Inhibitor-Based Regimens in Antiretroviral-Naïve Patients in the Caribbean and Central and South America

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanink Caro-Vega ◽  
Pablo F Belaunzarán-Zamudio ◽  
Brenda E Crabtree-Ramírez ◽  
Bryan E Shepherd ◽  
Beatriz Grinsztejn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Cumulative Incidence ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Hiv Epidemiology ◽  
Kaplan Meier ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Third Line ◽  
National Programs

Abstract Background Efavirenz (EFV) and boosted protease inhibitors (bPIs) are still the preferred options for firstline antiretroviral regimens (firstline ART) in Latin America and have comparable short-term efficacy. We assessed the long-term durability and outcomes of patients receiving EFV or bPIs as firstline ART in the Caribbean, Central and South America network for HIV epidemiology (CCASAnet). Methods We included ART-naïve, HIV-positive adults on EFV or bPIs as firstline ART in CCASAnet between 2000 and 2016. We investigated the time from starting until ending firstline ART according to changes of third component for any reason, including toxicity and treatment failure, death, and/or loss to follow-up. Use of a third-line regimen was a secondary outcome. Kaplan-Meier estimators of composite end points were generated. Crude cumulative incidence of events and adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) were estimated accounting for competing risk events. Results We included 14 519 patients: 12 898 (89%) started EFV and 1621 (11%) bPIs. The adjusted median years on firstline ART were 4.6 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.4–4.7) on EFV and 3.8 (95% CI, 3.8–4.0) on bPI (P < .001). Cumulative incidence of firstline ART ending at 10 years of follow-up was 32% (95% CI, 31–33) on EFV and 44% (95% CI, 39–48) on bPI (aHR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78–0.97). The cumulative incidence rates of third-line initiation in the bPI-based group were 6% (95% CI, 2.4–9.6) and 2% (95% CI, 1.4–2.2) among the EFV-based group (P < .01). Conclusions Durability of firstline ART was longer with EFV than with bPIs. EFV-based regimens may continue to be the preferred firstline regimen for our region in the near future due to their high efficacy, relatively low toxicity (especially at lower doses), existence of generic formulations, and affordability for national programs.

scholarly journals The impact of data quality and source data verification on epidemiologic inference: a practical application using HIV observational data

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Giganti ◽  
Bryan E. Shepherd ◽  
Yanink Caro-Vega ◽  
Paula M. Luz ◽  
Peter F. Rebeiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
Quality Improvements ◽  
Audit Process ◽  
Audit Data ◽  
Source Data Verification ◽  
Discrepancy Rate ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Data audits are often evaluated soon after completion, even though the identification of systematic issues may lead to additional data quality improvements in the future. In this study, we assess the impact of the entire data audit process on subsequent statistical analyses. Methods We conducted on-site audits of datasets from nine international HIV care sites. Error rates were quantified for key demographic and clinical variables among a subset of records randomly selected for auditing. Based on audit results, some sites were tasked with targeted validation of high-error-rate variables resulting in a post-audit dataset. We estimated the times from antiretroviral therapy initiation until death and first AIDS-defining event using the pre-audit data, the audit data, and the post-audit data. Results The overall discrepancy rate between pre-audit and audit data (n = 250) across all audited variables was 17.1%. The estimated probability of mortality and an AIDS-defining event over time was higher in the audited data relative to the pre-audit data. Among patients represented in both the post-audit and pre-audit cohorts (n = 18,999), AIDS and mortality estimates also were higher in the post-audit data. Conclusion Though some changes may have occurred independently, our findings suggest that improved data quality following the audit may impact epidemiological inferences.

Animal taxa named for Rollo H. Beck

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary M. Fellers
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
South America ◽  
Southern California ◽  
American Museum ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
California Academy ◽  
Vertebrate Zoology ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Academy Of Sciences

Rollo Howard Beck (1870–1950) was a professional bird collector who spent most of his career on expeditions to the Channel Islands off southern California, the Galápagos Islands, South America, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean. Some of the expeditions lasted as long as ten years during which time he and his wife, Ida, were often working in primitive conditions on sailing vessels or camps set up on shore. Throughout these expeditions, Beck collected specimens for the California Academy of Sciences, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at Berkeley (California), the American Museum of Natural History, and the Walter Rothschild Museum at Tring, England. Beck was one of the premier collectors of his time and his contributions were recognized by having 17 taxa named becki in his honor. Of these taxa, Beck collected 15 of the type specimens.

Crustal structure of the Caribbean-northeastern South America arc-continent collision zone

2008 ◽  
Vol 113 (B8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail L. Christeson ◽  
Paul Mann ◽  
Alejandro Escalona ◽  
Trevor J. Aitken
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Collision Zone ◽  
The Caribbean

The importance of language and culture to the growing Sino-Caribbean commercial relationship

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helene Zamor ◽  
Alicia D. Nicholls ◽  
Albert Christopher Lee
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Culture ◽  
English Language ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Linguistic Understanding ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The 19Th Century

Language and culture play a critical role in international commercial relations. Since the 19th century, the English language has undeniably held the prominent position as the global lingua franca to facilitate communication between nations. However, China’s contemporary re-emergence as an economic superpower has expanded its global influence. Consequently, awareness of Chinese culture and language is becoming important not only globally, but also in the Caribbean, where China’s economic footprint has expanded considerably in recent years. This article conceptually explores the important role of language and culture within the growing Sino-Caribbean commercial relationship. Specifically, it discusses the potential impact of language on the trade and tourism sectors, which are two key industries that drive the economies of English-speaking Caribbean small island developing states. It does this by charting the development of the English and Chinese languages as dominant languages. It then briefly looks at the current level of Chinese engagement with the region in trade and, more contemporarily, the potential of greater Chinese tourism in the Caribbean. It discusses the value of deeper cultural and linguistic understanding in nurturing and expanding these relationships. Finally, the article concludes by providing meaningful recommendations on ways to mitigate cultural and linguistic barriers in order to promote deeper Sino-Caribbean trade and tourism.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Language and culture are two important factors in commercial relationships, especially trade and tourism.</li><br /><li>This article adds to the growing literature on budding Sino-Caribbean relations by exploring the importance of linguistic and cultural understanding to nurturing this relationship.</li><br /><li>It argues that Caribbean countries cannot take for granted that English will always be the lingua franca for Chinese-Caribbean relations given China’s expanding global footprint.</li><br /><li>The article makes recommendations on ways to mitigate linguistic and cultural barriers in order to deepen Sino-Caribbean commercial ties.</li></ul>

Myrcia (Myrtaceae) in the state of Paraná, Brazil

Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 486 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-105
Author(s):  
LAURA C. DE LANNOY ◽  
AYRTON I. DE OLIVEIRA ◽  
RENATO GOLDENBERG ◽  
DUANE F. LIMA
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Central America ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Northern Limit ◽  
Southern South America ◽  
Taxonomic Descriptions ◽  
Online Databases ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Doubtful Species

Myrtaceae is one of the largest families in number of species within the order Myrtales and one of the richest families in Brazil. Myrcia is the fourth largest genus of Myrtaceae, with approximately 770 species distributed from Central America and the Caribbean to southern South America. In Brazil Myrcia is represented by 397 species, of which 309 are endemic. In this study, we present the taxonomic treatment for all species of Myrcia that occur in Paraná state, Brazil. Analyses of herbarium specimens, online databases, and bibliography were performed. Fifty-three species of Myrcia occur in Paraná, distributed in all vegetation types. Twenty-three names were excluded from previous lists of species or listed as doubtful species. Neither of the recorded species is endemic to Paraná, but this state is the southern and northern limit of distribution of six and two species, respectively. We present an identification key, taxonomic descriptions, figures, maps, and comments on phenology, habitat, and morphology for each species.

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