
Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Prebiotic Enriched Infant Formula
InfectionMicrobial Colonization1 moreThe primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of long-term supplementation of an infant formula supplemented with prebiotic inulin-type oligosaccharides on immunological-health related outcomes.

Post-Endoscopic Infection Rate Notifications to Improve the Delivery of Care
InfectionThis project will notify centers of center's post-endoscopic infection rates and evaluate the effectiveness of this notification system to decrease infection rates. The investigators aim to notify centers of the number of patients and center's risk-adjusted rates of hospitalizations for infections after colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) procedures performed between January 2015 and September 2018. The investigators will randomize centers to two notification groups: (1) Ability to view center's rate compared with all other centers (ASCs and outpatient centers notified and compared separately) or (2) Ability to view center's rate compared with the other centers with a similar patient comorbidity profile and in addition to viewing option 1. Facilities will answer questions about center's infection control practices. The investigators hypothesize that centers with high rates of post-procedural infections will (1) be more likely to report that the center took action to investigate the center's infection control practices after the first notification and (2) observe a decrease in infections after the notification. The investigators anticipate that centers with high rates of post-procedural infections that are randomized to group 2 will have greater change. The investigators anticipate no change in rates of infection in the facilities that had zero or very low (n=1) event rates.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Clean Surgery. Impact on Surgical Site Infection
Surgical Site InfectionThis is a randomized control study of antibiotic uses in clean non prosthetic surgeries. One group will be given antibiotic prophylaxis, other will receive a placebo. The primary outcome will be the rate of surgical site infection in 2 groups.

Effect of Diet on the Microbiota / Endoccanabinoidome Axis in Response to Physical Activity
Diet HabitMicrobial Colonization2 moreBoth the endocannabinoid system and the microbiome are highly conditioned by nutrition and physical activity, and have an interdependent, bidirectional relationship. We suggest studying the interleaving between the endocannabinoidome-microbiome axis and host metabolism under the combined effect of a diet and physical activity. More specificly, we will study the link between the impact of the diet on the intestinal microbiome and the endocannabinoid reaction after intense exercise.

Improving Antibiotic Prescribing for Pediatric Respiratory Infections by Family Physicians With...
Upper Respiratory InfectionAcute Bacterial Sinusitis1 moreFindings from an ongoing improvement project to improve antibiotic prescribing for children and adolescents for three acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs: upper respiratory tract infection, acute bacterial sinusitis, and acute otitis media) among pediatric and family medicine clinics revealed performance gaps between the two primary care specialties. An improvement project was then set up to address the lower performance by family medicine clinics. Literature review revealed that, in general, quality improvement feedback was more effective if provided to individual clinicians rather than to a group of clinicians, but very limited data existed for antibiotic prescribing practices actually comparing individual clinician feedback to group (clinic-level) feedback. The hypothesis is that individual clinician data feedback is superior to group (clinic-level) feedback in improving antibiotic prescribing for ARTIs in children and adolescents by family medicine clinicians. The aim is to determine if there are significant differences for antibiotic prescribing for ARTIs and for broad spectrum antibiotic prescribing percentage between an intervention group and a comparator group of family medicine clinics after the intervention starting November 2015 and ending December 2018. A cluster randomized trial was designed for 39 family medicine clinics. The intervention group received clinician-level and clinic-level data feedback monthly, and the comparator group received clinic-level only feedback monthly.

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Therapy for Patients With Covid-19 Using Food Supplements Viusid...
Covid19COVID-19 Pneumonia6 moreThis is a two-arm, randomized, open label, monocenter, controlled study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Viusid plus Asbrip in patients with mild and moderate symptoms of respiratory illness caused by Coronavirus 2019 infection.

Experimental Human Infection With Neisseria Gonorrhoeae (LptA Trial)
Gonococcal InfectionThis is a Phase 1, interventional, non-randomized, experimental infection model study in healthy adult males (N=up to 25) between the ages of 18-35 at study enrollment. The study is designed to test the requirements of predicted N. gonorrhoeae virulence determinants for gonococcal infection in the male urethra through infection with engineered mutants of N. gonorrhoeae. We predict that mutations abolishing expression of N. gonorrhoeae virulence determinants will eliminate or significantly reduce gonococcal infectivity or the ability to induce inflammation in an infected individual, thus identifying potential vaccine candidates. Study duration will be 1 year, and the duration for all participants will be about 3 weeks. The primary objective of the study is to compare the ability of different engineered mutants of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to cause a clinical infection (signs or symptoms of urethritis such as discomfort during urination, urethral discharge, etc.) in the male urethra.

Rutgers Pilot for Dental Health Care Worker SARS-CoV-2 Testing
SARS-CoV2 Infection10 asymptomatic DHCWs in the Oral Medicine clinic, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, with no history of documented COVID-19 infection or viral exposure, were enrolled in a study that interrogated DHCWs' perceptions of safety and adoption of risk mitigation behavior. Following a baseline survey, finger-prick blood samples were collected twice two weeks apart using an innovative microsampling technique that replaces the need for venipuncture. Samples were processed using an in-house ELISA assay to detect IgM and IgG directed against the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the Spike protein. Weekly Rapid Antigen testing of nasal swab specimens was used to document Antigen negativity during the study.

Rutgers Pilot for PREDICT- Patient POC Test
SARS CoV 2 InfectionA pilot study was initiated to assess feasibility of testing asymptomatic dental patients presenting to the Oral Medicine Clinic at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine for SARS-CoV-2 viral antigen using a point-of-care (POC) Rapid Antigen test. 14 subjects with upcoming appointment at the Oral Medicine clinic, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, with no history of documented COVID-19 infection or viral exposure, were enrolled in a study that interrogated patients' perceptions of safety and feedback regarding their testing experience. All 14 patients expressed initial interest, however, 10 patients completed informed consent and completed study procedures. Institutional Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certification of waiver was obtained prior to conducting the study. Communicable Diseases Reporting and Surveillance System (CDRSS) registration and training were completed to enable reporting results of the POC test.

Impact of Prolonged Antibiotic Therapy on Commensal Microbial Community Gene Expression.
Microbial ColonizationAntibiotics are a mainstay of life-saving interventions used frequently in medical practice to combat infections. These medications not only target the pathogenic bacteria for which they are prescribed but also function against commensal bacterial communities that inhabit the gut, skin, and oropharynx. The role that these native bacterial communities play in normal host function, such as in nutrition and host immunity, is only beginning to be explored, as are the changes in the communities and their function as a result of various alterations of antibiotic use. Short courses of antibiotics have been shown to affect the diversity of native bacterial communities, and to affect the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes present. For example, use of clindamycin in human subjects for 7 days has been demonstrated to result in persistent clindamycin resistance for months or years. The impact of prolonged antibiotic therapy on the host microbiome including both those organisms present and the diversity of antibiotic genes has not been studied, and we have very little understanding of the longitudinal effects of antimicrobial therapy on the genetic repertoire present in human microbial communities. In this study, we will examine changes in the microbiota as well as frequency of antibacterial resistance genes harbored in skin, saliva, and colonic microbiomes longitudinally in subjects on prolonged antimicrobial therapy, as well as household members of the person on antibiotic therapy. Previously well patients with minimal prior antibiotic exposure will be enrolled upon diagnosis of an infection requiring long-term antibiotic therapy, such as osteomyelitis or prosthetic joint infection, prior to starting antibiotic therapy. We will examine the microbiota of the skin, saliva, and gut prior to antibiotics as well as the frequency of antibiotic resistance genes harbored within these microbial communities. We will compare microbial communities and antibiotic resistance gene frequencies before, during and after prolonged course of antibiotics in patients on antibiotics. We will also look for alterations that occur among microbiomes or antibiotic resistance genes among household members of people on antibiotics.