A retrospective analysis of cardiovascular outcomes of clozapine treated individuals within Hunter New England.

Background: Clozapine has demonstrated superiority in improving both positive and negative symptoms of treatment-resistant schizophrenia; however, there are associated treatment-limiting side effects, including myocarditis, cardiomyopathy and agranulocytosis.

Aim: This retrospective cohort study describes the prevalence of myocarditis, left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes in a cohort of patients maintained on clozapine therapy.

Methods: Data were retrospectively collated from patients who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, had been managed with clozapine at any stage during their care and undergone at least one echocardiogram.

Enhancing end-of-life care practices on the medicine units: perspectives from nurses and families.

Background: Death is a part of life. While most often a sombre event, opportunities exist to optimise the experience both for the dying patient and their loved ones. This is especially true in institutionalised settings, such as acute care hospitals where cure and recovery tend to be paramount.

A personalized multi-platform assessment of somatic mosaicism in the human frontal cortex.

Somatic mutations in individual cells lead to genomic mosaicism, contributing to the intricate regulatory landscape of genetic disorders and cancers. To evaluate and refine the detection of somatic mosaicism across different technologies with personalized donor-specific assembly (DSA), we obtained tissue from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of a post-mortem neurotypical 31-year-old individual. We sequenced bulk DLPFC tissue using Oxford Nanopore Technologies (∼60X), NovaSeq (∼30X), and linked-read sequencing (∼28X).

Positive and negative framing of complication risk and long-term outcomes influences decision-making in hip and knee arthroplasty.

Background: The framing effect has been demonstrated in a variety of settings. This study aimed to determine whether framing of complication risk in total hip arthroplasty (THA) and long-term patient satisfaction rates in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) influences patient decision-making and 'worry' using hypothetical vignettes.

Methods: Two cross-sectional survey studies were undertaken, one based on a THA vignette and one based on a TKA vignette.