Frequency of supervised consumption service use and acute care utilization in people who inject drugs.

Background: Supervised consumption service (SCS) use among people who inject drugs may reduce acute care utilization; however, prior studies have been limited by self-reported outcomes and dichotomous exposures.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study using linked questionnaire and health administrative data among people who inject drugs in Toronto, Canada (2018-2020). Baseline SCS use frequency was defined by a participant's self-reported proportion of injections performed at an SCS over the past six months: "all/most" (≥75 %), "some" (26-74 %), "few" (1-25 %), or "none" (0 %).

Bacterial co-infections in cancer patients with COVID-19: predictors and antimicrobial resistance trends.

Introduction: Within the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, this study investigated the multifaceted challenges of bacterial infections in cancer patients with COVID-19. It focuses on clinical predictors, resistance patterns, and microbiological characteristics.

Methodology: Over 18 months, 112 adult cancer patients with coronavirus infection confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were enrolled.

Parameter extraction of proton exchange membrane fuel cell based on artificial rabbits' optimization algorithm and conducting laboratory tests.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) parameter extraction is an important issue in modeling and control of renewable energies. The PEMFC problem's main objective is to estimate the optimal value of unknown parameters of the electrochemical model. The main objective function of the optimization problem is the sum of the square errors between the measured voltages and output voltages of the proposed electrochemical optimized model at various loading conditions.

Implementing routine collection of EQ-5D-5L in a breast cancer outpatient clinic.

Purpose: A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of implementing routine collection of the Euro-Qol 5 dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaire, to inform drug and health technology reimbursement decision making.

Methods: Women with breast cancer were recruited during scheduled clinic visits to an academic cancer centre. EQ-5D-5L was self-administered using electronic tablets.

Advanced extraction of PV parameters' models based on electric field impacts on semiconductor conductivity using QIO algorithm.

This article presents a novel approach for parameters estimation of photovoltaic cells/modules using a recent optimization algorithm called quadratic interpolation optimization algorithm (QIOA). The proposed formula is dependent on variable voltage resistances (VVR) implementation of the series and shunt resistances. The variable resistances reduced from the effect of the electric field on the semiconductor conductivity should be included to get more accurate representation.

"Everybody is impacted. Everybody's hurting": Grief, loss and the emotional impacts of overdose on harm reduction workers.

Background: The emotional impacts of witnessing and responding to overdose and overdose-related deaths have been largely overlooked during the drug toxicity overdose crisis in North America. Scarce research has analyzed these impacts on the health and well-being of harm reduction workers, and the broader determinants of harm reduction work. Our study investigates the experiences and impacts of witnessing and responding to frequent and escalating rates of overdose on harm reduction workers in Toronto, Canada.

Validation of case-ascertainment algorithms using health administrative data to identify people who inject drugs in Ontario, Canada.

Objectives: Health administrative data can be used to improve the health of people who inject drugs by informing public health surveillance and program planning, monitoring, and evaluation. However, methodological gaps in the use of these data persist due to challenges in accurately identifying injection drug use (IDU) at the population level. In this study, we validated case-ascertainment algorithms for identifying people who inject drugs using health administrative data in Ontario, Canada.

Economic Evaluations of Establishing Opioid Overdose Prevention Centers in 12 North American Cities: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Overdose prevention centers (OPCs) provide a safe place where people can consume preobtained drugs under supervision so that a life-saving medical response can be provided quickly in the event of an overdose. OPCs are programs that are established in Canada and have recently become legally sanctioned in only a few United States jurisdictions.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review that summarizes and identifies gaps of economic evidence on establishing OPCs in North America to guide future expansion of OPCs.

Overdose mortality incidence and supervised consumption services in Toronto, Canada: an ecological study and spatial analysis.

Background: Supervised consumption services (SCS) prevent overdose deaths onsite; however, less is known about their effect on population-level overdose mortality. We aimed to characterise overdose mortality in Toronto, ON, Canada, and to establish the spatial association between SCS locations and overdose mortality events.

Methods: For this ecological study and spatial analysis, we compared crude overdose mortality rates before and after the implementation of nine SCS in Toronto in 2017.

Substance use care innovations during COVID-19: barriers and facilitators to the provision of safer supply at a toronto COVID-19 isolation and recovery site.

Background: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an urgent need to establish isolation spaces for people experiencing homelessness who were exposed to or had COVID-19. In response, community agencies and the City of Toronto opened COVID-19 isolation and recovery sites (CIRS) in March 2020. We sought to examine the provision of comprehensive substance use services offered to clients on-site to facilitate isolation, particularly the uptake of safer supply prescribing (prescription of pharmaceutical opioids and/or stimulants) as part of a spectrum of comprehensive harm reduction and addiction treatment interventions.

Episodic disability questionnaire (EDQ) measurement properties among adults living with HIV in Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, and United States.

Background: The Episodic Disability Questionnaire (EDQ) is a generic 35-item patient-reported outcome measure of presence, severity and episodic nature of disability. We assessed the measurement properties of the Episodic Disability Questionnaire (EDQ) with adults living with HIV.

Methods: We conducted a measurement study with adults living with HIV in eight clinical settings in Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, and United States.

Initiations of safer supply hydromorphone increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario: An interrupted time series analysis.

Aims: Calls to prescribe safer supply hydromorphone (SSHM) as an alternative to the toxic drug supply increased during the COVID-19 pandemic but it is unknown whether prescribing behaviour was altered. We aimed to evaluate how the number of new SSHM dispensations changed during the pandemic in Ontario.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective interrupted time-series analysis using provincial administrative databases.

Glandular Fever Testing in Patients Presenting With Tonsillitis: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Tonsillitis, the inflammation of the palatine tonsils, typically arises from infections and predominantly affects children of primary school age. Most cases stem from viral or bacterial infections. Glandular fever, a subtype, is primarily caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

The Financial Burden Associated With Conservatively Managed Epistaxis.

Aim: Each year, approximately 25,000 patients present to NHS hospitals in the UK with epistaxis. This study aims to investigate the financial implications of epistaxis, focusing on cases managed conservatively. Specifically, the research explores the average cost of hospital bed stays, the length of hospitalization, and the impact of blood thinners on healthcare expenses.

The multiple makings of a supervised consumption service in a hospital setting.

Background: Whereas supervised consumption services (SCSs) are common in many community settings, they are seldomly found in acute care hospitals. As hospitals present unique circumstances that can shape the impacts of an SCS, careful consideration of local implementation contexts and practices is required. We explored the pre-implementation stage of an SCS, to examine how an SCS is made and made differently in relation to the material-discursive context of the hospital.

Identifying the white matter pathways involved in multiple sclerosis-related tremor using diffusion tensor imaging.

Background: Tremor affects up to 45% of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS). Current understanding is based on insights from other neurological disorders, thus, not fully addressing the distinctive aspects of MS pathology.

Objective: To characterize the brain white matter (WM) correlates of MS-related tremor using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

Client experiences using a new supervised consumption service in Sudbury, Ontario: A qualitative study.

Overdoses are increasing in the province of Ontario, Canada, where northern communities such as Sudbury have witnessed disproportionately elevated rates, with opioid-related deaths double that of the provincial average. To address this issue, governments have implemented supervised consumption services (SCS) where people who use drugs (PWUD) can use their pre-obtained substances onsite under trained supervision. In September 2022, the city of Sudbury opened its first SCS, 'The Spot', but the site's sustainability is contingent on demonstrating benefit to PWUD and the neighboring community.

Modeling as Visioning: Exploring the Impact of Criminal Justice Reform on Health of Populations with Substance Use Disorders.

Unlabelled: In the context of historic reckoning with the role of the criminal-legal system as a structural driver of health harms, there is mounting evidence that punitive drug policies have failed to prevent problematic drug use while fueling societal harms. In this explainer article, we discuss how simulation modeling provides a methodological framework to explore the potential outcomes (beneficial and harmful) of various drug policy alternatives, from incremental to radical. We discuss potential simulation modeling opportunities while calling for a more active role of simulation modeling in visioning and operationalizing transformative change.