Anxiety, Depression and Quality of Life Improve After One Month and Three Months of Home Parenteral Nutrition: A Pilot Study in a Canadian Population.

Background: Patients receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN) have a reduced quality of life (QoL), but it is unknown if this is associated with psychiatric comorbidities such as anxiety or depression.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess anxiety, depression and QoL in patients transitioning from hospital to HPN.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study in adult patients receiving parenteral nutrition (PN) during transition from hospital to home.

Experience of mechanical thrombectomy for paediatric arterial ischaemic stroke.

Background: Paediatric arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS) is an important cause of acute neurological symptoms in children, it causes significant morbidity and is one of the top ten causes of childhood deaths. Consensus papers have suggested guidelines for the management of AIS in childhood, although none recommend thrombectomy. Despite this, children within our institution have undergone mechanical thrombectomy for large vessel occlusion.

Helping primary care teams emerge through a quality improvement program.

Background: Approaches to improving the quality of health care recognize the need for systems and cultures that facilitate optimal care. Interpersonal relationships and dynamics are a key factor in transforming a system to one that can achieve quality. The Quality in Family Practice (QIFP) program encompasses clinical and practice management using a comprehensive tool of family practice indicators.

A comparative study of alpha-dystroglycan glycosylation in dystroglycanopathies suggests that the hypoglycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan does not consistently correlate with clinical severity.

Hypoglycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan underpins a subgroup of muscular dystrophies ranging from congenital onset of weakness, severe brain malformations and death in the perinatal period to mild weakness in adulthood without brain involvement. Mutations in six genes have been identified in a proportion of patients. POMT1, POMT2 and POMGnT1 encode for glycosyltransferases involved in the mannosylation of alpha-dystroglycan but the function of fukutin, FKRP and LARGE is less clear.

The complex gastrointestinal patient and Jean Watson's Theory of Caring in nutrition support.

The care of the patient with gastrointestinal disease is complex and challenging. The reasons for the complexity are varied and different for each patient. Any of these variables can affect the nutritional health of the patient, an essential element of care that supports healing, recovery, and improved quality of life.

Economic analysis of home vs hospital-based parenteral nutrition in Ontario, Canada.

Background: Advances in technology and infrastructure have facilitated transfer of complex services from acute care hospitals to the home. This increases the burden on community resources but may provide net savings to the health care system. We undertook a retrospective cohort study of patients transferred from hospital to home while receiving home parenteral nutrition (PN) to assess their costs of care.