Importance: Pediatric patients with cancer commonly experience severely bothersome symptoms. The effectiveness of routine symptom screening with symptom feedback and symptom management care pathways is unknown.
Objective: To determine whether thrice-weekly symptom screening with symptom feedback and management care pathways, compared with usual care, improves overall self-reported symptom scores measured by the Symptom Screening in Pediatrics Tool (SSPedi) in pediatric patients with cancer.
Pharmacy (Basel)
January 2024
We conducted a monocentric observational study aimed at evaluating the vaccine safety and the pharmaceutical service provided at a community pharmacy (C.PHARM) in the Puglia Region in the period from 29 December 2021 to 12 March 2022 using data from 550 patients of various ages and sexes and with concomitant diseases. We collected anamnestic data, the number of hospitalizations, and any post-vaccination adverse reactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an evidence-based intervention that improves event-free survival in patients with cardiac conditions, yet <27% of all eligible patients use CR in the United States. CR is traditionally delivered in clinic-based settings where implementation barriers abound. Innovative nontraditional program designs and strategies are needed to support widespread CR uptake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground Innovative program designs and strategies are needed to support the widespread uptake of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs in the post-COVID19 era. We combined user-centered design (UCD) and implementation science (ImS) principles to design a novel telehealth-enhanced hybrid (home and clinic-based) CR (THCR) program. Methods As part of a New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) quality improvement initiative (March 2020-February 2022), we designed a THCR program using an iterative 3 step UCD process informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework and Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to: 1) identify user and contextual barriers to CR uptake (stakeholder interviews), 2) design an intervention prototype (design workshops and journey mapping), and 3) refine the prototype (usability testing).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Depression leads to poor health outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Despite guidelines recommending screening and treatment of depressed patients with CHD, few patients receive optimal care. We applied behavioral and implementation science methods to (1) identify generalizable, multilevel barriers to depression screening and treatment in patients with CHD and (2) develop a theory-informed, multilevel implementation strategy for promoting guideline adoption.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Prevalence, incidence, and factors associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms at follow-up among healthcare workers after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown.
Methods: A web survey invitation was sent to healthcare worker listservs at a NYC medical center (April, 2020). The Primary Care (PC)-PTSD questionnaire was used to screen for PTSD symptoms at baseline and then every 2 weeks for 10 weeks.
Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) treating patients with COVID-19 report psychological distress. We examined whether disturbed sleep was associated with psychological distress in New York City (NYC) HCWs during the initial peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020).
Methods: HCWs completed a survey screening for acute stress (4-item Primary Care PTSD screen), depressive (Patient Health Questionaire-2), and anxiety (2-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale) symptoms.
Background: Few studies have examined the longer-term psychological impact of COVID-19 in healthcare workers (HCWs).
Purpose: We examined the 10-week trajectory of insomnia symptoms in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: HCWs completed a web-based survey at baseline (9 April-11 May 2020) and every 2 weeks for 10 weeks.
Pediatr Blood Cancer
November 2020
Background: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) can be familial or secondary, which is often triggered by infection or malignancy. HLH therapy includes dexamethasone and etoposide. However, therapy is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWithin the field of pediatric oncology, communication skills training (CST) has been recognized as a high priority by professional and accrediting organizations. However, the effectiveness of formalized CST interventions for pediatric oncology providers remains poorly understood. We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycInfo for original research articles assessing the effectiveness and quality of CST interventions targeting pediatric oncology clinicians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The mental health toll of COVID-19 on healthcare workers (HCW) is not yet fully described. We characterized distress, coping, and preferences for support among NYC HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional web survey of physicians, advanced practice providers, residents/fellows, and nurses, conducted during a peak of inpatient admissions for COVID-19 in NYC (April 9th-April 24th 2020) at a large medical center in NYC (n = 657).
Introduction: Published curricula to teach communication skills for postgraduate fellows in oncology are few in number despite the fact that oncologists conduct many difficult discussions with their patients and their families. Such discussions may include disclosing initial diagnosis or relapse of a patient's cancer or relaying a poor prognosis or change to palliative care.
Methods: An eight-module course on communication in oncology practice was delivered over 2 months for palliative and oncology fellows and radiation oncology residents.
The overall prognosis for most pediatric cancers is good. Mortality for all childhood cancers combined is approximately half what it was in 1975, and the survival rates of many malignancies continue to improve. However, the incidence of childhood cancer is significant and the related emergencies that develop acutely carry significant morbidity and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe show that modifications of Einstein gravity during inflation could leave potentially measurable imprints on cosmological observables in the form of non-Gaussian perturbations. This is due to the fact that these modifications appear in the form of an extra field that could have nontrivial interactions with the inflaton. We show it explicitly for the case R+αR(2), where nearly scale-invariant non-Gaussianity at the level of f(NL) ≈ - (1 to 30) can be obtained, in a quasilocal configuration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe overall prognosis for most pediatric cancers is good. Mortality for all childhood cancers combined is approximately half what it was in 1975, and the survival rates of many malignancies continue to improve. However, the incidence of childhood cancer is significant and the related emergencies that develop acutely carry significant morbidity and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSTRADalpha is a pseudokinase that forms a heterotrimeric complex with the scaffolding protein MO25 and the tumor suppressor serine threonine protein kinase LKB1. Mutations in the LKB1 gene are responsible for the Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome (PJS) characterized by a predisposition to hamartomatous polyps and hyperpigmentation of the buccal mucosa. Mutations in LKB1 have also been observed in some sporadic tumours unrelated to PJS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The present study evaluated the factors that contribute to stress and the psychological difficulties of the Italian military component of the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This group was compared with a homogeneous group stationed in Italy.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in two groups of career military personnel: 452 subjects who were stationed in Bosnia as peacekeepers and 166 who were stationed in Italy.
The Authors present three cases of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) in pregnancy and discuss about problem of diagnosis and management of NHL in this condition. They stress that the diagnosis of NHL in pregnancy is delayed and the clinical progression of lymphoma is probably influenced by hormonal and immunological changes occurring during pregnancy. On the other hand the management of NHL is problematic because radiotherapy is potentially teratogenic.
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