Publications by authors named "Catherine McDonald"

Licensure is an option for some autistic adolescents and families that increases mobility by enabling independent travel to employment, school, and social activities. The objective of this study was to identify current strategies used by healthcare providers (HCPs) in their guidance to autistic adolescents and families on the transition to independent driving. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 HCPs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Many recent advances in pediatric concussion care are implemented by specialists; however, children with concussion receive care across varied locations. Thus, it is critical to identify which children have access to the most up-to-date treatment strategies.

Objective: To evaluate differences in the sociodemographic and community characteristics of pediatric patients who sought care for concussion across various points of entry into a regional health care network.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biliary dyskinesia refers to a group of functional and motility disorders of the biliary system in patients presenting with typical biliary pain, but without any visible structural abnormalities on standard imaging. The Rome IV Criteria establishes diagnostic criteria for functional gallbladder disorder (gallbladder dyskinesia and biliary hyperkinesia), functional biliary sphincter of Oddi disorder (biliary dyskinesia), and pancreatic sphincter of Oddi disorder. Many diagnostic adjuncts such as hepatobiliary scintigraphy and sphincter of Oddi manometry exist, although these results are supportive and not necessarily diagnostic for biliary dyskinesia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Handheld cellphone use while driving is associated with increased motor vehicle crash risk among adolescents.

Objective: To examine the association of handheld cellphone use while driving with kinematic risky driving (KRD) events-hard braking and rapid acceleration-in adolescent drivers.

Design, Setting, Participants: Adolescents aged 16.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The purpose was to examine clinical profiles in concussed children aged 5-9 and 10-12 years and compare them with those of adolescents >12 years.

Methods: This study included patients aged 5-18 years presenting to a specialty care concussion program with a sports- and recreation-related (SRR) concussion ≤28 days postinjury. Demographics, injury mechanisms, symptoms, and clinical features were assessed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: As e-scooters have become common modes of transportations in urban environments, riding e-scooters has become a common mechanism of injury. This study examines the relationship between when riders are using these devices (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To assess changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) across a 12-month period following pediatric concussion and to explore whether psychological factors (ie, preinjury mental health history, current symptoms of anxiety and depression, sleep disturbance, or grit) were associated with HRQOL.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study design using data collected from patients presenting to a specialty care concussion program, with each patient followed for 12 months after initial presentation. Comparison data were collected from nonconcussed controls recruited from the community.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Distracted driving is responsible for nearly 1 million crashes each year in the United States alone, and a major source of driver distraction is handheld phone use. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of interventions designed to create sustained reductions in handheld use while driving (NCT04587609). Participants were 1,653 consenting Progressive® Snapshot® usage-based auto insurance customers ages 18 to 77 who averaged at least 2 min/h of handheld use while driving in the month prior to study invitation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The 2009 cystic fibrosis (CF) infant care guidelines recommend breastmilk as the initial feeding but do not address if/when it should be fortified or supplemented with formula to promote optimal growth and pulmonary health.

Methods: We conducted a prospective multi-center cohort study in breastfed and formula-fed infants that included 172 infants with CF who were born during 2012-17, enrolled after newborn screening at age 1.9 ± 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Handheld phone use while driving is a major factor in vehicle crashes. Scalable interventions are needed to encourage drivers not to use their phones.

Objective: To test whether interventions involving social comparison feedback and/or financial incentives can reduce drivers' handheld phone use.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Screen media serves an essential role in adolescents' lives, posing growth opportunities and mental health challenges. Family plays a crucial role in mitigating these challenges. This systematic review offers a comprehensive analysis of the family factors related to adolescent screen media use and mental health.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To investigate characteristics of sport-related concussion (SRC), recreation-related concussion (RRC), and nonsport or recreation-related concussion (non-SRRC) in patients 5 through 12 years old, an understudied population in youth concussion.

Study Design: This observational study included patients aged 5 through 12 years presenting to a specialty care concussion setting at ≤28 days postinjury from 2018 through 2022. The following characteristics were assessed: demographics, injury mechanism (SRC, RRC, or SRRC), point of healthcare entry, and clinical signs and symptoms.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: A concussion is a common adolescent injury that can result in a constellation of symptoms, negatively affecting academic performance, neurobiological development, and quality of life. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies, such as apps for patients to report symptoms or wearables to measure physiological metrics like heart rate, have been shown to be promising in health maintenance. However, there is limited evidence about mHealth engagement in adolescents with a concussion during their recovery course.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * It highlights healthcare providers' experiences in guiding these families through the process of pursuing driving licensure and the challenges they encounter in providing adequate support.
  • * Key findings suggest that understanding the adolescents' perspectives, preparing caregivers for driving discussions, and facilitating agreements between families are crucial roles for healthcare providers, emphasizing the need for improved communication to better support autistic adolescents' independence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Autistic individuals who drive independently feel more connected to social and job opportunities, but there's a lack of information about driving resources tailored for them and their families.
  • A study involving 33 caregivers revealed that while some useful resources exist, they are often hard to find, expensive, or limited in scope, especially regarding mental health support.
  • The findings indicate a significant need for the autism community to improve and expand access to driving-related resources to better support autistic adolescents and their families.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, genetic, multi-organ disease affecting the respiratory, digestive, endocrine, and reproductive systems. CF can affect any aspect of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreas, liver, and gall bladder. GI pathophysiology associated with CF results from CF membrane conductance regulator (CFTR) dysfunction.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Pre-existing mental health diagnoses may contribute to greater emotional symptom burden and prolonged recovery after concussion.

Hypothesis: Youth with pre-existing mental health diagnoses will have greater emotional symptom burden, greater risk for delayed return to exercise, and more prolonged recovery from concussion than those without those diagnoses.

Study Design: Prospective cohort.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Studies have evaluated individual factors associated with persistent postconcussion symptoms (PPCS) in youth concussion, but no study has combined individual elements of common concussion batteries with patient characteristics, comorbidities, and visio-vestibular deficits in assessing an optimal model to predict PPCS.

Purpose: To determine the combination of elements from 4 commonly used clinical concussion batteries and known patient characteristics and comorbid risk factors that maximize the ability to predict PPCS.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Adolescents who have suffered concussions show common disruptions in their walking ability, but the specific motor control problems causing these disruptions are not well understood.
  • A study compared 15 concussed adolescents to 17 uninjured peers, analyzing their walking performance while multitasking (walking and doing math). The results indicated that both groups performed worse while multitasking, but concussed adolescents had significantly altered muscle activity patterns in their legs.
  • The findings suggest that even more than two weeks post-injury, concussed adolescents struggle with inefficient muscle activation during walking, irrespective of additional cognitive tasks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: For children with cystic fibrosis (CF), achieving and maintaining optimal growth by the age of 2 years is critical for future health outcomes. A standardized nutrition screening is needed to identify growth problems, enable timely interventions, and improve nutritional outcomes for children (0 to 2 years) with CF. The purpose of this study was to develop a nutrition screening tool for children (0 to 2 years) with CF to identify nutrition risk at every clinical encounter.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Thebaine is an alkaloid in poppy seeds that is neurotoxic to animals. Data on its clinical effects and toxicokinetics in people are minimal. In 2022, poppy seeds high in thebaine entered the Australian food market, and people consuming tea made from these poppy seeds developed poisoning.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Poppy seed tea is used for its opioid effects and contains multiple opium alkaloids, including morphine, codeine, papaverine, and thebaine. Animal studies indicate thebaine has strychnine-like properties, but there is limited literature describing human thebaine poisoning. We describe a cluster of acute thebaine poisoning in people ingesting tea made using poppy seeds with high thebaine content that entered the Australian food supply chain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The impact of young drivers' motor vehicle crashes (MVC) is substantial, with young drivers constituting only 14% of the US population, but contributing to 30% of all fatal and nonfatal injuries due to MVCs and 35% ($25 billion) of the all medical and lost productivity costs. The current best-practice policy approach, Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs, are effective primarily by delaying licensure and restricting crash opportunity. There is a critical need for interventions that target families to complement GDL.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Gait deficits are common after concussion in adolescents. However, the neurophysiological underpinnings of these gait deficiencies are currently unknown. Thus, the goal of this study was to compare spatiotemporal gait metrics, prefrontal cortical activation, and neural efficiency between concussed adolescents several weeks from injury and uninjured adolescents during a dual-task gait assessment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF