Frailty screening with comprehensive geriatrician-led multidisciplinary assessment for older adults during emergency hospital attendance in Ireland (SOLAR): a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Multidisciplinary comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) improves outcomes in hospitalised older adults but there is limited evidence on its effectiveness in the emergency department. We aimed to assess the benefits of CGA in the emergency department for older adults living with frailty.

Methods: In this randomised controlled trial, we enrolled older adults (≥75 years) who presented to the emergency department with medical complaints at University Hospital Limerick (Limerick, Ireland).

Healthcare workers' experience of screening older adults in emergency care settings: a qualitative descriptive study using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Background: In emergency care settings, screening for disease or risk factors for poor health outcomes among older adults can identify those in need of specialist and early intervention. The aim of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing older person-centred screening in emergency care settings in the Mid-West of Ireland.

Methods: This study employed a qualitative descriptive design underpinned by the theoretical domains framework (TDF).

A frailty census of older adults in the emergency department and acute inpatient settings of a model 4 hospital in the Mid-West of Ireland.

Background: Frailty is a risk factor for presentation to the ED, in-hospital mortality, prolonged hospital stays and functional decline at discharge. Profiling the prevalence and level of frailty within the acute hospital setting is vital to ensure evidence-based practice and service development within the construct of frailty. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to establish the prevalence of frailty and co-morbidities among older adults in an acute hospital setting.

Long-term outcomes of older adults with acute COVID-19 following inpatient geriatric rehabilitation: a prospective cohort study from the Republic of Ireland.

Background: There is a paucity of research reporting the long-term outcomes of older adults who have completed geriatric rehabilitation following COVID-19.

Aim: The primary aim of this study is to describe the long-term functional outcomes of a cohort of older adults with acute COVID-19 who have completed inpatient geriatric rehabilitation.

Methods: This is a subgroup analysis of Irish data from a pan-European prospective cohort study.

Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in the Emergency Department: A Prospective Cohort Study of Process, Clinical, and Patient-Reported Outcomes.

Background: This study aimed to explore the process, clinical, and patient-reported outcomes of older adults who received an interdisciplinary Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in the emergency department (ED) over a six-month period after their initial ED attendance.

Patients And Methods: A prospective cohort study recruited older adults aged ≥65 years who presented to the ED of a university teaching hospital in Ireland. Baseline assessment data comprising a battery of demographic variables and validated indices were obtained at the index ED attendance.

A Physiotherapy-Led Transition to Home Intervention for Older Adults Following Emergency Department Discharge: A Pilot Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial (ED PLUS).

Background: Older adults frequently attend the emergency department (ED) and experience high rates of subsequent adverse outcomes including functional decline, ED re-presentation and unplanned hospital admission. The development of effective interventions to prevent such outcomes is a key priority for research and service provision. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility of a physiotherapy-led integrated care intervention for older adults discharged from the ED (ED PLUS).

Clinical research stakeholders' experiences of clinical research during COVID-19: a qualitative study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created a complex high-risk clinical research environment with clinical research activities significantly impacted. Clinical research stakeholders adapted rapidly to new clinical practices; PPE, infection control policies, all while engaging with a more unwell patient demographic. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of conducting clinical research during COVID-19 with clinical research stakeholders.

Clinician consensus on "Inappropriate" presentations to the Emergency Department in the Better Data, Better Planning (BDBP) census: a cross-sectional multi-centre study of emergency department utilisation in Ireland.

Background: Utilisation of the Emergency Department (ED) for non-urgent care increases demand for services, therefore reducing inappropriate or avoidable attendances is an important area for intervention in prevention of ED crowding. This study aims to develop a consensus between clinicians across care settings about the "appropriateness" of attendances to the ED in Ireland.

Methods: The Better Data, Better Planning study was a multi-centre, cross-sectional study investigating factors influencing ED utilisation in Ireland.

Screening instruments to predict adverse outcomes for undifferentiated older adults attending the Emergency Department: Results of SOAED prospective cohort study.

Background: frailty screening facilitates the stratification of older adults at most risk of adverse events for urgent assessment and subsequent intervention. We assessed the validity of the Identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR), Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), Programme on Research for Integrating Services for the Maintenance of Autonomy seven item questionnaire (PRISMA-7) and InterRAI-ED at predicting adverse outcomes at 30 days and 6 months amongst older adults presenting to the Emergency Department (ED).

Methods: a prospective cohort study of adults ≥65 years who presented to the ED was conducted.

Multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation for older adults with COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical and process outcomes.

Background: Older adults are at increased risk for disease severity and poorer prognosis following COVID-19 infection. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to explore the impact of multidisciplinary rehabilitation in the acute or post-acute hospital setting for older adults with COVID-19.

Methods: The Cochrane library, EMBASE, Cinahl and Medline (via EBSCO), PubMed, and Web of Science were systematically searched in June 2022 and a repeat search was completed in March 2023.

Are we there yet?' Distance to definitive care for Irish patients in the Better Data, Better Planning (BDBP) study.

Background: Residing long distances from definitive care compromises patient safety and, in rural Ireland, travel distance to health care can be substantial, particularly in light of national General Practitioner (GP) shortages and hospital reconfigurations. The aim of this research is to describe the profile of patients attending Irish Emergency Departments (EDs) in terms of distance from GP care and definitive care in the ED.

Method: The 'Better Data, Better Planning' (BDBP) census was a multi-centre, cross-sectional study of n=5 urban and rural EDs in Ireland throughout 2020.

A physiotherapy-led transition to home intervention for older adults following Emergency Department discharge: a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Older adults frequently attend the emergency department (ED) and experience high rates of adverse outcomes following ED presentation including functional decline, ED re-presentation and unplanned hospital admission. Our aim was to evaluate the feasibility of a physiotherapy-led integrated care intervention for older adults discharged from the ED (ED-PLUS).

Methods: Older adults presenting to the ED with undifferentiated medical complaints and discharged within 72 hours were computer randomised in a ratio of 1:1:1 to deliver usual care, Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) in the ED, or ED-PLUS (trial registration: NCT04983602).

The impact of COVID-19 on an Irish Emergency Department (ED): a cross-sectional study exploring the factors influencing ED utilisation prior to and during the pandemic from the patient perspective.

Background: The collateral damage of SARS-CoV-2 is a serious concern in the Emergency Medicine (EM) community, specifically in relation to delayed care increasing morbidity and mortality in attendances unrelated to COVID-19. The objectives of this study are to describe the profile of patients attending an Irish ED prior to, and during the pandemic, and to investigate the factors influencing ED utilisation in this cohort.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with recruitment at three time-points prior to the onset of COVID-19 in December 2019 (n = 47) and February 2020 (n = 57) and post-Lockdown 1 in July 2020 (n = 70).

The "better data, better planning" census: a cross-sectional, multi-centre study investigating the factors influencing patient attendance at the emergency department in Ireland.

Background: Internationally Emergency Department (ED) crowding is a significant health services delivery issue posing a major risk to population health. ED crowding affects both the quality and access of health services and is associated with poorer patient outcomes and increased mortality rates. In Ireland the practising of "Corridor Medicine" and "Trolley Crises" have become prevalent.

A physiotherapy-led transition to home intervention for older adults following emergency department discharge: protocol for a pilot feasibility randomised controlled trial.

Background: Older adults frequently attend the emergency department (ED) and experience high rates of adverse outcomes following ED presentation including functional decline, ED re-presentation and unplanned hospital admission. The development of effective interventions to prevent such outcomes is a key priority for research and service provision. This paper reports a protocol designed to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a three arm randomised controlled trial (RCT) within the ED setting and in the patient's home.

Development of a Critical Care Air Transport Team "Go Bag": Slimming Down ICU Capability to Augment Pararescue or Civilian Contract Medical Evacuation Personnel.

Introduction: Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT) is a three-person United States Air Force (USAF) medical asset, typically providing intercontinental medical evacuation on large military aircraft. The CCATT equipment Allowance Standard (AS) weighs approximately 272 kg (600 lbs). In austere locations, CCATT teams may augment contract medical evacuation (CME) personnel or Pararescue (PJ) in small aircraft with limited space for medical equipment.

The impact of frailty Screening of Older adults with muLtidisciplinary assessment of those At Risk during emergency hospital attendance on the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of care (SOLAR): a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Older people account for 25% of all Emergency Department (ED) admissions. This is expected to rise with an ageing demographic. Older people often present to the ED with complex medical needs in the setting of multiple comorbidities.

Partial Breast Irradiation and Surgical Clip Usage for Tumor Bed Delineation After Breast-Conserving Surgery in Canada: A Radiation Oncology Perspective.

Purpose: Our purpose was to evaluate the usage and perceived benefit of surgical clips for breast radiation therapy planning in Canada, focusing on partial breast irradiation (PBI) after breast-conserving surgery.

Methods And Materials: A retrospective institutional review identified patients eligible for PBI based on clinicopathologic criteria, and tumor bed visualization was determined from computed tomography-planning scans. An online survey was subsequently distributed to Canadian radiation oncologists addressing the usage and added value of surgical clips for breast radiation therapy planning purposes.

Threshold analyses on combinations of testing, population size, and vaccine coverage for COVID-19 control in a university setting.

We simulated epidemic projections of a potential COVID-19 outbreak in a residential university population in the United States under varying combinations of asymptomatic tests (5% to 33% per day), transmission rates (2.5% to 14%), and contact rates (1 to 25), to identify the contact rate threshold that, if exceeded, would lead to exponential growth in infections. Using this, we extracted contact rate thresholds among non-essential workers, population size thresholds in the absence of vaccines, and vaccine coverage thresholds.

Clinical Presentation, Timing, and Microbiology of CIED Infections: An Analysis of the WRAP-IT Trial.

Objectives: This study characterized the microbiology of major cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infections that occurred during the WRAP-IT (Worldwide Randomized Antibiotic Envelope Infection Prevention Trial) study.

Background: The WRAP-IT study offers a unique opportunity for further understanding of the pathogens involved in major CIED infections in a prospective dataset, with implications for clinical practice and infection management.

Methods: A total of 6,800 patients randomized 1:1 to receive an antibacterial envelope or not (control subjects) were included in this analysis.

Cost-Effectiveness of an Antibacterial Envelope for Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Infection Prevention in the US Healthcare System From the WRAP-IT Trial.

Background: In the WRAP-IT trial (Worldwide Randomized Antibiotic Envelope Infection Prevention), adjunctive use of an absorbable antibacterial envelope resulted in a 40% reduction of major cardiac implantable electronic device infection without increased risk of complication in 6983 patients undergoing cardiac implantable electronic device revision, replacement, upgrade, or initial cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator implant. There is limited information on the cost-effectiveness of this strategy. As a prespecified objective, we evaluated antibacterial envelope cost-effectiveness compared with standard-of-care infection prevention strategies in the US healthcare system.

Impact of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Infection: A Clinical and Economic Analysis of the WRAP-IT Trial.

Background: Current understanding of the impact of cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection is based on retrospective analyses from medical records or administrative claims data. The WRAP-IT (Worldwide Randomized Antibiotic Envelope Infection Prevention Trial) offers an opportunity to evaluate the clinical and economic impacts of CIED infection from the hospital, payer, and patient perspectives in the US healthcare system.

Methods: This was a prespecified, as-treated analysis evaluating outcomes related to major CIED infections: mortality, quality of life, disruption of CIED therapy, healthcare utilization, and costs.

Exebacase for patients with Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection and endocarditis.

BACKGROUNDNovel therapeutic approaches are critically needed for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (BSIs), particularly for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Exebacase, a first-in-class antistaphylococcal lysin, is a direct lytic agent that is rapidly bacteriolytic, eradicates biofilms, and synergizes with antibiotics.