3D printing in palliative medicine: systematic review.

Background: Three-dimensional printing (3DP) enables the production of highly customised, cost-efficient devices in a relatively short time, which can be particularly valuable to clinicians treating patients with palliative care intent who are in need of timely and effective solutions in the management of their patients' specific needs, including the relief of distressing symptoms.

Method: Four online databases were searched for articles published by December 2020 that described studies using 3DP in palliative care. The fields of application, and the relevant clinical and technological data were extracted and analysed.

Sex and genetic background influence intravenous oxycodone self-administration in the hybrid rat diversity panel.

Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is an ongoing worldwide public health concern. Genetic factors contribute to multiple OUD-related phenotypes, such as opioid-induced analgesia, initiation of opioid use, and opioid dependence. Here, we present findings from a behavioral phenotyping protocol using male and female rats from 15 genetically diverse inbred strains from the Hybrid Rat Diversity Panel (HRDP).

Enrollment in Medicare is associated with fewer outpatient mental healthcare visits among those with mental health symptoms.

Objective: To test whether enrolling in traditional Medicare (TM) or Medicare Advantage (MA) at age 65 reduces mental healthcare utilization among individuals with mental health symptoms and low or moderate family incomes.

Study Setting And Design: We employ a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, comparing the likelihood of having an outpatient mental health visit or a psychotropic drug fill among individuals younger than or older than the age 65 Medicare eligibility threshold.

Data Sources And Analytic Sample: We analyze 2014-2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data.

Development and confirmation of humanized plasma and epithelial lining fluid exposures of meropenem, cefiderocol and tobramycin in a standardized neutropenic murine pneumonia model.

Background: Murine pneumonia models play a fundamental role in the preclinical development of novel compounds seeking an indication for the treatment of pneumonia. It is vital that plasma exposures in these models are not used as a surrogate for exposure in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (ELF). Herein, human-simulated regimens (HSRs) in both plasma and ELF of meropenem, cefiderocol and tobramycin are described in the standardized COMBINE murine neutropenic pneumonia model.

Recent cohorts aging into Medicare use more counseling and psychotherapy than past cohorts.

Objectives: Despite recent policy interest in improving access to mental health care in Medicare, little is known about how demand for care will change among the Medicare population as newer cohorts age into the program. We documented the growing rate of counseling and psychotherapy use in the decade prior to turning age 65 years among subsequent cohorts aging into Medicare. We characterized how this growth varied across demographic groups, income levels, and mental and physical health status.

Impact of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology Mentorship Award Program on Careers in Pediatric Dermatology: Workforce Implications.

Extended essays or commentaries providing an opportunity to express personal views and opinions that are meant to enlighten, entertain, and educate readers, and can include articles about medical history, ethics, literature or the arts related to pediatric dermatology. Patient perspectives are also encouraged. Questions on whether a potential submission is appropriate for this section can be addressed to the Editors-in-Chief, or the Section Editors, Lucinda Kohn, MD, MHS (lucinda.

Establishment of a diverse pheno-genotypic challenge set of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa suitable for use in the murine pneumonia model.

Background: Preclinical murine infection models lack inter-laboratory uniformity, complicating result comparisons and data reproducibility. The European Innovative Medicines initiative-funded consortium (COMBINE) has developed a standardized murine neutropenic pneumonia protocol to address these concerns. While model methods have been standardized, a major obstacle to consistent results is the lack of available bacteria with defined viability and variability.

Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy for patients with endocarditis using continuous infusion IV benzylpenicillin plus IV ceftriaxone.

Background: Many patients with endocarditis are clinically stable and able to leave hospital before completing antibiotic treatment, but data are lacking regarding some outpatient treatment options.

Objectives: To assess the outcomes for adults with endocarditis receiving outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) with continuous infusion IV benzylpenicillin plus bolus/continuous infusion IV ceftriaxone.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed adults who received at least 2 weeks duration of OPAT for endocarditis with the above treatment regimen in the Auckland and Christchurch regions between July 2019 and September 2022.

Quantitative performance of humanized serum and epithelial lining fluid exposures of tigecycline and levofloxacin against a challenge set of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a standardized neutropenic murine pneumonia model.

Background: Lack of uniformity in infection models complicates preclinical development. The COMBINE protocol has standardized the murine neutropenic pneumonia model. Herein we provide benchmark efficacy data of humanized exposures of tigecycline and levofloxacin in plasma and epithelial lining fluid (ELF) against a collection of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Evolution of Postpandemic Nurse Orientation Through an Academic-Practice Partnership.

An academic-practice partnership engaged in redesigning the postpandemic orientation process for newly hired nurses in a large academic health system. Results from needs assessments and collaboration efforts informed the orientation program redesign, and the National Implementation Research Network framework guided project development. The orientation redesign aimed to enhance efficiency, readiness for unit-specific orientation, and stakeholder satisfaction.

Beyond average spending: distributional and seasonal commercial insurance trends, 2012-2021.

Objectives: The annual mean spending measures typically used to study longitudinal trends mask distributional and seasonal variation that is relevant to patients' perceptions of health care affordability and, in turn, provider collections. This study describes shifts in the distribution and seasonality of plan and patient out-of-pocket spending from 2012 through 2021.

Study Design: Analysis of multipayer commercial claims data.

Disparate Patient Advocacy When Facing Unaffordable and Problematic Medical Bills.

Importance: People in the US face high out-of-pocket medical expenses, yielding financial strain and debt.

Objective: To understand how households respond to medical bills they disagree with or cannot afford.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A retrospective cohort study was carried out using a survey fielded between August 14 and October 14, 2023.

Antibiotic De-Escalation Practices in the Intensive Care Unit: A Multicenter Observational Study.

Background: There is little known about antibiotic de-escalation (ADE) practices in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Objective: The objective was to determine the proportion of patients who received ADE within 24 hours of actionable cultures and identify predictors of timely ADE.

Methods: Multicenter cohort study in ICUs of 15 hospitals in Australia and New Zealand.

FDA, CDC, and NIH Co-sponsored Public Workshop Summary-Development Considerations of Antimicrobial Drugs for the Treatment of Gonorrhea.

There is an unmet need for developing drugs for the treatment of gonorrhea, due to rapidly evolving resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae against antimicrobial drugs used for empiric therapy, an increase in globally reported multidrug resistant cases, and the limited available therapeutic options. Furthermore, few drugs are under development. Development of antimicrobials is hampered by challenges in clinical trial design, limitations of available diagnostics, changes in and varying standards of care, lack of robust animal models, and clinically relevant pharmacodynamic targets.

Evaluation of education initiatives to increase delivery of age-friendly care in retail clinics.

Background: The Age-Friendly Health Systems model, encompassing four key elements (4Ms)-What Matters, Medication, Mentation, Mobility-is integral to delivering high-quality care to older adult patients. In May 2020, the MinuteClinic at CVS implemented the 4Ms model in all 1100+ store locations nationwide. To prepare healthcare providers to deliver 4Ms care, educational modules were developed to provide an understanding of the gerontology principles that support the 4Ms model of care.

Online retail nudges to help parents with lower-income choose healthy beverages for their children: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Nudges offer a promising tool to reduce sugary drink intake among children who are most at risk for diet-related disease.

Objective: To examine the impact of online store nudges on purchases of sugary drinks for children in lower-income households.

Methods: Caregivers with lower-income were recruited to an online shopping experiment and instructed to spend $10-$30 on three beverages for their child aged 1-5 years.

Deductible double jeopardy: patients may pay more out of pocket when pregnancy crosses 2 years.

Objectives: This study explores the concern that annual high-deductible commercial insurance plan design may yield higher out-of-pocket costs when an episode of maternity care spans 2 years, exposing patients to their cost-sharing limits twice during their episode of care.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study of Health Care Cost Institute commercial claims.

Methods: The study sample comprises 1,379,300 deliveries among high-deductible health plan enrollees in years 2012 through 2021.

Examining the effects of brand and licensed characters on parents' perceptions of Children's breakfast cereals.

Brand and licensed characters frequently appear on children's breakfast cereal boxes and are known to affect children's product perceptions, selection, and consumption. However, less is known about their impact on parents' perceptions of foods they purchase for their child. The present study assessed the impact of brand and licensed characters featured on three children's breakfast cereal packages on parents' intentions and perceptions in an online experiment.

Beyond active learning: Using 3-Dimensional learning to create scientifically authentic, student-centered classrooms.

In recent years, much of the emphasis for transformation of introductory STEM courses has focused on "active learning", and while this approach has been shown to produce more equitable outcomes for students, the construct of "active learning" is somewhat ill-defined and is often used as a "catch-all" that can encompass a wide range of pedagogical techniques. Here we present an alternative approach for how to think about the transformation of STEM courses that focuses instead on what students should know and what they can do with that knowledge. This approach, known as three-dimensional learning (3DL), emerged from the National Academy's "A Framework for K-12 Science Education", which describes a vision for science education that centers the role of constructing productive causal accounts for phenomena.