Systematic Review and Meta-analysis to Compare the Short- and Long-term Outcomes of Non-operative Management With Early Operative Management of Simple Appendicitis in Children After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Non-operative management (NOM) of simple appendicitis is becoming an increasingly researched treatment option. This systematic review aims to describe the short and long-term failure rates of NOM and the complication rate of appendicectomy in children with simple appendicitis.

Methods: The systematic review was registered a priori (CRD42022322149).

Quality Improvement to Eliminate Disparities in Developmental Screening for Patients Needing Interpreters.

Unlabelled: Children from households with a preferred language other than English are less likely to receive timely identification and treatment for developmental delay than children of native English speakers. In dismantling this inequity, the role of primary care pediatrics is to establish equitable systems for screening and referral. This project, conducted in a network of twelve pediatric primary care centers, focused on eliminating a small but systematic disparity in developmental screening rates between families who did and did not require interpreters (86% versus 92%).

Testing the validity and reliability of the Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling (PCCC) Performance Measure in a Real-World Contraceptive Access Program.

Objectives: To validate the Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling (PCCC) patient-reported outcome performance measure and assess for differences by sociodemographic attributes using survey data from a multistate contraceptive access program.

Study Design: This analysis explored internal reliability and construct validity of the PCCC using survey data from 1413 patients who visited 15 health centers in Washington state and Massachusetts that had partnered with Upstream USA.

Results: Multiple psychometric indicators provided evidence of reliability and validity.

Systematic review and narrative synthesis of the impact of Appreciative Inquiry in healthcare.

Background: Appreciative Inquiry is a motivational, organisational change intervention, which can be used to improve the quality and safety of healthcare. It encourages organisations to focus on the positive and investigate the best of 'what is' before thinking of 'what might be', deciding 'what should be' and experiencing 'what can be'. Its effects in healthcare are poorly understood.

A Rare Case of Complete Penile Agenesis.

Aphallia, or penile agenesis, is rare (1:30 million) and associated with other urogenital anomalies. Under 100 cases of aphallia have been reported worldwide. Pathogenesis is uncertain but thought to be failure of formation of the genital tubercle.

Patterns and trends in contraceptive use among women attending Title X clinics and a national sample of low-income women.

Objectives: To describe the types of contraception used by women attending Title X-funded clinics and a comparable group of low-income reproductive-age women at risk of unintended pregnancy.

Study Design: We estimated the percentage of reproductive aged (15-44 years) women using contraception, by method type and level of effectiveness in preventing pregnancy (i.e.

Lessons Learned in Creating Interoperable Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources Profiles for Large-Scale Public Health Programs.

Objective: This article describes lessons learned from the collaborative creation of logical models and standard Health Level Seven (HL7) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) profiles for family planning and reproductive health. The National Health Service delivery program will use the FHIR profiles to improve federal reporting, program monitoring, and quality improvement efforts.

Materials And Methods: Organizational frameworks, work processes, and artifact testing to create FHIR profiles are described.

Youth-Friendly Family Planning Services for Young People: A Systematic Review Update.

Context: Youth-friendly family planning services may improve youth reproductive health outcomes. A systematic review conducted in 2011 was updated in 2016 to incorporate recent data examining the effects of youth-friendly family planning services on reproductive health outcomes and the facilitators and barriers facing young people in accessing family planning services.

Evidence Acquisition: PubMed, POPLINE, EMBASE, and other databases were used to identify relevant articles published from March 2011 through April 2016.

Unintended pregnancy and interpregnancy interval by maternal age, National Survey of Family Growth.

Background: The relationship between unintended pregnancy and interpregnancy interval (IPI) across maternal age is not clear.

Methods: Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, we estimated the percentages of pregnancies that were unintended among IPI groups (<6, 6-11, 12-17, 18-23, 24+ months) by maternal age at last live birth (15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-44 years).

Results: Approximately 40% of pregnancies were unintended and 36% followed an IPI<18 months.

Trends in Health Insurance Coverage of Title X Family Planning Program Clients, 2005-2015.

Background: The federal Title X Family Planning Program supports the delivery of family planning services and related preventive care to 4 million individuals annually in the United States. The implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) Medicaid expansion and provisions expanding access to health insurance, which took effect in January 2014, resulted in higher rates of health insurance coverage in the U.S.

Vascular Function and Uric Acid-Lowering in Stage 3 CKD.

Hyperuricemia may contribute to endothelial dysfunction in CKD. We evaluated whether lowering serum uric acid levels with allopurinol improves endothelial dysfunction in 80 participants ≥18 years of age with stage 3 CKD and asymptomatic hyperuricemia (≥7 mg/dl in men and ≥6 mg/dl in women) randomized in a double-blinded manner to receive placebo or allopurinol for 12 weeks. Randomization was stratified according to presence or absence of diabetes mellitus.

Clinical Genetic Testing for the Cardiomyopathies and Arrhythmias: A Systematic Framework for Establishing Clinical Validity and Addressing Genotypic and Phenotypic Heterogeneity.

Advances in DNA sequencing have made large, diagnostic gene panels affordable and efficient. Broad adoption of such panels has begun to deliver on the promises of personalized medicine, but has also brought new challenges such as the presence of unexpected results, or results of uncertain clinical significance. Genetic analysis of inherited cardiac conditions is particularly challenging due to the extensive genetic heterogeneity underlying cardiac phenotypes, and the overlapping, variable, and incompletely penetrant nature of their clinical presentations.

Long term follow-up and transition of care in anorectal malformations: An international survey.

Background: The aim of the study was to assess current international practice in the long term follow-up, in managing active problems and transition of care for teenagers born with anorectal malformations (ARM).

Methods: An original survey was administered to delegates attending two large colorectal surgical meetings in 2015. The 21 questions covered long term follow-up, specific issues for teenagers and transition of care.

Gastric leiomyoma in a child with Gorlin-Goltz syndrome: First pediatric case.

Gorlin-Goltz syndrome (GGS), also known as nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (MIM 109 400), is a rare genetic condition with a prevalence between 1/56 000 and 1/256 000. Clinical presentation is usually characterized by multiple basal cell carcinomas, odontogenic jaw keratocysts, palmar or plantar pitting and skeletal anomalies. It is furthermore associated with the development of various tumors beside basal cell carcinoma, among which medulloblastoma is the most frequent.

Research in the CKD clinic: highs and lows.

Despite rates of CKD continuing to increase, the current evidence base used to guide CKD management is smaller than that for many other chronic diseases. Clinical investigators face multiple barriers to conducting research in patients with CKD. CKD patients have multiple comorbidities that make them a risky intervention target; thus, they are often excluded from trials.

Assessment of vascular function in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population, and this is only partially explained by traditional CVD risk factors. Vascular dysfunction is an important non-traditional risk factor, characterized by vascular endothelial dysfunction (most commonly assessed as impaired endothelium-dependent dilation [EDD]) and stiffening of the large elastic arteries. While various techniques exist to assess EDD and large elastic artery stiffness, the most commonly used are brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMDBA) and aortic pulse-wave velocity (aPWV), respectively.

An interlaboratory study of perfluorinated alkyl compound levels in human plasma.

We conducted an interlaboratory study which differed from the typical study of this type because of its emphasis on comparing intralaboratory variability in results. We sent specimens to six laboratories experienced in the analysis of perfluorinated alkyl compounds in blood matrices and that use stringent procedures to control and assure accuracy and precision. Each received an identical set of 60 plasma specimens that were analyzed in six completely independent batches.

Aberrantly regulated proteins in frontotemporal dementia.

Non-Alzheimer's disease of the frontal type, or frontotemporal dementia (FTD), is the second most common form of dementia. Yet, a detailed characterization of the disease has been especially limiting. To identify mechanisms possibly involved in disease pathology or progression, a proteomic analysis of proteins isolated from human frontal cortex with frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17) was performed.

Quantitative determination of perfluorooctanoic acid in serum and plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

A selective and sensitive method for analysis of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in human serum and plasma, utilizing liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), has been developed and thoroughly validated to satisfy strict FDA guidelines for bioanalytical methods. A simple, automated sample preparation procedure, involving extraction of the target analyte with acetonitrile on protein precipitation media in a 96-well plate format was developed, allowing efficient handling of large numbers of samples. The proposed method uses the calibration standards prepared in a surrogate matrix (rabbit serum or plasma) and (13)C-labeled PFOA as the internal standard to account for matrix effects, instrument drift, and extraction efficiency.

Proteomic analysis of differential protein expression induced by ultraviolet light radiation in HeLa cells.

Cells treated with ultraviolet (UV) radiation undergo cell cycle arrest at the S-phase and G1/S boundary, allowing DNA repair to occur. Several proteins such as replication protein A and DNA-dependent protein kinase have been suggested to be involved in UV-induced inhibition of DNA replication. However, the role of these proteins in inhibiting DNA replication remains unknown.