A Retrospective Observational Study to Understand Medication Utilization and Lines of Treatment in Patients With Insomnia Disorder.

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder, associated with multiple health concerns. Current medications for insomnia are associated with higher safety risks if clinical practice guidelines or monograph recommendations are not followed. This study aims to understand real-world prescribing practices among patients with insomnia in Canada, including medication utilization, potentially inappropriate medication use, cost incurred, and lines of treatment.

The impact of hypoxia preconditioning on mesenchymal stem cells performance in hypertensive kidney disease.

Background: Autologous mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a therapeutic option for many diseases. Hypertensive kidney disease (HKD) might impair MSCs' reparative ability by altering the biomolecular properties, but the characteristics of this impairment are unclear. In our previous pre-clinical studies, we found hypoxic preconditioning (HPC) enhanced angiogenesis and suppressed senescence gene expression.

Emergency medicine residents and performance under pressure: learning from elite athletes' experience.

Objective: The skills of coping with stress and pressure within emergency medicine are conveyed informally and inconsistently throughout residency training. This study aims to identify key psychological competencies used by elite athletes in high-pressure situations, which can be integrated into a formal curriculum to support emergency medicine residents' performance in high acuity settings.

Design: We conducted a scoping review spanning 20 years to identify the relevant psychological competencies used by elite athletes (Olympic or World level) to perform under pressure.

The relationship between patient-specific factors and functional progression of COVID-19 survivors admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Background: Survivors of hospitalization for severe acute COVID-19 infection faced significant functional impairments necessitating discharge to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) for intensive rehabilitation prior to discharge home. There remains a lack of large cohort studies of the functional outcomes of patients admitted to IRFs with COVID-19-related impairments and the relationship to patient-specific factors.

Objective: To characterize functional outcomes of patients admitted to IRFs for COVID-19-related debility and to investigate associations between functional outcomes and patient-specific factors.

Strategies to reduce out-of-pocket medication costs for Canadians with peripheral arterial disease.

Background: Given that peripheral arterial disease (PAD) disproportionately affects people of lower socioeconomic status, out-of-pocket expenses for preventive medications are a major barrier to their use. We carried out a cost comparison of drug therapies for PAD to identify prescribing strategies that minimize out-of-pocket expenses for these medications.

Methods: Between March and June 2019, we contacted outpatient pharmacies in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to assess pricing of pharmacologic therapies at dosages included in the 2016 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline for management of lower extremity PAD.