Augmenting trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder with memory specificity training: a randomized controlled trial.

Although trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy (TF-CBT) is the recommended treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), up to one-half of patients do not respond to this intervention. There is an urgent need to develop new strategies to improve treatment response. Training people to recall specific positive memories may augment treatment gains in TF-CBT.

A pilot study of the role of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in response to exercise-augmented exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is implicated in extinction learning, which is a primary mechanism of exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Brief aerobic exercise has been shown to promote BDNF release and augment extinction learning. On the premise that the Val allele of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism facilitates greater release of BDNF, this study examined the extent to which the Val allele of the BDNF polymorphism predicted treatment response in PTSD patients who underwent exposure therapy combined with aerobic exercise or passive stretching.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy vs Mindfulness in Treatment of Prolonged Grief Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Although grief-focused cognitive behavior therapies are the most empirically supported treatment for prolonged grief disorder, many people find this treatment difficult. A viable alternative for treatment is mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Objective: To examine the relative efficacies of grief-focused cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy to reduce prolonged grief disorder severity.

Moral Distress, Mental Health, and Risk and Resilience Factors Among Military Personnel Deployed to Long-Term Care Facilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Research Protocol and Participation Metrics.

Background: The earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada were marked by a significant surge in COVID-19 cases and COVID-19-related deaths among residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs). As part of Canada's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel were mobilized for an initial emergency domestic deployment to the hardest-hit LTCFs (Operation LASER LTCF) to support the remaining civilian staff in ensuring the continued delivery of care to residents. Akin to what was observed following past CAF international humanitarian missions, there was an expected increased risk of exposure to multiple stressors that may be psychologically traumatic and potentially morally injurious in nature (ie, related to core values, eg, witnessing human suffering).

Recommendations for follow-up care during post-deployment screening of Canadian Armed Forces personnel: how well does self-reported mental health predict referral decisions?

Objective: Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) post-deployment screening aims to facilitate early care for members with mental health issues. The process consists of a questionnaire to screen for mental health problems, followed by an interview with a healthcare provider during which recommendations for follow-up care are provided if needed. In this study, we examined the association of self-reported mental health from the screening questionnaire with recommendation for follow-up care during the interview.

Does recommended mental health follow-up care occur after postdeployment screening in the Canadian Armed Forces? A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To determine Canadian service members' level of adherence to a recommendation for mental health services follow-up that was assigned by clinicians during postdeployment screening.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Canadian military population.

Habituation of distress during exposure and its relationship to treatment outcome in post-traumatic stress disorder and prolonged grief disorder.

Reliving distressing memories is a core component of treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and prolonged grief disorder (PGD). There is little understanding of how reliving these memories functions in the treatment of these disorders. This study investigated whether reliving functions comparably in the treatment of PTSD and PGD, and whether it is comparably related to treatment outcome.

Using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 to improve depression screening in head and neck cancer patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the use of the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) to screen for depression in patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer and to evaluate potential patient-specific risk factors that may contribute to depression.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective study at a tertiary-level hospital of outpatient adult patients with head and neck cancer who completed the PHQ-2/9 from 2019 to 2020. Patients were given a PHQ-2 during a surveillance visit.

Augmenting trauma-focused psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder with brief aerobic exercise in Australia: a randomised clinical trial.

Background: Although exposure therapy is central in most front-line psychotherapies of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), many patients do not respond to this treatment. We aimed to investigate the effects of brief aerobic exercise on the efficacy of exposure therapy in reducing the severity of PTSD.

Methods: We did a single-blind, parallel, randomised controlled trial in Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Atom Interferometry with Floquet Atom Optics.

Floquet engineering offers a compelling approach for designing the time evolution of periodically driven systems. We implement a periodic atom-light coupling to realize Floquet atom optics on the strontium ^{1}S_{0}-^{3}P_{1} transition. These atom optics reach pulse efficiencies above 99.

Prevalence and Correlates of Military Sexual Trauma in Service Members and Veterans: Results From the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey.

Introduction: Military sexual trauma (MST) is an ongoing problem. We used a 2002 population-based sample, followed up in 2018, to examine: (1) the prevalence of MST and non-MST in male and female currently serving members and veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces, and (2) demographic and military correlates of MST and non-MST.

Methods: Data came from the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey (n = 2,941, ages 33 years + ).

Pneumonia Update for Emergency Clinicians.

Purpose Of Review: Many new concepts in diagnosis, management, and risk stratification of patients with pneumonia have been described recently. The COVID pandemic made importance of viruses as dangerous pathogens of pneumonia quite clear while several non-invasive measures for patients with respiratory failure gained a more wide-spread usage.

Recent Findings: Studies continue to examine feasibility of bedside ultrasound as a tool in accurate diagnosis of pneumonia in the emergency department, and several new antibiotics have been approved for treatment while others are in late-stage clinical trials.

Total laryngectomy negatively impacts sinonasal and olfactory-specific quality of life.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to characterize deficits in olfactory-specific and sinonasal-specific QoL after total laryngectomy (TL) with validated patient reported outcome measures.

Methods: Thirty patients who had a TL were prospectively enrolled. Patient demographics, as well as scores from the Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders Negative Statements (QOD-NS) and the Sino-nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) were collected.

Two-year follow-up of trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in emergency service personnel: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Emergency service personnel experience elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There are few controlled trials for PTSD in this population, and none report longer term effects of treatment. This study evaluated the benefits of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for PTSD in emergency service personnel who received either brief exposure (CBT-B) to trauma memories or prolonged exposure (CBT-L) 2 years following treatment.

Spinal pain and major depression in a military cohort: bias analysis of dependent misclassification in electronic medical records.

Background: Spinal pain and major depression are prevalent conditions in adult populations and are particularly impactful in the military. However, the temporal relationship between these two conditions remains poorly understood.

Methods: Using data extracted from electronic medical records, we assessed the association between incident diagnoses of spinal pain and major depression in a cohort of 48,007 Canadian Armed Forces personnel followed from January 2017 to August 2018.

Insight into the current practice of ototoxicity monitoring during cisplatin therapy.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the current state of ototoxicity monitoring for patients receiving cisplatin chemotherapy in an academic medical center with particular attention to how closely monitoring adheres to national ototoxicity guidelines.

Methods: Case series including retrospective medical records review of patients (age > 18) treated with cisplatin at University of California Davis Medical Center between January 2014 and August 2017. Patient and ototoxicity related variables were analyzed.

Rapid Mortality Review in the Intensive Care Unit: An In-Person, Multidisciplinary Improvement Initiative.

Background: Significant resources have been allocated to decreasing the number of preventable deaths in hospitals, but identifying preventable factors and then leveraging them to effect system-wide change remains challenging.

Objective: To determine the ability of a novel in-person, multidisciplinary "rapid mortality review" process to identify deaths that are preventable and action items that lead to improvements in care.

Methods: Rapid mortality review sessions were conducted weekly for patients who died in the medical intensive care unit.

A Decade of mTBI Experience: What Have We Learned? A Summary of Proceedings From a NATO Lecture Series on Military mTBI.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI, also known as a concussion) as a consequence of battlefield blast exposure or blunt force trauma has been of increasing concern to militaries during recent conflicts. This concern is due to the frequency of exposure to improvised explosive devices for forces engaged in operations both in Iraq and Afghanistan coupled with the recognition that mTBI may go unreported or undetected. Blasts can lead to mTBI through a variety of mechanisms.

Recent Developments in Infectious Disease Chemotherapy: Review for Emergency Department Practitioners 2020.

Purpose Of Review: We discuss and review new antimicrobials for treatment of bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections with indications, contraindications, and side effects for each. We will also review new information and indications on older agents that are relevant to clinical practice. Many of them may be unfamiliar to Emergency Physicians given their newness and at times hospital restrictions on their use.

Does screening shorten delays to care for post-deployment mental disorders in military personnel? A longitudinal retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To determine whether post-deployment screening is associated with a shorter delay to diagnosis and care among individuals identified with a deployment-related mental disorder.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Canadian military population.

Large Momentum Transfer Clock Atom Interferometry on the 689 nm Intercombination Line of Strontium.

We report the first realization of large momentum transfer (LMT) clock atom interferometry. Using single-photon interactions on the strontium ^{1}S_{0}-^{3}P_{1} transition, we demonstrate Mach-Zehnder interferometers with state-of-the-art momentum separation of up to 141  ℏk and gradiometers of up to 81  ℏk. Moreover, we circumvent excited state decay limitations and extend the gradiometer duration to 50 times the excited state lifetime.

Mental Health Service Use in Depressed Military Personnel: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Major depression is a leading cause of morbidity in military personnel and an important impediment to operational readiness in military organizations. Although treatment options are available, a large proportion of individuals with depression do not access mental health services. Quantifying and closing this treatment gap is a public health priority.

Incidence of major depression diagnoses in the Canadian Armed Forces: longitudinal analysis of clinical and health administrative data.

Purpose: Major depression is a leading cause of morbidity in military populations. However, due to a lack of longitudinal data, little is known about the rate at which military personnel experience the onset of new episodes of major depression. We used a new source of clinical and administrative data to estimate the incidence of major depression diagnoses in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel, and to compare incidence rates between demographic and occupational factors.

Multicenter investigation on the influence of climate in penile prosthesis infection.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) infection, time of year, climate, temperature and humidity. This is a retrospective IRB-approved analysis of 211 patients at 25 institutions who underwent salvage procedure or device explant between 2001 and 2016. Patient data were compiled after an extensive review of all aspects of their electronic medical records.