Background: Socioeconomic deprivation has been associated with health inequalities and poor perinatal outcomes. Deprivation is described as a multidimensional concept, with composite indicators (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Previous consensus-based long COVID research has focused on establishing research priorities, developing clinical definitions, core outcomes and a list of recommendations of patient-reported outcome measures that can be used to assess and characterise long COVID. Complementing and extending this work, the proposed study will bring together diverse knowledge users to prioritise concepts of care, quality of life and symptoms to inform a national patient registry on long COVID.
Methods And Analysis: We will conduct a Delphi process involving Canadians with lived experiences and/or professional expertise with long COVID (including clinicians, policymakers, caregivers and community leaders).
Background: Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are synthetic forms of testosterone frequently used as performance enhancing drugs among gay, bisexual, and queer (GBQ) men. Despite widespread use, associated harms, and the likely existence of an AAS use disorder, there is no medical consensus on standards of care for people who use AAS, with most medical providers focusing exclusively on abstinence. Individuals using AAS have developed community-based harm reduction strategies to mitigate these harms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Despite efforts toward achieving gender-based equality in clinical trial enrollment, females are frequently underrepresented and gender-specific data analysis is lacking. Identifying and addressing gender bias in medical decision-making and outcome reporting may facilitate more equitable healthcare delivery. This study aimed to determine if gender differences exist in the clinical evaluation and surgical management of patients with degenerative lumbar conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Development and validation of risk prediction models at mid-pregnancy and delivery to predict admission to the neonatal care unit.
Methods: We used data from all singleton deliveries at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), Ireland during 2019. Admission to the neonatal care unit was assumed if length of stay in the unit was > 24 h.
Background: Suboptimal support for colleagues experiencing discrimination can adversely impact clinician well-being and patient care.
Aim: To describe resident performance and experience during an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) case centered on supporting a trainee facing discrimination to inform enhanced, supportive learning environments.
Setting: Formative, internal medicine OSCE at a simulation center.
Sacituzumab Govitecan (SG) is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) comprised of an anti-Trop-2 IgG1 molecule conjugated to SN-38, the active metabolite of irinotecan, via a pH-sensitive hydrolysable linker. As a result of recent Canadian funding for SG in advanced hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), experience with using SG and managing adverse events (AEs) has grown. This review presents a summary of evidence and adverse event recommendations derived from Canadian experience, with SG use in metastatic TNBC for extrapolation and guidance in all indicated settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program is an educational track of the University of Washington School of Dentistry that aims to produce leaders who practice in rural areas of the Pacific Northwest. This study assesses outcomes of the first 10 years of the RIDE program. The hypothesis tested is that rural background is the most important predictor of long-term rural dental practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
November 2024
Objective: To study the accuracy and usability of a novel obstetric blood loss quantifying tool in clinical settings.
Methods: A mixed-methods study was conducted in an Irish tertiary maternity unit. The accuracy of measuring the blood content (hemoglobin concentration) of elective Caesarean section birth waste with a novel obstetric blood loss quantifying device was compared, using Bland-Altman and correlation analysis, with staff volumetry and a reference hemoglobinometer.
Discrimination toward trainees is a pervasive problem, with surveys showing it is often perpetrated by patients. For several years, residents and faculty in an internal medicine residency have participated in a workshop offering a framework for responding to discriminatory behavior by patients. As part of a larger effort to reinforce this teaching and promote an inclusive environment, the authors pursued a multipronged simulation curriculum that could be incorporated into graduate medical education programs across their institution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Adenosine receptor activation induces delayed, sustained cardioprotection against ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury (24-72 h), but the mechanisms underlying extended cardioprotection duration remain unresolved. We hypothesized that a positive feedback loop involving adenosine receptor-induced proteasomal degradation of adenosine kinase (ADK) and decreased myocardial adenosine metabolism extends the duration of cardioprotection.
Experimental Approach: Mice were administered an ADK inhibitor, ABT-702, to induce endogenous adenosine signalling.
The neuromodulator orexin has been identified as a key factor for motivated arousal including recent evidence that sleep deprivation-induced enhancement of reward behavior is modulated by orexin. While orexin is not necessary for either reward or arousal behavior, orexin neurons' broad projections, ability to sense the internal state of the animal, and high plasticity of signaling in response to natural rewards and drugs of abuse may underlie heightened drug seeking, particularly in a subset of highly motivated reward seekers. As such, orexin receptor antagonists have gained deserved attention for putative use in addiction treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, aromantic, and other sexual and/or gender minority (LGBTQIA+) communities are underrepresented in health research and subject to documented health disparities. In addition, LGBTQIA+ communities have experienced mistreatment, discrimination, and stigma in health care and health research settings. Effectively engaging LGBTQIA+ communities and individuals in health research is critical to developing representative data sets, improving health care provision and policy, and reducing disparities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResidents lack confidence in caring for transgender individuals. More exposure and practice throughout training is needed. To explore whether and how prior exposure to transgender health skills during medical school impacted competency with these skills during residency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Methotrexate (MTX) is used in clinical practice as a medical treatment option in patients with early pregnancy complications like ectopic pregnancy.
Aims: To review systemic MTX therapy use in the first trimester of pregnancy in our hospital and to examine subsequent clinical outcomes.
Methods: Retrospective review of all women treated with systemic MTX in early pregnancy identified from electronic prescription records from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020 at Cork University Maternity Hospital, Ireland.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on gynecology surgical training.
Methods: A national cross-sectional online survey was distributed to all trainees and trainers in the higher specialist training program for obstetrics and gynecology in Ireland. The survey consisted of questions on topics which included: the volume of surgical procedures performed before and since the pandemic, confidence in performing various gynecologic procedures before and since the pandemic and questions regarding the impact of the pandemic on wellbeing and work practices.
Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic skin disease characterized by recurrent nodules that affect areas with a high density of apocrine sweat glands, such as the axillae and groin. Androgens are implicated in the pathophysiology of HS. Therefore, spironolactone, an antiandrogen therapy, is recommended.
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