Publications by authors named "Ivona Mostarac"

Purpose And Introduction: Growing evidence suggests SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the risk of long term cardiovascular, neurological, and other effects. However, post-acute health care costs following SARS-CoV-2 infection are not known.

Patients And Statistical Methods: Beginning 56 days following SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, we compared person-specific total and component health care costs (2020 CAD$) for the first year of follow-up at the mean and 99 percentiles of health care costs for matched test-positive and test-negative adults in Ontario, Canada, between January 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

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Background: The post-acute burden of health care use after SARS-CoV-2 infection is unknown. We sought to quantify the post-acute burden of health care use after SARS-CoV-2 infection among community-dwelling adults in Ontario by comparing those with positive and negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving community-dwelling adults in Ontario who had a PCR test between Jan.

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Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic wearing a mask in public has been recommended in some settings and mandated in others. How often this advice is followed, how well, and whether it inadvertently leads to more disease transmission opportunities due to a combination of improper use and physical distancing lapses is unknown.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study performed in June-August 2020.

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Objectives: Patients with cancer are seen frequently in emergency departments (EDs). It has been proposed that many of these visits are preventable, but the patient perspective has not been well-studied.

Methods: We conducted structured interviews with a convenience sample of patients who presented to a single ED with a cancer-related complaint.

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Objectives: Emergency department (ED) visits for high blood pressure are on the rise. Yet the majority of these patients are discharged home after their ED evaluation, particularly those who present following an elevated reading on an in-store pharmacy machine. We aimed to gain insight on the practice and referral patterns of pharmacy staff who encounter a patient with an elevated in-store blood pressure (BP) reading.

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