Increasing age and lethal opiate use.

Opioid abuse is a leading cause of drug-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been suggested that the age of opiate users in Australia is rising. To evaluate this further in a local population, toxicology and pathology case files from Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, South Australia, were examined for all cases with lethal opioid levels from 2000 to 2019 ( = 499; M:F 2.

Reporting quality and risk of bias in JBI systematic reviews evaluating the effectiveness of interventions: a methodological review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this methodological review is to evaluate the adherence of systematic reviews of effectiveness published in JBI Evidence Synthesis to reporting guidelines and methodological quality.

Introduction: Systematic reviews of effectiveness are essential tools for health practitioners and policy-makers. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines and the Risk of Bias in Systematic Reviews (ROBIS) tool are used to ensure maintenance of high reporting standards and methodological quality, respectively.

Trends and characteristics of cases when serial carboxyhemoglobins are obtained.

Background: Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels are obtained when there is suspicion for carbon monoxide (CO) exposure. Serial COHb levels are sometimes obtained despite the well-established half-life of COHb with oxygen supplementation. We sought to evaluate the trends and characteristics associated with obtaining serial carboxyhemoglobin levels.

Hepatitis E virus infection and acute non-traumatic neurological injury: A prospective multicentre study.

Background & Aims: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has been associated with a number of neurological syndromes, but causality has not yet been established. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between HEV and neurological illness by prospective HEV testing of patients presenting with acute non-traumatic neurological injury.

Methods: Four hundred and sixty-four consecutive patients presenting to hospital with acute non-traumatic neurological illnesses were tested for HEV by serology and PCR from four centres in the UK, France and the Netherlands.

Characterization of the Specificity, Functionality, and Durability of Host T-Cell Responses Against the Full-Length Hepatitis E Virus.

Unlabelled: The interplay between host antiviral immunity and immunopathology during hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection determines important clinical outcomes. We characterized the specificity, functionality, and durability of host T-cell responses against the full-length HEV virus and assessed a novel "Quantiferon" assay for the rapid diagnosis of HEV infection. Eighty-nine volunteers were recruited from Oxford, Truro (UK), and Toulouse (France), including 44 immune-competent patients with acute HEV infection, 18 HEV-exposed immunosuppressed organ-transplant recipients (8 with chronic HEV), and 27 healthy volunteers.

Coastal clustering of HEV; Cornwall, UK.

Background And Aims: Autochthonous hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a porcine zoonosis and increasingly recognized in developed countries. In most cases the route of infection is uncertain. A previous study showed that HEV was associated geographically with pig farms and coastal areas.

The natural history of autoimmune hepatitis presenting with jaundice.

Background: Forty percent of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) present with acute jaundice/hepatitis. Such patients, when treated promptly, are thought to have a good prognosis.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe the natural history of AIH in patients presenting with jaundice/hepatitis and to determine whether the diagnosis could have been made earlier, before presentation.

Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with preceding hepatitis E virus infection.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine whether Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is associated with preceding hepatitis E virus infection.

Methods: The frequency of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections was determined by anti-HEV serology in a cohort of 201 patients with GBS and 201 healthy controls with a similar distribution in age, sex, and year of sampling. Blood samples from patients with GBS were obtained in the acute phase before treatment.

Neuralgic amyotrophy and hepatitis E virus infection.

Objective: To determine whether there is an association between an acute preceding hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection and neuralgic amyotrophy (NA), and if so, whether patients with HEV-related NA differ from patients without an associated HEV infection.

Methods: HEV testing was conducted in a retrospective cohort of 28 Cornish patients with NA (2011-2013) and a prospective cohort of 38 consecutive Dutch patients with NA (2004-2007). Acute-phase serum samples were analyzed for the presence of anti-HEV immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG and HEV RNA (quantitative real-time PCR).

Hepatitis E.

Purpose Of Review: Hepatitis E has been regarded as a disease of the developing world, where it causes large waterborne outbreaks and sporadic cases of hepatitis. Recent research has shown this received wisdom to be mistaken.

Recent Findings: Recent studies have shown that authochtonous (locally acquired) hepatitis E does occur in developed countries, is caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotypes 3 and 4, and is zoonotic with pigs as the primary host.

Clinical and laboratory features and natural history of seronegative hepatitis in a nontransplant centre.

Background: Seronegative hepatitis is a recognized cause of liver failure requiring transplantation. The aetiology is unknown, but might relate to an unidentified virus or immune dysregulation. There are few data on seronegative hepatitis presenting to nontransplant centres.

Hepatitis E seroprevalence in recipients of renal transplants or haemodialysis in southwest England: a case-control study.

Locally acquired HEV infection is increasingly recognized in developed countries. Anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence has been shown to be high in haemodialysis patients in a number of previous studies, employing assays of uncertain sensitivity. The aim of this study was to investigate anti-HEV IgG seroprevalence in recipients of haemodialysis and renal transplants compared to a control group using a validated, highly sensitive assay.

Treating opioid use under California's Proposition 36: differential outcomes by treatment modality.

In California, Proposition 36 (Prop. 36) has led to positive outcomes for a significant proportion of participants-increases in drug treatment completion, reduced drug use and recidivism, and increased employment. However, there are notable differences in outcomes among Prop.

Health conditions in methamphetamine-dependent adults 3 years after treatment.

Objectives: : Medical conditions in methamphetamine (MA) users have not been well characterized. Using both self-report and physical examination data, the aims of this study were to (1) describe the frequency of medical conditions in a sample of MA users 3 years posttreatment; (2) evaluate the association between medical conditions and MA use frequency; and (3) examine the relationship of route of administration with medical outcomes.

Methods: : MA-dependent adults (N = 301) who participated in the Methamphetamine Treatment Project were interviewed and examined 3 years after treatment.

Childhood adverse events and methamphetamine use among men and women.

Women report extensive histories of childhood abuse, often leading to addiction. Studies assessing the same effects for men are lacking. This study describes childhood adverse events (CAEs) among methamphetamine (MA)-dependent men and women and assesses the relationship of CAEs to the onset and severity of dependence.

Buprenorphine tapering schedule and illicit opioid use.

Aims: To compare the effects of a short or long taper schedule after buprenorphine stabilization on participant outcomes as measured by opioid-free urine tests at the end of each taper period.

Design: This multi-site study sponsored by Clinical Trials Network (CTN, a branch of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse) was conducted from 2003 to 2005 to compare two taper conditions (7 days and 28 days). Data were collected at weekly clinic visits to the end of the taper periods, and at 1-month and 3-month post-taper follow-up visits.