The cost-utility of integrated cervical cancer prevention strategies in the Ontario setting - Can we do better?

Introduction: A universal, publicly funded, school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program in grade eight girls was initiated in Ontario in 2007. We present a cost-utility analysis of integrated cervical cancer prevention programs from the healthcare payer perspective.

Methods: Our analysis was based on linked HPV transmission and disease history models.

Incidence of clinically silent malrotation detected on barium swallow examination in children.

Introduction: Duodenojejunal flexure (DJF) orientation is often examined routinely during contrast swallow studies, including those performed for purely oesophageal queries. We examine the radiation burden and the incidence of malrotation in patients undergoing contrast swallow, without clinical suspicion for malrotation.

Methods: Two hundred eighteen consecutive contrast swallow studies were reviewed.

The role of whole-body MRI in pediatric oncology.

Pediatric whole-body (WB) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an established technique that, with improved accessibility and advances in technology, is being used with increasing frequency for a wide variety of applications. The advantages of WB MRI (over other imaging modalities), particularly its lack of ionizing radiation (of particular concern in pediatric imaging due to children's increased sensitivity to ionizing radiation) and the ability of MRI to image the bone marrow, solid organs, and soft tissues with superior soft-tissue contrast resolution to other techniques, promise that WB MRI has great potential in conditions that are diffuse or multifocal. There is particular interest in its role in the field of pediatric oncology (eg, lymphoma, neuroblastoma, sarcoma, and Langerhans cell histiocytosis).

Who provides walk-in services? Survey of primary care practice in Ontario.

Objective: To compare walk-in clinics with other primary care settings on characteristics associated with best practices in primary care.

Design: A mailed self-administered questionnaire asked about organizational and clinical characteristics of primary care practices located in major urban and suburban areas in Ontario.

Setting: Four types of fee-for-service group practices: walk-in and urgent-care clinics (WICs), mixed practices (MPs), after-hours clinics (AHCs), and group family practices (GFPs).