Can Early First Trimester Ultrasounds Correctly Determine Gestational Age Compared to Ultrasounds Performed Between 7 to 14 Weeks Gestational Age?

Objectives: The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) recommends the use of an ultrasound performed between 7 and 14 weeks gestation to accurately predict gestational age (GA). This study aimed to assess the accuracy of earlier ultrasounds (5 to 6 weeks gestation) by comparing the estimated delivery dates (EDD) in participants that had undergone both an earlier ultrasound and ultrasound completed during the standard of care timeframe.

Methods: EDD based on crown-rump length were retrospectively reviewed for patients that had undergone an ultrasound between 5-6 weeks GA versus the recommended 7-14 weeks GA at the Montfort Hospital during 2018 and 2019.

Correction: Natural Language Processing to Identify Digital Learning Tools in Postgraduate Family Medicine: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/34575.].

Prescribing and testing by primary care providers to assess adherence to the Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Choosing Wisely Canada is an initiative to reduce overprescribing and overtesting. This study assessed adherence to 4 Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations for interventions commonly performed in primary care: (a) antibiotic prescriptions for infections that are probably viral in origin, (b) routine vitamin D tests in low-risk adults, (c) annual screening blood tests and (d) prescriptions of antipsychotic medication to treat symptoms of dementia.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of data from the electronic medical records of patients who had an encounter between 2014 and 2016 with a participating Manitoba Primary Care Research Network primary care provider in Manitoba, Canada.

Parenteral nutrition-induced cholestasis in neonates: where does the problem lie?

Background. Parenteral nutrition (PN) is an effective method of nourishing the neonate who is unable to receive full enteral feeds. Cholestasis can be a complication of PN and can lead to severe liver damage.

International incidence and outcomes of biliary atresia.

Objectives: International trends in incidence and outcomes of biliary atresia (BA) are controversial and a wide range of estimates have been reported worldwide. We reviewed the population-based literature to assess international variation of BA incidence and outcomes, and to assess the evidence for seasonal variation in incidence, centralization of Kasai hepatoportoenterostomy, and newborn screening.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review (registration number CRD42011001441) of observational or interventional research within MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database, which reported incidence, prevalence, or outcomes of infants with BA.

Interstitial cell of Cajal loss correlates with the degree of inflammation in the human appendix and reverses after inflammation.

Background: Normal gut motility relies on the complex interaction between the interstitial cell of Cajal (ICC) and the enteric nerve networks. Inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract adversely affects both ICC and enteric nerves. We aimed to determine the distribution of ICC and nerve networks in patients with appendicitis.

Development of dissociated cryopreserved rat cortical neurons in vitro.

Dissociated neuronal cultures of various brain regions are commonly used to study physiological and pathophysiological processes in vitro. The data derived from these studies are often viewed to have relevance to processes taking place in the mature brain. However, due to the practical challenges associated with lengthy neuronal culture, neurons are often kept for 14 days in vitro (DIV), or less, before being subject to experimentation.

Colonic dysmotility in postsurgical patients with Hirschsprung's disease. Potential significance of abnormalities in the interstitial cells of Cajal and the enteric nervous system.

Purpose: Normal gut muscular function depends on the coordinated activity of both the enteric nervous system (ENS) and the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC). Hirschsprung's disease (HD) has long been considered a purely neuronal deficit but recent data point to abnormalities in ICC in the proximal ganglionated HD colon. We examined the labeling of ICC and neuronal cells in the proximal ganglionated colon in patients with HD to determine whether abnormalities of ICC and ENS might be associated with a poor clinical outcome.