Feasibility of a new transmural care pathway for advance care planning for older persons: A qualitative study into community care registered nurses' perspectives.

Background: Transmural palliative care interventions aim to identify older persons with palliative care needs and timely provide advance care planning, symptom management, and coordination of care. Nurses can have an important role in these interventions; however, their expertise is currently underused. A new transmural care pathway with a central role for the community care registered nurse in advance care planning aims to contribute to the quality of palliative care for older persons.

Risk of introducing Zika virus in the Canadian cord blood supply: A risk analysis.

Background: In Canada, as many as 24% of mothers are deferred from cord blood (CB) donation due to risk factors for Zika virus (ZIKV). However, the ZIKV epidemic has waned considerably since 2016, and there has not been any report of ZIKV transmission by CB transplantation, which questions this policy. Thus, we performed an analysis of the risk of introducing ZIKV in the CB supply maintained by Héma-Québec (HQ) and Canadian Blood Services (CBS).

Hazard Ratios and Alternative Effect Measures: An Applied Illustration.

Purpose: Although the limitations of hazard ratios (HRs) for quantifying treatment effects in right-censored data have been widely discussed, HRs are still preferentially reported over other, more interpretable effect measures. This may stem from the fact that there are few applied examples that directly contrast the HR and its interpretation with alternative effect measures.

Methods: We analyzed data from two randomized clinical trials comparing panitumumab plus standard-of-care chemotherapy (SOCC) with SOCC alone as first- and second-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer.

Use of Sensitivity Analyses to Assess Uncontrolled Confounding from Unmeasured Variables in Observational, Active Comparator Pharmacoepidemiologic Studies: A Systematic Review.

Understanding the potential for, direction, and magnitude of uncontrolled confounding is critical for generating informative real-world evidence. Many sensitivity analyses are available to assess robustness of study results to residual confounding, but it is unclear how researchers are using these methods. We conducted a systematic review of published active comparator cohort studies of drugs or biologics to summarize use of sensitivity analyses aimed at assessing uncontrolled confounding from an unmeasured variable.

The longitudinal relationship between fear of movement and physical activity after cardiac hospitalization: A cross lagged panel model.

Background: Little is known about the association between fear of movement (kinesiophobia) and objectively measured physical activity (PA), the first 12 weeks after cardiac hospitalization.

Purpose: To assess the longitudinal association between kinesiophobia and objectively measured PA and to assess the factor structure of kinesiophobia.

Methods: We performed a longitudinal observational study.

Biopsychosocial complexity in patients scheduled for elective TKA surgery: A feasibility pilot study with the INTERMED self-assessment questionnaire.

Objective: Primary aim; to determine the feasibility of implementation of the INTERMED Self-Assessment (IM-SA) in adult patients scheduled for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Secondary aim; to measure biopsychosocial complexity, referral to psychiatry or psychology in cases of complexity and to gain insight into the relation between biopsychosocial complexity and length of stay (LOS), method of discharge (MOD) and polypharmacy.

Methods: A feasibility study was conducted with 76 participants in a general hospital in the Netherlands.

Targeting two radiation-induced immunosuppressive pathways to improve the efficacy of normofractionated radiation therapy in a preclinical colorectal cancer model.

Purpose: We have previously demonstrated in a murine colorectal cancer model that normofractionated RT (normoRT: 18 × 2 Gy) induced MDSC infiltration and PD-L1 expression, while hypofractionated RT (hypoRT: 3 × 8 Gy) induced Treg. Here, we wanted to assess whether the association of normoRT with treatments that target two radiation-induced immunosuppressive pathways (MDSC and PD-L1) could improve tumor control.

Materials And Methods: Subcutaneous tumors were induced using colon tumor cells (CT26) in immunocompetent mice (BALB/c) and were treated with RT alone (18 × 2 Gy or 3 × 8 Gy), or concomitantly with 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) (10 mg/kg) to deplete MDSC, and/or anti-PD-L1 (10 mg/kg).

A human anti-matriptase-2 antibody limits iron overload, α-globin aggregates, and splenomegaly in β-thalassemic mice.

Iron plays a major role in the deterioration of β-thalassemia. Indeed, the high levels of transferrin saturation and iron delivered to erythroid progenitors are associated with production of α-globin precipitates that negatively affect erythropoiesis. Matriptase-2/TMPRSS6, a membrane-bound serine protease expressed in hepatocytes, negatively modulates hepcidin production and thus is a key target to prevent iron overload in β-thalassemia.

Differences in bone microarchitecture between genetic and secondary iron-overload mouse models suggest a role for hepcidin deficiency in iron-related osteoporosis.

Unlabelled: Iron overload is one of the secondary osteoporosis etiologies. Cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in iron-related osteoporosis are not fully understood.

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the respective roles of iron excess and hepcidin, the systemic iron regulator, in the development of iron-related osteoporosis.

Incidence of new outpatient long-acting reversible contraceptive insertions among a commercially insured, US population from 2010 to 2020.

Objectives: Characterize new use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), highly effective contraceptive methods, in a broad population over time.

Study Design: We constructed a retrospective cohort of commercially insured individuals aged 15 to 54 years from 2010 to 2020 and estimated monthly incidence of new LARC insertions.

Results: The monthly standardized incidence increased from 6.

Safety and Effectiveness of Stellate Ganglion Cryoablation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

This was a retrospective, observational, descriptive study to evaluate the safety and 6-month effectiveness of percutaneous cryoablation of the stellate ganglion for the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Eight patients with CRPS diagnosed by Budapest criteria were treated with this procedure. CRPS symptom severity was assessed prior to the procedure and at 3-month intervals after the procedure using a novel CRPS scoring system-the Budapest score-created by the authors.

Relevance of haemoglobin monitoring in apheresis plasma donors: A retrospective cohort study in Québec, Canada.

Background And Objectives: Systematically measuring pre-donation haemoglobin (Hb) levels might be overly cautious for apheresis plasma donation, since plasmapheresis entails a small loss of red blood cells. We explored the association between the frequency of apheresis plasma donation and capillary blood Hb levels.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included donors who gave apheresis plasma at least twice between 24 October 2020 and 23 October 2022 in Québec, Canada.

Incidence of acute haemolytic transfusion reaction among ABO-incompatible recipients transfused with A blood: A case series.

Background And Objectives: ABO antigens are among the most immunogenic, but the haemolytic risks of ABO incompatibilities involving a donor with a weak ABO phenotype are little documented.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective case series assessed the incidence of acute haemolytic transfusion reaction (AHTR) among ABO-incompatible recipients of A blood in Québec (Canada). Transfusion safety officers reported laboratory AHTR indicators measured ≤24 h pre- and post-transfusion.

Controlling for Differential Regression-To-The-Mean via Propensity Scores: A Simulation Study.

Purpose: Regression-to-the-mean (RTM) is a statistical phenomenon that may occur in epidemiologic studies where inclusion in the study cohort is contingent upon experiencing a laboratory/clinical measurement beyond a defined threshold. When differential across treatment groups, RTM could bias the final study estimate. This poses substantial challenges in observational studies that index patients upon experiencing extreme laboratory or clinical values.

Accuracy of pulse CO-oximetry to evaluate blood carboxyhemoglobin level: a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is one of the most common causes of poisoning death and its diagnosis requires an elevated carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) level. Noninvasive CO saturation by pulse oximetry (SpCO) has been available since 2005 and has the advantage of being portable and easy to use, but its accuracy in determining blood COHb level is controversial. To evaluate the accuracy of SpCO (index test) to estimate COHb (reference test).

Impact of kinesiophobia on initiation of cardiac rehabilitation: a prospective cohort path analysis.

Objectives: To identify factors associated with kinesiophobia (fear of movement) after cardiac hospitalisation and to assess the impact of kinesiophobia on cardiac rehabilitation (CR) initiation.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Academic Medical Centre, Department of Cardiology.

Assessing Changes in Fear of Movement in Patients attending Cardiac Rehabilitation: Responsiveness of the TSK-NL Heart Questionnaire.

Objectives: The primary objective was to determine the responsiveness of the Dutch version of the 13-item Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia for cardiac patients (TSK-NL Heart). The secondary objective was to assess changes in kinesiophobia during cardiac rehabilitation.

Methods: Kinesiophobia was measured pre- and post-cardiac rehabilitation using the TSK-NL Heart questionnaire in 109 cardiac patients (61 years; 76% men).

Design of a Remote Coaching Program to Bridge the Gap From Hospital Discharge to Cardiac Rehabilitation: Intervention Mapping Study.

Background: Remote coaching might be suited for providing information and support to patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) in the vulnerable phase between hospital discharge and the start of cardiac rehabilitation (CR).

Objective: The goal of the research was to explore and summarize information and support needs of patients with CAD and develop an early remote coaching program providing tailored information and support.

Methods: We used the intervention mapping approach to develop a remote coaching program.

Association between characteristics of nursing teams and patients' aggressive behavior in closed psychiatric wards.

Purpose: Estimate the effect of nursing, shift, and patient characteristics on patients' aggression.

Design And Methods: Follow-up study on a closed psychiatric ward was performed to estimate the effect of nursing team characteristics and patient characteristics on the incidence of aggression.

Findings: The incidence of aggression (n = 802 in sample) was lower in teams with >75% male nurses.

Assessing alternative indicators for Covid-19 policy evaluation, with a counterfactual for Sweden.

Using the synthetic control method, we construct counterfactuals for what would have happened if Sweden had imposed a lockdown during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic. We consider eight different indicators, including a novel one that we construct by adjusting recorded daily COVID-19 deaths to account for weakly excess mortality. Correcting for data problems and re-optimizing the synthetic control for each indicator, we find that a lockdown would have had sizable effects within one week.

The effect of adjusting settings within a Computer-Assisted Sperm Analysis (CASA) system on bovine sperm motility and morphology results.

Semen motility is the most widely recognized semen quality parameter used by Artificial Insemination (AI) centers. With the increasing worldwide export of semen between AI centers there is an increasing need for standardized motility assessment methods. Computer-Assisted Sperm Analysis (CASA) technology is thought to provide an objective motility evaluation; however, results can still vary between laboratories.