Examining pharmacoepidemiology of antibiotic use and resistance in first-line antibiotics: a self-controlled case series study of in small companion animals.

Background: Clinicians need to prescribe antibiotics in a way that adequately treats infections, while simultaneously limiting the development of antibiotic resistance (ABR). Although there are abundant guidelines on how to best treat infections, there is less understanding of how treatment durations and antibiotic types influence the development of ABR. This study adopts a self-controlled case study (SCCS) method to relate antibiotic exposure time to subsequent changes in resistance patterns.

Associations between potential risk factors and blood-brain barrier water permeability in middle-aged and older adults.

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction is suggested to be a potential mediator between vascular risk factors and cognitive impairment, leading to vascular cognitive impairment. To investigate the relationships between age, sex, and vascular risk factors and BBB water permeability as well as their relationship with cognition. To measure BBB permeability, a novel arterial spin labelling MRI technique (ME-ASL) was applied to derive the time of exchange (Tex), arterial time transit (ATT), and cerebral blood flow (CBF).

Factors and mechanisms driving among-lake variability of mercury concentrations in a benthivorous fish in the canadian subarctic.

Wild-caught fish are an important subsistence food source in remote northern regions, but they can also be a source of exposure to mercury (Hg), which has known health hazards. We investigated factors and mechanisms that control variability of Hg concentrations in Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) among remote subarctic lakes in Northwest Territories, Canada. Integrating variables that reflect fish ecology, in-lake conditions, and catchment attributes, we aimed to not only determine factors that best explain among-lake variability of fish Hg, but also to provide a whole-ecosystem understanding of interactions that drive among-lake variability of fish Hg.

The number needed to teach: A framework for health professions education.

What Is The Educational Challenge?: Health professions education is continually limited by financial resources with increasing demands for accountability. Judicious resource allocation across competing demands rests on frameworks for analyzing and comparing costs and outcomes.

What Are The Proposed Solutions?: We suggest health professions educators use the number needed to teach (NNTe) for reporting and communicating such analyses for teaching and learning.

Comparing pharmacists versus allergists in low-risk penicillin allergy delabelling: The Hong Kong Penicillin Allergy Pharmacist Initiative (HK-PAPI).

Background: Mislabelled penicillin allergies are associated with a myriad of adverse outcomes and development of anti-microbial resistance. With the overwhelming need for specialist allergy services, pharmacist initiatives such as the Hong Kong Penicillin Allergy Pharmacist Initiative (HK-PAPI) have been advocated. However, evidence of their effectiveness, safety and impact on health-related quality-of-life (HR-QoL) are lacking.