Publications by authors named "McGhee S"

Ocular point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has emerged as a pivotal tool in evaluating ocular emergencies in the emergency department (ED), addressing millions of annual visits for eye complaints in the United States. Compared to traditional imaging methods, ocular POCUS's advantages include efficiency, repeatability, and safety. Adequate patient preparation, positioning, and transducer selection are essential for obtaining high-quality images.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The optimal screening interval for diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains controversial. This study aimed to develop a risk algorithm to predict the individual risk of referable sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR) in a mainly Chinese population and to provide evidence for risk-based screening intervals.

Methods: The retrospective cohort data from 117,418 subjects who received systematic DR screening in Hong Kong between 2010 and 2016 were included to develop and validate the risk algorithm using a parametric survival model.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Myopia is a common eye condition and projected to affect half of the global population by 2050. Controlling its progression during childhood may prevent associated ocular diseases in later life. Certain interventions retard myopia progression but their long-term costs and consequences are not well understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Gene therapy is a way to fix problems in the immune system using special viruses to add new genes, and it has worked well for certain diseases like severe combined immune deficiency.
  • Even though gene therapy is getting better, stem cell transplants are still the main treatment for now because of some challenges.
  • New tools like improved viruses and CRISPR technology might make gene therapy even safer and more effective in the future, helping more people with immune system issues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ensuring correct placement of the endotracheal tube (ETT) during intubation is an important step to avoid complications. Appropriate placement of the ETT can be challenging and, if done incorrectly, can lead to complications such as hypoxemia, atelectasis, hyperinflation, barotrauma, cardiovascular instability, end organ damage, and even death. Although several procedures exist to help assess ETT confirmation, all have limitations, are not always reliable, and vary in their degree of accuracy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are common symptoms that can disguise or mimic both everyday health issues and more serious medical conditions.
  • The Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative emphasizes the importance of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for HIV prevention, which is associated with gastrointestinal issues, known as "startup syndrome."
  • Clinicians must be aware of the common side effects of oral PrEP to make accurate diagnoses and provide effective care for patients presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Hong Kong is among the many populations that has experienced the combined impacts of social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite concerns about further deteriorations in youth mental health globally, few epidemiological studies have been conducted to examine the prevalence and correlates of major depressive episode (MDE) and other major psychiatric disorders across periods of population-level changes using diagnostic interviews.

Methods: We conducted a territory-wide household-based epidemiological study from 2019 to 2022 targeting young people aged 15-24 years.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Scombroid poisoning occurs when fish not stored properly allow bacteria to turn histidine into histamine, leading to toxicity.
  • Cooking or freezing the fish does not eliminate histamine, making it unsafe to eat.
  • Symptoms include skin reactions, gastrointestinal issues, and allergy-like responses; healthcare providers need to accurately diagnose and treat scombroid poisoning, distinguishing it from fish allergies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ludwig's angina is a fast-spreading cellulitis located on the floor of the oropharynx and neck (Tami, Othman, Sudhakar, & McKinnon, 2020). Patients may present with a wide range of symptoms depending on the severity of the condition (Reynolds & Chow, 2007). Emergency nurse practitioners need to promptly identify, diagnose, and treat patients with this problem, with close attention to the patient's airway.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the esophagus associated with eosinophil buildup, commonly seen in pediatric patients with other allergic diseases.
  • A study involving 137 children diagnosed with EoE found that 80% had other atopic conditions, affecting treatment responses, with a overall remission rate of 65%.
  • Patients with concurrent eczema and pollen food syndrome experienced quicker and more successful treatment outcomes, especially with proton pump inhibitors being identified as the most effective therapy for inducing remission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an inflammatory disease of the esophagus, and researchers aimed to classify patients into specific subtypes to predict treatment responses in a pediatric population.
  • A retrospective study reviewed charts of 256 EoE patients, categorizing them into subtypes (severe, allergic, fibrostenotic, inflammatory, and unclassified) based on their characteristics; 75 patients had follow-up data.
  • By one year, 57% of patients achieved histologic remission, but no significant differences in remission rates were observed among the subtypes, suggesting a need for larger studies to refine treatment based on these classifications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the impact of early intervention (EI) services on adults aged 26-55 with adult-onset psychosis, comparing its effectiveness against standard care (SC).
  • Results show that a 4-year EI program leads to better social functioning and lower symptom severity compared to SC, particularly notable in the first two years.
  • The findings suggest that at least two years of specialized EI treatment is beneficial for this age group, but extending it to four years offers minimal additional advantages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The lack of environmental supports for healthy lifestyles is a potent factor in the high prevalence of noncommunicable diseases among communities experiencing economic disadvantage. Stronger Austin aimed to increase access to free physical activity (PA) and fitness programming (eg, Zumba) in underserved communities in Austin, Texas, via a partnership and interweaving into context approach in which classes are interwoven into settings with widespread access for residents, including clinics, city-supported housing, parks, recreation centers, and schools. We aimed to better understand the PA-related benefits and opportunities for improvement when adult fitness classes are interwoven into community settings.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Endometriosis is an oestrogen-dependent disorder where endometrial tissue forms lesions outside the uterus, causing chronic inflammation and scarring. Women who have endometriosis may experience a highly variable range of non-specific signs and symptoms, including pelvic pain. Endometriosis is often misdiagnosed, partly because its signs and symptoms can easily be attributed to more common conditions that cause pelvic pain in women, resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Normative trachea dimensions and aerodynamic information during development was collected to establish clinical benchmarks and showed that airway development seems to outpace respiratory demands. Infants and toddlers' trachea exhibit higher aerodynamic stress that significantly decreases by teenage years. This implies large airway pathology in younger children may have a more substantial clinical impact.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Patients commonly present to the emergency department (ED) with shoulder injuries and shoulder pain. Winged scapula is one potential underlying cause of shoulder pain which is often forgotten or ill-defined. This non-traumatic skeletal condition typically presents as a prominent protrusion of the medial border of the bone from its normal position in the back.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Financial incentive is increasingly used as a mean to promote preventive care utilization (PCU), but the current Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHCVS) in Hong Kong is ineffective for encouraging PCU.

Objective: To explore the older people's barriers to PCU and their views on financial incentive, including EHCVS, for improving private PCU.

Design And Setting: Focus-group discussions were conducted in community elderly centres located in five districts of Hong Kong.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF