Predictors of Place of Death for Those in Receipt of Home-Based Palliative Care Services in Ontario, Canada.

Many cancer patients die in institutional settings despite their preference to die at home. A longitudinal, prospective cohort study was conducted to comprehensively assess the determinants of home death for patients receiving home-based palliative care. Data collected from biweekly telephone interviews with caregivers (n = 302) and program databases were entered into a multivariate logistic model.

Fecal osteoprotegerin may guide the introduction of second-line therapy in hospitalized children with ulcerative colitis.

Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is increased in inflamed colonic mucosa and has a role in immune regulation and apoptosis resistance. Fecal OPG may be useful in predicting corticosteroid resistance in hospitalized children with severe ulcerative colitis (UC). We aimed to determine whether fecal OPG predicts the need for second-line therapies in children hospitalized for UC.

Toxic megacolon in children with inflammatory bowel disease: clinical and radiographic characteristics.

Background: Toxic megacolon (TMC) denotes a rare clinical syndrome accompanied by colonic dilatation, and is a serious complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study assessed the clinical and radiologic characteristics of TMC in children with IBD.

Methods: A systematic search identified patients with IBD-associated TMC and matched them by age to controls with ulcerative colitis without evidence of TMC.