Publications by authors named "S B Brennan"

Background: Despite increasing fatal stimulant poisoning in the United States, little is understood about the mechanism of death. The psychological autopsy (PA) has long been used to distinguish the manner of death in equivocal cases, including opioid overdose, but has not been used to explicitly explore stimulant mortality.

Objective: We aimed to develop and implement a large PA study to identify antecedents of fatal stimulant poisoning, seeking to maximize data gathering and ethical interactions during the collateral interviews.

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Context: Dietary protein is recommended for sarcopenia-a debilitating condition of age-related loss of muscle mass and strength that affects 27% of older adults. The effects of protein on muscle health may depend on protein quality.

Objective: The aim was to synthesize randomized controlled trial (RCT) data comparing plant with animal protein for muscle health.

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Rapid response teams (RRT) are multidisciplinary teams activated to assess patients outside of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and require a shared framework for approaching a deteriorating patient. In this project, we aimed to improve the understanding of RRT protocols through the development and implementation of the RRT Huddle Checklist. This quality improvement project took place from 2019 to 2022.

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There is an increasing need for valid, rapid diet screening tools. A significant association between the Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS) and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been demonstrated in the US but evidence of its use in Europe is lacking. The aim of this study was to amend the PDQS for a UK/Irish population and determine validity and reliability in those at risk of CVD.

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Background: The onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused major interruptions to the entire healthcare network affecting referral, diagnosis and treatment pathways with the potential to affect cancer treatment outcomes. In Ireland a national lockdown was initiated in March 2020 involving a stay-at-home order with a limitation on travel, social interactions and closure of schools, universities and childcare facilities. We designed a retrospective study comparing treatment outcomes for patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated before and during the COVID pandemic.

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