Utility of Guideline-Directed Therapy on Mortality and Readmissions in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Heart Failure Patients.

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) represents a significant public health challenge, affecting millions worldwide with high morbidity and mortality rates. Admissions due to HFrEF impose a considerable financial burden on patients and healthcare systems. Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) has emerged as a proven strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality in heart failure (HF) patients.

Relationship between pharmacotherapy for major depressive disorder and healthcare utilisation in British Columbia, Canada: a retrospective population-based cohort.

Objectives: To describe the population that meets the criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD) in British Columbia (BC), compare patterns of healthcare utilisation between those with MDD who are and are not prescribed pharmacotherapy, and assess these relationships in models that control for potential confounding variables.

Design: We used a population cross-sectional study design among a cohort of individuals living with MDD and examined the relationship between pharmacotherapy and healthcare utilisation between 2019 and 2020 using linked billing and administrative data.

Setting: This study identified individuals with MDD using a validated case definition of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes in BC, Canada.

Dual-modality flow phantom for ultrasound and optical flow measurements.

As ultrasound-compatible flow phantoms are devised for performance testing and calibration, there is a practical need to obtain independent flow measurements for validation using a gold-standard technique such as particle image velocimetry (PIV). In this paper, we present the design of a new dual-modality flow phantom that allows ultrasound and PIV measurements to be simultaneously performed. Our phantom's tissue mimicking material is based on a novel hydrogel formula that uses propylene glycol to lower the freezing temperature of an ultrasound-compatible poly(vinyl) alcohol cryogel and, in turn, maintain the solution's optical transparency after thermocycling.

Iloprost: Old and New Indications.

Iloprost is a synthetic long-acting prostacyclin-analog drug used to treat various vascular diseases. The Federal Drug Administration approved the drug in 2004 for pulmonary arterial hypertension, and it has since been shown to be helpful in other vascular conditions such as scleroderma and Raynaud phenomenon. The Federal Drug Administration has now approved the use of iloprost for severe frostbite.