Only a subset of patients with breast cancer responds to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). To better understand the underlying mechanisms, we analyze pretreatment biopsies from patients in the I-SPY 2 trial who receive neoadjuvant ICB using multiple platforms to profile the tumor microenvironment. A variety of immune cell populations and markers of immune/cytokine signaling associate with pathologic complete response (pCR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: To map the extent of the use of the term 'planetary health' in peer-reviewed nursing literature.
Design: Scoping Review.
Data Sources: CINAHL, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Premium, MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Web of Science were searched in January and February 2024 for English and French-language publications.
Introduction: Patient-centred care is more than just an aspiration, it represents a fundamental shift in the way healthcare must be delivered. Patient-centred emergency care is important for improving the patient and clinician experience and is essential for optimizing health outcomes. Creating a patient-centred emergency department emphasizes the importance of the patient's experience, preferences, and values.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPneumonia is the most common intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired infection and source of potential sepsis in ICU populations but can be difficult to diagnose in real-time. Despite limited data, rapid initiation of antibiotic agents is endorsed by society guidelines. We hypothesized that a post hoc analysis of a recent randomized pilot study would show no difference between two antibiotic initiation strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe practice of rapidly initiating antibiotic therapy for patients with suspected infection has recently been criticized yet remains commonplace. Provider comfort level has been an understudied aspect of this practice. We hypothesized that there would be no significant differences in provider comfort level between the two treatment groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: People who use drugs (PWUD) face disproportionately high rates of hospitalizations and patient-initiated discharge (leaving against medical advice), explained by a combination of stigma, withdrawal, judgment, blame, and improper pain management. In addition, evidence has shown that despite abstinence-based policies within healthcare settings, PWUD continue to use their substances in healthcare environments often hidden away from hospital staff, resulting in fatalities. Various novel overdose detection technologies (ODTs) have been developed with early adoption in a few settings to reduce the morbidity and mortality from risky substance use patterns within healthcare environments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recent studies have presented contradictory findings on the relationship between blood type and mortality in trauma patients. Using the largest population in a study of this type to date, we hypothesized that ABO genotype and Rhesus status would influence trauma-related mortality and morbidity given the relationship between blood type and hemostasis.
Methods: Data from all trauma patients admitted to level I and level II trauma centers in one city over a five-year period was retrospectively analyzed.
Background: Climate change around the globe is impacting human and planetary health at unprecedented rates. Nurses are well positioned to act as climate leaders, given their critical role globally.
Problem: Current and future nurses must work to mitigate climate-related health effects.
Objective: Nurses are well positioned to play an integral role in the mitigation of climate change and climate-driven vector-borne diseases, however, they lack awareness and knowledge about their role. The purpose of this scoping review was to map existing literature on nurses' perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, and experiences with vector-borne diseases, specifically Lyme disease and West Nile virus.
Design: A scoping review was conducted using Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodology.
BRAF mutation confers a poor prognosis in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) despite combinatorial targeted therapies based on the latest understanding of signaling circuitry. To identify parallel resistance mechanisms induced by BRAF-MEK-EGFR co-targeting, we used a high-throughput kinase activity mapping platform. Here we show that SRC kinases are systematically activated in BRAF CRC following targeted inhibition of BRAF ± EGFR and that coordinated targeting of SRC with BRAF ± EGFR increases treatment efficacy in vitro and in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pneumonia is the most common intensive care unit-acquired infection in the trauma and emergency general surgery population. Despite guidelines urging rapid antibiotic use, data supporting immediate antibiotic initiation in cases of suspected infection are limited. Our hypothesis was that a protocol of specimen-initiated antibiotic initiation would have similar compliance and outcomes to an immediate initiation protocol.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Electric scooters (e-scooters) have contributed to a rise in injury burden and emergency department (ED) utilization since their local introduction 3 years ago. This study is a novel collaboration between the City of Calgary's Department of Transportation and emergency medicine researchers to better understand the nature and frequencies of e-scooter injuries. It quantifies the incidence and characteristics of e-scooter related injuries treated in Calgary EDs/urgent care centres (UCCs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe myeloma surface proteome (surfaceome) determines tumor interaction with the microenvironment and serves as an emerging arena for therapeutic development. Here, we use glycoprotein capture proteomics to define the myeloma surfaceome at baseline, in drug resistance, and in response to acute drug treatment. We provide a scoring system for surface antigens and identify CCR10 as a promising target in this disease expressed widely on malignant plasma cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study quantifies the frequency of adverse events (AEs) experienced by psychiatric patients while boarded in the emergency department (ED) and describes those events over a broad range of categories.
Methods: A retrospective chart review (RCR) of adult psychiatric patients aged 18-55 presenting to one of four Calgary EDs (Foothills Medical Centre (FMC), the Peter Lougheed Centre (PLC), the Rockyview General Hospital (RGH), and South Health Campus (SHC)) who were subsequently admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit between January 1, 2019 and May 15, 2019 were eligible for review. A test of association was used to determine the odds of an independent variable being associated with an adverse event.
The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor cetuximab is the only FDA-approved oncogene-targeting therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Despite variable treatment response, no biomarkers exist to stratify patients for cetuximab therapy in HNSCC. Here, we applied unbiased hierarchical clustering to reverse-phase protein array molecular profiles from patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumors and revealed 2 PDX clusters defined by protein networks associated with EGFR inhibitor resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated opportunities and challenges for nursing education, with many nursing programs transitioning in-person courses to online delivery with varying degrees of success. This study aimed to compare the attitudes of baccalaureate nursing students and nursing faculty members towards the use of Zoom for nursing education in Alberta, Canada.
Design: A mixed-methods design was used to measure student and faculty attitudes.
Genetic editing of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells represents a promising avenue for an HIV cure. However, certain challenges remain before bringing this approach to the clinic. Among them, in vivo engraftment of cells genetically edited in vitro needs to be achieved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia
December 2020
Multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) allows simultaneous antibody-based detection of multiple markers with a nuclear counterstain on a single tissue section. Recent studies have demonstrated that mIF is becoming an important tool for immune profiling the tumor microenvironment, further advancing our understanding of the interplay between cancer and the immune system, and identifying predictive biomarkers of response to immunotherapy. Expediting mIF discoveries is leading to improved diagnostic panels, whereas it is important that mIF protocols be standardized to facilitate their transition into clinical use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open
December 2020
Objective: Decontamination protocols for victims of mass casualty events are well documented and emphasized to protect physicians, nurses and facilities. Decontamination practices outside of mass casualty events are unknown. This pilot study was undertaken to assess the current practices of burn patient decontamination outside of mass casualty events within level I and II trauma center emergency departments in the state of Michigan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction The first Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC) recommendation for Emergency Medicine states: "Don't order CT head scans in adults and children who have suffered minor head injuries (unless positive for a validated head injury clinical decision rule)". In order to provide patients with information on the risks and benefits of computed tomography (CT) scans in minor traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) and to encourage discussions between patients and their doctor, we designed a patient-focused mTBI infographic for the emergency department (ED). Methods Stakeholders worked with content experts to co-design the infographic, which was posted in two emergency department (ED) waiting rooms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatient-derived xenografts (PDXs) are an essential pre-clinical resource for investigating tumor biology. However, cellular heterogeneity within and across PDX tumors can strongly impact the interpretation of PDX studies. Here, we generated a multi-modal, large-scale dataset to investigate PDX heterogeneity in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) across tumor models, spatial scales and genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and imaging assay modalities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChoroid plexus carcinoma (CPC) is a rare brain tumor that occurs most commonly in very young children and has a dismal prognosis despite intensive therapy. Improved outcomes for patients with CPC depend on a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the disease. Here we developed transgenic models of CPCs by activating the oncogene and deleting the tumor suppressor gene in murine neural stem cells or progenitors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF