Drug Survival of Biological Therapies in Smokers and Non-Smokers With Psoriasis: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using Data From the Australasian Psoriasis Registry.

Background: Smoking is a modifiable risk factor that increases the likelihood of developing psoriasis and the severity of the disease. In recent years, biological therapies have transformed the management of psoriasis. There is conflicting evidence about whether smoking affects the efficacy of biologics.

Decreased endogenous nitric oxide production in acute decompensated heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction.

Aims: Heart failure represents a substantial burden to both patients and healthcare systems worldwide. Nitric oxide (NO) dysregulation may play a key role in patients transitioning from chronic to acute heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Plasma nitrite (NO ) is highly reflective of local nitric oxide production and has not been studied in acute HFrEF.

Deep Learning Technique for Automatic Segmentation of Proximal Hip Musculoskeletal Tissues From CT Scan Images: A MrOS Study.

Background: Age-related conditions, such as osteoporosis and sarcopenia, alongside chronic diseases, can result in significant musculoskeletal tissue loss. This impacts individuals' quality of life and increases risk of falls and fractures. Computed tomography (CT) has been widely used for assessing musculoskeletal tissues.

Prolonged versus single dose in penicillin oral challenge testing: protocols for a pilot and definitive randomised controlled trial (PROSPECTOR studies).

Introduction: Penicillin allergy labels (PALs) are reported in 1 in 10 hospitalised patients globally and associated with inferior patient, hospital and microbiological outcomes; however, the majority are incorrect and should be removed. Direct oral penicillin challenge has been demonstrated to be a safe and effective method for the removal of PALs. However, the question of whether a single dose is sufficient to ascertain true allergy status remains unanswered, with some studies suggesting that extended challenges of 3 or more days are superior for the exclusion of delayed immune reactions.

Circulating lipocalin-2 across the adult lifespan.

Lipocalin-2 (LCN2), a hormone produced by adipocytes, osteoblasts, and renal tubular cells, is implicated in age-related diseases, including cardio-metabolic disease. To understand the role LCN2 may play in pathological states, we first need to elucidate the relationship between circulating LCN2 with indices of cardio-metabolic health during "normal" aging. This study examined the relationship between serum levels of LCN2, age, and cardio-metabolic measures across the adult lifespan in males and females.

A Comparison of Glucose and Additional Signals for Three Different Exercise Types in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Using a Hybrid Closed-Loop System.

To compare glycemic outcomes during and following moderate-intensity exercise (MIE), high-intensity interval exercise (HIE), and resistance exercise (RE) in adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) using a hybrid closed-loop (HCL) insulin pump while measuring additional physiological signals associated with activity. Twenty-eight adolescents (average age 16.3 ± 2.

Latent Tuberculosis Infection Amongst Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients: The Impact of Routine Pretransplant Review by a Transplant Infectious Diseases Physician.

Background: Identifying patients with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is challenging. This is particularly true amongst immunocompromised hosts, in whom the diagnostic accuracy of available tests is limited. The authors evaluated the impact of routine pretransplant review by a transplant infectious diseases (TID) physician on LTBI screening in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (alloHSCT) recipients.

Do CYP2D6 genotypes affect oxycodone dose, pharmacokinetics, pain, and adverse effects in cancer?

Aims: To examine the associations between and polymorphisms, plasma oxycodone and metabolite concentrations, and oxycodone response (dose, pain scores, and adverse effects) in people with pain from advanced cancer.

Patients & Methods: This multi-center prospective cohort study included clinical data, questionnaires (pain and adverse effects), and blood (pharmacokinetics, DNA). Negative binomial regression and logistic regression were used.

Global differences and risk factors influencing drug hypersensitivity quality of life: A multicenter, multiethnic study of drug allergy across 3 continents.

Background: Penicillin allergy labels are associated with many adverse outcomes. Fear and restriction of future medication use also have an impact on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). However, the impact of a drug allergy on HR-QoL and its associated factors remains unknown.

Automated Insulin Delivery Effects During Driving Among Older Adults with Type 1 Diabetes in a Randomized Trial.

Dysglycemia among drivers with type 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with impaired driving performance, and glucose levels "above 5 to drive" are often recommended for insulin-treated drivers. Evidence for diabetes treatments that support euglycemia while driving is minimal, particularly for older drivers. In this randomized, crossover trial involving adults aged ≥60 years with T1D, we used continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) during driving to compare the first-generation closed-loop automated insulin delivery (AID) versus a sensor-augmented pump therapy.

Results of an Australian trial of an automated insulin delivery (AID) system and other studies support likely benefit of AID use for many Australian adults with type 1 diabetes.

Less than 20% of Australians with type 1 diabetes (T1D) meet recommended glucose targets. Technology use is associated with better glycaemia, with the most advanced being automated insulin delivery (AID) systems, which are now recommended as gold-standard T1D care. Our Australian AID trial shows a wide spectrum of adults with T1D can achieve recommended targets.

Neuropsychological Outcomes After Stereo-EEG Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation.

Background And Objectives: Stereo-EEG-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFTHC) has been proposed as relatively safe from a cognitive perspective; however, there is a lack of evidence based on neuropsychological assessments supporting this. This study is the first prospective evaluation of neuropsychological outcomes associated with stereo-EEG-guided RFTHC in patients with focal drug-resistant epilepsy.

Methods: This cohort study involved prospective recruitment of consecutive patients undergoing stereo-EEG from 2 Australian centers.

Standardizing MRI orientation improves reliability of entorhinal and transentorhinal cortical volume measurement.

The current study compared the reliability of manual collateral sulcus depth and entorhinal and transentorhinal cortical volume measurements between native oriented MRI scans versus MRI scans realigned to the hippocampal long axis. Data included 10 participants with two serial 3.0T MRI scans from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

Multimodal and quantitative analysis of the epileptogenic zone network in the pre-surgical evaluation of drug-resistant focal epilepsy.

Surgical resection for epilepsy often fails due to incomplete Epileptogenic Zone Network (EZN) localization from scalp electroencephalography (EEG), stereo-EEG (SEEG), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Subjective interpretation based on interictal, or ictal recordings limits conventional EZN localization. This study employs multimodal analysis using high-density-EEG (HDEEG), Magnetoencephalography (MEG), functional-MRI (fMRI), and SEEG to overcome these limitations in a patient with drug-resistant MRI-negative focal epilepsy.

Rifaximin prophylaxis causes resistance to the last-resort antibiotic daptomycin.

Multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens like vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) are a critical threat to human health. Daptomycin is a last-resort antibiotic for VREfm infections with a novel mode of action, but for which resistance has been widely reported but is unexplained. Here we show that rifaximin, an unrelated antibiotic used prophylactically to prevent hepatic encephalopathy in patients with liver disease, causes cross-resistance to daptomycin in VREfm.

Influence of (rs4680) and (rs1799971) on Cancer Pain, Opioid Dose, and Adverse Effects.

The influence of pharmacogenomics on opioid response, particularly with (rs4680) and (rs1799971) variants, has been studied individually and in combination. However, most studies are in a noncancer context and not all their possible variant combinations have been examined. This study examined (rs4680) and (rs1799971), and their allele combinations, in advanced cancer to examine associations with pain scores, opioid dose, and adverse effects.

The Australasian Registry for Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions (AUS-SCAR) - Providing a roadmap for closing the diagnostic, patient, and healthcare gaps for a group of rare drug eruptions.

Background: Severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCAR) are a group of delayed presumed T-cell mediated hypersensitivities associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Despite their shared global healthcare burden and impact, the clinical phenotypes, genomic predisposition, drug causality, and treatment outcomes may vary. We describe the establishment and results from the first Australasian registry for SCAR (AUS-SCAR), that via a collaborative network advances strategies for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of SCAR.

Effectiveness of direct delabelling of allergy labels in type A adverse drug reactions to penicillin: a multicentre hospitalwide prospective cohort study.

Background: Patient-reported penicillin allergy labels (PALs) are associated with adverse patient outcomes and inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. Removal of PALs via direct oral challenge (DOC) is associated with increased penicillin utilization post removal.

Objectives: To assess the impact of direct delabelling (allergy label removal via medical reconciliation alone) of type A adverse drug reaction (ADR) PALs on inpatient prescribing.