Effect of Suboptimal Disease Control on Patient Quality of Life: Real-World Data from the Observational IBD-PODCAST Canada Trial.

Background: The real-world application of STRIDE-II treatment targets to identify whether disease control is optimal in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) is not well known.

Aims: This study aimed to estimate proportions of patients with suboptimally controlled CD and UC in real-world Canadian healthcare settings and the impact on quality of life (QoL).

Methods: The noninterventional, multicenter, observational IBD-PODCAST Canada study comprised a single study visit involving routine assessments, patient- and clinician-completed questionnaires, and a retrospective chart review.

Association between sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors and arrhythmic outcomes in patients with diabetes and pre-existing atrial fibrillation.

Aims: Prior studies suggest that sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) may decrease the incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it is unknown whether SGLT2i can attenuate the disease course of AF among patients with pre-existing AF and Type II diabetes mellitus (DM). In this study, our objective was to examine the association between SGLT2i prescription and arrhythmic outcomes among patients with DM and pre-existing AF.

Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scanner mismatch in follow-up bone mineral density testing.

Unlabelled: Scanner mismatch occurs frequently with follow-up dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Nearly one-in-five follow-up DXA scans were conducted on non-cross-calibrated scanners (scanner mismatch) and more than a quarter of patients who had a follow-up DXA scan had experienced scanner mismatch.

Introduction: Detecting significant changes in bone mineral density (BMD) with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanners relies on the least significant change (LSC).

Underuse of cardiorenal protective agents in high-risk diabetes patients in primary care: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) have shown benefits in patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), heart failure (HF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Objective: We assessed benchmark outcomes (Hemoglobin A1c, LDL-C, and blood pressure), identified the prevalence of cardiorenal indications for SGLT2i and GLP-1RA, and compared prescribing rates of GLP1-RA and SGLT2i in those with and without cardiorenal indications.

Methods: We analyzed data from January 2018-June 2019 for 7168 patients with diabetes using electronic medical records from the Northern Alberta Primary Care Research Network, a regional network of the Canadian Primary Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN).

Medical cannabis use in Canadians with multiple sclerosis.

Background: The extent of medical cannabis use by people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Canada has not been evaluated for more than a decade since recreational cannabis was legalized. Legalization provided an avenue for those to whom legal cannabis was previously inaccessible to access it as an alternative therapy. Our objective was to evaluate the prevalence of medical cannabis use by Canadians with MS, the reasons it is used, adverse effects, as well as the context surrounding how it is obtained and where users learned about it.

The OMERACT Knee Inflammation MRI Scoring System: Validation of quantitative methodologies and tri-compartmental overlays in osteoarthritis.

Objective: To validate a revised version of the KIMRISS method for quantification of BML and synovitis-effusion in the knee by comparison with an established method, MOAKS.

Methods: Novel calibration tools were developed for both methods. We compared reliability for status and change scores of BML and synovitis-effusion on baseline and one-year MRI scans.

The Role of Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient in the Management of Cirrhosis.

Quantifying the degree of portal hypertension provides useful information to estimate prognosis and to evaluate new therapies for portal hypertension. This quantification is done in clinical practice with the measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient. This article addresses the applications of measuring portal pressure in cirrhosis, including the differential diagnosis of portal hypertension; estimation of prognosis in cirrhosis, including preoperative evaluation before hepatic and extrahepatic surgery; assessment of the response to drug therapy (mainly in the context of drug development); and assessing the regression of portal hypertension syndrome.

Prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Edmonton and Northern Alberta.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast the prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Northern Alberta estimated by health administrative data and data from a rheumatologist-based prescription database.

Methods: The study was performed using administrative health data from the province of Alberta through the local health authority. The cases and population identified in the database were reported from the year 2016.

The merits of the ICD for inherited heart rhythm disorders: A critical re-appraisal.

The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is often considered a routine intervention for an inherited heart rhythm disorder (IHRD) despite there being little to no randomized data for non-ischemic indications. Furthermore, existing IHRD studies often do not report adverse ICD outcomes, and observational data increasingly show that complications are under-recognized. Only recently have tools emerged to address the rational use of ICDs for specific forms of IHRD, although the acceptable risk of device complications remains unestablished.

Primary healthcare planning, bottleneck analysis and performance improvement: An evaluation of processes and outcomes in a Nigerian context.

Operational planning of interventions defines roadmaps, timelines and resources necessary for translating policies into expected health outcomes along the evidence-policy-implementation continuum. However, bottlenecks often hinder the attainment of objectives and the timely delivery of intervention packages leading to sub-optimal performance of health systems. Bottleneck identification, analysis and removal approaches to planning, which requires key stakeholders' participation, have been recommended to improve health system outcomes in LMICs.

The Costs of Industry-Sponsored Drug Trials in Canada.

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the provincial and nationwide costs of industry-sponsored drug clinical trials (CTs) in Canada.

Methods: We used the Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov (AACT) database, and included all industry-sponsored drug CTs that were conducted in Canada and completed in 2016.

Sustaining knowledge translation interventions for chronic disease management in older adults: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Failure to sustain knowledge translation (KT) interventions impacts patients and health systems, diminishing confidence in future implementation. Sustaining KT interventions used to implement chronic disease management (CDM) interventions is of critical importance given the proportion of older adults with chronic diseases and their need for ongoing care. Our objectives are to (1) complete a systematic review and network meta-analysis of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of sustainability of KT interventions that target CDM for end-users including older patients, clinicians, public health officials, health services managers and policy-makers on health care outcomes beyond 1 year after implementation or the termination of initial project funding and (2) use the results of this review to complete an economic analysis of the interventions identified to be effective.

Is varicella vaccination associated with pediatric arterial ischemic stroke? A population-based cohort study.

Background And Purpose: Varicella disease is a risk factor for pediatric Arterial Ischemic Stroke (AIS). Isolated case reports have emerged suggesting that varicella vaccination may also pose a risk for AIS.

Methods: This retrospective population-based cohort study assessed the risk of AIS in children who received a varicella-containing vaccine, as compared to those who did not.

Noninvasive Body Contouring: A Male Perspective.

Noninvasive body contouring is an attractive therapeutic modality to enhance the ideal male physique. Men place higher value on enhancing a well-defined, strong, masculine jawline and developing a V-shaped taper through the upper body. An understanding of the body contour men strive for allows the treating physician to focus on areas that are of most concern to men, thus enhancing patient experience and satisfaction.

Palliative care and Parkinson's disease: Meeting summary and recommendations for clinical research.

Introduction: Palliative care is an approach to caring for patients and families affected by serious illnesses that focuses on the relief of suffering through the management of medical symptoms, psychosocial issues, advance care planning and spiritual wellbeing. Over the past decade there has been an emerging clinical and research interest in the application of palliative care approaches to Parkinson's disease (PD) and outpatient palliative care services are now offered by several movement disorders centers.

Methods: An International Working Group Meeting on PD and Palliative Care supported by the Parkinson's Disease Foundation was held in October 2015 to review the current state of the evidence and to make recommendations for clinical research and practice.

Perfusion computed tomography in patients with stroke thrombolysis.

See Saver (doi:10.1093/awx020) for a scientific commentary on this article.Stroke shortens an individual's disability-free life.

A prospective multicenter cohort study of frailty in younger critically ill patients.

Background: Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome characterized by loss of physiologic and cognitive reserve that heightens vulnerability. Frailty has been well described among elderly patients (i.e.

Abnormal surround inhibition does not affect asymptomatic limbs in people with cervical dystonia.

Surround inhibition is a neural mechanism hypothesized to facilitate goal-directed action by disinhibiting agonist muscle activity while simultaneously inhibiting antagonist and other uninvolved muscle activity. The present study was designed to investigate if abnormalities in surround inhibition are found in asymptomatic body parts (the hand) of people with focal cervical dystonia (neck). Participants with (n=7) and without (n=17) cervical dystonia completed a protocol in which they abducted their index finger while EMG was recorded from the first dorsal interosseous (agonist) and abductor digiti minimi (uninvolved) muscles.

Evaluation of the Canadian Rheumatology Association Choosing Wisely recommendation concerning anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) testing.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the Canadian Rheumatology Association Choosing Wisely recommendation concerning anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) testing. Patients with joint pain/stiffness/swelling were assessed to determine if ANA testing was indicated. An a priori threshold was set before ANA testing would be considered.

Pain mystery score beliefs: a comparison of fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives. To compare the mysteriousness scores of the Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory in fibromyalgia. Methods.

Colonic Dieulafoy's Lesion: A Rare Cause of Lower Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage and Review of Endoscopic Management.

Dieulafoy's lesions are a rare cause of gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Extragastric Dieulafoy's lesions are even more uncommon. We report the case of a 75-year-old woman who presented with gastrointestinal bleeding from a transverse colonic Dieulafoy's lesion.

Effect of a pain diary use on recovery from acute low back (lumbar) sprain.

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to examine the effect of a daily pain diary on recovery from acute low back sprain.

Summary Of Background Data: Pain diaries are often recommended to or used by patients suffering with acute lumbar (low back) sprain. Diaries have been shown to be associated, however, with a slower rate of recovery after whiplash (neck) injury.