COVID-19 lockdowns affected birthing outcomes in a regional New South Wales Health District.

Introduction: The 400 000 residents of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) experienced two distinct lockdowns aimed at mitigating the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Analysing effects of these lockdowns on maternal and neonatal outcomes presents a valuable opportunity to assess the impact of pandemic-level restrictions on maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Aim: Evaluate the impacts of restrictions from two lockdown periods on maternal, birthing, and neonatal outcomes within a regional local health district.

Kidney trajectory charts improve GP management of patients with reduced kidney function: a randomised controlled vignette study.

Background: The stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) reference ranges are currently determined without considering age.

Aim: To determine whether a chart that graphs age with eGFR helps GPs make better decisions about managing patients with declining eGFR.

Design & Setting: A randomised controlled vignette study among Australian GPs using a percentile chart plotting the trajectory of eGFR by age.

Is exercise therapy the right treatment for rotator cuff-related shoulder pain? Uncertainties, theory, and practice.

Background: Exercise therapy is a popular non-surgical treatment to help manage individuals with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP) and is recommended in all clinical practice guidelines. Due to modest effect sizes, low quality evidence, uncertainty relating to efficacy, and mechanism(s) of benefit, exercise as a therapeutic intervention has been the subject of increasing scrutiny.

Aims: The aim of this critical review is to lay out where the purported uncertainties of exercise for RCRSP exist by exploring the relevant quantitative and qualitative literature.

Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand position statement: The safe clinical use of sputum induction for bio-sampling of the lower airways in children and adults.

Sputum induction is widely used in clinical settings for collection of biological samples from the lower airways. However, in recent years sputum induction has been associated with serious adverse events and even death. This position statement was commissioned by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand to address major adverse events of two deaths associated with sputum induction that have occurred in Australia in 2021, and outlines best practice for the safe use of sputum induction.

Abnormal cleavage up to Day 3 does not compromise live birth and neonatal outcomes of embryos that have achieved full blastulation: a retrospective cohort study.

Study Question: Do embryos displaying abnormal cleavage (ABNCL) up to Day 3 have compromised live birth rates and neonatal outcomes if full blastulation has been achieved prior to transfer?

Summary Answer: ABNCL is associated with reduced full blastulation rates but does not impact live birth rates and neonatal outcomes once full blastulation has been achieved.

What Is Known Already?: It is widely accepted that ABNCL is associated with reduced implantation rates of embryos when transferred at the cleavage stage. However, evidence is scarce in the literature reporting birth outcomes from blastocysts arising from ABNCL embryos, likely because they are ranked low priority for transfer.

Adult symptoms of ASD and ADHD in relation to alcohol use: Potential roles of transdiagnostic features.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common comorbidity in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ADHD is a risk factor for alcohol misuse whereas ASD is often regarded as protective; however, research on ASD and alcohol use has yielded conflicting findings, sometimes implicating the role of comorbid ADHD. The possibility that certain transdiagnostic features (i.

Profiling injuries sustained following implementation of a progressive load carriage program in United States marine corps recruit training.

Background: Load carriage tasks during United States Marine Corps (USMC) recruit training can cause injury. Load carriage conditioning, if optimized, can reduce injury risk.

Objective: To compare injuries sustained by USMC recruits following participation in either the Original Load Carriage (OLC) program or a Modified Load Carriage (MLC) program.

ChatGPT in private practice: The opportunities and pitfalls of novel technology.

Objective: This article explores the transformative impact of OpenAI and ChatGPT on Australian medical practitioners, particularly psychiatrists in the private practice setting. It delves into the extensive benefits and limitations associated with integrating ChatGPT into medical practice, summarising current policies and scrutinising medicolegal implications.

Conclusion: A careful assessment is imperative to determine whether the benefits of AI integration outweigh the associated risks.

The impact of room shape on affective states, heartrate, and creative output.

The architectural design of space can deeply impact an individuals' mood, physiology, and mental health. While previous research has predominantly focused on elements like nature and lighting within architectural spaces, there is a growing literature base that also investigates the psychological and neurophysiological impacts of geometrical properties of architectural spaces. Employing virtual reality technology, the study sought to investigate the effects of curved and rectangular architectural spaces on affective states, heart rate, and creativity.

Priority nutrients to address malnutrition and diet-related diseases in Australia and New Zealand.

Background: The double burden of malnutrition and diet-related disease has been attributed to diets high in ultra-processed and discretionary foods, with increased sugars, saturated fats, and sodium, and insufficient dietary fibre. There is a limited understanding of the role of other macronutrients and micronutrients.

Objective: Determine the highest priority nutrients to address both malnutrition and diet-related disease in Australia and New Zealand, for each demographic group and the total population.

Beliefs, barriers, and promotion practices of Indian nurses' regarding healthy eating for cancer survivors in a tertiary care hospital-A cross sectional survey.

Purpose: To describe the beliefs, barriers and promotion practices of Indian nurses' regarding healthy eating (HE) behaviours amongst cancer survivors, and to gain insights into whether their educational qualifications might affect the promotion of HE.

Methods: Data was gathered using a validated questionnaire, 388 of the approached 400 nurses who worked at a tertiary care hospital in India gave informed consent to participate in the study. The Mann-Whitney U test and the Chi square analysis (for continuous and categorical variables respectively) were performed to carry out sub-group comparisons based on the qualification of the nurses i.

Prostate Cancer Survivorship Essentials for men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of a tele-based nurse-led survivorship care intervention (PCEssentials Hormone Therapy Study).

Introduction: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is commonly used to treat men with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer. Men receiving ADT experience numerous side effects and frequently report unmet supportive care needs. An essential part of quality cancer care is survivorship care.

Ultrasound Secondary Signs for the Diagnosis of Pediatric Distal Forearm Fractures: A Diagnostic Study.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound secondary signs of fractures in pediatric patients aged 5-15 y presenting to the emergency department with a clinically non-deformed distal forearm injury.

Methods: This diagnostic study was conducted in South East Queensland, Australia. Emergency clinicians performed point-of-care ultrasound on eligible patients and recorded secondary signs of fractures (pronator quadratus hematoma [PQH] sign, periosteal hematoma, visible angulation) or physeal fractures (fracture-to-physis distance [FPD], physis alteration).

Expanding Research on Firefighter Trainee Fitness, Reasons for Academy Release, and the Predictive Capabilities of Fitness Tests.

Lockie, RG, Orr, RM, Montes, F, and Dawes, JJ. Expanding research on firefighter trainee fitness, reasons for academy release, and the predictive capabilities of fitness tests. J Strength Cond Res 38(4): 724-733, 2024-Firefighter trainees need a level of fitness to be admitted to and complete a training academy.

Human Whole-Eye Donation for Research-Optimizing Clinical Trial Informed Consent.

Importance: Posthumous whole-eye (globe) donations for research lack a mechanism that reinvolves the existing ophthalmic research team of the donor unless there is a preplanned donor directive. Disconnection between the deceased and their research team equates to lost opportunities for the research team to have a longitudinal view of the eyes that have been involved in their research.

Objectives: To use the clinical trial informed consent process to create a posthumous research donation opportunity that directs the donation to the currently affiliated research team of the donors (preserving the longitudinal research experience).

Prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction in electrical utility workers: Practical considerations for prevention and rehabilitation in the workplace.

Introduction: This study assessed the prevalence and associations of musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction in electrical utility workers, with the aim of applying the findings to better prevent and rehabilitate workplace musculoskeletal disorders.

Methods: Employees completed an online survey recording their musculoskeletal symptoms across nine anatomical locations for the preceding 12 months. A total of 565 employees, working across eight different electrical utility organisational work units, completed the survey.

Ventilator-assisted preoxygenation in an aeromedical retrieval setting.

Objective: Ventilator-assisted preoxygenation (VAPOX) is a method of preoxygenation and apnoeic ventilation which has been tried in hospital setting. We aimed to describe VAPOX during intubation of critically unwell patients in aeromedical retrieval setting.

Methods: Retrospective observational study of VAPOX performed at LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine (LRM) between January 2018 and December 2022 across Queensland, Australia.

Do STEM women feel ethically and emotionally better prepared for their careers than men?

Despite a growing imperative for graduates to possess STEM skills, both to boost their employability prospects and their perceived economic value, it is critical to also consider the professional or 'soft skills' that will enable these graduates to thrive in their careers. Ironically, gender differences in personality and occupational choice are larger, not smaller, in more gender-equal countries. This is known as the gender equality paradox and in STEM it highlights the importance of purposeful initiatives throughout the educational trajectory, even in countries with higher levels of gender equality.

Mental health and mental health help-seeking behaviors among first-generation voluntary African migrants: A systematic review.

Purpose: Mental health challenges are highly prevalent in African migrants. However, understanding of mental health outcomes in first-generation voluntary African migrants is limited, despite the unique challenges faced by this migrant subgroup. This review aimed to synthesize the literature to understand the mental health challenges, help-seeking behavior, and the relationship between mental health and mental health help-seeking behavior in first-generation voluntary African migrants living outside Africa.

Should the Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) Technique Be the Main Form of Stroke Prevention in Patients With Long-Standing Persistent or Permanent Atrial Fibrillation?

Currently, oral anticoagulants are considered the gold standard for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation. Despite the efficacy of oral anticoagulants in reducing stroke incidence, patients are at risk of developing adverse reactions such as excessive bleeding and bruising, and can also have drug-drug interactions. In the early 2000s, a minimally invasive technique called the left atrial appendage closure emerged as an alternative for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation patients who could not tolerate oral anticoagulants.

Exploring the Impact of Firefighter Trainee Fitness on Academy Graduation or Release.

Lockie, RG, Orr, RM, Montes, F, and Dawes, JJ. A research note exploring the impact of firefighter trainee fitness on academy graduation or release. J Strength Cond Res 38(5): 999-1003, 2024-This study investigated the impact of fitness test performance on firefighter trainee ability to graduate an academy using ordinal logistic generalized linear models.

Determining the Changes in Law Enforcement Recruit Aerobic Fitness Using the 2.4-km Run and 20-m Multistage Fitness Test. Does the Type of Test Matter?

Campbell, P, Maupin, D, Lockie, RG, Dawes, JJ, Simas, V, Canetti, E, Schram, B, and Orr, R. Determining the changes in law enforcement recruit aerobic fitness using the 2.4-km run and 20-m multistage fitness test.