432 results match your criteria: "Children's and Women's Health Centre[Affiliation]"

Towards a histological diagnosis of childhood small vessel CNS vasculitis.

Pediatr Rheumatol Online J

December 2024

Section of Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Alberta Children's Hospital, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.

Background: Primary small vessel CNS vasculitis (sv-cPACNS) is a challenging inflammatory brain disease in children. Brain biopsy is mandatory to confirm the diagnosis. This study aims to develop and validate a histological scoring tool for diagnosing small vessel CNS vasculitis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Penicillin allergies often lead to unnecessary treatment delays, as many reported allergies are not true allergies; efficient tools are needed to identify low-risk patients for safe de-labeling.
  • The FIRSTLINE electronic decision support tool was implemented to help clinicians assess and stratify penicillin allergy risk among pregnant women in Vancouver, with a focus on its reliability compared to allergist evaluations and other tools like JAMA and PENFAST.
  • Results showed that 97.2% of 181 patients were not allergic, and FIRSTLINE effectively identified a high percentage of low-risk patients, emphasizing the value of clinical algorithms in improving patient care.
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  • This study aimed to evaluate how effective the MVA-BN vaccine is at preventing mpox infections in real-world settings, specifically in Ontario, Canada.
  • Researchers matched vaccinated men (who received the vaccine at least 15 days prior) with unvaccinated men based on several health and demographic factors, assessing the rate of mpox infections over a 153-day period.
  • Results indicated that the MVA-BN vaccine was about 58% effective in reducing the risk of mpox infection compared to unvaccinated individuals, suggesting that it can be a valuable tool in controlling outbreaks.
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True Rate of Allergy among Pediatric Inpatients with Penicillin Allergy Labels (TRIAL).

Can J Hosp Pharm

July 2024

MD, FRCPC, is with the Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, and the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Article Synopsis
  • Many pediatric patients are incorrectly diagnosed with a penicillin allergy, as a study found that 97% of those tested did not have a true allergy.
  • The study involved children aged 6 months to 17 years and assessed their allergy history, with evaluations conducted by pharmacists and allergists.
  • Accurate allergy assessments can lead to safer, more effective antibiotic prescriptions, highlighting the importance of proper testing.
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  • * The study focuses on 48 de novo missense variants in GRIN1, GRIN2A, and GRIN2B that affect the M3 transmembrane helix, identified in children with conditions like epilepsy and developmental delays.
  • * Most of these variants lead to a gain-of-function effect, promoting NMDAR channel activity, reinforcing the importance of the M3 region in receptor function, and providing insights into how certain drugs may affect these variant receptors.
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  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a serious genetic disorder caused by a lack of dystrophin, and the study explores the potential of givinostat, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, to improve outcomes for affected children.* -
  • Conducted as a phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial across 41 sites in 11 countries, researchers tested the safety and efficacy of givinostat in boys aged 6 and older who were already on corticosteroid treatment.* -
  • The primary goal was to assess the four-stair climb performance after 72 weeks of treatment, comparing changes between those given givinostat and the placebo, while monitoring safety throughout the study.*
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Article Synopsis
  • - Over the past 50-60 years, genetics and dysmorphology have become essential in medicine, helping diagnose rare diseases and informing various medical specialties.
  • - Both fields heavily depend on molecular geneticists for identifying genes linked to disorders, showcasing their interconnectedness in patient care.
  • - The memoirs collected highlight the personal journeys of professionals in these specialties, emphasizing their adaptability and the chance experiences that led them to enjoy a career in genetics and dysmorphology.
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Establishing obstetrics-specific metrics and interventions for antimicrobial stewardship.

J Assoc Med Microbiol Infect Dis Can

September 2023

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Background: To describe baseline antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) metrics and apply AMS interventions in an inpatient obstetrical population.

Methods: From October 2018 to October 2019, our tertiary-care obstetrical center reviewed components of our AMS program, which included: (1) antimicrobial consumption data, (2) point prevalence surveys (PPS), and (3) prospective audit and feedback. We reviewed institutional data for antimicrobial consumption from the pharmacy database.

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Infants aged <1 year represent a seemingly more susceptible pediatric subset for infections. Despite this, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection has not been proven as more serious in this age group (outside the very early neonatal period) than in others. Indeed, a considerable number of asymptomatic infections have been recorded, and the symptoms and morbidity associated with COVID- 19 differ minimally from those of other respiratory viral infections.

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A longitudinal single-cell atlas of treatment response in pediatric AML.

Cancer Cell

December 2023

Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Medical Genetics and Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Electronic address:

Pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (pAML) is characterized by heterogeneous cellular composition, driver alterations and prognosis. Characterization of this heterogeneity and how it affects treatment response remains understudied in pediatric patients. We used single-cell RNA sequencing and single-cell ATAC sequencing to profile 28 patients representing different pAML subtypes at diagnosis, remission and relapse.

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Background: Ritonavir-boosted darunavir (DRV/r) is a preferred protease inhibitor in pregnant women living with HIV. Current practice at British Columbia's referral centre (the Oak Tree Clinic) is to dose DRV/r as 800/100 mg daily throughout pregnancy, although some guidelines recommend DRV/r 600/100 mg twice daily due to altered pharmacokinetics with once-daily dosing.

Objectives: We describe the effect of once-daily DRV/r on viral suppression, vertical transmission, adverse drug effects and adherence in pregnant women living with HIV.

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We estimated the effectiveness of booster doses of monovalent and bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against Omicron-associated severe outcomes among adults aged ≥50 years in Ontario, Canada. Monovalent and bivalent mRNA COVID-19 booster doses provided similar strong initial protection against severe outcomes. Uncertainty remains around waning of protection from these vaccines.

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Microvascular hypertensive disease, Long COVID, and end-organ pathology.

Hypertens Res

September 2023

Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia and, Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC, V6H3V4, Canada.

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Objective: To evaluate the change in consumption of specific antibiotics in a neonatal intensive care unit after the implementation of an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP).

Design: Retrospective cohort study between January 1, 2010, and December 31,2019.

Setting: The neonatal intensive care unit at British Columbia Women's Hospital (Vancouver Canada), a tertiary-care center.

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The field of clinical genetics and genomics continues to evolve. In the past few decades, milestones like the initial sequencing of the human genome, dramatic changes in sequencing technologies, and the introduction of artificial intelligence, have upended the field and offered fascinating new insights. Though difficult to predict the precise paths the field will follow, rapid change may continue to be inevitable.

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Introduction: Motivated by challenges faced in outpatient sleep services for mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders (MHNDD) during the COVID-19 clinical shutdown, a pan-Canadian/international working group of clinicians and social scientists developed a concept for capturing challenging sleep and wake behaviours already at the referral stage in the community setting.

Methods: In a quality improvement/quality assurance (QIQA) project, a visual logic model was the framework for identifying the multiple causes and possible interventions for sleep disturbances. Intake forms informed clinicians about situational experiences, goals/concerns, in addition to the questions from the Sleep Disturbances Scale for Children (SDSC), the ADHD Rating Scale-IV and medication history.

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Background: High-dose methotrexate is part of the treatment of pediatric cancers. To reduce the risk of toxicity, supportive measures, including hydration and alkalinization, are recommended. At our institution, we switched from intravenous sodium bicarbonate to Lactated Ringers during a worldwide shortage.

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Introduction: This study assessed the relationship between intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and intention to receive a seasonal influenza vaccine, as well as how intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine has changed during the pandemic.

Methods: Residents of British Columbia aged 25-69 years were invited to complete an online cross-sectional survey from August 2020 - March 2021. Mixed-effects logistic regression models assessed the relationship between intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and intention to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine.

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We prospectively studied SARS-CoV-2 transmission at schools in an era of variants of concern, offering all close contacts serial viral asymptomatic testing up to 14 days. From the 69 primary cases detected in schools, 392 close contacts were identified and offered asymptomatic testing. A total of 229 (58%) were close school contacts, and of these, 3 tested positive (1.

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Disinfection and decontamination in the context of SARS-CoV-2-specific data.

J Med Virol

October 2022

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Given the high transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as witnessed early in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, concerns arose with the existing methods for virus disinfection and decontamination. The need for SARS-CoV-2-specific data stimulated considerable research in this regard. Overall, SARS-CoV-2 is practically and equally susceptible to approaches for disinfection and decontamination that have been previously found for other human or animal coronaviruses.

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Immunophenotyping of SARS-CoV-2 and vaccine design.

Vaccine

June 2022

Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Canada; Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver V6H3V4, B.C., Canada. Electronic address:

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Background: The purpose of this study was to explore factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine intentions among school staff as high vaccine uptake is essential to ensure schools return to normal activities.

Methods: Staff (e.g.

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