Management of nonurgent common gastroenterology referrals using primary care clinical pathways: Clinical outcomes, health care use, and avoided costs.

Objective: To evaluate health system use, health outcomes, and avoided costs when patients with chronic gastrointestinal (GI) conditions are managed in the medical home.

Design: A retrospective, observational cohort study was conducted through a single-point-of-entry referral system.

Setting: Calgary, Alta.

Outcomes of Adjunct Emergent Stenting Versus Mechanical Thrombectomy Alone: The RESCUE-ICAS Registry.

Background: Underlying intracranial stenosis is the most common cause of failed mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke patients with large vessel occlusion. Adjunct emergent stenting is sometimes performed to improve or maintain reperfusion, despite limited data regarding its safety or efficacy.

Methods: We conducted a prospective multicenter observational international cohort study.

Clinical uncertainty in large vessel occlusion ischemic stroke: does automated perfusion imaging make a difference? An intra-rater and inter-rater agreement study.

Background: Limited research exists regarding the impact of neuroimaging on endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) decisions for late-window cases of large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke.

Objective: T0 assess whether perfusion CT imaging: (1) alters the proportion of recommendations for EVT, and (2) enhances the reliability of EVT decision-making compared with non-contrast CT and CT angiography.

Methods: We conducted a survey using 30 patients drawn from an institutional database of 3144 acute stroke cases.

Perfusion vs non-perfusion computed tomography imaging in the late window of emergent large vessel ischemic stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Guidelines recommend the treatment of emergent large vessel ischemic stroke (ELVIS) patients presenting beyond 6 hours of last known well time with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) based on perfusion computed tomography (CT) neuroimaging. We compared the outcomes (long-term good clinical outcomes, symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH), and mortality) of ELVIS patients according to the type of CT neuroimaging they underwent.

Methods: We searched the following databases: Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, and Scopus from January 1, 2015, to June 14, 2023.

Measuring the burden of cystic fibrosis: A scoping review.

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) contributes a significant economic burden on individuals, healthcare systems, and society. Understanding the economic impact of CF is crucial for planning resource allocation.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review of literature published between 1990 and 2022 that reported the cost of illness, and/or economic burden of CF.

Referred otalgia: Common causes and evidence-based strategies for assessment and management.

Objective: To provide family physicians and general otolaryngologists with a practical, evidence-based, and comprehensive approach to the management of patients presenting with suspected referred otalgia.

Sources Of Information: The approach described is a review based on the authors' clinical practices along with research and clinical review articles published between 2000 and 2020. MEDLINE and PubMed were searched using the terms , , and .

Adjuvant Systemic Therapies for Resected Stages III and IV Melanoma: A Multi-Center Retrospective Clinical Study.

Background: Adjuvant therapies have been approved for resected melanoma based on improved recurrence-free survival. We present early findings from a real-world study on adjuvant treatments for melanoma.

Methods: A comprehensive chart review was conducted for patients receiving adjuvant systemic therapy for resected high-risk stages III and IV melanoma.

International medical graduates' experiences with caring for cross-cultural patient populations: Qualitative study in Alberta.

Objective: To explore experiences of international medical graduate (IMG) FPs in providing cross-cultural patient care and to identify rewards and challenges they experienced when caring for patients of cultural backgrounds different from their own.

Design: Descriptive qualitative study.

Setting: Family medicine primary care practices in Alberta.

Potential molecular and cellular mechanisms for adverse placental outcomes in pregnancies complicated by SARS-CoV-2 infection-A scoping review.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy can result in placental damage and poor placental outcomes. However, the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to placental damage are not well understood. With a rapid expansion of literature on this topic, it is critical to assess the quality and synthesize the current state of literature.

Primary care service use during adolescence and young adulthood: Tertiary care cohort affected by chronic health conditions.

Objective: To understand use of family physician services and emergency department visits by adolescents and young adults with chronic health conditions.

Design: Longitudinal retrospective observational cohort study using administrative health data.

Setting: Chronic care clinics at a tertiary care pediatric hospital in Calgary, Alta.

Where do rural family medicine residents in Canada train?

Objective: To report on contextual variance in the distributed rural family medicine residency programs of 3 Canadian medical schools.

Design: A constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed.

Setting: Rural and remote postgraduate family medicine programs at the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Calgary.

Stroke imaging prior to thrombectomy in the late window: results from a pooled multicentre analysis.

Background And Purpose: Collateral assessment using CT angiography is a promising modality for selecting patients for endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) in the late window (6-24 hours). The outcome of these patients compared with those selected using perfusion imaging is not clear.

Methods: We pooled data from seven trials and registries of EVT-treated patients in the late-time window.

Differences in Gaze Fixation Location and Duration Between Resident and Fellowship Sonographers Interpreting a Focused Assessment With Sonography in Trauma.

Objectives: We quantified the gaze fixation duration of resident and fellowship sonographers interpreting a prerecorded focused assessment with sonography in trauma (FAST). We hypothesized that all sonographers would fixate on each relevant anatomic relationship but that the duration of fixation would differ.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study collecting and analyzing the gaze fixations of a convenience sample of current resident and fellowship sonographers.

Update on the adverse effects of antimicrobial therapies in community practice.

Objective: To gather information about antibiotic side effects to be used as a reference and learning resource for prescribing physicians.

Quality Of Evidence: A search of websites of various independent national agencies and recent review articles was performed. A summary table of adverse effects for each group of antimicrobials was then created, identifying allergies, short-term harms, and serious harms.

Vaccine strategies for prevention of community-acquired pneumonia in Canada: Who would benefit most from pneumococcal immunization?

Objective: To describe the burden of pneumococcal disease and associated risk factors in the Canadian adult population, delineate available pneumococcal vaccines and associated efficacy and effectiveness data, and review current pneumococcal vaccine recommendations and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) prevention strategies in Canada.

Quality Of Evidence: Pneumococcal vaccination guidelines from the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunization in 2013 and 2016 constitute level III evidence for CAP prevention in the Canadian adult population.

Main Message: It is recommended that immunosuppressed adults of all ages receive the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) (grades A and B recommendations).

A paediatric perspective on hormonal contraception and breast cancer risk: New literature about a recurring question.

recently featured an original research article, 'Contemporary Hormonal Contraception and the Risk of Breast Cancer'. (). This study of 1.

Medical Information Commons to Support Learning Healthcare Systems: Examples From Canada.

We explore how principles predicting the success of a medical information commons (MIC) advantaged or disadvantaged three MIC initiatives in three Canadian provinces. Our MIC case examples demonstrate that practices and policies to promote access to and use of health information can help improve individual healthcare and inform a learning health system. MICs were constrained by heterogenous health information protection laws across jurisdictions and risk-averse institutional cultures.

Antidepressant and antipsychotic prescribing in primary care for people with dementia.

Objective: To use data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) to evaluate the prevalence of antidepressant and antipsychotic prescriptions among patients with no previous depression or psychosis diagnoses, and to identify the factors associated with the use of these drugs in this population.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using data derived from CPCSSN.

Setting: Primary care practices associated with CPCSSN.