Estimating potential palliative care needs for residential aged care: A population-based retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Population-based data on the required needs for palliative care in residential aged care have been highlighted as a key information gap. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive estimate of palliative care needs among Australia's residential aged care population using a validated algorithm based on causes of death.

Methods: A population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the Registry of Senior Australians of non-Indigenous residents of residential aged care services in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia aged older than 65 years, who died between 2016 and 2017 (n = 71,677).

Calculating the social impact of home automation for people with disability: A social return on investment study.

Introduction: Home automation can deliver important outcomes for people with disabilities, including enhanced independence. Despite the millions of dollars spent on home automation in Australia and other developed nations, to date, there has been no economic evaluation of this type of assistive technology.

Method: A social return on investment analysis of home automation study was undertaken.

SOMANZ position statement for the investigation and management of sepsis in pregnancy 2023.

Background: The Society of Australia and New Zealand (SOMANZ) published its first sepsis in pregnancy and the postpartum period guideline in 2017 (Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol, 57, 2017, 540). In the intervening 6 years, maternal mortality from sepsis has remained static.

Aims: To update clinical practice with a review of the subsequent literature.

The impact of gastroesophageal reflux disease and its treatment on interstitial lung disease outcomes.

Background: To determine the relationship between gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and its treatment and interstitial lung disease in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: SSc patients from the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study (ASCS) were included. GORD was defined as self-reported GORD symptoms, therapy with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or histamine 2 receptor antagonist (H2RA) and/or the presence of reflux oesophagitis diagnosed endoscopically.

Patient Experiences of Patient-Clinician Communication Among Cancer Multidisciplinary Healthcare Professionals During "Breaking Bad News": A Qualitative Systematic Review.

Purpose: To explore patient experiences of patient-clinician communication during the critical moments of "breaking bad news" in cancer care.

Methods: A qualitative systematic review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and has been reported according to PRISMA guidelines. Databases, including APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and Scopus, were searched from the beginning of their date range coverage to April 2023.

Meeting medical emergency response criteria for hypertension is not associated with an increased likelihood of in-hospital mortality in a tertiary referral center.

Backgrounds: Rapid response team or medical emergency team (MET) calls are typically activated by significant alterations of vital signs in inpatients. However, the clinical significance of a specific criterion, blood pressure elevations, is uncertain.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the likelihood ratios associated with MET-activating vital signs, particularly in-patient hypertension, for predicting in-hospital mortality among general medicine inpatients who met MET criteria at any point during admission in a South Australian metropolitan teaching hospital.

One and the same or different? An empirical comparison of aged care recipient and non-aged care recipient preferences for quality of aged care amongst older Australians.

The Quality of Care Experience Aged Care Consumers (QCE-ACC) is a new preference-based instrument recently adopted by the Australian government nationally as a new quality indicator for aged care. This study employed a discrete choice experiment (DCE) approach to develop an aged care user-specific value set for the QCE-ACC instrument. This is crucial for establishing the relative importance of key QCE-ACC dimensions for informing quality assessment and economic evaluation in aged care.

Effect of brewer's yeast or beta-glucan on breast milk supply following preterm birth: the BLOOM study - protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Many individuals who experience preterm birth struggle with early breast milk supply, which can translate into suboptimal longer-term breastfeeding outcomes. Further investigations into the potential role of early non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions in improving breast milk production soon after birth is growing. While natural galactagogues, such as brewer's yeast, are widely perceived by women to be safer than pharmaceutical galactagogues and are taken by many women, evidence to support their efficacy is largely absent.

Peritoneal dialysis versus haemodialysis for people commencing dialysis.

Background: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) and haemodialysis (HD) are two possible modalities for people with kidney failure commencing dialysis. Only a few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have evaluated PD versus HD. The benefits and harms of the two modalities remain uncertain.

External Quality Assessment (EQA) for SARS-CoV-2 RNA Point-of-Care Testing in Primary Healthcare Services: Analytical Performance over Seven EQA Cycles.

In April 2020, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander COVID-19 Point-of-Care (POC) Testing Program was initiated to improve access to rapid molecular-based SARS-CoV-2 detection in First Nations communities. At capacity, the program reached 105 health services across Australia. An external review estimated the program contributed to averting between 23,000 and 122,000 COVID-19 infections within 40 days of the first infection in a remote community, equating to cost savings of between AU$337 million and AU$1.

Childhood Cancer Incidence and Survival in South Australia and the Northern Territory, 1990-2017, with Emphasis on Indigenous Peoples.

Background & Aims: Reports of a rise in childhood cancer incidence in Australia and globally prompted the investigation of cancer incidence and survival in South Australia (SA) and the Northern Territory (NT) over a 28-year period, with emphasis on Indigenous peoples.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis of two prospective longitudinal databases, the SA and NT Cancer Registries (1990-2017), included all reported cases of childhood cancers. Poisson regression provided estimates of incidence rate ratios and survival was modelled using Cox proportional hazard models for children aged <5 and ≥5 years.

Restricting Colorectal Cancer Cell Metabolism with Metformin: An Integrated Transcriptomics Study.

Background: Metformin is a first-line therapy for type 2 diabetes as it disrupts cellular metabolism. Despite the association between metformin and lower cancer incidence, the anti-tumour activity of the drug in colorectal cancer (CRC) is incompletely understood. This study identifies underlying molecular mechanisms by which metformin slows colorectal cancer cell proliferation by investigating metformin-associated microRNA (miRNA) and target gene pairs implicated in signalling pathways.

Exploring the Health-Related Quality of Life and the Lived Experience of Adolescents Following Invasive Meningococcal Disease.

Background: Data on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) survivors, particularly among adolescents and young adults (AYAs), are limited. This study aimed to investigate the in-depth experiences and impacts of IMD on AYAs.

Methods: Participants were recruited from two Australian states, Victoria and South Australia.

Reconceptualizing mental health in cancer survivorship.

Mental health for cancer survivors in both research and clinical applications has strongly adopted a traditional nosological approach, involving the classification of psychopathology into discrete disorders. However, this approach has recently faced considerable criticism due to issues such as high comorbidity and within-disorder symptom heterogeneity across populations. Moreover, there are additional specific issues impacting the validity of traditional approaches in cancer survivorship populations, including the physiological effects of cancer and its treatments.

Ischemia-modified albumin in rheumatic diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: The identification of novel, easily measurable disease biomarkers might enhance the diagnosis and management of patients with rheumatic diseases (RDs). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA), a marker of oxidative stress, acidosis, and ischemia, in RD patients and healthy controls.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus from inception to January 15, 2024.

SCANPatient: study protocol for a multi-centre, batched, stepped wedge, comparative effectiveness, randomised clinical trial of synoptic reporting of computerised tomography (CT) scans assessing cancers of the pancreas.

Background: Complete surgical removal of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is central to all curative treatment approaches for this aggressive disease, yet this is only possible in patients technically amenable to resection. Hence, an accurate assessment of whether patients are suitable for surgery is of paramount importance. The SCANPatient trial aims to test whether implementing a structured synoptic radiological report results in increased institutional accuracy in defining surgical resectability of non-metastatic PDAC.

Marginal zone lymphomas: a consensus practice statement from the Australasian Lymphoma Alliance.

Marginal zone lymphomas (MZLs) are a rare, indolent group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas with different diagnostic, genetic and clinical features and therapeutic implications. The most common is extranodal MZL of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, followed by splenic MZL and nodal MZL. Patients with MZL generally have good outcomes with long survival rates but frequently have a relapsing/remitting course requiring several lines of therapy.

The Clinical Impact of Hospital-Acquired Adverse Drug Reactions in Older Adults: An Australian Cohort Study.

Introduction: Hospital-acquired adverse drug reactions (HA-ADRs) are common in older adults. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the association between HA-ADRs and adverse clinical outcomes.

Objective: To investigate the incidence and characteristics of HA-ADRs in older adults, and any association with mortality, length of stay, and readmissions.