Evidence for long-term efficacy of a membrane filtration device in rural villages in Ghana.

Drinking water contaminated by pathogenic micro-organisms increases the risk of infectious gastrointestinal disease which could potentially lead to acute kidney injury and even death, particularly amongst the young and the elderly. Earlier studies have shown a substantial reduction in the incidence of diarrheal disease over a period of one year using a polysulfone membrane water gravity-powered water filtration device. The current report is a continuation of these studies to assess the long-term effects of the innovative method on diarrheal incidence rates over a 4-year follow-up period.

Examining the disaster medicine curriculum in Canadian Emergency Medicine enhanced skills programs.

Objectives: Disaster medicine teaching is an important, and understudied, component of EM residency training programs. Little is known about disaster medicine training in Canadian EM programs, particularly within the 1-year EM enhanced skills programs. The purpose of this study is to (1) understand which disaster medicine topics are currently taught in EM enhanced skills programs and (2) establish a list of the highest priority disaster medicine teaching topics for those programs.

Paramedic Interventions and Adverse Patient Events during Prolonged Interfacility Ground Transport in a "Drip and Ship" Pharmacoinvasive Model of STEMI Care.

Objective: Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the preferred reperfusion strategy for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, when primary PCI is not available in a timely fashion, fibrinolysis and early transfer for routine PCI is recommended. Prince Edward Island (PEI) is the only province in Canada without a PCI facility, and distances to the nearest PCI-capable facilities are between 290 and 374 kilometers.

A Randomized Comparison of Clothing Removal Techniques in a Simulated Trauma Patient Exposure.

Introduction Trauma shears are commonly used by emergency medical services (EMS) providers to remove clothing from patients and expose underlying traumatic injuries. Other tools exist that may be more effective, but they are largely untested. This study compared the use of trauma shears versus two cutting hooks in removing clothing from a simulated trauma patient.

What Adult Electrocardiogram (ECG) Diagnoses or Findings are Most Important for Advanced Care Paramedics to Know?

Introduction: The interpretation of electrocardiograms (ECGs) is an essential competency in modern paramedicine. Although educational guidelines for paramedic ECG interpretation exist, they are broad, not evidence-based, and lack prioritization in a prehospital clinical context. We conducted this study to gain consensus among stakeholders (EMS physicians, paramedic educators, and paramedic clinicians) regarding which ECG diagnoses or findings are most important for a practising advanced care paramedic to know.

The Impact of Transitions, a Mental Health Literacy Intervention With Embedded Life Skills for Postsecondary Students: Preliminary Findings From a Naturalistic Cohort Study.

Objective: Mental illness is a common medical condition to onset during adolescence. Young people who leave for postsecondary life are at an especially challenging period of lifetime when many will leave home and familiar environments for prolonged periods of time. These new circumstances may put young people at risk of developing mental health problems or disorders or exacerbate existing mental disorders.

Cut and rip and cut alone techniques versus usual practice in the removal of trauma patient clothing.

Unlabelled: IntroductionRapid exposure of a trauma patient is an essential component of the primary survey. No gold standard exists regarding the best technique to remove clothing from a trauma patient. The purpose of this study is to compare two techniques of clothing removal versus usual practice using standard trauma shears.

Assessing Antioxidant Capacity in Brain Tissue: Methodologies and Limitations in Neuroprotective Strategies.

The number of putative neuroprotective compounds with antioxidant activity described in the literature continues to grow. Although these compounds are validated using a variety of in vivo and in vitro techniques, they are often evaluated initially using in vitro cell culture techniques in order to establish toxicity and effective concentrations. Both in vivo and in vitro methodologies have their respective advantages and disadvantages, including, but not limited to, cost, time, use of resources and technical limitations.

A province-wide school nutrition policy and food consumption in elementary school children in Prince Edward Island.

Objective: Although the majority of Canadian provinces have indicated that they have adopted new school nutrition policies, there have been few if any systematic evaluations of these policies. In Prince Edward Island, a nutrition policy for elementary schools was adopted province-wide in 2006. In the present study, we assessed the nutritional benefits of the new policy by examining changes in student food consumption prior to and one year following implementation of the policy.

Population estimates of Thiobacillus thioparus in composting biofilters by PCR analysis.

A direct most-probable-number polymerase chain reaction method (MPN-PCR) was used to monitor populations of Thiobacillus thioparus in compost biofilters used to treat air contaminated with dymethyl disulphide and ammonia. The PCR method quantified this bacterium at numbers ranging from log 2 to log 8 cells per gram of biofilter media.