Cost-effectiveness of pegfilgrastim versus filgrastim for prevention of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia in patients with lymphoma: a systematic review.

Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a prevalent and potentially life-threatening complication in patients with lymphoma receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Pegfilgrastim is more effective than filgrastim as prophylaxis for FN. However, its usage has been limited because of its higher cost.

Association of COVID-19 Vaccination With Breakthrough Infections and Complications in Patients With Cancer.

Importance: Patients with cancer are known to have increased risk of COVID-19 complications, including death.

Objective: To determine the association of COVID-19 vaccination with breakthrough infections and complications in patients with cancer compared to noncancer controls.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective population-based cohort study using linked administrative databases in Ontario, Canada, in residents 18 years and older who received COVID-19 vaccination.

Quality of End-of-Life Care in Gastrointestinal Cancers: A 13-Year Population-Based Retrospective Analysis in Ontario, Canada.

Population-based quality indicators of either aggressive or supportive care at end of life (EOL), especially when specific to a cancer type, help to inform quality improvement efforts. This is a population-based, retrospective cohort study of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer decedents in Ontario from 1 January 2006-31 December 2018, using administrative data. Quality indices included hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) use, intensive care unit admissions, receipt of chemotherapy, physician house call, and palliative home care in the last 14-30 days of life.

Complications From Postmastectomy Radiation Therapy in Patients Undergoing Immediate Breast Reconstruction: A Population-Based Study.

Purpose: Previous studies have shown an increase in the number of women electing for immediate breast reconstruction at the time of mastectomy. Although often not known at the time, some of these women will require postoperative radiation therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate if exposure to radiation therapy after mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction is associated with an increased risk of further surgery to manage complications arising from radiation.

Association of prescribed oral stimulants on cocaine use among patients enrolled in opioid agonist treatment: A retrospective longitudinal cohort study.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to measure the association of prescribed oral stimulants with the consumption of cocaine among a population of patients receiving Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT).

Methods: The study was a retrospective clinical cohort study using the medical records of all patients receiving OAT who attended treatment clinics within the Canadian Addiction Treatment Centers (CATC) in Ontario from April 2014 to February 2021. Linear mixed-effects models were fit for the exposure of prescribed oral stimulants, and the outcome of a positive urinalysis drug screen for cocaine.

Health literacy in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care: a narrative review and future directions.

Respiratory self-care places considerable demands on patients with chronic airways disease (AD), as they must obtain, understand and apply information required to follow their complex treatment plans. If clinical and lifestyle information overwhelms patients' HL capacities, it reduces their ability to self-manage. This review outlines important societal, individual, and healthcare system factors that influence disease management and outcomes among patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-the two most common ADs.

Imputing missing laboratory results may return erroneous values because they are not missing at random.

Background And Objectives: Regression models incorporating laboratory tests treat unordered tests as missing and are often imputed. Imputation typically assumes that data are "missing at random" (MAR, test's order status is unrelated to its result after accounting for other variables). This study examined the validity of this assumption.

Validation of a classification to identify emergency department visits suitable for subacute and virtual care models: a randomised single-blinded agreement study protocol.

Introduction: Redirecting suitable patients from the emergency department (ED) to alternative subacute settings may assist in reducing ED overcrowding while delivering equivalent care. The Emergency Department Avoidance Classification (EDAC) was constructed to retrospectively classify ED visits that may have been suitable for safe management in a subacute or virtual clinical setting. The EDAC has established face and content validity but has not been tested against a reference standard as a criterion.

Peer support and online cognitive behavioural therapy for substance use concerns: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Hazardous alcohol and drug use is associated with substantial morbidity, mortality and societal cost worldwide. Yet, only a minority of those struggling with substance use concerns receive specialised services. Numerous barriers to care exist, highlighting the need for scalable and engaging treatment alternatives.

Changes over time in patient visits and continuity of care among graduating cohorts of family physicians in 4 Canadian provinces.

Background: Lack of patient access to family physicians in Canada is a concern. The role of recent physician graduates in this problem of supply of primary care services has not been established. We sought to establish whether career stage or graduation cohort were related to family physician practice volume and continuity of care over time.

Health Care Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for the Cardiovascular Practitioner.

There has been substantial excess morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic, not all of which was directly attributable to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and many non-COVID-19 deaths were cardiovascular. The indirect effects of the pandemic have been profound, resulting in a substantial increase in the burden of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors, both in individuals who survived SARS-CoV-2 infection and in people never infected. In this report, we review the direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on cardiovascular and cardiometabolic disease burden in COVID-19 survivors as well as the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the cardiovascular health of people who were never infected with SARS-CoV-2.

COVID Vaccine Hesitancy and Risk of a Traffic Crash.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID) vaccine hesitancy is a reflection of psychology that might also contribute to traffic safety. We tested whether COVID vaccination was associated with the risks of a traffic crash.

Methods: We conducted a population-based longitudinal cohort analysis of adults and determined COVID vaccination status through linkages to individual electronic medical records.

Opioid use for a first-incident upper extremity fracture in 220,440 patients without recent prior use in Ontario, Canada: a retrospective cohort study.

Unlabelled: To describe opioid use for a first upper extremity fracture in a cohort of patients who did not have recent opioid use.

Design: Descriptive epidemiological study.

Setting: Emergency Department, Hospital.

The Effect of Specialized Palliative Care on End-of-Life Care Intensity in AYAs with Cancer.

Context: Many adolescents and young adults (AYAs; 15-39 years) with cancer receive high intensity (HI) care at the end of life (EOL). Palliative care (PC) involvement in this population is associated with lower risk of HI-EOL care. Whether this association differs by specialized vs.

Association of Concomitant Gestational Hypertensive Disorders and Gestational Diabetes With Cardiovascular Disease.

Importance: Accruing evidence suggests that gestational hypertensive disorders (GHTD) and gestational diabetes (GD) are each associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the extent to which the co-occurrence of GHTD and GD is associated with the risk of CVD remains largely unknown.

Objective: To estimate the individual and joint associations of GHTD and GD with incident CVD.

Utilization and impact of cardiovascular magnetic resonance on patient management in heart failure: insights from the SCMR Registry.

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is an important diagnostic test used in the evaluation of patients with heart failure (HF). However, the demographics and clinical characteristics of those undergoing CMR for evaluation of HF are unknown. Further, the impact of CMR on subsequent HF patient care is unclear.

Assessment of the quality and content of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for vitamin D and for immigrants using the AGREE-II instrument: a protocol for systematic review.

Introduction: Worldwide, more immigrants experience vitamin D (vitD) deficiency than non-immigrants, which is attributed to ethnic variations, place or region of birth, skin pigmentation, clothing style, and resettlement-related changes in diet, physical activity, and sun exposure. Current recommendations in clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) concerning vitD are inadequate to address vitD deficiency among immigrants. CPGs may also lack guidance for physicians on vitD supplementation for immigrants.

Analysis of Electrolyte Abnormalities in Adolescents and Adults and Subsequent Diagnosis of an Eating Disorder.

Importance: Eating disorders lead to increased mortality and reduced quality of life. While the acute presentations of eating disorders frequently involve electrolyte abnormalities, it remains unknown whether electrolyte abnormalities may precede the future diagnosis of an eating disorder.

Objective: To determine whether outpatient electrolyte abnormalities are associated with the future diagnosis of an eating disorder.

Trial of an Intervention to Improve Acute Heart Failure Outcomes.

Background: Patients with acute heart failure are frequently or systematically hospitalized, often because the risk of adverse events is uncertain and the options for rapid follow-up are inadequate. Whether the use of a strategy to support clinicians in making decisions about discharging or admitting patients, coupled with rapid follow-up in an outpatient clinic, would affect outcomes remains uncertain.

Methods: In a stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial conducted in Ontario, Canada, we randomly assigned 10 hospitals to staggered start dates for one-way crossover from the control phase (usual care) to the intervention phase, which involved the use of a point-of-care algorithm to stratify patients with acute heart failure according to the risk of death.

Primary Preventive Care of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Survivors: Time to Educate and Empower Recipients and Providers.

Increasing use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) and improvements in recipient outcomes have led to a steady increase in the number of allogeneic HCT survivors. In addition to complications specific to the transplantation process, HCT recipients are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and subsequent neoplasm (SN). Strict surveillance of risk factors for CVD and cancer in the general population is recommended as an essential component of long-term follow-up (LTFU) care of HCT survivors, but implementation of this has been suboptimal.