Dwelling proximity to wildfire and spina bifida risk in offspring.

Objective: To evaluate the association between wildfire exposure in pregnancy and spina bifida risk.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Linked Birth File with hospital discharge data between 2007 and 2010. The Birth File data were merged with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection data of the same year.

Who needs a tourniquet? And who does not? Lessons learned from a review of tourniquet use in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Background: Extremity tourniquets have proven to be lifesaving in both civilian and military settings and should continue to be used by first responders for trauma patients with life-threatening extremity bleeding. This is especially true in combat scenarios in which both the casualty and the first responder may be confronted by the imminent threat of death from hostile fire as the extremity hemorrhage is being treated. Not every extremity wound, however, needs a tourniquet.

Partnering with Local Schools of Traditional Chinese Medicine to Provide Accessible Acupuncture Services for Pain Management in a Group of Low-Income Hispanics/Latinos.

This field report describes the accessibility and perceived effectiveness of a free acupuncture program among a group of predominantly low-income Hispanic/Latino adults. Surveys, developed based on the Levesque Conceptual Framework of Access to Health Care, were administered to clients. Baseline ( = 245) and 6-week follow-up ( = 79) surveys were analyzed to document early program findings.

Disparities in the Prevalence of Psychiatric Illness in Hawaii's Houseless Population: A Retrospective Chart Review.

In the State of Hawaii, previous research has suggested that minority groups such as Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders are disproportionately affected by mental health disorders and have less access to mental health services. The purpose of this study was to determine if similar disparities in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among different ethnic groups are also present among Hawaii's houseless population. A retrospective chart review of records from one of Oahu's major houseless outreach clinics was performed to gather patient demographics and reported histories of psychiatric diagnoses.

Progesterone therapy for prevention of recurrent spontaneous preterm birth in a minority patient population: a retrospective study.

Background: Preterm birth is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The burden of prematurity underscores the need for effective risk reduction strategies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of progesterone therapy, both intramuscular 17-α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (IM 17-OHPC) and vaginal progesterone, in the prevention of recurrent spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB).

Cardiac Arrest After Adenosine Administration in Compensatory Tachycardia: A Case Report.

Compensatory tachycardia, an increased heart rate responding to stressors, requires careful consideration in treatment. This case report outlines a scenario where emergency medical services (EMS) misinterpreted a patient's electrocardiogram (EKG) as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) and administered adenosine, resulting in sudden cardiac arrest. Despite the rarity of deaths post-adenosine, this case highlights the potential risks of its use in inappropriate clinical scenarios.

A Novel Discriminating Tool for Microcytic Anemia in Childhood.

Accurate and timely interpretation of microcytic anemia can be diagnostically challenging in the primary care setting. We sought to develop a novel model for distinguishing iron-deficiency anemia from thalassemia trait in the modern pediatric population. Demographic history and red blood cell indices were retrospectively characterized for 76 children referred to our pediatric hematology clinic for evaluation of microcytic anemia.

Pseudocirrhosis: A Case Series with Clinical and Radiographic Correlation and Review of the Literature.

Background And Aims: Pseudocirrhosis is a poorly understood acquired morphologic change of the liver that occurs in the setting of metastatic malignancy and radiographically resembles cirrhosis. Pseudocirrhosis has been primarily described in metastatic breast carcinoma, with few case reports arising from other primary malignancies. We present 29 cases of pseudocirrhosis, including several cases from primary malignancies not previously described.

Review of pediatric emergency care and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic posed new challenges in health care delivery for patients of all ages. These included inadequate personal protective equipment, workforce shortages, and unknowns related to a novel virus. Children have been uniquely impacted by COVID-19, both from the system of care and socially.

Gaps in plastic surgery training: A comparative literature review of assessment tools in plastic surgery and general surgery.

Assessment tools for grading technical and nontechnical skills, such as operative technique and professionalism, are well established in general surgery. Less is known regarding the application of these tools in plastic surgery training. This study is a comparative review of the most prevalent assessment tools and rubrics utilized in general and plastic surgery.

Exercise as Medicine in Cardio-Oncology: Reducing Health Disparities in Hispanic and Latina Breast Cancer Survivors.

Purpose Of Review: This review aims to access the current state of the evidence in exercise as medicine for cardio-oncology in Hispanic and Latina breast cancer survivors and to provide our preliminary data on the effects of supervised aerobic and resistance training on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in this population.

Recent Findings: Breast cancer survivors have a higher risk of CVD; particularly Hispanic and Latina breast cancer survivors have a higher burden than their White counterparts. Exercise has been shown to reduce CVD risk in breast cancer survivors; however, evidence in Hispanic and Latina breast cancer survivors is scarce.

Artificial intelligence quantifying endoscopic severity of ulcerative colitis in gradation scale.

Objectives: Existing endoscopic scores for ulcerative colitis (UC) objectively categorize disease severity based on the presence or absence of endoscopic findings; therefore, it may not reflect the range of clinical severity within each category. However, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) expert endoscopists categorize the severity and diagnose the overall impression of the degree of inflammation. This study aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can accurately represent the assessment of the endoscopic severity of UC by IBD expert endoscopists.

Emergency department thoracotomy in children: A Pediatric Trauma Society, Western Trauma Association, and Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma systematic review and practice management guideline.

Background: The role of emergency department resuscitative thoracotomy (EDT) in traumatically injured children has not been elucidated. We aimed to perform a systematic review and create evidence-based guidelines to answer the following PICO (population, intervention, comparator, and outcome) question: should pediatric patients who present to the emergency department pulseless (with or without signs of life [SOL]) after traumatic injuries (penetrating thoracic, penetrating abdominopelvic, or blunt) undergo EDT (vs. no EDT) to improve survival and neurologically intact survival?

Methods: Using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology, a group of 12 pediatric trauma experts from the Pediatric Trauma Society, Western Trauma Association, and Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma assembled to perform a systematic review.

Development of a clinical questionnaire to support contraception decisions in an adolescent reproductive health clinic in Colorado.

Context: Adolescents need support to make informed decisions about contraception. Few clinical questionnaires exist to help adolescents and their healthcare providers align contraception decisions with patient needs and preferences.

Methods: Our mixed-methods study involved a convenience sample of English-speaking, female patients aged 13-19 seeking contraception services at an adolescent reproductive health clinic in Colorado, USA.

Twenty-first century management of diabetes with shared telemedicine appointments.

This commentary article discusses the benefits of utilizing telemedicine to conduct shared medical appointments for people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. We conducted a literature review of articles about shared medical appointments or group medical visits in people with diabetes with associated clinical data. We identified 43 articles.

Preventing Teen Pregnancy: A Qualitative Study of the Perspectives of Parenting and Expecting Latino Adolescents.

Study Objective: Latino youths in the United States experience disproportionately high rates of teen pregnancy. The aim of this study was to obtain expecting and parenting Latino adolescents' perspectives regarding factors contributing to teen pregnancy and pregnancy prevention.

Methods: Expecting/parenting Latino adolescents were recruited from high schools with high proportions of Latino youths and teen pregnancy.

Peak Quadriceps Muscle Torque and Electromyographic Output in Patients With Chronic Respiratory Disorders: Effects of Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Objective: To assess the change in relation of the peak quadriceps electromyographic signal to the peak torque produced during a train of 5 isokinetic knee extensions (from 90 degrees below horizontal at a constant speed of 60 degrees/s) at baseline, and at 4 and 8 weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation.

Design: In this prospective observational study, isokinetic contractions were recorded during the extensions from the knee bent at 90 degrees to the horizontal plane against graded resistance. Peak quadriceps torque signal (Tq) and peak electromyographic signal (Eq) were recorded by dynamometry and surface electrodes placed at designated locations over the muscle group, respectively.

Arterial Access Complications Following Percutaneous Femoral Access in 24-Hour Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta Survivors.

Introduction: With the use of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) comes the potential for vascular access site complications (VASCs) and limb ischemic sequelae. We aimed to determine the prevalence of VASC and associated clinical and technical factors.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of 24-h survivors undergoing percutaneous REBOA via the femoral artery in the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Aortic Occlusion for Resuscitation in Trauma and Acute care surgery registry between Oct 2013 and Sep 2021 was performed.

Attitudes and beliefs towards COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination among rheumatology patients in a Los Angeles County safety net clinic.

Background: The novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has represented an evolving global threat with high morbidity and mortality. Patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases and on immune-suppressing medications may be at increased risk to more severe disease, hospitalization, and death. Vaccines are essential to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and curb the spread of infection.