A systematic review to identify and assess the effectiveness of alternatives for people over the age of 65 who are at risk of potentially avoidable hospital admission.

Background/objectives: There are some older patients who are 'at the decision margin' of admission. This systematic review sought to explore this issue with the following objective: what admission alternatives are there for older patients and are they safe, effective and cost-effective? A secondary objective was to identify the characteristics of those older patients for whom the decision to admit to hospital may be unclear.

Design: Systematic review of controlled studies (April 2005-December 2016) with searches in Medline, Embase, Cinahl and CENTRAL databases.

Aligning the planets: The role of nurses in the care of patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction.

Background: Studies have shown variation in care for patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), including in the roles of specialist and advanced practice nurses in diagnosis, treatment and coordination of care.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the roles and responsibilities of specialist and advanced practice nurses in providing care for patients with NSTEMI.

Methods: Secondary analysis of observational field notes and interviews from an ethnographic study of variation in care for NSTEMI patients in 10 UK hospitals conducted 2011-2012.

Autonomic Dysfunction in Early Parkinson's Disease: Results from the United Kingdom Tracking Parkinson's Study.

Background: Autonomic dysfunction is common in the later stages of Parkinson's disease (PD), but less is known about its presence and severity in early disease.

Objective: To analyze features of autonomic dysfunction in recent onset PD cases, and their relationship to motor severity, medication use, other nonmotor symptoms (NMS), and quality-of-life scores.

Methods: Detailed patient-reported symptoms of autonomic dysfunction were assessed in a multicenter cohort study in PD cases that had been diagnosed within the preceding 3.

Spinal Manipulation Vs Sham Manipulation for Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and critically evaluate randomized controlled trials of spinal manipulation (SM) vs sham manipulation in the treatment of nonspecific low back pain.

Methods: Four electronic databases were searched from their inception to March 2015 to identify all relevant trials. Reference lists of retrieved articles were hand-searched.

Why do patients with 'primary care sensitive' problems access ambulance services? A systematic mapping review of the literature.

Objective: Emergency ambulance use for problems that could be managed in primary care continues to rise owing to complex reasons that are poorly understood. The objective of this systematic review is to draw together published evidence across a variety of study methodologies and settings to gain a better understanding of why patients seek help from ambulance services for these problems.

Design: Systematic searches were undertaken across the MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Health Management Information Consortium and Health Management Information Service publication databases.

Perinatal depression and omega-3 fatty acids: a Mendelian randomisation study.

Background: There have been numerous studies investigating the association between omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) and depression, with mixed findings. We propose an approach which is largely free from issues such as confounding or reverse causality, to investigate this relationship using observational data from a pregnancy cohort.

Methods: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort collected information on FA levels from antenatal blood samples and depressive symptoms at several time points during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

Predicting and preventing avoidable hospital admissions: a review.

The strongest risk factors for avoidable hospital admission are age and deprivation but ethnicity, distance to hospital, rurality, lifestyle and meteorological factors are also important, as well as access to primary care. There is still considerable uncertainty around which admissions are avoidable. In terms of services to reduce admissions there is evidence of effectiveness for education, self-management, exercise and rehabilitation, and telemedicine in certain patient populations, mainly respiratory and cardiovascular.

Intrauterine effects of maternal prepregnancy overweight on child cognition and behavior in 2 cohorts.

Objective: Greater maternal prepregnancy adiposity has been associated with behavioral problems, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and lower intellectual function in offspring. However, few studies of humans have explored this, and it is unclear if intrauterine mechanisms or confounding factors drive these associations.

Patients And Methods: Parental adiposity and offspring verbal skills, nonverbal skills, and behavioral problems were assessed in the British Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = ∼5000) and Dutch Generation R (N = ∼2500) cohorts.