Impact of COVID-19 on emergency medical services utilization and severity in the U.S. Upper Midwest.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over one million lives in the United States and has drastically changed how patients interact with the healthcare system. Emergency medical services (EMS) are essential for emergency response, disaster preparedness, and responding to everyday emergencies. We therefore examined differences in EMS utilization and call severity in 2020 compared to trends from 2015-2019 in a large, multi-state advanced life support EMS agency serving the U.

The Role of Chorionicity in Placenta-Related Disorders.

Introduction: Twin pregnancy is associated with higher rates of maternal morbidities including gestational diabetes and hypertension. Dichorionic twins are believed to have greater placental mass. Our objective was to study the incidence of two placenta-related disorders: gestational diabetes and hypertension, in dichorionic versus monochorionic twin pregnancies.

Stem Cells in the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury: A Review of Currently Registered Clinical Trials.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects around 18,000 individuals annually, representing nearly one-third of all paralysis cases. Stem cell therapy, a focal point in contemporary neuroregeneration research for SCI treatment, holds potential in leveraging undifferentiated stem cells to regenerate damaged tissues. This study seeks to comprehensively analyze current clinical trials exploring the potential use of stem cells in treating spinal cord injuries.

The Role of Individual Discrimination and Structural Stigma in the Mental Health of Sexual Minority Youth.

Objective: Sexual minority (SM) youth experience a greater mental health burden compared with their heterosexual peers. This study aimed to characterize mental health disparities among SM compared with non-SM youth, test main and interactive associations of SM identity and stressors targeting SM youth at the individual level (interpersonal SM discrimination) and structural level (state-level structural SM stigma) with youth mental health, and explore the contribution of interpersonal SM discrimination to the mental health burden of SM youth.

Method: Participants included 11,622 youth (ages 9-13; 47.

An Outbreak of Coxsackievirus B Type 2 Acute Meningoencephalitis in Children, Israel, July-September 2022.

During July-September 2022, 14 children suffering from meningoencephalitis tested positive for Coxsackievirus B2 (8 cerebrospinal fluid, 9 stool samples). Mean age 22 months (range 0-60 months); 8 were males. Seven of the children presented with ataxia and 2 had imaging features of rhombencephalitis, not previously described in association with Coxsackievirus B2.

Contribution of risk and resilience factors to anxiety trajectories during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the response of governments to mitigate the pandemic's spread, resulted in exceptional circumstances that comprised a major global stressor, with broad implications for mental health. We aimed to delineate anxiety trajectories over three time-points in the first 6 months of the pandemic and identify baseline risk and resilience factors that predicted anxiety trajectories. Within weeks of the pandemic onset, we established a website (covid19resilience.

Migraine treatment with external concurrent occipital and trigeminal neurostimulation-A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of concurrent non-invasive stimulation of occipital and trigeminal nerves in acute treatment of migraine with or without aura.

Background: Non-invasive neuromodulation devices stimulating a single peripheral nerve or anatomic distribution are routinely used by patients with migraine refractory to the first-line drugs or those who opt out of pharmaceutical treatment. Concurrent occipital and trigeminal stimulation was described in an invasive setting, and its safety cost outweighed its efficacy gain.

External Concurrent Occipital and Trigeminal Neurostimulation Relieves Migraine Headache: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Current external peripheral nerve stimulation devices stimulate only one nerve. This prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial assessed efficacy, safety, and tolerability of a novel external combined occipital and trigeminal neurostimulation (eCOT-NS) device as a self-administered home treatment for migraine (RelivionMG, Neurolief Ltd; Netanya, Israel).

Methods: Episodic and chronic migraine subjects (N = 55) were randomized to receive active (n = 27) or sham (n = 28) treatment.

The Association Between Race and Place of Death Among Persons With Dementia.

Context: Little is known about racial differences in place of death for persons with dementia (PWD), who may be especially vulnerable to receiving care at end of life that is not concordant with their goals or that places higher burden on caregivers.

Objectives: To determine if there are racial and ethnic differences in place of death among PWD.

Methods: We analyzed data from the nationally representative National Health and Aging Trends study.

Bone Health in Osteosarcoma at Presentation and Its Impact on Cancer Treatment: A Case Series of 3 Pediatric Patients.

Osteosarcoma is the most common pediatric malignant bone tumor. Concomitant osteoporosis has typically been attributed to oncologic therapy. The present case series is aimed to describe 3 patients who presented with osteoporosis or osteopenia before, or early in, their oncology treatment.

Antibody Titers Before and After a Third Dose of the SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 Vaccine in Adults Aged ≥60 Years.

This study assesses antispike (anti-S) IgG antibody titers before and after a third BNT162b2 dose (booster) in individuals aged 60 years and older in Israel.

Efficacy of coronary sinus Reducer in patients with refractory angina and diabetes mellitus.

Coronary sinus Reducer (CSR) implantation is currently recommended to relieve angina in patients with refractory symptoms despite optimal medical therapy and maximally achievable revascularization. The impact of diabetes mellitus on outcome after CSR implantation is at present unknown. We aimed to explore the impact of CSR in refractory angina patients with diabetes mellitus.

Antibiotic prescription policy for acute otitis media: do we follow the guidelines?

Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common cause for antibiotic prescription. Most guidelines endorse abstaining from immediate antibiotic treatment ('watchful waiting', WW) in mild-moderate episodes. We studied adherence rates to the latest AOM guidelines (2013), in terms of antibiotic type and prescription options.

Breast cancer incidence in BRCA mutation carriers with ovarian cancer: A longitudal observational study.

Objectives: We evaluated the incidence of breast cancer and overall survival in a multi-center cohort of ovarian cancer patients carrying BRCA1/2 mutations in order to assess risks and formulate optimal preventive interventions and/or surveillance.

Methods: Medical records of 502 BRCA1/2 mutation carriers diagnosed with ovarian cancer between 2000 and 2018 at 7 medical centers in Israel and one in New York were retrospectively analyzed for breast cancer diagnosis. Data included demographics, type of BRCA mutations, surveillance methods, timing of breast cancer diagnosis, and family history of cancer.

Pneumococcal Conjugated Vaccines Decreased Acute Otitis Media Burden: A Population-Based Study in Israel.

Objective: To study time trends in all-cause acute otitis media (AOM) burden by calculating incidence rates of AOM episodes and recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM) cases in highly immunized pediatric population during the pre- and post-pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV) years.

Study Design: In this population-based study, AOM episodes and rAOM cases were identified in Clalit Health Services-insured Israeli children aged 0-10 years between 2005 and 2018 by using a data-sharing platform. Because a near-sequential implementation of PCV-7/PCV-13 occurred within a 1-year period (2009/2010), we compared AOM visits before (2005-July 2009) and after (August 2009-2018) the introduction of PCVs.

Utility of preinduction tests as predictors of attrition in infantry recruits: a prospective study.

Introduction: Infantry recruit attrition wastes resources and can affect combat readiness. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of preinduction tests as a predictor of attrition among conscripts in the first year of infantry training.

Methods: 303 infantry conscripted recruits participated in a prospective study.

Is Postextracapsular Tonsillectomy Bleeding More Common on the Side of the Surgeon's Nondominant Hand?

Objectives: To determine the difference in bleeding when extracapsular tonsillectomy with electrocautery is performed on the dominant and nondominant side of the surgeon's hands.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Academic university hospital.

Symptomatic pelvic hematoma following hysterectomy: risk factors, bacterial pathogens and clinical outcome.

Background: Pelvic hematoma is a common finding following hysterectomy which at times may become infected causing substantial morbidity. The aim of this study was to describe the incidence, clinical manifestation and identify risk factors for infected pelvic hematoma. We also attempted to identify specific bacterial pathogens which may cause this phenomenon.