Recruitment, retention and reporting of variables related to ethnic diversity in randomised controlled trials: an umbrella review.

Objective: This umbrella review synthesises evidence on the methods used to recruit and retain ethnically diverse participants and report and analyse variables related to ethnic diversity in randomised controlled trials.

Design: Umbrella review.

Data Sources: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Cochrane and Campbell Libraries for review papers published between 1 January 2010 and 13 May 2024.

Is there a temporal relationship between atrial fibrillation and stroke? A review.

Importance: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an established risk factor for ischaemic stroke. The introduction of continuous cardiac rhythm monitoring devices has enabled detection of brief and asymptomatic episodes of AF.

Observations: The search yielded 727 studies, 11 of which met the inclusion criteria.

Multilevel interventions as climate change adaptation response to protect maternal and child health: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Growing evidence suggests that climate change-related extreme weather events adversely impact maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes, which requires effective, sustainable and culturally appropriate interventions at individual, community and policy levels to minimise these impacts. This scoping review proposes to map the evidence available on the type, characteristics and outcomes of multilevel interventions implemented as adaptational strategies to protect MCH from the possible adverse effects of climate change.

Methods: The following databases will be searched: Embase, MEDLINE, Emcare, EPPI-Centre database of health promotion research (BiblioMap) EPPI-Centre Database for promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DoPHER), Global Health, CINAHL, Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database, Maternity and Infant Care Database, Education Resource Information Center, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science and Global Index Medicus, which indexes Latin America and the Caribbean, Index Medicus for the South-East Asia Region, African Index Medicus, Western Pacific Region Index Medicus.

Ethical analysis of the first porcine cardiac xenotransplantation.

In this article, we provide an ethical analysis of the first porcine cardiac xenotransplant, performed in Maryland, USA in early 2022. David Bennett was offered the experimental procedure after he was deemed ineligible for human heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support, based on a history of non-compliance. It was reported that Mr Bennett's previous instances of non-compliance were for medically non-life-threatening conditions years earlier, where the risks of non-compliance were not as high.

Understanding the impact of lockdowns on short-term excess mortality in Australia.

During 2020 and 2021, Australia implemented relatively stringent government restrictions yet had few COVID-19 deaths. This provides an opportunity to understand the effects of lockdowns and quarantining restrictions on short-term mortality and to help provide evidence in understanding how such public health policies can impact on health. Our analysis is based on preliminary mortality data collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Effect of motion control versus neutral walking footwear on pain associated with lateral tibiofemoral joint osteoarthritis: a comparative effectiveness randomised clinical trial.

Objectives: To determine if motion control walking shoes are superior to neutral walking shoes in reducing knee pain on walking in people with lateral knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: Participant-blinded and assessor-blinded, comparative effectiveness, superiority randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Melbourne, Australia.

Feedback of aggregate patient-reported outcomes (PROs) data to clinicians and hospital end users: findings from an Australian codesign workshop process.

Objectives: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are increasingly used to measure the patient's perspective of their outcomes following healthcare interventions. The aim of this study was to determine the preferred formats for reporting service-level PROs data to clinicians, researchers and managers to support greater utility of these data to improve healthcare and patient outcomes.

Setting: Healthcare professionals receiving PRO data feedback at the health service level.

The Impact of Health Professionals' Language on Patient Experience: A Case Study.

When people become patients, they become vulnerable to their healthcare system and healthcare clinicians. In this case study, we describe an example of patient distress caused by language overheard in the perioperative environment. Clinicians need to be mindful that the language we use may have a significant impact on patient experience, be it during direct conversation or from conversations overheard.

Potential impact of a novel pathway for suspected myocardial infarction utilising a new high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I assay.

Background: High-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) assays promise high diagnostic accuracy for myocardial infarction (MI). In an ED where conventional cTnI was in use, we evaluated an assessment pathway using the new Access hsTnI assay.

Methods: This retrospective analysis recruited ED patients with suspected MI between June and September 2019.

Factors associated with severe respiratory syncytial virus disease in hospitalised children: a retrospective analysis.

Background: Early recognition of children at risk of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lower respiratory tract infection is important as it informs management decisions. We aimed to evaluate factors associated with severe disease among young children hospitalised with RSV infection.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all children <2 years of age hospitalised for RSV lower respiratory tract infection at a single tertiary paediatric hospital over three RSV seasons (January 2017-December 2019).

Smokers' awareness of filter ventilation, and how they believe it affects them: findings from the ITC Four Country Survey.

Background: Filter ventilation creates sensations of 'lightness' or 'smoothness' and is also highly effective for controlling machine-tested yields of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. Nearly all factory-made cigarettes (FMC) now have filter ventilation in countries such as Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. Research conducted before 'light' and 'mild' labelling was banned found low smoker awareness of filter ventilation and its effects.

Severe respiratory syncytial virus disease in preterm infants: a case of innate immaturity.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common viral pathogen associated with acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in children under 5 years of age. Severe RSV disease is associated with the development of chronic respiratory complications such as recurrent wheezing and asthma. A common risk factor for developing severe RSV disease is premature gestation and this is largely due to an immature innate immune system.

Early indicators of disease progression in Fabry disease that may indicate the need for disease-specific treatment initiation: findings from the opinion-based PREDICT-FD modified Delphi consensus initiative.

Objectives: The PRoposing Early Disease Indicators for Clinical Tracking in Fabry Disease (PREDICT-FD) initiative aimed to reach consensus among a panel of global experts on early indicators of disease progression that may justify FD-specific treatment initiation.

Design And Setting: Anonymous feedback from panellists via online questionnaires was analysed using a modified Delphi consensus technique. Questionnaires and data were managed by an independent administrator directed by two non-voting cochairs.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of a comprehensive care plan to reduce hospital acquired complications in an Australian hospital: protocol for a mixed-method preimplementation and postimplementation study.

Introduction: A new healthcare standard (Standard 5: Comprehensive Care) has been introduced by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare. Standard 5 advocates for organisational leadership to develop and maintain systems and processes to deliver patient-centred comprehensive care plans that include appropriate screening to identify and mitigate risks associated with hospitalisation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a comprehensive care and risk evaluation (Comprehensive Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE)) plan to reduce hospital acquired complications (HACs) in an Australian hospital network.

An Integrative Approach Using Phylogenomics and High-Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography for Species Delimitation in Cryptic Taxa.

Morphologically cryptic taxa have proved to be a long-standing challenge for taxonomists. Lineages that show strong genomic structuring across the landscape but are phenotypically similar pose a conundrum, with traditional morphological analyses of these cryptic lineages struggling to keep up with species delimitation advances. Micro X-ray computed tomography (CT) combined with geometric morphometric analyses provides a promising avenue for identification of morphologically cryptic taxa, given its ability to detect subtle differences in anatomical structures.

Automatic generation of protein structure cartoons with Pro-origami.

Summary: Protein topology diagrams are 2D representations of protein structure that are particularly useful in understanding and analysing complex protein folds. Generating such diagrams presents a major problem in graph drawing, with automatic approaches often resulting in errors or uninterpretable results. Here we apply a breakthrough in diagram layout to protein topology cartoons, providing clear, accurate, interactive and editable diagrams, which are also an interface to a structural search method.

Do patient-reported outcome measures in hip and knee arthroplasty rehabilitation have robust measurement attributes? A systematic review.

Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically review and compare the measurement attributes of multidimensional, patient-reported outcome measures used in hip and knee arthroplasty rehabilitation.

Methods: A search of PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Registry, SCOPUS and PEDro databases up to December 2009 identified the validation studies. The quality of the measurement properties were assessed based on the Terwee and Bot criteria, and Scientific Advisory Committee of the Medical Outcomes Trust guidelines.