Image reconstruction using UNET-transformer network for fast and low-dose PET scans.

Introduction: Low-dose and fast PET imaging (low-count PET) play a significant role in enhancing patient safety, healthcare efficiency, and patient comfort during medical imaging procedures. To achieve high-quality images with low-count PET scans, effective reconstruction models are crucial for denoising and enhancing image quality. The main goal of this paper is to develop an effective and accurate deep learning-based method for reconstructing low-count PET images, which is a challenging problem due to the limited amount of available data and the high level of noise in the acquired images.

Large serrated polyps indicate a greater risk of advanced metachronous colorectal neoplasia than high-grade adenomas.

The risk of developing total metachronous advanced neoplasia (TMAN) in patients with index serrated lesions (SL) or adenoma with high-grade dysplasia (HGD) is unknown. We evaluated this risk in patients with either HGD, SL < 10 mm or SL ≥ 10 mm at index colonoscopy, who underwent surveillance colonoscopies. This retrospective cohort study evaluated all consecutive patients (n = 2477) diagnosed between 2010 and 2019 with colorectal HGD, SLs < 10 mm or SLs ≥ 10 mm.

Second-trimester abortion and risk of live birth.

Background: Second-trimester abortion may result in a live birth, but the extent to which this outcome occurs is unknown.

Objective: This study aimed to examine rates of live birth after pregnancy termination in the second trimester and identify associated risk factors.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 13,777 second-trimester abortions occurring in hospital settings between April 1, 1989 and March 31, 2021 in Quebec, Canada.

Hospitalization and hospital mortality rates during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec: interrupted time series and decomposition analysis.

Objectives: We investigated hospitalization and hospital mortality rates by cause during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec, Canada.

Study Design: Interrupted time series and decomposition analysis.

Methods: We analyzed hospital mortality during the first (February 25-August 22, 2020) and second waves (August 23, 2020-March 31, 2021), compared with 2019.

Assisted Reproductive Technology and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Parents and Offspring.

Background: The impact of assisted reproductive technology (ART) on the cardiovascular system is unclear.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 1,001,593 pregnancies conceived naturally or through ART from 2008 to 2019 in Québec to assess the association of ART with cardiovascular disease in families. The exposure measure was ART.

Impact of Covid-19 on risk of severe maternal morbidity.

Background: We examined the risk of severe life-threatening morbidity in pregnant patients with Covid-19 infection.

Methods: We conducted a population-based study of 162,576 pregnancies between March 2020 and March 2022 in Quebec, Canada. The main exposure was Covid-19 infection, including the severity, period of infection (antepartum, peripartum), and circulating variant (wildtype, alpha, delta, omicron).

Rating versus ranking in a Delphi survey: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The Delphi technique has steeply grown in popularity in health research as a structured approach to group communication process. Rating and ranking are two different procedures commonly used to quantify participants' opinions in Delphi surveys. We explored the influence of using a rating or ranking approach on item prioritization (main outcome), questionnaire completion time, and evaluation of task difficulty in a Delphi survey aimed at identifying priorities for the organization of primary cardiovascular care.

Employee-Driven Innovation in Health Organizations: Insights From a Scoping Review.

Background: Employee-driven innovation (EDI) occurs when frontline actors in health organizations use their firsthand experience to spur new ideas to transform care. Despite its increasing prevalence in health organizations, the organizational conditions under which EDI is operationalized have received little scholarly attention.

Methods: This scoping review identifies gaps and assembles existing knowledge on four questions: What is EDI in health organizations and which frontline actors are involved? What are the characteristics of the EDI process? What contextual factors enable or impede EDI? And what benefits does EDI bring to health organizations? We searched seven databases with keywords related to EDI in health organizations.

Lockdowns and cycling injuries: temporal analysis of rates in Quebec during the first year of the pandemic.

Introduction: Cycling increased in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the impact on cycling injuries is not known. We examined the effect of lockdowns on cycling injury hospitalizations.

Methods: We identified hospitalizations for cycling injuries in Quebec, Canada, between April 2006 and March 2021.

Canadian Guideline on the Management of a Positive Human Papillomavirus Test and Guidance for Specific Populations.

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence-based guidance on the management of a positive human papilloma virus (HPV) test and to provide guidance around screening and HPV testing for specific patient populations. The guideline was developed by a working group in collaboration with the Gynecologic Oncology Society of Canada (GOC), Society of Colposcopists of Canada (SCC), and the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. The literature informing these guidelines was obtained through a systematic review of relevant literature by a multi-step search process led by an information specialist.

Association between First Trimester Exposure to Ambient and and Congenital Heart Defects: A Population-Based Cohort Study of 1,342,198 Live Births in Canada.

Background: The extent to which ambient air pollution contributes to the pathogenesis of congenital heart defects remains uncertain.

Objective: We investigated whether first trimester exposure to ambient fine particulate matter () and nitrogen dioxide () was associated with the risk of critical and noncritical heart defects in a large population-based cohort of births.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort study of children conceived between 2000 and 2016 in Quebec, Canada.

The Cost-Effectiveness of a Novel Online Social Therapy to Maintain Treatment Effects From First-Episode Psychosis Services: Results From the Horyzons Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Digital interventions have potential applications in promoting long-term recovery and improving outcomes in first-episode psychosis (FEP). This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Horyzons, a novel online social therapy to support young people aged 16-27 years following discharge from FEP services, compared with treatment as usual (TAU) from a healthcare sector and a societal perspective.

Study Design: A cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), based on the change in social functioning, and a cost-utility analysis (CUA) using quality-adjusted life years were undertaken alongside a randomized controlled trial.

Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Women With a History of Hyperemesis Gravidarum, With and Without Preeclampsia.

Background Hyperemesis gravidarum is associated with preeclampsia, but it is unclear whether hyperemesis gravidarum is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. We assessed the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease in women who experienced hyperemesis gravidarum with or without preeclampsia. Methods and Results We analyzed a longitudinal cohort of 1 413 166 pregnant women in Quebec between 1989 and 2021.

Automatic Pulp and Teeth Three-Dimensional Modeling of Single and Multi-Rooted Teeth Based on Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Imaging: A Promising Approach With Clinical and Therapeutic Outcomes.

Background Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging offers high-quality three-dimensional (3D) acquisition with great spatial resolution, given by the use of isometric voxels, when compared with conventional computed tomography (CT). The current literature supports a median reduction of 76% (up to 85% reduction) of patients' radiation exposure when imaged by CBCT versus CT. Clinical applications of CBCT imaging can benefit both medical and dental professions.

Following your gut: the emerging role of the gut microbiota in predicting and treating immune-related adverse events.

Purpose Of Review: Although immune checkpoint inhibition has reshaped the therapeutic landscape leading to improved outcomes across an array of both solid and hematologic malignancies, a significant source of morbidity is caused by immune-related adverse events (irAEs) caused by these agents.

Recent Findings: The gut microbiota has emerged as a biomarker of response to these agents, and more recently, also as a key determinant of development of irAEs. Emerging data have revealed that enrichment of certain bacterial genera is associated with an increased risk of irAEs, with the most robust evidence pointing to an intimate connection with the development of immune-related diarrhea and colitis.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in 1.2 million children: longitudinal cohort study of risk factors.

Background: We identified patient characteristics associated with an increased risk of developing MIS-C.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study of 1,195,327 patients aged 0-19 years between 2006 and 2021, including the first two waves of the pandemic (February 25-August 22, 2020 and August 23, 2020-March 31, 2021). Exposures included prepandemic morbidity, birth outcomes, and family history of maternal disorders.