The effect of alcohol and gender on ambulatory blood pressure: results from the Baseline Double Exposure study.

Background: Research has demonstrated that psychosocial and lifestyle factors are associated with sustained increases in blood pressure (BP).

Methods: Using post-hoc analyses from the Baseline Double Exposure cohort study, alcohol consumption and gender were examined as to their association with ambulatory BP (ABP) in participants with normal or elevated and untreated BP.

Results: The current study included 248 subjects, 135 (54.

Quality of life and return to work following electrical burns.

To investigate the psychosocial outcomes following electrical burns, a cross-sectional survey of electrical burn patients was done using three outcome tools: the Burn Specific Health Scale brief version (BSHS-B), the Coping with Burns Questionnaire (CBQ), and the Pain Patient Profile (P3). Questionnaires were mailed to electrical burn patients discharged from an adult regional burn centre, and also distributed to attendants of an electrical utility conference in Toronto. Twenty-six of 88 patients who were discharged from the regional burn centre during the study period with updated residential information were contacted and 14 (54%) completed the questionnaires.

Chromogenic in-situ hybridization: a viable alternative to fluorescence in-situ hybridization in the HER2 testing algorithm.

Assessment of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 status is standard practice in women with breast cancer. Most laboratories use immunohistochemistry as a screening test, with equivocal results confirmed by fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH). Chromogenic in-situ hybridization (CISH) is a relatively new method for detection of gene amplification using a peroxidase reaction, which can be viewed using a standard light microscope.

Association of clinical status of follicular lymphoma patients after autologous stem cell transplant and quantitative assessment of lymphoma in blood and bone marrow as measured by SYBR Green I polymerase chain reaction.

Molecular remission in the autograft and bone marrow after transplant are predictive of durable clinical remission in relapsed follicular lymphoma. Thus, a simple reliable method to quantify minimal residual disease (MRD) would improve prognostication in these patients. Fluorescent hybridization probes have been used in real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) to monitor MRD with a reproducible sensitivity of 0.

Early gene expression profile in mouse brain after exposure to ionizing radiation.

Acute changes in the gene expression profile in mouse brain after exposure to ionizing radiation were studied using microarray analysis. RNA was isolated at 0.25, 1, 5 and 24 h after exposure to 20 Gy and at 5 h after exposure of the whole brain of adult mice to 2 or 10 Gy.

Qualitative assessment of patient experiences related to extended pelvic resection for rectal cancer.

Background: Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) and locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC) represent a complex management challenge. While there is potential for cure in a subset of patients, the cost in terms of morbidity can be high. Few descriptions of the physical, psychological, social, and emotional experiences of these patients exist.

Development of quality indicators for colorectal cancer surgery, using a 3-step modified Delphi approach.

Background: Little performance measurement has been undertaken in the area of oncology, particularly for surgery, which is a pivotal event in the continuum of cancer care. This work was conducted to develop indicators of quality for colorectal cancer surgery, using a 3-step modified Delphi approach.

Methods: A multidisciplinary panel, comprising surgical and methodological co-chairs, 9 surgeons, a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, a nurse and a pathologist, reviewed potential indicators extracted from the medical literature through 2 consecutive rounds of rating followed by consensus discussion.

Time series analysis of age related cataract hospitalizations and phacoemulsification.

Background: Cataract surgery remains a commonly performed elective surgical procedure in the aging and the elderly. The purpose of this study was to utilize time series methodology to determine the temporal and seasonal variations and the strength of the seasonality in age-related (senile) cataract hospitalizations and phacoemulsification surgeries.

Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional time series analysis was used to assess the presence and strength of seasonal and temporal patterns of age-related cataract hospitalizations and phacoemulsification surgeries from April 1, 1991 to March 31, 2002.

Making sense of prostate specific antigen: improving its predictive value in patients undergoing prostate biopsy.

Purpose: The clinical usefulness of PSA for prostate cancer screening is unclear, although the test remains in common use. New methods to interpret PSA are needed.

Materials And Methods: We examined a cohort of 2,637 men who underwent prostate biopsies for abnormal DRE or PSA between 1999 and 2004.

Commissioning and evaluation of a new commercial small rodent x-ray irradiator.

An appropriate radiation source is essential in studies of tissue response in animal models. This paper reports on the evaluation and commissioning of a new irradiator suitable for studies using small animals or cell culture. The Faxitron is a 160-kVp x-ray machine that was adapted from an x-ray imaging unit through modifications to facilitate experimental irradiation.

Risk and benefit of intravenous contrast in trauma patients with an elevated serum creatinine.

Objective: Assess if the benefits outweigh the risks of intravenous (iv) contrast in trauma patients who present with an elevated serum creatinine (Cr).

Background: Radiologic investigations with iv contrast are often used in trauma patients to rapidly assess for life threatening injuries. However, contrast nephropathy (CNP) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality.

The immunomodulatory effects of hypertonic saline resuscitation in patients sustaining traumatic hemorrhagic shock: a randomized, controlled, double-blinded trial.

Objective: To investigate the potential immunologic and anti-inflammatory effects of hypertonic saline plus dextran (HSD) in hemorrhagic trauma patients.

Background: Unbalanced inflammation triggered by shock has been linked to multiorgan dysfunction (MOD) and death. In animal and cellular models, HSD alters the inflammatory response to shock, attenuating MOD and improving outcome.

Chaperone use during intimate examinations in primary care: postal survey of family physicians.

Background: Physicians have long been advised to have a third party present during certain parts of a physical examination; however, little is known about the frequency of chaperone use for those specific intimate examinations regularly performed in primary care. We aimed to determine the frequency of chaperone use among family physicians across a variety of intimate physical examinations for both male and female patients, and also to identify the factors associated with chaperone use.

Methods: Questionnaires were mailed to a randomly selected sample of 500 Ontario members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

The emerging role of recombinant activated Factor VII (rFVIIa) in the treatment of blunt traumatic haemorrhage.

Recombinant activated Factor VII (rFVIIa; eptacog alpha [activated], NovoSeven) is currently used for the management of a subgroup of haemophilia patients with inhibitors to Factors VIII or IX, and is under investigation as an adjuvant therapy for critical bleeding from other causes, including trauma. rFVIIa has a mode of action founded on physiological coagulation processes, and causes localised haemostasis at injury sites, both spontaneous and traumatic, with the capacity to correct the systemic coagulopathy associated with massive blood loss and its management. This review charts the development of rFVIIa as a new and potent adjuvant therapy for severe bleeding and coagulopathy caused by blunt trauma, where it is reported to produce rapid and significant haemostasis, reducing transfusion requirements and improving clinical outcome.

Radial artery angiographic string sign: clinical consequences and the role of pharmacologic therapy.

Background: The radial artery is an increasingly important graft for coronary artery bypass surgery. Postoperative angiographic studies have shown that a proportion of radial grafts become diffusely narrowed but not occluded, or string signs.

Methods: Four hundred forty patients receiving a radial artery graft enrolled in a large clinical trial underwent postoperative angiography at 1 year.

The utility of the functional independence measure (FIM) in discharge planning for burn patients.

Determining burn patients' need for inpatient rehabilitation at discharge is difficult and an objective clinical indicator might aid in this decision. The functional independence measure (FIM) is a validated outcome measure that predicts the need for rehabilitation services. This study evaluated the utility of the FIM score for discharge planning in burn patients.

Clindamycin skin testing has limited diagnostic potential.

We examined the role of clindamycin prick and intradermal skin testing in a tertiary care clinic population. Experience with diagnostic modalities such as prick and intradermal testing has been limited with clindamycin. A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients with immunologic reactions temporally associated with clindamycin who were referred to the Drug Safety Clinic (Toronto, Ontario).

ALARMED: adverse events in low-risk patients with chest pain receiving continuous electrocardiographic monitoring in the emergency department. A pilot study.

Objectives: Current guidelines suggest that most patients who present to an emergency department (ED) with chest pain should be placed on a continuous electrocardiographic monitoring (CEM) device. We evaluated the utility of CEM in ED patients with chest pain.

Methods: We enrolled stable patients who presented to a single ED with chest pain suspected to be ischemic in origin and who were placed on CEM.

Urgent care costs of uncontrolled asthma in Canada, 2004.

It has been more than a decade since Krahn evaluated the direct and indirect costs of asthma in Canada. Asthma is often uncontrolled and the cost of providing urgent care has not been determined. Hospitalizations, unscheduled physician visits, emergency department visits, drug treatments and ambulance rides are resources used by the uncontrolled asthmatic population, resulting in 162 million US dollars in costs annually.