Placental Growth Factor Diagnostic Testing: An Opportunity to Transform Pregnancy Care for Patients With Suspected Preeclampsia in Canada.

Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and adverse perinatal outcomes in Canada. Growing evidence supports the novel blood-based biomarker placental growth factor (PlGF) as a diagnostic test to accelerate the timely diagnosis of preeclampsia, enhancing care for hypertensive pregnant patients. Despite national endorsement, challenges like regional disparities and test standardization hinder PlGF implementation.

Machine Learning Accurately Predicts Need for Critical Care Support in Patients Admitted to Hospital for Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Objectives: Hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients are admitted for ventilation, vasopressors, and renal replacement therapy (RRT). This study aimed to develop a machine learning (ML) model that predicts the need for such interventions and compare its accuracy to that of logistic regression (LR).

Design: This retrospective observational study trained separate models using random-forest classifier (RFC), support vector machines (SVMs), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and multilayer perceptron (MLP) to predict three endpoints: eventual use of invasive ventilation, vasopressors, and RRT during hospitalization.

Work Productivity Loss in People Living With Long COVID Symptoms Over 2 Years From Infection.

Objective: To evaluate the work productivity loss in people experiencing long COVID symptoms more than 2 years after infection.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, employed adults from British Columbia, Canada, who had a polymerase chain reaction-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection more than 2 years earlier, completed an online survey incorporating the Valuation of Lost Productivity questionnaire. Long COVID status was self-reported.

: An online self-management tool for people with long COVID.

Background: Long COVID is a relatively new condition for which patients are asked to employ self-management strategies to manage their symptoms. However, it can be challenging for individuals with long COVID to find reliable and actionable self-management resources. The objective of this project was to develop an online tool for individuals with long COVID that is patient-centered, accessible, and customizable to meet individual needs.

Health-related adverse work outcomes associated with post COVID-19 condition: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Symptoms from post COVID-19 condition (PCC) can impair functioning in working-age adults. However, there is uncertainty about the relationship between PCC and work outcomes. This study aimed to assess health-related adverse work outcomes in individuals with a PCC history compared with others who had COVID-19.

Hypertension Canada Statement on the Use of Cuffless Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices in Clinical Practice.

Background: Cuffless blood pressure (BP) devices are an emerging technology marketed as providing frequent, nonintrusive and reliable BP measurements. With the increasing interest in these devices, it is important for Hypertension Canada to provide a statement regarding the current place of cuffless BP measurements in hypertension management.

Methods: An overview of the technology in cuffless BP devices, the potential with this technology and the challenges related to determining the accuracy of these devices.

Community versus academic hospital community-acquired pneumonia patients: a nested cohort study.

Background: Most Canadians receive their care in community hospitals, yet most clinical research is conducted in academic hospitals. This study aims to compare patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP) treated in academic and community hospitals with respect to their demographics, clinical characteristics, treatments and outcomes.

Methods: This nested observational cohort substudy of the Community Acquired Pneumonia: Toward InnoVAtive Treatment (CAPTIVATE) trial included 1,329 hospitalized adults with CAP recruited between March 1st, 2018 and September 31st, 2023 from 15 Canadian hospitals.

Long-Term Health-Related Quality of Life in Working-Age COVID-19 Survivors: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Most working-age (18-64) adults have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, and some may have developed post-COVID-19 condition (PCC). However, long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following infection remains uncharacterized.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, COVID-19 survivors from throughout British Columbia (BC), Canada, completed a questionnaire >2 years after infection.

Patient-Physician Sex Discordance and "Before Medically Advised" Discharge from Hospital: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Patient-physician sex discordance (when patient sex does not match physician sex) has been associated with reduced clinical rapport and adverse outcomes including post-operative mortality and unplanned hospital readmission. It remains unknown whether patient-physician sex discordance is associated with "before medically advised" hospital discharge (BMA discharge; commonly known as discharge "against medical advice").

Objective: To evaluate whether patient-physician sex discordance is associated with BMA discharge.

Psychiatric Symptoms, Treatment Uptake, and Barriers to Mental Health Care Among US Adults With Post-COVID-19 Condition.

Importance: Psychiatric symptoms are reportedly common among adults with post-COVID-19 condition (PCC). However, nationally representative data regarding symptom prevalence, treatment uptake, and barriers to care are needed to inform the development of care models.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms in US adults with PCC compared with those without PCC and assess treatment uptake and cost-related barriers to treatment.

Implementation of a home blood pressure monitoring program for the management of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, an observational study in British Columbia, Canada.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has influenced health care delivery. We conducted an observational study to understand how obstetric medicine (ObM) physicians utilized home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) to manage hypertension in pregnancy.

Methods: Pregnant participants with risk factors or diagnosis of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) were enrolled, May 2020-December 2021, and provided with validated home blood pressure (BP) monitor.

Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring Technology for Patients With Asymptomatic Elevated Blood Pressure Discharged From the Emergency Department: Pilot Study.

Background: Hypertension affects 1 in 5 Canadians and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. Hypertension control is declining due to multiple factors including lack of access to primary care. Consequently, patients with hypertension frequently visit the emergency department (ED) due to high blood pressure (BP).

Outcomes and characteristics of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec during the Omicron wave.

Background: Omicron is the current predominant variant of concern of SARS-CoV-2. We hypothesized that vaccination alters outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the Omicron wave and that these patients have different characteristics and outcomes than in previous waves.

Methods: This is a substudy of the Host Response Mediators in Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection (ARBs CORONA I) trial, which included adults admitted to hospital with acute COVID-19 up to July 2022 from 9 hospitals in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.

Fusion of the molecular adjuvant C3d to cleavage-independent native-like HIV-1 Env trimers improves the elicited antibody response.

An effective HIV vaccine likely requires the elicitation of neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against multiple HIV-1 clades. The recently developed cleavage-independent native flexibly linked (NFL) envelope (Env) trimers exhibit well-ordered conformation and elicit autologous tier 2 NAbs in multiple animal models. Here, we investigated whether the fusion of molecular adjuvant C3d to the Env trimers can improve B- cell germinal center (GC) formation and antibody responses.

Use of latent class analysis and patient reported outcome measures to identify distinct long COVID phenotypes: A longitudinal cohort study.

Objectives: We sought to 1) identify long COVID phenotypes based on patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) and 2) determine whether the phenotypes were associated with quality of life (QoL) and/or lung function.

Methods: This was a longitudinal cohort study of hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients from March 2020 to January 2022 that was conducted across 4 Post-COVID Recovery Clinics in British Columbia, Canada. Latent class analysis was used to identify long COVID phenotypes using baseline PROMs (fatigue, dyspnea, cough, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder).

Physician Financial Incentives for Use of Outpatient Intravenous Antimicrobial Therapy: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

Background: In 2011, policymakers in British Columbia introduced a fee-for-service payment to incentivize infectious diseases physicians to supervise outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT). Whether this policy increased use of OPAT remains uncertain.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using population-based administrative data over a 14-year period (2004-2018).

Evaluating fatigue in patients recovering from COVID-19: validation of the fatigue severity scale and single item screening questions.

Background: Fatigue is a common symptom in hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients recovering from COVID-19, but no fatigue measurement scales or questions have been validated in these populations. The objective of this study was to perform validity assessments of the fatigue severity scale (FSS) and two single-item screening questions (SISQs) for fatigue in patients recovering from COVID-19.

Methods: We examined patients ≥ 28 days after their first SARS-CoV-2 infection who were hospitalized for their acute illness, as well as non-hospitalized patients referred for persistent symptoms.