Effect of comprehensive tobacco control policies on maternal and child outcomes: a population-based linkage study.

Objectives: To assess the impact of comprehensive tobacco control policies on maternal smoking during pregnancy and perinatal outcomes over a 20-year period.

Design: Population-based cohort study using linked Scottish National Health Service. We assessed the impact of tobacco control measures on maternal smoking and perinatal outcomes over four distinct time periods.

Patients' Priorities and Goals of Care During Intensive Care Unit Recovery: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background: Patients can experience physical, emotional, social, and cognitive challenges following discharge from critical care. Data regarding goals of care for intensive care unit recovery from a patient's perspective are limited.

Objectives: To use data from a multicenter intensive care unit recovery program to explore patients' goals during recovery from critical illness and to understand optimal models of care for future research design and care delivery.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling of the potato plant response to zebra chip disease.

Zebra chip disease of potato is caused by a bacterial pathogen, 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum', vectored by the tomato potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli Sulc.). The plant response to the disease was explored using a combined transcriptomic and metabolomic approach.

Short- and long-term outcomes in oliguric and non-oliguric acute kidney injury in intensive care: a retrospective, post hoc, bicentric study.

Background: Patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) frequently develop acute kidney injury (AKI). There is limited research comparing outcomes between oliguric and non-oliguric AKI in this population. This study aimed to investigate the short- and long-term outcomes in oliguric and non-oliguric AKI in intensive care patients; the specific outcomes assessed were mortality and major adverse kidney events.

Understanding Bayesian analysis of clinical trials: an overview for clinicians.

Bayesian analysis is being used with increasing frequency in critical care research and brings advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional Frequentist techniques. This study overviews this methodology and explains the terminology encountered when appraising this literature. Setting different priors can impact the interpretation of new results, and we describe an approach to understanding this.

Right Ventricular Function and Afterload Following Novel Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement.

Right ventricular (RV) function is an important determinant of prognosis in pulmonary hypertension and valvular heart disease. The accurate assessment of RV function is however limited by the presence of concomitant tricuspid regurgitation (TR). Implantation of a novel transcatheter tricuspid valve device in this case highlights the importance of recognizing these limitations, and the need to define alternative ways to measure RV systolic function, contextualized to pulmonary pressure in patients with severe TR.

The value of chaplains to healthcare systems: a qualitative study of the perspectives of executives, nurses, patients, and family members.

Research to measure the value of chaplains is a burgeoning area of interest, as staffing decisions may be contingent on demonstrating a return on investment. Healthcare executives are often faced with difficult staffing decisions that require weighing the support of organizational mission with practical financial implications. This qualitative study utilized thematic analysis to present the perceptions of C-suite executives and two key constituencies - nurses and patients/family members - on the value of chaplains.

Longitudinal trend in post-discharge estimated glomerular filtration rate in intensive care survivors.

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) within the intensive care unit (ICU) is common but evidence is limited on longer-term renal outcomes. We aimed to model the trend of kidney function in ICU survivors using estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), comparing those with and without AKI, and investigate potential risk factors associated with eGFR decline.

Methods: This observational cohort study included all patients aged 16 or older admitted to two general adult ICUs in Scotland between 1st July 2015 and 30th June 2018 who survived to 30 days following hospital discharge.

Mechanisms underlying neurocognitive dysfunction following critical illness: a systematic review.

Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a significant healthcare problem globally and its prevalence is projected to affect over 150 million people worldwide. Survivors of critical illness are impacted frequently by long-term neurocognitive dysfunction regardless of presenting illness, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. The goal of this review was to synthesise the existing evidence regarding potential mechanisms underlying neurocognitive dysfunction following critical illness in order to guide potential avenues for future research.

Emotion recognition and clinical empathy: An observational study of nurses.

Aim: To explore nurse ability to recognize emotion and its association with clinical empathy.

Background: Empathy is elemental to nursing care and positively effects patient and nurse outcomes, yet self-reported clinical empathy has declined over the past decade. One hypothesized contributor to the ability of a nurse to be empathic is whether they can recognize emotion, a phenomenon thus far unstudied among nurses.

Rate of non-metastatic solid tumor progression following critical illness: a prospective cohort study of UK Biobank participants.

Objective: To determine whether admission to critical care is associated with subsequent disease progression in patients with non-metastatic solid tumors.

Methods: This observational cohort study of UK Biobank participants identified those diagnosed with solid tumors and survived hospitalization. Two cohorts were identified based on critical care admission and new metastatic disease as reported at UK Biobank follow-up visits, or primary or secondary care records were compared.

Understanding attendance patterns and determinants in cardiac, pulmonary, and ICU rehabilitation/recovery programs: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Cardiac, pulmonary, and intensive care unit (ICU) rehabilitation/recovery programs are health promotion interventions designed to improve physical recovery, psychological well-being, and quality of life after acute illness while reducing the risk of adverse events.

Objective: Identify the difference in attendance rates for patients invited to a cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, or ICU recovery program and factors influencing attendance.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis by searching PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and manual reference lists from inception to June 3, 2024.

International e-Delphi survey to define best practice in the reporting of intracranial pressure monitoring recording data.

Introduction: Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is a very commonly performed neurosurgical procedure but there is a wide variation in how it is reported, hindering analysis of it. The current study sought to generate consensus on the reporting of ICP monitoring recording data.

Research Question: "What should be included in an ICP monitoring report?"

Material And Methods: The exercise was completed via a modified eDelphi survey.

Long term mortality in burn injury survivors: A matched cohort study.

Background: Survivors of burn injuries may be at risk of early death. This study describes the mortality of burn survivors in comparison with two matched cohorts.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study compared adults admitted with a burn injury from 2009 to 2019 with two matched cohorts; one from the general population and one with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis.

A clinical evaluation of variation in paediatric intracranial pressure waveforms.

Introduction: Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is commonly used in investigating the aetiology of chronic paediatric neurological conditions. A series of high-amplitude spikes has been observed in overnight ICP recordings of some children, many of whom have hydrocephalus or craniosynostosis.

Research Question: This clinical evaluation aimed to define the spike pattern, describe the patient group in which it is most likely to occur, and conduct high-resolution waveform analysis.

Executive Leadership Development of Corporate Healthcare Leaders: Integrating Spirituality into the Framework.

A faith-based healthcare system implemented a Leadership as Wholeness formation program, including a spiritual formation curriculum described here. The spiritual formation curriculum intends to connect leaders with their purpose and identity to ensure mission stability in the organizational culture, now and in the future. More research must be done to understand how, or even if, these types of programs make a meaningful difference in organizational mission initiatives and workforce stability.

Exploration of the relationship between partial pressure of brain tissue oxygen and intracranial pressure.

Introduction: Partial pressure of brain tissue oxygen (PbtO2) has been shown to be a safe an effective monitoring modality to compliment intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring. It is related to metabolic activity, disease severity and mortality.

Research Question: Understanding the complex relationship between PbtO2 and ICP for patients with traumatic brain injury will enable better clinical decision making beyond simple threshold treatment strategies.

Antimüllerian hormone levels are associated with time to pregnancy in a cohort study of 3,150 women.

Objective: To study the association between antimüllerian hormone (AMH) levels and time of pregnancy. Although it has been hypothesized that serum AMH levels may indicate the chance of conception, findings have been mixed. Given that any association is expected to be modest, and it is possible that previous studies have been underpowered, we investigated this relationship in the largest prospective cohort to date.

The Structure of Clinical Ethical Decision-Making: A Hospital System Needs Assessment.

Bioethical dilemmas can emerge in research and clinical settings, from end-of-life decision-making to experimental therapies. The COVID-19 pandemic raised serious ethical challenges for healthcare organizations, highlighting the need to conduct needs assessments of the bioethics infrastructures of healthcare organizations. Clinical ethics committees (CECs) also create equitable policies, train staff on ethics issues, and play a consultative role in resolving the difficulty of complex individual cases.

Anxiety and depression following critical illness: A comparison of the recovery trajectories of patients and caregivers.

Background: Following critical illness, family members are often required to adopt caregiving responsibilities. Anxiety and depression are common long term problems for both patients and caregivers. However, at present, it is not known how the trajectories of these symptoms compare between patients and caregivers.