Pilot study evaluating frailty-focused care for hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Frailty is associated with morbidity and mortality among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), yet there are no established care pathways to manage frail patients with COPD. To address this gap, we developed, implemented and assessed the feasibility of a new frailty-focused care model for patients hospitalised with exacerbations of COPD.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study among hospitalised patients with acute exacerbations of COPD in an academic hospital in Canada over 18 months.

Perceptions about hepatitis C and barriers and enablers to screening and treatment among Egyptian immigrants to Canada: a theory-informed qualitative study.

Background: Despite availability of effective screening and treatment for Hepatitis C (HCV), the uptake remains suboptimal. Immigrants from HCV endemic countries comprise 35% of cases in Canada. There is an average 10-year diagnosis delay, causing poor health outcomes and high healthcare system costs.

The Effect of 12-Week e-Cigarette Use on Smoking Abstinence at 1 Year: The E3 Trial.

Background: The current evidence regarding the long-term efficacy of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) for smoking cessation is unclear.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of nicotine and non-nicotine e-cigarettes for smoking cessation in the general population.

Methods: We randomized 376 adults who smoked ≥10 cigarettes/day and were motivated to quit at 17 Canadian sites to 12 weeks of nicotine (15 mg/mL) e-cigarettes (n = 128), non-nicotine e-cigarettes (n = 127), or no e-cigarettes (n = 121).

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and evaluation of psychometric properties of the cystic fibrosis stigma scale.

To translate, cross-culturally adapt, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Stigma Scale. This exploratory methodological study involved the translation and cross-cultural adaptation using the translation, back-translation, review by experts committee, and pre-test steps. The psychometric properties were analyzed by applying the adapted instrument to a sample of 52 Brazilian individuals with CF over 18 years old.

Sexually dimorphic response to tobacco in the development of chronic kidney disease: a systematic review.

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) demonstrates a complex interaction with tobacco exposure and sex differences, where females and males may experience varying risks and outcomes. This study aims to investigate how sex differences mediate the relationship between tobacco exposure and CKD development, with a secondary focus on regional variability and social determinants of health.

Study Selection And Criteria: Comprehensive searches on MEDLINE, EMBASE, clinicaltrials.

Environmentally sustainable opportunities for health systems: Metered-dose inhaler prescribing, dispensing, use and waste at a tertiary academic centre.

Background: The Canadian health sector's carbon footprint is among the highest in the world and is responsible for 4.6% of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions, a quarter of which is linked to pharmaceuticals, with metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) contributing disproportionally high amounts.

Objectives: To describe MDI prescribing, dispensing, use and waste patterns at a Canadian tertiary care academic hospital.

Race-Based Pulmonary Function Testing Correction in COPD Inhaler Therapy Trials: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: Race-based correction is widely utilized in clinical practice, but may contribute to overestimation of lung function, underdiagnoses in minority groups, and exclusion of minority groups from research trials. The aim of this systematic review is to examine the usage of race-based correction in pulmonary function testing (PFT) within chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) research and its impact on the exclusion of minority groups from research trials.

Methods: We systematically searched Medline from 2010 to 2022 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examine inhaler therapy for COPD.

Uptake and cardiac events of COVID-19 vaccinations among Canadian youth and young adults.

Few studies have examined population-level data of the COVID-19 original and bivalent vaccine on its uptake and potential side effects. We used population-based health administrative data from Jan 2021-Feb 2023 to identify Ontario residents aged 12-35 years old to calculate their rates of COVID-19 vaccine uptake and vaccine-related cardiac events (myocarditis and pericarditis). Multivariable Cox, logistic, and negative binomial regression analyses were used to adjust for covariates.

Effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions among adults: an overview of systematic reviews.

Background: This overview of reviews aims to identify evidence on the benefits (i.e. tobacco use abstinence and reduction in smoking frequency) and harms (i.

Effectiveness of e-cigarettes as a stop smoking intervention in adults: a systematic review.

Background: This systematic review aims to identify the benefits and harms of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as a smoking cessation aid in adults (aged ≥ 18 years) and to inform the development of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care's (CTFPHC) clinical practice guidelines on e-cigarettes.

Methods: We searched Ovid MEDLINE®, Ovid MEDLINE® Epub Ahead of Print, In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, PsycINFO, Embase Classic + Embase, and the Cochrane Library on Wiley. Searches were conducted from January 2016 to July 2019 and updated on 24 September 2020 and 25 January 2024.

Mode of delivery and birth outcomes before and during COVID-19 -A population-based study in Ontario, Canada.

There is lack of clarity on whether pregnancies during COVID-19 resulted in poorer mode of delivery and birth outcomes in Ontario, Canada. We aimed to compare mode of delivery (C-section), birth (low birthweight, preterm birth, NICU admission), and health services use (HSU, hospitalizations, ED visits, physician visits) outcomes in pregnant Ontario women before and during COVID-19 (pandemic periods). We further stratified for pre-existing chronic diseases (asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis, diabetes, hypertension).

Environmentally sustainable opportunities for health systems: metered-dose inhaler prescribing, dispensing, usage, and waste at The Ottawa Hospital.

Background: The carbon footprint of Canada's health sector is among the worst in the world, responsible for 4·6% of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions. A quarter of emissions from Canada's health sector are linked to pharmaceuticals, including metered dose inhalers (MDIs). MDIs use propellants, such as hydrofluorocarbons, which act as greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the health-care sector's overall carbon footprint.

Why Female Smokers Have Poorer Long-Term Health Outcomes than Male Smokers: The Role of Cigarette Smoking During Pregnancy.

Women's health status is better than men but the opposite is true for female smokers who usually have poorer long-health outcomes than male smokers. The objectives of this study were to thoroughly reviewed and analyzed relevant literature and to propose a hypothesis that may explain this paradox phenomenon. We conducted a search of literature from three English databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar) from inception to 13 November 2023.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Did Strict Mobility Restrictions Save Lives and Healthcare Costs in Maharashtra, India?

Introduction: Maharashtra, India, remained a hotspot during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the initial complete lockdown, the state slowly relaxed restrictions. We aim to estimate the lockdown's impact on COVID-19 cases and associated healthcare costs.

Comparing the Hospital Frailty Risk Score and the Clinical Frailty Scale Among Older Adults With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbation.

Importance: Frailty is associated with severe morbidity and mortality among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Interventions such as pulmonary rehabilitation can treat and reverse frailty, yet frailty is not routinely measured in pulmonary clinical practice. It is unclear how population-based administrative data tools to screen for frailty compare with standard bedside assessments in this population.

Drug-drug interactions with CFTR modulator therapy in cystic fibrosis: Focus on Trikafta®/Kaftrio®.

The combination of CFTR modulators ivacaftor, tezacaftor and elexacaftor (Trikafta®, Kaftrio®) significantly improve outcomes, including survival in a broad range of cystic fibrosis patients. These drugs have complicated metabolic profiles that make the potential for drug interactions an important consideration for prescribers, care providers and patients. Prolonged survival also increases risk of age-related disease and their associated pharmacotherapy, further increasing the risk of drug interactions and the need for increased vigilance amongst care providers.

Explaining Caste-Based Disparities in Enrollment for National Health Insurance Program in India: a Decomposition Analysis.

Background: Caste plays a significant role in individual healthcare access and health outcomes in India. Discrimination against low-caste communities contributes to their poverty and poor health outcomes. The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a national health insurance program, was created to improve healthcare access for the poor.

Global prevalence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria in adults with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis 2006-2021: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To accurately estimate the global prevalence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in adults with non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis and to determine the proportion of NTM species and subspecies in clinical patients from 2006 to 2021.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Data Sources: Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched for articles published between 2006 and 2021.

Lung disease burden assessment by oscillometry in a systematically disadvantaged urban population experiencing homelessness or at-risk for homelessness in Ottawa, Canada from a prospective observational study.

Rationale: Oscillometry is an emerging technique that offers some advantages over spirometry as it does not require forced exhalation and may detect early changes in respiratory pathology. Obstructive lung disease disproportionately impacts people experiencing homelessness with a high symptoms burden, yet oscillometry is not studied in this population.

Objectives: To assess lung disease and symptom burden using oscillometry in people experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness using a community-based participatory action research approach (The Bridge Model™).