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Objective To investigate medication prescription patterns among children with JIA, including duration, sequence and reasons for medication discontinuation. Methods This study is a single-centre, retrospective analysis of prospective data from the electronic medical records of JIA patients receiving systemic therapy aged 0–18 years between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2019. Patient characteristics (age, gender, JIA subtype) and medication prescriptions were extracted and analysed using descriptive statistics, Sankey diagrams and Kaplan–Meier survival methods. Results Over a median of 4.2 years follow-up, the 20 different medicines analysed were prescribed as monotherapy (n  = 15) or combination therapy (n  = 48 unique combinations) among 236 patients. In non-systemic JIA, synthetic DMARDs were prescribed to almost all patients (99.5%), and always included MTX. In contrast, 43.9% of non-systemic JIA patients received a biologic DMARD (mostly adalimumab or etanercept), ranging from 30.9% for oligoarticular persistent ANA-positive JIA, to 90.9% for polyarticular RF-positive JIA. Among systemic JIA, 91.7% received a biologic DMARD (always including anakinra). When analysing medication prescriptions according to their class, 32.6% involved combination therapy. In 56.8% of patients, subsequent treatment lines were initiated after unsuccessful first-line treatment, resulting in 68 unique sequences. Remission was the most common reason for DMARD discontinuation (44.7%), followed by adverse events (28.9%) and ineffectiveness (22.1%). Conclusion This paper reveals the complexity of pharmacological treatment in JIA, as indicated by: the variety of mono- and combination therapies prescribed, substantial variation in medication prescriptions between subtypes, most patients receiving two or more treatment lines, and the large number of unique treatment sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of season on playground surface injury rates. METHODS: Injuries were identified through student incident report forms used in school districts in Calgary (Alberta) and the surrounding area. Playground surface exposure data were estimated based on school enrollment. RESULTS: A total of 539 injuries were reported during the 2007/2008 school year. Abrasions, bruises and inflammation were the most frequently reported injuries. The head, neck or face were most commonly injured. Injury rates per 1000 student days ranged between 0.018 (rubber crumb in spring) and 0.08 (poured-in-place and natural rock in the fall). Rubber crumb surfacing, compared with natural rock, had a significantly lower rate of injury in the spring, but no other season-surface comparisons were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of injury were similar for natural rock, poured-in-place, and crushed rock in the fall and winter. There was some evidence of a lower rate of injury on rubber crumb surfaces in the spring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]