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Retractions of peer-reviewed biomedical journal articles with Indian authorship have been on the rise for many years. Our study aimed to investigate the reason behind these retractions, namely plagiarism, falsification, fabrication, duplicate publication, author conflicts, ethical issues, fake peer-reviews, and data-related issues, besides providing year-wise trends regarding retraction, authorship, impact factor, and citations. We retrieved retracted publications with Indian affiliations indexed in MEDLINE between 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2021. During this period a total of 619 papers from 372 different journals with median values (interquartile range) pertaining to impact factor [3.2 (1.5, 5.2)], retraction time [24 (10, 51)] months, pre-retraction citations [4 (1, 12)], and post-retraction citations [4 (2, 12)] were retracted. While retractions still account for a small fraction of all publications (0.1%), the overall rate of retractions, that is, the number of retractions relative to the number of newly published journal articles in a given year, has been increasing. The reasons for retractions included plagiarism (27%), falsification and fabrication (26%), duplicate publication (21%), erroneous data (12%), authorship issues (4%), fake-peer reviews (3%), and ethical and funding issues (2%). We have analysed these reasons separately and compared them with each other. Besides a spurt in retraction due to plagiarism, instances of falsification have been escalating over the past decade. Half of the papers retracted on grounds of falsification were published by repeat offender authors in high-impact journals. Furthermore, 82% of retracted papers continued to accumulate citations even after the release of the journal retraction notices. The increase in retractions raises concerns over research quality as well as the wastage of scientific resources, which is especially pressing considering the present environment of scarce funding. The problem of retractions due to reasons such as plagiarism, duplicate publication, authorship issues, and, ethical issues as well as post-retraction citations can be mitigated by educating and raising awareness on publication ethics and responsible research conduct of researchers and journal publishers. Retractions due to fabrication, falsification, and fake peer reviews are more challenging to difficult to address and require further research for the identification of effective solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The First 1000 Days (the period from conception to a child's second birthday) is an important developmental period. However, little is known about experiences of parents with refugee and migrant backgrounds during this period. A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Publications were identified through searches of the Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus databases, critically appraised, and synthesised using thematic analysis. A total of 35 papers met inclusion criteria. Depressive symptomatology was consistently higher than global averages, however maternal depression conceptualisations differed across studies. Several papers reported changes in relationship dynamics as a result of having a baby post-migration. Consistent relationships were found between social and health support and wellbeing. Conceptualisations of wellbeing may differ among migrant families. Limited understanding of health services and relationships with health providers may impede help-seeking. Several research gaps were identified, particularly in relation to the wellbeing of fathers, and of parents of children over 12 months old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insomnia symptoms are frequent during peripartum and are considered risk factors for peripartum psychopathology. Assessing and treating insomnia and related conditions of sleep loss during peripartum should be a priority in the clinical practice. The aim of this paper was to conduct a systematic review on insomnia evaluation and treatment during peripartum which may be useful for clinicians. The literature review was carried out between January 2000 and May 2021 on the evaluation and treatment of insomnia during the peripartum period. The PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase electronic databases were searched for literature published according to the PRISMA guidance with several combinations of search terms "insomnia" and "perinatal period" or "pregnancy" or "post partum" or "lactation" or "breastfeeding" and "evaluation" and "treatment." Based on this search, 136 articles about insomnia evaluation and 335 articles on insomnia treatment were found and we conducted at the end a narrative review. According to the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 41 articles were selected for the evaluation part and 22 on the treatment part, including the most recent meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Evaluation of insomnia during peripartum, as for insomnia patients, may be conducted at least throughout a clinical interview, but specific rating scales are available and may be useful for assessment. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), as for insomnia patients, should be the preferred treatment choice during peripartum, and it may be useful to also improve mood, anxiety symptoms, and fatigue. Pharmacological treatment may be considered when women who present with severe forms of insomnia symptoms do not respond to nonpharmacologic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures originally developed for paper administration are increasingly being administered electronically in clinical trials and other health research studies. Three published meta-analyses of measurement equivalence among paper and electronic modes aggregated findings across hundreds of PROs, but there has not been a similar meta-analysis that addresses a single PRO, partly because there are not enough published measurement equivalence studies using the same PRO. Because the SF-36(R) Health Survey (SF-36) is a widely used PRO, the aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of measurement equivalence studies of this survey.Methods: A literature search of several medical databases used search terms for variations of "SF-36" or "SF-12" and "equivalence" in the title or abstract of English language publications. The eight scale scores and two summary measures of the SF-36 and SF-12 were transformed to norm-based scores (NBS) using developer guidelines. A threshold of within ± 2 NBS points was set as the margin of equivalence. Comprehensive meta-analysis software was used.Results: Twenty-five studies were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicated that mean differences across domains and summary scores ranged from 0.01 to 0.39 while estimates of agreement ranged from 0.76 to 0.91, all well within the equivalence threshold. Moderator analyses showed that time between administration, survey language, and type of electronic device did not influence equivalence.Conclusions: The results of the meta-analysis support equivalence of paper-based and electronic versions of the SF-36 and SF-12 across a variety of disease populations, countries, and electronic modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals may experience a range of symptoms after the clearance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This condition is termed long COVID (LC) or Post-COVID-19 condition (PCC). Despite the appreciable number of symptoms documented to date, one key challenge remains in the robust characterization of LC outcomes. This review aimed to assess the properties, identify gaps, and provide recommendations for relevant descriptive and evaluative Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement (PROM) instruments that can be used to comprehensively characterize LC. Methods: To achieve this objective, we identified and reviewed descriptive and evaluative PROM instruments that have been developed and validated to date with people living with LC. Our review assessed their properties, identified gaps, and recommended PROMs suitable for characterizing LC. To ensure a comprehensive and robust characterization of LC, we next identified, reviewed, and selected (with the input of patient partners) PROMs associated with the most frequently reported LC symptoms. The evaluation criteria included psychometric evidence, mode of delivery, cost, and administration time. Results: Traditional matrix mapping revealed Post-COVID Functional Status Scale (PCFS) as a choice instrument for capturing LC outcomes largely because of the comprehensive domains it covered, and the number of psychometric evidence reported in literatures. This instrument can be effectively paired with the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Headache Impact Test (HIT), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and DePaul Symptom Questionnaire (DSQ-PEM) to characterize fatigue, cognitive impairment, depression/anxiety, headache, sleeplessness, and post-exertional malaise respectively. Conclusion: Our paper identified appropriate PROM instruments that can effectively capture the diverse impacts of LC. By utilizing these validated instruments, we can better understand and manage LC. Plain language summary: Some individuals who once contracted the virus responsible for COVID-19 may continue to experience a range of symptoms persisting for more than 3 months. These symptoms include fatigue, difficulty sleeping, anxiety and difficulty breathing amongst others. This condition is known by many as Long COVID (LC). To understand the health outcomes of patients faced with this condition, standardized Patient Reported Outcome Measurement instruments (PROMs) are pivotal. PROMs are standardized questionnaires completed by patients to measure their symptoms, perceptions of health status, and/or functional well-being. In this paper, we have examined standardized instruments suitable for measuring LC outcomes. We conducted a comprehensive strength and weakness analysis of each instrument reviewed, guided by specific criteria. Based on our strength and weakness analyses, we identified several potential instruments that can be used to reports patients' outcomes concerning LC. The data collected from PROMs provides valuable insights for healthcare practitioners and policy makers, enabling the enhancement of patient-centric care and serving as an instrument for systemic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of death among women worldwide. It affects in general women older than 40 years old. Medical images analysis is one of the most promising research areas since it provides facilities for diagnosis and decision-making of several diseases such as BC. This paper conducts a Structured Literature Review (SLR) of the use of Machine Learning (ML) and Image Processing (IP) techniques to deal with BC imaging. A set of 530 papers published between 2000 and August 2019 were selected and analyzed according to ten criteria: year and publication channel, empirical type, research type, medical task, machine learning techniques, datasets used, validation methods, performance measures and image processing techniques which include image pre-processing, segmentation, feature extraction and feature selection. Results showed that diagnosis was the most used medical task and that Deep Learning techniques (DL) were largely used to perform classification. Furthermore, we found out that classification was the most ML objective investigated followed by prediction and clustering. Most of the selected studies used Mammograms as imaging modalities rather than Ultrasound or Magnetic Resonance Imaging with the use of public or private datasets with MIAS as the most frequently investigated public dataset. As for image processing techniques, the majority of the selected studies pre-process their input images by reducing the noise and normalizing the colors, and some of them use segmentation to extract the region of interest with the thresholding method. For feature extraction, we note that researchers extracted the relevant features using classical feature extraction techniques (e.g. Texture features, Shape features, etc.) or DL techniques (e. g. VGG16, VGG19, ResNet, etc.), and finally few papers used feature selection techniques in particular the filter methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph theory is a well-established theory with many methods used in mathematics to study graph structures. In the field of medicine, electronic health records (EHR) are commonly used to store and analyze patient data. Consequently, it seems straight-forward to perform research on modeling EHR data as graphs. This systematic literature review aims to investigate the frontiers of the current research in the field of graphs representing and processing patient data. We want to show, which areas of research in this context need further investigation. The databases MEDLINE, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore and ACM digital library were queried by using the search terms health record, graph and related terms. Based on the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis" (PRISMA) statement guidelines the articles were screened and evaluated using full-text analysis. Eleven out of 383 articles found in systematic literature review were finally included for analysis in this literature review. Most of them use graphs to represent temporal relations, often representing the connection among laboratory data points. Only two papers report that the graph data were further processed by comparing the patient graphs using similarity measurements. Graphs representing individual patients are hardly used in research context, only eleven papers considered such kind of graphs in their investigations. The potential of graph theoretical algorithms, which are already well established, could help increasing this research field, but currently there are too few papers to estimate how this area of research will develop. Altogether, the use of such patient graphs could be a promising technique to develop decision support systems for diagnosis, medication or therapy of patients using similarity measurements or different kinds of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Clinical research is widely sponsored by drug and device companies. We investigated whether industry sponsored drug and device studies have more favorable outcomes and differ in risk of bias, compared with studies having other sources of sponsorship. This review is an update of a previous Cochrane review.Methods: In this update we searched MEDLINE and Embase (2010 to February 2015), Cochrane Methodology Register (2015, Issue 2) and Web of Science (June 2015). We included empirical studies that quantitatively compared primary research studies of drugs or medical devices sponsored by industry with studies with other sources of sponsorship. Two assessors included papers, extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Outcomes included favorable results, favorable conclusions, effect size, risk of bias and whether conclusions agreed with results.Results: We included 27 additional papers in this update (review now includes 75 papers). Industry sponsored studies more often had favorable efficacy results, RR: 1.27 (95% CI 1.17-1.37), no difference in harms results RR: 1.37 (95% CI 0.64-2.93) and more often favorable conclusions RR: 1.34 (95% CI 1.19-1.51) compared with non-industry sponsored studies. Nineteen papers reported on sponsorship and efficacy effect size, but could not be pooled due to differences in reporting of data and heterogeneity of results. Comparing industry and non-industry sponsored studies, we did not find a difference in risk of bias from sequence generation, allocation concealment, follow-up and selective outcome reporting. However, industry sponsored studies more often had low risk of bias from blinding, RR: 1.25 (95% CI 1.05-1.50), compared with non-industry sponsored studies.Conclusions: Drug and device studies sponsored by manufacturing companies have more favorable efficacy results and conclusions than studies sponsored by other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to review and analysis of the state of the art regarding triage applications (apps) for health emergencies. This research is based on a systematic review of the literature in scientific databases from 2010 to early 2021, following a prism methodology. In addition, a Google Play Store search of the triage apps found in the literature was performed for further evaluation. A total of 26 relevant papers were obtained for this study, of which 13 apps were identified. After searching for each of these apps in the Google Play Store platform, only 2 of them were obtained, and these were subsequently evaluated together with another app obtained from the link provided in the corresponding paper. In the analysis carried out, it was detected that from 2019 onwards there has been an increase in research interest in this area, since the papers obtained from this year onwards represent 38.5% of the relevant papers. This increase may be caused by the need for early selection of the most serious patients in such difficult times for the health service. According to the review carried out, an increase in mobile app research focused on Emergency Triage and a decrease in app studies for triage catastrophe have been identified. In this study it was also observed that despite the existence of many researches in this sense, only 3 apps contained in them are accessible. "TRIAGIST" does not allow the entry of an unidentified user, "Major Trauma Triage Tool" presents negative comments from users who have used it and "ESITriage" lacks updates to improve its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging causes the reduction in physical and physiological strength and an increase in the odds of affliction with chronic physical and mental diseases ultimately affecting the quality of life (QoL). So far, several primary studies have been conducted on the impact of religious-spiritual education and care on the QoL of the elderly. However, to the best of our knowledge, a study that compiles and represents these findings in a published paper is lacking. Therefore, the current study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of religious-spiritual education and care on the QoL of the elderly population. To access studies related to the aim of the study, SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched. The search was done using relevant and validated keywords with MeSH/Emtree without time limitations until December 2021. The qualitative appraisal of the papers was done using the JBI checklist. To estimate the heterogeneity of studies, I2 index was used, and to combine the data and carry out a meta-analysis, Random Effects model was used. In the primary research, 1065 studies were found. The omission of the redundant cases led to a total number of 12 papers with a sample size of 317 in the intervention group and 321 in the control to be included in the meta-analysis. After the intervention, the mean score of QoL showed a significant increase by 1.42 ± 0.31 with a Confidence Interval of 95% (P<0.001). Meta-regression results showed that the increase in the year of conducting the study, and the number of intervention sessions, that the standardized mean difference had a decreasing trend, and that with the increase in the average age of the elderly, there was a rising trend (P<0.001). Therefore, it seems that the application of religious-spiritual education and care could be part of a program to improve the QoL of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a literature search to identify and compare definitions of the experiential dimension of spiritual pain. Key databases were searched, up to the year 2021 inclusive, for papers with a definition of "spiritual" or "existential" pain/distress in a clinical setting. Of 144 hits, seven papers provided theoretical definitions/descriptions; none incorporated clinical observations or underlying pathophysiological constructs. Based on these findings, we propose a new definition for "spiritual pain" as a "self-identified experience of personal discomfort, or actual or potential harm, triggered by a threat to a person's relationship with God or a higher power." Our updated definition can inform future studies in pain assessment and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiological imaging is a globally prevalent diagnostic method, yet the free text contained in radiology reports is not frequently used for secondary purposes. Natural Language Processing can provide structured data retrieved from these reports. This paper provides a summary of the current state of research on Large Language Model (LLM) based approaches for information extraction (IE) from radiology reports. We conduct a scoping review that follows the PRISMA-ScR guideline. Queries of five databases were conducted on August 1st 2023. Among the 34 studies that met inclusion criteria, only pre-transformer and encoder-based models are described. External validation shows a general performance decrease, although LLMs might improve generalizability of IE approaches. Reports related to CT and MRI examinations, as well as thoracic reports, prevail. Most common challenges reported are missing validation on external data and augmentation of the described methods. Different reporting granularities affect the comparability and transparency of approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote Measurement Technologies (RMTs) could revolutionise management of chronic health conditions by providing real-time symptom tracking. However, the promise of RMTs relies on user engagement, which at present is variably reported in the field. This review aimed to synthesise the RMT literature to identify how and to what extent engagement is defined, measured, and reported, and to present recommendations for the standardisation of future work. Seven databases (Embase, MEDLINE and PsycINFO (via Ovid), PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched in July 2020 for papers using RMT apps for symptom monitoring in adults with a health condition, prompting users to track at least three times during the study period. Data were synthesised using critical interpretive synthesis. A total of 76 papers met the inclusion criteria. Sixty five percent of papers did not include a definition of engagement. Thirty five percent included both a definition and measurement of engagement. Four synthetic constructs were developed for measuring engagement: (i) engagement with the research protocol, (ii) objective RMT engagement, (iii) subjective RMT engagement, and (iv) interactions between objective and subjective RMT engagement. The field is currently impeded by incoherent measures and a lack of consideration for engagement definitions. A process for implementing the reporting of engagement in study design is presented, alongside a framework for definition and measurement options available. Future work should consider engagement with RMTs as distinct from the wider eHealth literature, and measure objective versus subjective RMT engagement. Registration: This review has been registered on PROSPERO [CRD42020192652]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Understanding how patients and families experience, respond to, and cope with the financial burden associated with cancer could assist in identifying future research priorities and developing relevant interventions to assist patients and families facing financial hardship. This systematic review offers a synthesis of the qualitative evidence on cancer-related financial toxicity from the perspective of patients and/or informal caregivers in publicly funded healthcare systems where it might be expected that financial protection would be strongest. Methods: Articles published between January 1, 2005, and March 7, 2019, describing financial burden experienced by cancer patients and/or informal caregivers were identified using OVID MEDLINE Embase and PsychInfo, CINAHL, Business Source Complete, and EconLit databases. English language, peer-reviewed qualitative papers describing studies conducted in countries with predominantly publicly funded healthcare systems were eligible. Quality appraisal was conducted using CASP Quality Appraisal Checklist. Narrative synthesis was completed with extracted data and themes identified inductively by all team members. Results: Twelve articles were identified as eligible. Articles reported on 10 studies conducted in Australia (n = 2), Canada (n = 2), England (n = 3), and Ireland (n = 3). The papers illustrate the complexity and multifaceted nature of experiencing financial hardship following a cancer diagnosis. Each contributes to the whole picture, providing different viewpoints regarding various and diverse forms of financial hardship, the process of confronting financial challenges, working to overcome difficulties, and coping with the resulting impacts. Synthesis of the studies suggested five themes: household and medical costs are increased, financial resources are reduced, financial change and financial hardship vary, financial hardship has many consequences, various mitigation strategies are used. Conclusion: Cancer patients and their families can experience a broad range of impacts when they are facing and coping with financial toxicity. Consistent gaps in support highlight that strategies to mitigate financial effects related to travel, accommodation, medications, family support, and income replacement are needed for many patients and families even in the context of publicly funded healthcare systems. Implications for Cancer Survivors: Survivors need to be informed early in their cancer experience about the potential financial burden associated with cancer treatment and its impact on survivors and their family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning is frequently being leveraged to tackle problems in the health sector including utilization for clinical decision-support. Its use has historically been focused on single modal data. Attempts to improve prediction and mimic the multimodal nature of clinical expert decision-making has been met in the biomedical field of machine learning by fusing disparate data. This review was conducted to summarize the current studies in this field and identify topics ripe for future research. We conducted this review in accordance with the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews to characterize multi-modal data fusion in health. Search strings were established and used in databases: PubMed, Google Scholar, and IEEEXplore from 2011 to 2021. A final set of 128 articles were included in the analysis. The most common health areas utilizing multi-modal methods were neurology and oncology. Early fusion was the most common data merging strategy. Notably, there was an improvement in predictive performance when using data fusion. Lacking from the papers were clear clinical deployment strategies, FDA-approval, and analysis of how using multimodal approaches from diverse sub-populations may improve biases and healthcare disparities. These findings provide a summary on multimodal data fusion as applied to health diagnosis/prognosis problems. Few papers compared the outputs of a multimodal approach with a unimodal prediction. However, those that did achieved an average increase of 6.4% in predictive accuracy. Multi-modal machine learning, while more robust in its estimations over unimodal methods, has drawbacks in its scalability and the time-consuming nature of information concatenation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy drinks (EDs) are non-alcoholic beverages providing an extra boost in physical/cognitive performance and mood. Besides the physiological effects related to the high-caffeine content of EDs, long-term emotional, social, and behavioral effects have been recently receiving attention. However, a few systematic reviews have focused on the critical yet understudied periods of childhood and adolescence. We have undertaken a comprehensive systematic review of the evidence on any psychosocial correlates of ED consumption in 0–18-year-old subjects, as published up to April 1, 2021, in MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Reviews and Central Register of Controlled Trials. Of the initial 789 records, 104 original articles were included in the systematic review. Seventy percent of them were published from 2016 onwards; among investigated topics, substance use ranked first, followed by psychological and socio-educational factors; the less investigated topic was risky behaviors. Taste and energy-seeking were the main drivers of consumption, which generally happened at home or during sport/recreational activities, without perception of health-related risks. Positive associations with ED consumption were found for sensation seeking, irritability/anger, and suicide ideation, plan, or attempts. Finally, participants with lower grades, a low parental monitoring, or bad influences from peers were more likely to consume EDs. Conclusion: With ~ 70% of papers published since the 2 comprehensive reviews on children/adolescents were carried out, an update of the literature with a broad focus is of great importance. Consumption of EDs by children/adolescents lies in the potential interplay between personality traits, school performance, and influences by family members and peers. What is Known: • Taste and energy-seeking are the main drivers of energy drink consumption, which mostly happened at home or in sport/recreational activities. What is New: • Perception of risks related to energy drinks is associated with a lower consumption, as based on cross-sectional studies. • As mostly based on cross-sectional studies: 1. energy drink consumption is related to sensation seeking, irritability/anger, and suicide ideation or attempts; 2. students with a lower school performance, low parental monitoring, or bad peer influence, are more likely to consume energy drinks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reverse triggering (RT) was described in 2013 as a form of patient-ventilator asynchrony, where patient's respiratory effort follows mechanical insufflation. Diagnosis requires esophageal pressure (Pes) or diaphragmatic electrical activity (EAdi), but RT can also be diagnosed using standard ventilator waveforms. Hypothesis: We wondered (1) how frequently RT would be present but undetected in the figures from literature, especially before 2013; (2) whether it would be more prevalent in the era of small tidal volumes after 2000. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, from 1950 to 2017, with key words related to asynchrony to identify papers with figures including ventilator waveforms expected to display RT if present. Experts labelled waveforms. 'Definite' RT was identified when Pes or EAdi were in the tracing, and 'possible' RT when only flow and pressure waveforms were present. Expert assessment was compared to the author's descriptions of waveforms. Results: We found 65 appropriate papers published from 1977 to now, containing 181 ventilator waveforms. 21 cases of 'possible' RT and 25 cases of 'definite' RT were identified by the experts. 18.8% of waveforms prior to 2013 had evidence of RT. Most cases were published after 2000 (1 before vs. 45 after, p = 0.03). 54% of RT cases were attributed to different phenomena. A few cases of identified RT were already described prior to 2013 using different terminology (earliest in 1997). While RT cases attributed to different phenomena decreased after 2013, 60% of 'possible' RT remained missed. Conclusion: RT has been present in the literature as early as 1997, but most cases were found after the introduction of low tidal volume ventilation in 2000. Following 2013, the number of undetected cases decreased, but RT are still commonly missed. Reverse Triggering, A Missed Phenomenon in the Literature. Critical Care Canada Forum 2019 Abstracts. Can J Anesth/J Can Anesth 67 (Suppl 1), 1–162 (2020). https://doi-org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-019-01552-z. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article comprehensively reviews motor impairments in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to: (1) determine the prevalence of motor problems in children with ASD; (2) understand the nature of motor difficulties in ASD and whether they are consistent with developmental coordination disorder (DCD); and (3) determine if the term DCD was used as a co-occurring diagnosis in children with ASD after publication of the DSM-5 in 2013. The following databases were systematically searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO from 2010 to December 2021. Articles were included if they: (1) were peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal; (2) included children with ASD who were between 5 and 12 years; (3) used motor or function measures to assess motor abilities in children with ASD. Studies that included children with intellectual disabilities were excluded. Two independent reviewers reviewed titles, abstracts, and full-text articles for inclusion. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were assessed for quality by two independent reviewers using the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies. The majority of articles (92.5%) indicated that 50–88% of children with ASD had significant motor impairments on standardized motor assessments and/or functional questionnaires. The nature of motor and function problems in ASD were consistent with DCD; however, only three out of 20 papers (15%) that were published from 2014 described the motor problems as DCD. One study reported that 15.1% of children with ASD with motor impairments had a co-occurring diagnosis of DCD, suggesting that DCD is under-recognized in this clinical population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While the burgeoning researcher and practitioner interest in physical literacy has stimulated new assessment approaches, the optimal tool for assessment among school-aged children remains unclear. Objective: The purpose of this review was to: (i) identify assessment instruments designed to measure physical literacy in school-aged children; (ii) map instruments to a holistic construct of physical literacy (as specified by the Australian Physical Literacy Framework); (iii) document the validity and reliability for these instruments; and (iv) assess the feasibility of these instruments for use in school environments. Design: This systematic review (registered with PROSPERO on 21 August, 2022) was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. Data Sources: Reviews of physical literacy assessments in the past 5 years (2017 +) were initially used to identify relevant assessments. Following that, a search (20 July, 2022) in six databases (CINAHL, ERIC, GlobalHealth, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus) was conducted for assessments that were missed/or published since publication of the reviews. Each step of screening involved evaluation from two authors, with any issues resolved through discussion with a third author. Nine instruments were identified from eight reviews. The database search identified 375 potential papers of which 67 full text papers were screened, resulting in 39 papers relevant to a physical literacy assessment. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria: Instruments were classified against the Australian Physical Literacy Framework and needed to have assessed at least three of the Australian Physical Literacy Framework domains (i.e., psychological, social, cognitive, and/or physical). Analyses: Instruments were assessed for five aspects of validity (test content, response processes, internal structure, relations with other variables, and the consequences of testing). Feasibility in schools was documented according to time, space, equipment, training, and qualifications. Results: Assessments with more validity/reliability evidence, according to age, were as follows: for children, the Physical Literacy in Children Questionnaire (PL-C Quest) and Passport for Life (PFL). For older children and adolescents, the Canadian Assessment for Physical Literacy (CAPL version 2). For adolescents, the Adolescent Physical Literacy Questionnaire (APLQ) and Portuguese Physical Literacy Assessment Questionnaire (PPLA-Q). Survey-based instruments were appraised to be the most feasible to administer in schools. Conclusions: This review identified optimal physical literacy assessments for children and adolescents based on current validity and reliability data. Instrument validity for specific populations was a clear gap, particularly for children with disability. While survey-based instruments were deemed the most feasible for use in schools, a comprehensive assessment may arguably require objective measures for elements in the physical domain. If a physical literacy assessment in schools is to be performed by teachers, this may require linking physical literacy to the curriculum and developing teachers' skills to develop and assess children's physical literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Infant developmental outcomes may be influenced by a range of prenatal maternal characteristics. While there is some evidence to suggest that maternal-foetal attachment may be associated with infant developmental outcomes, there is a need to systematically review this evidence to guide future research and clinical practice. Methods Five electronic databases were systematically scanned. Key journals and reference lists were hand-searched. Papers were included if: (1) pregnant women were assessed for maternal-foetal attachment; (2) the infants were later assessed, under 2 years old, for any developmental outcome (e.g., social-emotional, cognition, motor, language, adaptive behaviour); and (3) they were published in English. Two independent reviewers used the STROBE checklist to appraise the quality of each paper. Results Of the 968 papers identified, eight were included in the review, and four of these were of low quality (<60 %) based on the STROBE. The developmental domains that were examined included: infant temperament (n = 5), adaptive behaviour (e.g., colic, sleep) (n = 2), and milestone attainment (n = 1). There is some evidence to suggest that lower maternal-foetal attachment is related to suboptimal developmental outcomes. However, these results should be interpreted with caution due to the limited and low quality studies available. Conclusions Although maternal-foetal attachment may be associated with infant developmental outcomes, future research is required which: (1) considers a range of developmental outcomes, (2) has increased scientific rigour, (3) assesses mother-infant dyads at different prenatal and postnatal time points, and (4) examines different target populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Isotonic exercise is the most common mode of strength training. Isotonic strength is often measured in the movement that was exercised, but isometric and isokinetic movements are also commonly used to quantify changes in muscular strength. Previous research suggests that increasing strength in one movement may not lead to an increase in strength in a different movement. Quantifying the increase in strength in a movement not trained may be important for understanding strength training adaptations and making recommendations for resistance exercise and rehabilitation programs. Objective: To quantify changes in non-specific strength relative to a control. Design: A systematic review and random effects meta-analysis was conducted investigating the effects of isotonic strength training on isotonic and isokinetic/isometric strength. Search and Inclusion: This systematic review was conducted in Google scholar, PubMed, Academic Search Premier, and MENDELEY. To be included in this review paper the article needed to meet the following criteria: (1) report sufficient data for our variables of interest (i.e., changes in isotonic strength and changes in isokinetic or isometric strength); (2) include a time-matched non-exercise control; (3) be written in English; (4) include healthy human participants over the age of 18 years; (5) the participants had to train and test isotonically; (6) the participants had to be tested isokinetically or isometrically on a device different from that they trained on; (7) the non-specific strength task had to test a muscle involved in the training (i.e., could not have trained chest press and test handgrip strength); and (8) the control group and the experimental group had to perform the same number of strength tests. Results: We completed two separate searches. In the original search a total of 880 papers were screened and nine papers met the inclusion criteria. In the secondary search a total of 2594 papers were screened and three additional papers were added (total of 12 studies). The overall effect of resistance training on changes in strength within a movement that was not directly trained was 0.8 (Cohen's d) with a standard error of 0.286. This overall effect was significant (t = 2.821, p = 0.01) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) is 0.22–1.4. The overall effect of resistance training on strength changes within a movement that was directly trained was 1.84 (Cohen's d) with a standard error of 0.296. This overall effect was significant (t = 6.221, p < 0.001) and the 95% CI is 1.23–2.4. Conclusion: The results of our meta-analysis suggest that strength increases in both the specific and non-specific strength tests. However, the smaller effect size associated with non-specific strength suggests that it will be difficult for a single study to meaningfully investigate the transfer of strength training adaptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triage is a system used to prioritise patients as they enter the emergency department (ED) based on their need for urgent care. In recent decades, EDs have becoming increasingly overcrowded, leading to longer pre-triage waiting times for patients. E-triage interventions like kiosks have been proposed as a solution to overcrowding. We conducted a literature review into the effectiveness of kiosks in improving triage efficiency. After rigorously searching five biomedical databases and screening candidate articles in Endnote, we identified nine papers pertaining to the introduction of kiosks in emergency departments. Six articles had positive findings—with E-triage interventions improving some aspect of the triage process—such as reducing pre-triage times. Conversely, only three articles reported negative findings, such as low uptake. Consequently, EDs should consider introducing kiosks to complement the current nurse-led triage process and thereby promote better patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a scheme for the comparative analysis of the sets of Pubmed publications. The proposed analysis is based on the comparison of the frequencies of occurrence of keywords—MeSH terms. The purpose of the analysis is to identify MeSH terms that characterize research areas specific to each group of articles, as well as to identify trends—topics on which the number of published works has changed significantly in recent years. The proposed approach was tested by comparing a set of medical publications and a group of articles in the field of personalized medicine. We analyzed about 700 thousand abstracts published in the period 2009–2021 and indexed them with MeSH terms. Topics with increasing research interest have been identified both in the field of medicine in general and specific to personalized medicine. Retrospective analysis of the keywords frequency of occurrence changes has shown the shift of the scientific priorities in this area over the past 10 years. The revealed patterns can be used to predict the relevance and significance of the scientific work direction in the horizon of 3–5 years. The proposed analysis can be scaled in the future for a larger number of groups of publications, as well as adjusted by introducing filters at the stage of sampling (scientific centers, journals, availability of full texts, etc.) or selecting a list of keywords (frequency threshold, use of qualifiers, category of generalizations). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To review the international literature related to high-risk medication (HRM) in community care, in order to (1) define a definition of HRM and (2) list the medication that is considered HRM in community care. Methods: Scoping review: Five databases were systematically searched (MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, Web Of Science, and Cochrane) and extended with a hand search of cited references. Two researchers reviewed the papers independently. All extracted definitions and lists of HRM were subjected to a self-developed quality appraisal. Data were extracted, analysed and summarised in tables. Critical attributes were extracted in order to analyse the definitions. Results: Of the 109 papers retrieved, 36 met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Definitions for HRM in community care were used inconsistently among the papers, and various recurrent attributes of the concept HRM were used. Taking the recurrent attributes and the quality score of the definitions into account, the following definition could be derived: "High-risk medication are medications with an increased risk of significant harm to the patient. The consequences of this harm can be more serious than those with other medications". A total of 66 specific medications or categories were extracted from the papers. Opioids, insulin, warfarin, heparin, hypnotics and sedatives, chemotherapeutic agents (excluding hormonal agents), methotrexate and hypoglycaemic agents were the most common reported HRM in community care. Conclusion: The existing literature pertaining to HRM in community care was examined. The definitions and medicines reported as HRM in the literature are used inconsistently. We suggested a definition for more consistent use in future research and policy. Future research is needed to determine more precisely which definitions should be considered for HRM in community care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: One of the pathogenetic hypotheses of delirium is the "neuroinflammatory theory" with consequent neurotoxicity of brain connectivity networks. Micronutrients may play a significant role in the prevention of neuroinflammation. This systematic review addresses the role of micronutrients in the development of delirium in older populations. Methods: The EBSCO, Cochrane, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were searched for articles on delirium and micronutrients. The methodological quality of the studies included in the review was evaluated with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scales for observational studies and for case-control studies. Results: 1326 papers were identified from the searches, 7 of which met the inclusion criteria (see section 2.3). All the papers included were written in English. Delirium was predominantly secondary to post-operative dysfunction or acute medical conditions. By altering the production of neurotransmitters resulting in an imbalance, and by reducing their immunomodulatory role with a consequent increase in inflammatory oxidative stress, micronutrient deficiency seems to be associated with an increased incidence of delirium. Conclusions: This review supports the existence of an association between micronutrient deficiency (i.e. cobalamin, thiamine, and vitamin D) and an increased incidence of delirium, with a greater prevalence in hospitalized patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this review was to examine the ratio of female and male participants utilised in data informing consensus statements and position stands in the field of resistance training (RT). In order to achieve this objective, we conducted an 'audit' style review. We accessed three databases: SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE and Google Scholar utilising the following search terms: resistance or strength training AND consensus statements or position statements/stands. Eligibility criteria included consensus statements and position stands for RT in youth, adults and older adults. In this paper we have used the term 'female' to describe biological sex. Gender is a social construct and often describes roles and behaviours that society assigns to men or women. In this paper we have used the term 'women' to describe gender. Reference lists from each guideline were screened with the number of male and female participants extracted from each study. We also extracted data on the gender of the authors of the statements. We located 11 guidelines encompassing a total of 104,251,363 participants. Youth guidelines were comprised of 69% male participants. There were 287 studies that included both sexes, 205 male-only and 92 female-only studies. Adult guidelines were comprised of 70% male participants. There were 104 studies that included both sexes, 240 male-only and 44 female-only studies. Older adult guidelines were comprised of 54% female participants. There were 395 studies that included both sexes, 112 male-only and 83 female-only studies. Women authors comprised 13% of all authors of position stands and consensus statements. These results demonstrate an under-representation of females and women as both participants and as authors. It is imperative to ensure that data informing governing body guidelines and consensus statements are representative of the population they aim to inform. If this is not possible, guidelines should clearly state when their data and recommendations are based primarily upon one sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the prehospital care of potentially seriously injured patients resource allocation adapted to injury severity (triage) is a challenging. Insufficiently specified triage algorithms lead to the unnecessary activation of a trauma team (over-triage), resulting in ineffective consumption of economic and human resources. A prehospital trauma triage algorithm must reliably identify a patient bleeding or suffering from significant brain injuries. By supplementing the prehospital triage algorithm with in-hospital established point-of-care (POC) tools the sensitivity of the prehospital triage is potentially increased. Possible POC tools are lactate measurement and sonography of the thorax, the abdomen and the vena cava, the sonographic intracranial pressure measurement and the capnometry in the spontaneously breathing patient. The aim of this review was to assess the potential and to determine diagnostic cut-off values of selected instrument-based POC tools and the integration of these findings into a modified ABCDE based triage algorithm. Methods: A systemic search on MEDLINE via PubMed, LIVIVO and Embase was performed for patients in an acute setting on the topic of preclinical use of the selected POC tools to identify critical cranial and peripheral bleeding and the recognition of cerebral trauma sequelae. For the determination of the final cut-off values the selected papers were assessed with the Newcastle–Ottawa scale for determining the risk of bias and according to various quality criteria to subsequently be classified as suitable or unsuitable. PROSPERO Registration: CRD 42022339193. Results: 267 papers were identified as potentially relevant and processed in full text form. 61 papers were selected for the final evaluation, of which 13 papers were decisive for determining the cut-off values. Findings illustrate that a preclinical use of point-of-care diagnostic is possible. These adjuncts can provide additional information about the expected long-term clinical course of patients. Clinical outcomes like mortality, need of emergency surgery, intensive care unit stay etc. were taken into account and a hypothetic cut-off value for trauma team activation could be determined for each adjunct. The cut-off values are as follows: end-expiratory CO2: < 30 mm/hg; sonography thorax + abdomen: abnormality detected; lactate measurement: > 2 mmol/L; optic nerve diameter in sonography: > 4.7 mm. Discussion: A preliminary version of a modified triage algorithm with hypothetic cut-off values for a trauma team activation was created. However, further studies should be conducted to optimize the final cut-off values in the future. Furthermore, studies need to evaluate the practical application of the modified algorithm in terms of feasibility (e.g. duration of application, technique, etc.) and the effects of the new algorithm on over-triage. Limiting factors are the restriction with the search and the heterogeneity between the studies (e.g. varying measurement devices, techniques etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: There is both favorable and controversial evidence on the application of telemedicine in the emergency department (ED), which has created uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of these systems. We performed a systematic review of the literature on systematic reviews to provide an overview of the benefits and challenges to the application of telemedicine systems for the ED. Subject and methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were explored for systematic reviews of telemedicine applications for the ED. Each review was critically appraised by two authors for data items to be extracted and evaluated. The most highly recommended technology, feasibility, benefits, and challenges to the application of telemedicine systems were studied and reported. Results: We identified 18 studies of varying methodological quality and summarized their key findings. Form these 18 studies, 12 papers yielded a high risk of bias in their investigation. Nine papers concluded that real-time video conferencing was the best method of delivery, eight papers found cost reduction as an outcome of implementing these systems, and six studies found technical and infrastructure issues as a challenge when implementing telemedicine for EDs. Conclusion: There is strong evidence suggesting that the use of telemedicine positively impacts patient care. However, there are many challenges in implementing telemedicine that may impede the process or even impact patient safety. In conclusion, despite the high potential of telemedicine systems, there is still a need for better quality of evidence in order to confirm their feasibility in the ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Migraine is a debilitating neurological disorder with pain profile, suggesting exaggerated mechanosensation. Mechanosensitive receptors of different families, which specifically respond to various mechanical stimuli, have gathered increasing attention due to their potential role in migraine related nociception. Understanding these mechanisms is of principal importance for improved therapeutic strategies. This systematic review comprehensively examines the involvement of mechanosensitive mechanisms in migraine pain pathways. Methods: A systematic search across the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, and Medline was conducted on 8th August 2023 for the period from 2000 to 2023, according to PRISMA guidelines. The review was constructed following a meticulous evaluation by two authors who independently applied rigorous inclusion criteria and quality assessments to the selected studies, upon which all authors collectively wrote the review. Results: We identified 36 relevant studies with our analysis. Additionally, 3 more studies were selected by literature search. The 39 papers included in this systematic review cover the role of the putative mechanosensitive Piezo and K2P, as well as ASICs, NMDA, and TRP family of channels in the migraine pain cascade. The outcome of the available knowledge, including mainly preclinical animal models of migraine and few clinical studies, underscores the intricate relationship between mechanosensitive receptors and migraine pain symptoms. The review presents the mechanisms of activation of mechanosensitive receptors that may be involved in the generation of nociceptive signals and migraine associated clinical symptoms. The gender differences of targeting these receptors as potential therapeutic interventions are also acknowledged as well as the challenges related to respective drug development. Conclusions: Overall, this analysis identified key molecular players and uncovered significant gaps in our understanding of mechanotransduction in migraine. This review offers a foundation for filling these gaps and suggests novel therapeutic options for migraine treatments based on achievements in the emerging field of mechano-neurobiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune-associated pathology with an articular inflammatory basis. RA is diagnosed by severe pain, movement restriction, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and sexual disorder (SD). This pathology can potentially reduce the quality of life and cause many problems. The electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar search engine were systematically searched for the papers reporting the prevalence of SD in patients with RA (by August 2023). Following paper collection and data extraction, the Random Effects model was used to perform the data analysis (CMA, v.2). The heterogeneity of studies was assessed using I2 index. Following the assessment of 53 eligible studies with a sample size of 9,174 cases, the overall prevalence of SD in RA patients was 32.4% (95% CI:24.4–41.6). Also, the prevalence of SD in RA females and males was 36.5% (95% CI: 26.4–48) and 23.5% (95% CI:12.6–39.4), respectively. Based on the findings, the prevalence of SD among RA individuals was found relatively high; thus, the application of measures seems necessary to prevent sexual disorders in RA cases. These strategies are useful for health policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few primary studies that focused on the older immigrants' food habits and meal preferences after immigration and settlement in a new country. A comprehensive database search for literature was conducted in May 2021 and upgraded in September 2021. Ten databases (Medline (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), PsycInfo (Ovid), Cinahl (EBSCOhost), Food Science Source (EBSCOhost), SocIndex (EBSCOhost), Social Care Online, Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA), Web of Science and Google Scholar), were scanned for original, peer-reviewed papers published in English. The review was conducted and reported in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and SWiM items. Out of 3069 records, 10 papers were included for thematic synthesis. A data synthesis across all studies resulted in three main findings: (i) the significance of food in maintaining cultural identity, (ii) the continuity of traditional food culture and (iii) adapting to the host country's food culture. Although different forms of dietary acculturation occur throughout life, older immigrants often want to maintain their traditional food habits and meal preferences. For them, traditional eating habits offer comfort and security by serving as a means of identifying who they are and reminding them where they have come from. Public health and social services play an important role in providing cultural nutritional care to older immigrants; therefore, this issue should be carefully addressed by professionals and future research. Registration: The review protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) on 27 September 2022 with registration number CRD42022358235. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at exploring existing literature on substance use prevention programs, focusing on refugee youth. A comprehensive search for relevant articles was conducted on Scopus, PubMed, and EBSCOhost Megafile databases including Academic Search Ultimate, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL with Full Text, E-Journals, Humanities Source Ultimate, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, and Sociology Source Ultimate. Initially, a total of 485 studies were retrieved; nine papers were retained for quality assessment after removing duplicates. Of the nine studies that met the inclusion criteria, only three are found to partially addressed substance use prevention programs. The two substance use prevention programs that emerge from the study are Adelante Social and Marketing Campaign (ASMC), and Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI). Six others explored protective factors and strategies for preventing substance use. The study findings show that refugee youth held negative attitudes toward institutions that provide substance use prevention programs. This review concluded that refugee youth often experience persistent substance use as they are not aware of prevention programs that may reduce the prevalence and/or severity of such misuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present systematic review aims to assess the psychological adjustment of children born through assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) and to screen for clinical problems when compared with normative data from the standardized indexes of mental health. Following PRISMA guidelines, the search was conducted from inception through September 2021 using APA PsycInfo, APA PsycArticles, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, Academic Search Complete, Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo, and RCAAP. Search terms related to ART and children's psychological adjustment were combined to Boolean operators to identify relevant published studies in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Peer-reviewed studies focused on the psychological adjustment of ART children aged between the 3 and 11 years were included. From a total of 337 results, 45 papers were eligible to be included in this review. Data extraction was performed independently by two authors and revised and confirmed by other two authors. All children scored below the clinical range for psychiatric symptoms when compared with normative data for the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) or the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA), regardless of type of ART and different family configurations. Further, some evidence suggests that surrogacy children with gay fathers present the lowest levels of psychological problems when compared to normative data. These findings enable practitioners to develop an informed view of ART children mental health outcomes to help parents find more adaptive strategies to navigate their chosen pathways in healthier ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying major depression in children and adolescents is more challenging than in adults. Questionnaires are often used for screening or guiding clinical assessment. Several instruments of different lengths are used as equivalent measures in diagnostic decisions. In this paper, we explore to what extent 18 commonly used depression scales for children and adolescents explore depression clinical symptoms as established by standard DSM-5 diagnosis criteria. We analyzed scale content adequacy by examining the overlap between scale contents and consensus clinical symptoms, the diagnostic time frame for active symptom assessment, and readability for the target age group. The 18 scales encompassed 52 distinct symptoms. These scales included just 50% of clinical symptoms required for diagnosis. The content overlap was low; on average, 29% of symptoms coincide across scales. Half of the scales did not use the standard period for active symptom appraisal, and some did not include a period for assessment. The reading levels on six scales were inappropriate for the scale's target population age group. The substantial heterogeneity in defining the depressive syndrome, the low overlap among scales, different periods of a positive diagnosis, and mismatch of reading competence for detecting may lead to heterogeneity in clinical diagnoses when using different scales. Improving the content of self-report in terms of homogeneity of diagnostic criteria would lead to better diagnostic decisions and patient management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research examining the effects of spinal cord injury on sexuality has largely focused on physiological functioning and quantification of dysfunction following injury. This paper reports a systematic review of qualitative research that focused on the views and experiences of people with spinal cord injury on sex and relationships. The review addressed the following research question: What are the views and experiences of people with spinal cord injury of sex, sexuality and relationships following injury? Five databases were relevant and employed in the review: CINAHL (1989–2016 only), PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, for research published between 1 January 1980 and 30 November 2019. After removing duplicates, 257 records remained and were screened using a two-stage approach to inclusion and quality appraisal. Following screening, 27 met the criteria for inclusion and are reported in the paper. The review includes studies from fifteen countries across five continents. Two main approaches to data analysis summary and thematic synthesis were undertaken to analyze the qualitative data reported in the papers. The analysis revealed four main themes: sexual identity; significant and generalized others, sexual embodiment; and; sexual rehabilitation and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) has been increasingly used as routine examination in forensic pathology. No recent review of the growing number of papers on the ability of PMCT to detect skull fracture exists, and original papers report sensitivities from 0.85 to 1.00. This systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42021233264) aims to provide a meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity of PMCT in skull fracture detection. We searched PubMed, MEDLINE and Embase for papers published between January 2000 and August 2021 reporting raw numbers, sensitivity and specificity or Abbreviated Injury Score for PMCT compared to autopsy. Papers without both PMCT and autopsy, no separate reporting of the neuro-cranium, exclusively on children, sharp trauma, gunshot or natural death as well as case reports and reviews were excluded. Two authors independently performed inclusion, bias assessment and data extraction. QUADAS-2 was used for bias assessment and a random effects models used for meta-analysis. From 4.284 hits, 18 studies were eligible and 13 included in the meta-analysis for a total of 1538 cases. All deceased were scanned on multi-slice scanners with comparable parameters. Images were evaluated by radiologists or pathologists. Intra- and inter-observer analyses were rarely reported. In summary, sensitivity of PMCT for detection of fractures in the skull base was 0.87 [0.80; 0.92] with specificity 0.96 [0.90; 0.98], and sensitivity for the vault was 0.89 [0.80; 0.94] with specificity 0.96 [0.91; 0.98]. The mixed samples are a limitation of the review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Healthcare administrative (claims) data are commonly utilized to estimate drug effects. We identified considerable heterogeneity in fracture outcome definitions in a scoping review of 57 studies that estimated osteoporosis drug effects on fracture risk. Better understanding of the impact of different fracture definitions on study results is needed. Purpose: Healthcare administrative (claims) data are frequently used to estimate the real-world effects of drugs. Fracture incidence is a common outcome of osteoporosis drug studies. We aimed to describe how fractures are defined in studies that use claims data. Methods: We searched MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), and gray literature for studies published in English between 2000 and 2020 that estimated fracture effectiveness (hip, humerus, radius/ulna, vertebra) or safety (atypical fracture of the femur, AFF) of osteoporosis drugs using claims data in Canada and the USA. Literature searches, screening and data abstraction were completed independently by two reviewers. Results: We identified 57 eligible studies (52 effectiveness, 3 safety, 2 both). Hip fracture was the most common fracture site studied (93%), followed by humerus (66%), radius/ulna (59%), vertebra (61%), and AFF (9%). Half (n = 29) of the studies did not indicate specific data sources, codes, or cite a validation paper. Of the papers with sufficient detail, heterogeneity in fracture definitions was common. The most common definition within each fracture site was used by less than half of the studies that examined effectiveness (12 definitions in 29 hip fracture papers, 8 definitions in 17 humerus papers, 8 definitions in 13 radius/ulna papers, 9 definitions in 15 vertebra papers), and 3 definitions among 4 AFF papers. Conclusion: There is ambiguity and heterogeneity in fracture outcome definitions in studies that leverage claims data. Better transparency in outcome reporting is needed. Future exploration of how fracture definitions impact study results is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purposes of this study were to provide an outline of the existing literature on operationalization of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) within vocational rehabilitation (VR) and to explore the ICF utility within VR. Methods The process was undertaken in five stages according to a framework of scoping review. Screening and extraction of data were done by two independent reviewers, and data was summarized according to content analysis. Results Fifty papers (25 qualitative and 25 quantitative) were included. The operationalization of the ICF was described in four different ways: In total 18 (36%) papers described use of the ICF for structuring information, 8 (15%) for linking information to ICF, 12 (24%) for analysis of results, and 12 (24%) for development of a model. In total 15 (29%) papers described VR interventions involving stakeholders, whereas 32 (62%) were reviews. Forty of the papers described all the ICF components. Conclusions The review revealed use of the ICF within the field VR in 50 papers, and in various settings. The ICF framework was most often operationalized for structuring or linking information of functioning. A majority of papers were reviews and involved researchers only, whereas different stakeholders and VR professionals were involved in the interventions. In 40 papers all the ICF components were described, and the ICF was considered a useful tool to inform the VR professionals´ assessment of functioning. However, more research within VR is needed to standardize and ease the use of the ICF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychosocial work characteristics are potential determinants of retirement intentions and actual retirement. A systematic review was conducted of the influence of psychosocial work characteristics on retirement intentions and actual retirement among the general population. This did not include people who were known to be ill or receiving disability pension. Relevant papers were identified by a search of PubMed, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases to December 2016. We included longitudinal and cross-sectional papers that assessed psychosocial work characteristics in relation to retirement intentions or actual retirement. Papers were filtered by title and abstract before data extraction was performed on full texts using a predetermined extraction sheet. Forty-six papers contained relevant evidence. High job satisfaction and high job control were associated with later retirement intentions and actual retirement. No consistent evidence was found for an association of job demands with retirement intentions or actual retirement. We conclude that to extend working lives policies should increase the job control available to older employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The release of smartphones and tablets, which offer more advanced communication and computing capabilities, has led to the strong emergence of mHealth on the market. mHealth systems are being used to improve patients' lives and their health, in addition to facilitating communication between doctors and patients. Researchers are now proposing mHealth applications for many health conditions such as dementia, autism, dysarthria, Parkinson's disease, and so on. Usability becomes a key factor in the adoption of these applications, which are often used by people who have problems when using mobile devices and who have a limited experience of technology. The aim of this paper is to investigate the empirical usability evaluation processes described in a total of 22 selected studies related to mHealth applications by means of a Systematic Literature Review. Our results show that the empirical evaluation methods employed as regards usability could be improved by the adoption of automated mechanisms. The evaluation processes should also be revised to combine more than one method. This paper will help researchers and developers to create more usable applications. Our study demonstrates the importance of adapting health applications to users' need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding women's experiences of care, and treatment preferences, is vital for delivering acceptable and useful services to women with perinatal depression. This systematic review synthesises evidence on care and treatment preferences of women with perinatal depression. This qualitative evidence synthesis uses systematic review methodology. Medline, PsychINFO, CINAHL and EMBASE were searched from January 2011 to October 2021. Search terms fell into five categories: depression, the perinatal period, treatment preferences, experiences of care and qualitative research. Study quality was assessed and thematic analysis was used to synthesise findings. Thirteen papers met the inclusion criteria. Quality of included papers was of moderate to high quality. Five key themes were identified: women prioritise family needs; perinatal-specific care; when care falls short; professional empathy; and tailored care. Clinicians need to enable mothers to prioritise their own well-being. Service providers should ensure that treatment is tailored to the specifics of the perinatal period, providing specialist advice around medication, and therapy that fits with the demands of caring for a new baby. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-harm is a significant public health concern during adolescence. Most cases of self-harm do not come to the attention of professional services, however, where adolescents do disclose self-harm, the majority confide in their friends. Objective: Therefore, more needs to be understood about the protective function and risks friends may pose in the context of self-harm and personal implications of this behaviour. This review synthesises current research in this area. Methods: A systematic search of five healthcare databases was conducted, yielding nine papers, comprising of ten studies. Most studies recruited participants from schools. Papers were appraised using three quality appraisal tools relevant to study designs. Results: The synthesis found that friends act as first-line support for adolescents who self-harm, demonstrating emotional and physical availability and acting as a vehicle for terminating this behaviour and disclosure to adults. However, supporting friends who self-harm can be all-consuming, negative peer dynamics may perpetuate self-harm and group and personal vulnerability factors may increase risk of friends engaging in self-harm themselves. Conclusions: There are some indications that adolescents who self-harm may self-select friendship groups in which this behaviour is known to occur. The synthesis suggests adolescents need to be empowered to support peers who self-harm through mental health promotion and awareness-raising training at universal levels (e.g., whole school approaches). Leads for mental health in schools may also be important contact points for adolescents to disclose concerns to and seek personal support. Further practice and research implications are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present systematic review and meta-analysis study aimed to determine sociodemographic characteristics, risky behaviors, mental health disorders, and substance use disorders associated with suicide behaviors including suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among homeless individuals. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to identify the relevant studies published between January 1, 1995 and November 1, 2022. After initial evaluation of 9,094 papers, a total of 23 studies met the eligibility criteria. Results of the present study showed that chronic physical illnesses, violent behaviors, mood and psychotic disorders, and substance use disorders were significantly associated with both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, while being older, having a history of physical abuse, and having mood and post-traumatic stress disorders were associated with suicide attempts only. The present study's findings suggest a crucial need for facilitating access to mental healthcare plans and promoting mental healthcare seeking among homeless individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The concept of physical literacy has stimulated increased research attention in recent years-being deployed in physical education, sport participation, and the promotion of physical activity. Independent research groups currently operationalize the construct differently. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to conduct a systematic review of the physical literacy construct, as reflected in contemporary research literature. Methods: Five databases were searched using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for systematic reviews. Inclusion criteria were English language, peer reviewed, published by March 2016, and seeking to conceptualize physical literacy. Articles that met these criteria were analyzed in relation to three core areas: properties/attributes, philosophical foundations and theoretical associations with other constructs. A total of 50 published articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed qualitatively using inductive thematic analysis. Results: The thematic analysis addressed the three core areas. Under definitions, core attributes that define physical literacy were identified, as well as areas of conflict between different approaches currently being adopted. One relatively clear philosophical approach was prominent in approximately half of the papers, based on a monist/holistic ontology and phenomenological epistemology. Finally, the analysis identified a number of theoretical associations, including health, physical activity and academic performance. Conclusions: Current literature contains different representations of the physical literacy construct. The costs and benefits of adopting an exclusive approach versus pluralism are considered. Recommendations for both researchers and practitioners focus on identifying and clearly articulating the definitions, philosophical assumptions and expected outcomes prior to evaluating the effectiveness of this emerging concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Novel tuberculosis (TB) drugs and the need to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) are likely to bring about substantial transformations in TB treatment in coming years. An evidence base for cost and cost-effectiveness analyses of these developments is needed. Objective: Our objective was to perform a review of papers assessing provider-incurred as well as patient-incurred costs of treating both drug-susceptible (DS) and multidrug-resistant (MDR)-TB. Methods: Five databases (EMBASE, Medline, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry, and Latin American and Caribbean Health Services Literature) were searched for cost and economic evaluation full-text papers containing primary DS-TB and MDR-TB treatment cost data published in peer-reviewed journals between January 1990 and February 2015. No language restrictions were set. The search terms were a combination of 'tuberculosis', 'multidrug-resistant tuberculosis', 'cost', and 'treatment'. In the selected papers, study methods and characteristics, quality indicators and costs were extracted into summary tables according to pre-defined criteria. Results were analysed according to country income groups and for provider costs, patient costs and productivity losses. All values were converted to $US, year 2014 values, so that studies could be compared. Results: We selected 71 treatment cost papers on DS-TB only, ten papers on MDR-TB only and nine papers that included both DS-TB and MDR-TB. These papers provided evidence on the costs of treating DS-TB and MDR-TB in 50 and 16 countries, respectively. In 31 % of the papers, only provider costs were included; 26 % included only patient-incurred costs, and the remaining 43 % estimated costs incurred by both. From the provider perspective, mean DS-TB treatment costs per patient were US$14,659 in high-income countries (HICs), US$840 in upper middle-income countries (UMICs), US$273 in lower middle-income (LMICs), and US$258 in low-income countries (LICs), showing a strong positive correlation. The respective costs for treating MDR-TB were US$83,365, US$5284, US$6313 and US$1218. Costs incurred by patients when seeking treatment for DS-TB accounted for an additional 3 % of the provider costs in HICs. A greater burden was seen in the other income groups, increasing the costs of DS-TB treatment by 72 % in UMICs, 60 % in LICs and 31 % in LMICs. When provider costs, patient costs and productivity losses were combined, productivity losses accounted for 16 % in HICs, 29 % in UMICs, 40 % in LMICs and 38 % in LICs. Conclusion: Cost data for MDR-TB treatment are limited, and the variation in delivery mechanisms, as well as the rapidly evolving diagnosis and treatment regimens, means that it is essential to increase the number of studies assessing the cost from both provider and patient perspectives. There is substantial evidence available on the costs of DS-TB treatment from all regions of the world. The patient-incurred costs illustrate that the financial burden of illness is relatively greater for patients in poorer countries without universal healthcare coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laboratory parameters and the associated clinical outcomes have been an area of focus in COVID-19 research globally. Purpose: We performed a scoping review to synthesize laboratory values described in the literature and their associations with mortality and disease severity. Methods: We identified all primary studies involving laboratory values with clinical outcomes as a primary endpoint by performing data searches in various systematic review databases until 10th August, 2020. Two reviewers independently reviewed all abstracts (13,568 articles) and full text (1126 articles) data. A total of 529 studies involving 165,020 patients from 28 different countries were included. Investigation of the number of studies and patients from a geographical perspective showed that the majority of published literature from January–March 2020 to April–June 2020 was from Asia, though there was a temporal shift in published studies to Europe and the Americas. For each laboratory value, the proportion of studies that noted a statistically significant (p < 0.05) correlation with adverse clinical outcomes (e.g., mortality, disease severity) was tabulated. Results and conclusion: Among frequently reported laboratory values, blood urea nitrogen was the most often reported predictor of mortality (91%); neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was the most frequent statistically significant laboratory parameter in predicting disease severity (96%). This review highlights the temporal progression of laboratory value frequencies, as well as potentially distinct utilities of different markers for clinical outcomes of COVID-19. Future research pathways include using this collected data for focused quantitative meta-analyses of particular laboratory values correlated with clinical outcomes of mortality and disease severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Woodruff's plexus is a vascular network located on the posterior lateral wall of the inferior meatus of the nasal cavity and it is generally considered to be responsible for posterior epistaxis. Despite being initially identified in 1949 as a venous plexus, discrepancies exist within literature regarding this anatomical structure, particularly its arterial or venous nature and its association with posterior epistaxis. This systematic review aims to collate information pertaining to Woodruff's plexus and evaluate our current understanding of this vascular area. Methods: The systematic review was performed using published data in PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, EBSCO and Web of Science platforms using keywords such as 'Woodruff', 'posterior' and 'plexus'. Articles referring to Woodruff's plexus were collected and analysed by independent reviewers. Results: The search revealed 154 papers, out of which only 40 were included in the review. Out of this number only two papers were anatomical dissection studies, both of which identify the plexus as venous in nature. Seventeen studies describe the plexus as venous by citing these two papers. The remainder of the articles (23) consider Woodruff's plexus as arterial with variability in the reported arteries that supply it. Conclusion: Woodruff's original description of a venous plexus is supported by modern anatomical studies. There are a multitude of reports that Woodruff's plexus is arterial in nature, despite the absence of existing anatomical studies to support this notion. This misconception has likely arisen due to clinical associations in relation to posterior epistaxis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, healthcare systems have started to establish control centres to manage patient flow, with a view to removing delays and increasing the quality of care. Such centres—here dubbed Healthcare Capacity Command/Coordination Centres (HCCCs)—are a challenge to design and operate. Broad-ranging surveys of HCCCs have been lacking, and design for their human users is only starting to be addressed. In this review we identified 73 papers describing different kinds of HCCCs, classifying them according to whether they describe virtual or physical control centres, the kinds of situations they handle, and the different levels of Rasmussen's [1] risk management framework that they integrate. Most of the papers (71%) describe physical HCCCs established as control centres, whereas 29% of the papers describe virtual HCCCs staffed by stakeholders in separate locations. Principal functions of the HCCCs described are categorised as business as usual (BAU) (48%), surge management (15%), emergency response (18%), and mass casualty management (19%). The organisation layers that the HCCCs incorporate are classified according to the risk management framework; HCCCs managing BAU involve lower levels of the framework, whereas HCCCs handling the more emergent functions involve all levels. Major challenges confronting HCCCs include the dissemination of information about healthcare system status, and the management of perspectives and goals from different parts of the healthcare system. HCCCs that take the form of physical control centres are just starting to be analysed using human factors principles that will make staff more effective and productive at managing patient flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The most effective injective treatment approach for sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain remains unclear. Aim of this study was to quantify the safety and effectiveness of the available injective strategies to address SIJ pain. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases from inception until January 2023. Inclusion criteria were studies written in English, comparative and non-comparative studies regardless of the minimum follow-up, and case series on SIJ injections. Safety and efficacy of the different injection therapies for the SIJ were quantified. A meta-analysis was conducted on the available data of the documented injective therapies. The "Checklist for Measuring Quality" by Downs and Black was used to assess the risk of bias and the quality of papers. Results: The literature search retrieved 43 papers (2431 patients): 16 retrospective case series, 2 retrospective comparative studies, 17 prospective case series, 3 prospective comparative studies, and 5 randomized controlled trials. Of the selected studies, 63% examined the effect of steroid injections, 16% of PRP injections, while 21% reported other heterogeneous treatments. The failure rate was 26% in steroid injections and 14% in PRP injections. The meta-analysis showed a statistically significant reduction in pain with the VAS score for both steroids and PRP: steroids improvement at mid-term 3.4 points (p < 0.05), at long-term 3.0 (p < 0.05), PRP improvement at mid-term 2.2 (p = 0.007), at long-term 2.3 points of the VAS pain scale (p = 0.02). Conclusions: Steroids are the most documented injective approach, with studies showing an overall safety and effectiveness. Still, the high number of failures underlined by some studies suggest the need for alternative procedures. Early PRP data showed promise, but the limitations of the current literature do not allow to clearly define the most suitable injective approach, and further studies are needed to identify the best injective treatment for SIJ patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting stress has been related to adverse health outcomes in parents, children, and their families. This systematic review aimed to provide an overview of parental, child, and situational factors related to parenting stress in mothers and fathers. We searched Embase, Medline Epub (Ovid), PsychInfo (Ovid), Web of Science, and Google scholar for studies published between January 1980 and May 2021 evaluating the association between at least one factor and parenting stress. Studies were included only if they reported the association in a general population sample of mothers and fathers with children aged 0–12 years. The parent–child relationship model by Abidin guided the data synthesis. Quality of the evidence was assessed using the Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers from a variety of fields. In total, 29 studies were included with excellent quality (55%), good (31%), and adequate (14%) methodological quality. There was evidence of an association between maternal depression, child overall problems, child externalizing and internalizing problems, social support, maternal educational level and maternal parenting stress. Evidence was inconsistent for an association between maternal anxiety, family income and maternal parenting stress. There was no evidence of an association for maternal age, child sex and maternal parenting stress. Several modifiable factors (i.e., parental depression and social support) were identified that might guide the development of preventive interventions. Future research should employ longitudinal study designs evaluating protective and risk factors and the pathways that lead to parenting stress, among both fathers and mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]