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The effects of activated eosinophils or their secretory products on sensory neuropeptides in dorsal root ganglion neurons were investigated. Sprague-Dawley rats were used as experimental models to examine the mechanisms behind the ability of sensory C fiber stimulants to induce substance P release. Results showed that inflammatory substances released from activated eosinophils directly stimulated dorsal root ganglion neurons. This effect was also demonstrated by major basic protein alone.

Rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells secrete neuropeptides that appear to be mitogenic for guinea pig tracheal epithelial (GPTE) cells in primary culture. Proliferation is stimulated in GPTE cells by treatment with neurokinin (NK1), NK2, and CGRP1 receptor agonists in primary culture. These results suggest that airway sensory nerves modulates epithelial cell growth.

Abstract Background Databases used to study the care of patients in hospitals and Intensive Care Units (ICUs) typically contain a separate entry for each segment of hospital or ICU care. However, it is not uncommon for patients to be transferred between hospitals and/or ICUs, and when transfers occur it is necessary to combine individual entries to accurately reconstruct the complete episodes of hospital and ICU care. Failure to do so can lead to erroneous lengths-of-stay, and rates of admissions, readmissions, and death. Methods This study used a clinical ICU database and administrative hospital abstracts for the adult population of Manitoba, Canada from 2000–2008. We compared five methods for identifying patient transfers and constructing hospital episodes, and the ICU episodes contained within them. Method 1 ignored transfers. Methods 2–5 considered the time gap between successive entries (≤1 day vs. ≤2 days), with or without use of data fields indicating inter-hospital transfer. For the five methods we compared the resulting number and lengths of hospital and ICU episodes. Results During the study period, 48,551 hospital abstracts contained 53,246 ICU records. For Method 1 these were also the number of hospital and ICU episodes, respectively. Methods 2–5 gave remarkably similar results, with transfers included in approximately 25% of ICU-containing hospital episodes, and 10% of ICU episodes. Comparison with Method 1 showed that failure to account for such transfers resulted in overestimating the number of episodes by 7-10%, and underestimating mean or median lengths-of-stay by 9-30%. Conclusions In Manitoba is it not uncommon for critically ill patients to be transferred between hospitals and between ICUs. Failure to account for transfers resulted in inaccurate assessment of parameters relevant to researchers, clinicians, and policy-makers. The details of the method used to identify transfers, at least among the variations tested, made relatively little difference. In addition, we showed that these methods for constructing episodes of hospital and ICU care can be implemented in a large, complex dataset.

And while they point to analyses consistent with a causal relationship between the pandemic and worse outcome of non-COVID-19 ICU patients, and to possible mechanistic pathways for such a relationship, causality remains to be proven. Adding evidence that it was due to the pandemic was an analysis showing that adjusted mortality of non-COVID-19 patients undulated in parallel with the number of COVID-19 admissions. While the 2020 non-COVID cohort of 68,000 reversed the trend in admissions, total ICU admissions continued to grow due to more than 21,000 critically ill patients with COVID-19. The association of the COVID-19 pandemic with intensive care performance and short term outcomes of non-COVID-19 critically ill patients: an observational cohort study. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Although multiple sclerosis (MS) confers an elevated risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), little is known about how it influences management of AMI. Methods: Using population-based administrative (health) data from two Canadian provinces, we conducted a retrospective matched cohort study. We identified people with MS who had an incident AMI, and up to five AMI controls without MS matched on age, sex, and region. We compared the likelihood of undergoing cardiac catheterization within 30 days of AMI, time to revascularization, use of recommended pharmacotherapy post-AMI, and mortality at 30 and 365 days post-AMI using multivariable regression models adjusting for potential confounders. We pooled findings across provinces using meta-analysis. Results: We identified 559 MS cases and 2523 matched controls. In the matched cohort, the MS cohort was less likely to undergo cardiac catheterization within 30 days of admission (odds ratio (OR) = 0.61; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.49–0.77), revascularization (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.78; 95% CI = 0.69–0.88), or to fill a prescription for recommended therapy. Mortality risk was higher in the MS cohort than in the matched cohort at 30 and 365 days post-AMI. Conclusion: Rates of diagnostic and therapeutic care, and survival after AMI were lower in the MS population than in a matched population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: To evaluate whether the male predominance of older people admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) is due to gender differences in the presence of spouses, partners, or children; rates of gender-specific disease; or triage decisions made by health system personnel.Data Sources and Collection: Three population-based datasets, 2004-2012, of Canadians ≥65 years: provincial health care data from Manitoba (n = 250 190) and national data of nursing home residents (n = 133 982) and community-based homecare recipients (n = 210 090).Study Design: Retrospective observational study, using multivariable Cox proportional hazards and logistic regression.Principal Findings: Males predominated in ICU admissions: from Manitoba (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.80-1.95), nursing homes (HR = 1.47, 1.35-1.60), and homecare (odds ratio = 1.14, 1.11-1.17). Adjustment for spouses, partners, and children did not attenuate this effect. The HR for gender was lower by 13.5 percent, relative, after excluding ICU care for cardiac causes. Male predominance was not present during a second ICU admission among survivors of a first ICU-containing hospitalization (HR = 1.07, 0.96-1.20).Conclusions: In three older cohorts, the male predominance of ICU admission was not explained by gender differences in the presence of a spouse, partner, or children, or cardiac disease rates. The third finding suggests that triage bias is unlikely to be responsible for the male predominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]