Québec NOT Canada

BACKGROUND: Periodic external accreditation visits aiming to determine whether trauma centres are fulfilling the criteria for optimal care are part of most trauma systems. However, despite the growing trend towards accreditation of trauma centres, its impact on patient outcomes remains unclear. In addition, a recent systematic review found inconsistent results on the association between accreditation and patient outcomes, mostly due to the lack of robust controls. We aim to address these gaps by assessing the impact of trauma centre accreditation on patient outcomes, specifically in-hospital mortality and complications, using an interrupted time series (ITS) design...

INTRODUCTION: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a measure of cardiac autonomic regulation that examines the variation in beat-to-beat fluctuations in heart rate. While many exposure-based studies have examined the effects of single or similar groups of contaminants on HRV parameters, none have examined the association between complex environmental mixtures, including organic and elemental contaminants, and HRV. METHODS: Using data collected from the Multi-Community Environment-and-Health Study in Eeyou Istchee (Quebec, Canada), we assessed HRV in two time domain measures: root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and standard deviation of the N-N (RR) intervals (SDNN); and in three frequency domains: high frequency (HF), low-frequency (LF), and very-low frequency (VLF) in 443 participants...

BACKGROUND: Marfan syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant hereditary disorder which affects cardiovascular structure and function. With medical advances, more women with MFS experience pregnancy, which may increase maternal and neonatal risk. Existing research has been limited by small or clinical samples. This study examines the association of MFS and adverse maternal, neonatal, and obstetric outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using the discharge abstract database, containing all labor and delivery hospitalizations in Canada (excluding Quebec) from fiscal years 2004-2015 where women delivered a live- or stillbirth...

BACKGROUND: Fried's Phenotype Model of Frailty (PMF) postulates that frailty is a syndrome. Features of a syndrome are a heterogeneous population that can be split into at least two classes, those presenting and those not presenting the syndrome. Syndromes are characterized by a specific mixture of signs and symptoms which increase in prevalence, from less to more severe classes. So far, the null hypothesis of homogeneity - signs and symptoms of frailty cannot identify at least two classes - has been tested using Latent Class Analysis (LCA) on the five dichotomized components of PMF (unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slowness, and low physical activity)...

Vaccines are among the safest therapeutic agents, and serious adverse events rarely occur. When they do occur, an individual may have to bear some or all of the costs associated with their injuries, seek compensation through litigation or, if available, seek compensation from a publicly-supported Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VIC Programs). The VIC Programs are "no-fault" compensation schemes in which governments compensate individuals who are harmed by properly manufactured vaccines. There are ethical, legal and practical rationales to support these programs...

BACKGROUND: The ecosystemic approach to children's needs demands a cohesive response from societies, communities, and families. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the choices societies made to protect their community members from the virus could have created contexts of child neglect. With the closure of services and institutions, societies were no longer available to help meet the needs of children. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to examine parents' reports on the response their children received to their needs during the COVID-19 crisis...

Pressure-driven membrane separation processes are commonly used in cheese milk standardization. Using ultrafiltration (UF) or microfiltration (MF), membrane separation processes make it possible to concentrate the milk proteins and increase the yields of cheese vats. However, the contribution of membrane separation processes to the environmental impact and economical profitability of dairy processes is still unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the contribution of membrane separation processes to the eco-efficiency of cheddar cheese production in Québec (Canada) using process simulation...

OBJECTIVE: Job strain (high psychological demands and low decision control) is associated with cardiovascular diseases, however it remains unclear if the associations are explained by depressive symptoms, and whether there are sex differences. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the association between job strain and heart diseases in a middle-aged population-based cohort. METHODS: Baseline data were from CARTaGENE, a community survey of adults aged 40-60 years in Quebec, Canada...

OBJECTIVES: We investigated trends in cannabis-related hospitalizations among youth before and after legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada on October 17, 2018. METHODS: We computed rates of cannabis-related hospitalizations and the proportion of substance-related hospitalizations involving cannabis by age and sex in the months before and after legalization in Quebec, Canada. RESULTS: In boys aged 10 to 14 years, cannabis-related hospitalization rates increased from 5...

Background Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are associated with an increased risk of premature cardiovascular disease (CVD), but existing cardiovascular prediction models do not adequately capture risks in young women. We developed a model to predict the 10-year risk of premature CVD and mortality among women who have HDP. Methods and Results Using a population-based cohort of women with HDP who delivered between April 1989 and March 2017 in Quebec, Canada, we developed a 10-year CVD risk model using Cox proportional hazards regression...

High-risk cancer resection surgeries are increasingly being performed at fewer, more specialised, and higher-volume institutions across Canada. The resulting increase in travel time for patients to obtain treatment may be exacerbated by socioeconomic barriers to access. Focussing on five high-risk surgery types (oesophageal, ovarian/fallopian, liver, lung, and pancreatic cancers), this study examines socioeconomic trends in age-adjusted resection rates and travel time to surgery location for urban, suburban, and rural populations across Canada, excluding Québec, from 2004 to 2012...

A study of impaired driving rates in the province of Québec is currently planned following the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada. Oral fluid (OF) samples are to be collected with a Quantisal® device and sent to the laboratory for analysis. In order to prepare for this project, a qualitative decision point analysis method monitoring for the presence of 97 drugs and metabolites in OF was developed and validated. This high throughput method uses incubation with a precipitation solvent (acetone:acetonitrile 30:70 v:v) to boost drug recovery from the collecting device and improve stability of benzodiazepines (e...

OBJECTIVES: The modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) was designed to assess food addiction using a shorter version than the YFAS 2.0. We lack data about the psychometric properties of the mYFAS 2.0 in patients with obesity, as well as studies comparing the psychometric properties of the mYFAS 2.0 versus the full YFAS 2.0. This study aimed to validate the French-language mYFAS 2.0 in a non-clinical population (study 1, n = 250), to determine the yet unknown psychometric properties of this scale in patients with obesity (study 2, n = 345), and to compare the full YFAS 2...

BACKGROUND: Canadian health funding currently prioritizes scaling up for evidence-based primary care innovations, but not all teams prepare for scaling up. We explored scalability assessment among primary care innovators in the province of Quebec to evaluate their preparedness for scaling up. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional survey from Feb. 18 to Mar. 18, 2019. Eligible participants were 33 innovation teams selected for the 2019 Quebec College of Family Physicians' Symposium on Innovations...

AIM: Bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospitalisation in infants, but parental experiences have not been well described. This study explored parents' experiences and asked them how they wanted to receive information. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted in a tertiary paediatric hospital in Québec, Canada. It consisted of semi-structured interviews with 15 parents of 13 children with bronchiolitis. The interview guide was constructed by a multidisciplinary team that included a parent...

IMPORTANCE: Despite evidence of an association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring, the drug is not contraindicated during pregnancy, possibly because prior studies have relied on maternal self-report, failed to quantify acetaminophen dose, and lacked mechanistic insight. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure measured in meconium (hereinafter referred to as meconium acetaminophen) and ADHD in children aged 6 to 7 years, along with the potential for mediation by functional brain connectivity...

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV, Genus Orthotospovirus, Family Tospoviridae) is a thrips-transmitted negative-stranded RNA virus with a large host range. Major economic losses caused by TSWV have been recorded in various crops such as tomato, pepper and lettuce (Pappu et al., 2009; Adams et al., 2017). Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.), a common flowering plant species native to Peru, is generally cultivated as a garden and greenhouse ornamental plant in China. It is also known for its medical, edible and cosmetic values (Jakubczyk et al...

Homelessness is an ongoing societal and public health problem in Canada and other countries. Housing services help homeless individuals along the transition towards stable housing, yet few studies have assessed factors that predict change in individual housing trajectories. This study identified predictors of change in housing status over 12 months for a sample of 270 currently or formerly homeless individuals using emergency shelters, temporary housing (TH) or permanent housing (PH) resources in Quebec. Participants recruited from 27 community or public organisations were interviewed between January and September 2017, and again 12 months later...

OBJECTIVE: Patients undergoing antidepressant drug treatment (ADT) may face challenges regarding its adverse effects, adherence, and efficacy. Community pharmacists are well positioned to manage ADT-related problems. Little is known about the factors influencing pharmacists' ADT monitoring. This study aimed to identify the psychosocial factors associated with pharmacists' intention to perform systematic ADT monitoring and report on this monitoring. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)...

OBJECTIVES: To examine associations between sunlight exposure and anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) using general population data in Quebec, Canada. METHODS: A random sample of 7600 individuals (including 786 positive ACPA subjects and 201 self-reported rheumatoid arthritis, RA cases) from the CARTaGENE cohort was studied cross-sectionally. All subjects were nested in four census metropolitan areas, and mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for ACPA positivity related to sunlight exposure, adjusting for sun-block use, industrial fine particulate matter (PM2...