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To investigate the timing and routes of contamination of the rooms of patients newly admitted to the hospital.
Design:
Observational cohort study and simulations of pathogen transfer.
Setting:
A Veterans’ Affairs hospital.
Participants:
Patients newly admitted to the hospital with no known carriage of healthcare-associated pathogens.
Methods:
Interactions between the participants and personnel or portable equipment were observed, and cultures of high-touch surfaces, floors, bedding, and patients’ socks and skin were collected for up to 4 days. Cultures were processed for Clostridioides difficile, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Simulations were conducted with bacteriophage MS2 to assess plausibility of transfer from contaminated floors to high-touch surfaces and to assess the effectiveness of wearing slippers in reducing transfer.
Results:
Environmental cultures became positive for at least 1 pathogen in 10 (59%) of the 17 rooms, with cultures positive for MRSA, C. difficile, and VRE in the rooms of 10 (59%), 2 (12%), and 2 (12%) participants, respectively. For all 14 instances of pathogen detection, the initial site of recovery was the floor followed in a subset of patients by detection on sock bottoms, bedding, and high-touch surfaces. In simulations, wearing slippers over hospital socks dramatically reduced transfer of bacteriophage MS2 from the floor to hands and to high-touch surfaces.
Conclusions:
Floors may be an underappreciated source of pathogen dissemination in healthcare facilities. Simple interventions such as having patients wear slippers could potentially reduce the risk for transfer of pathogens from floors to hands and high-touch surfaces.
Gas-fluidized beds of flexible fibres, which have been rarely studied before, are investigated in this work using the coupled approach of the discrete element method and computational fluid dynamics. In the present numerical method, gas–fibre interaction is modelled by calculating the interaction force for each constituent element in the fibre, and the composition of the interaction forces on the constituent elements generates a resultant hydrodynamic force and a resultant hydrodynamic torque on the fibre. Pressure drops and fibre orientation results from the present simulations with various fibre aspect ratios are in good agreement with previous experimental and simulation results. Some novel results are obtained for the effects of fibre flexibility. Larger hydrodynamic forces on fibres (before the bed is fluidized) and smaller minimum fluidization velocities (MFVs) are observed for more flexible fibre beds due to the smaller porosities, while smaller hydrodynamic forces are obtained for the more flexible fibres when the beds are fluidized with significant fibre motion. By scaling the superficial gas velocity using the MFVs, the data of pressure drop can collapse onto the Ergun correlation for stiff fibres of various aspect ratios; however, the pressure drop curves deviate from the Ergun correlation for very flexible fibres, due to the significant fibre bed expansion before the MFV is reached. The fibre aspect ratio and flexibility both have an impact on the solids mixing rate, and it is found that the solids mixing rates are essentially determined by the ratio of the superficial gas velocity to MFV.
The evolution of resistance to multiple herbicides in Palmer amaranth is a major challenge for its management. In this study, a Palmer amaranth population from Hutchinson, Kansas (HMR), was characterized for resistance to inhibitors of photosystem II (PSII) (e.g., atrazine), acetolactate synthase (ALS) (e.g., chlorsulfuron), and EPSP synthase (EPSPS) (e.g., glyphosate), and this resistance was investigated. About 100 HMR plants were treated with field-recommended doses (1×) of atrazine, chlorsulfuron, and glyphosate, separately along with Hutchinson multiple-herbicide (atrazine, chlorsulfuron, and glyphosate)–susceptible (HMS) Palmer amaranth as control. The mechanism of resistance to these herbicides was investigated by sequencing or amplifying the psbA, ALS, and EPSPS genes, the molecular targets of atrazine, chlorsulfuron, and glyphosate, respectively. Fifty-two percent of plants survived a 1× (2,240 g ai ha−1) atrazine application with no known psbA gene mutation, indicating the predominance of a non–target site resistance mechanism to this herbicide. Forty-two percent of plants survived a 1× (18 g ai ha−1) dose of chlorsulfuron with proline197serine, proline197threonine, proline197alanine, and proline197asparagine, or tryptophan574leucine mutations in the ALS gene. About 40% of the plants survived a 1× (840 g ae ha−1) dose of glyphosate with no known mutations in the EPSPS gene. Quantitative PCR results revealed increased EPSPS copy number (50 to 140) as the mechanism of glyphosate resistance in the survivors. The most important finding of this study was the evolution of resistance to at least two sites of action (SOAs) (~50% of plants) and to all three herbicides due to target site as well as non–target site mechanisms. The high incidence of individual plants with resistance to multiple SOAs poses a challenge for effective management of this weed.
Alcoholism has a high prevalence and impacts on morbidity, mortality, life quality, and the economy. Heritability estimates of alcohol dependence are 50-61%. Putative psychological, cultural, and genetic susceptibilities to alcoholism have been identified but understanding of the genetic components is still underdeveloped.
Aim
Identify genetic vulnerabilities predisposing individuals to alcoholism and co-morbid psychiatric disorders in the largest study of its kind.
Method
12 centres including 10 trainees are currently collecting blood and clinical samples. Nearly 1700 of 2000 cases of ICD-10/DSM-IV alcohol dependence have been collected; 500 with standardized assessments of alcohol use and comorbdity; and 2000 ancestrally-matched supernormal controls from UCL/collaborators. Genomic DNA will be isolated following standard procedures. Genotyping will be performed using the Affymetrix Gene Chip Human Mapping 1M Array to type up to 1 million single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and copy number variant (CNV) markers. Chi-square analysis of allelic association for the alcoholic sample versus controls will occur.
Results
n=65; 57% male; mean age 45years; mean age onset harmful alcohol use 19years; mean age onset withdrawals 32y; mean alcohol intake 21 units; primary depression 27%; secondary depression 49%; antisocial personality disorder 14%. The candidate gene approach in this sample has shown that the GABA receptor B1 (GABRB1) and the tachykinin receptor 1 (TACR1) are involved in genetic susceptibility to alcoholism. The D2 dopamine receptor is next.
Conclusion
Preliminary data suggests high psychiatric comorbidity in a clinical alcohol dependence sample and implicated candidate genes. Next is genomewide analysis of markers, sequencing and biological pathway/systems alterations.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is characterized by deficits in three functional domains: language and communication, social reciprocity, and the presence of restricted interests/repetitive behaviours. There are also deficits in social cognition. When having a face-to-face conversation, a listener not only hears what a speaker is saying, but also sees the articulatory gestures. Speech signals needs then a multisensory processing. Impairments in multisensory perceptual binding given that hallmark features of the disorder include difficulties in speech, communication, and social interactions.
Objectives
We suggest that atypical multisensory processing in ASD may have an impact on speech perception and social processing.
Aims
Therefore we could observe differences in a delayed free recall, between an unisensorial and multisensoral stimulus.
Methods
Our pilot study measures free recall scores in 3 lists of words presentation after 30 minutes. In the first condition (CI) words are only listened to, in the second (CII) associated with the picture of a man's face and in the third (CIII) associated with the man speaking in video. Participants were 7- to 13-year-olds typically developing children (TD) (N = 19) and ASD children (N = 19).
Results
Our findings show that words recall is higher in CIII for TD children whereas ASD children recall more CI words.
Conclusions
Findings shows that multimodal information brings improvement in long term recall for TD children. In ASD group a better recall is observed with unimodale information. We suggest that multisensory integration deficits in ASD can impact learning of socials information and then social cognition.
Bipolar disorder (BP) and schizophrenia (SCZ) are severe, heritable psychiatric disorders. Genome-wide research suggests that the molecular basis of BP and SCZ overlap (Cross Disorder PGC Group, Lancet, 2013).
The objective
of our work was to investigate whether poligenic scores based on SCZ-associated SNPs in the PGC sample (www.med.unc.edu/pgc/) might predict the age of onset (AO) in BP-I. We hypothesized that the SCZ associated SNPs might predict the late AO of BP-I due to the common character of the SCZ-associated variants.
Method
We selected 10,681 non-ambigous SNPs among the 102,637 SNPs present in the PGC SCZ-sample. Using these SNPs we derived poligenic scores in a Romanian sample of 243 BP-I patients with genome-wide data (604,064 SNPs) to predict the patient AO as dichotomous variable (early onset: AO≤24 years; late onset: AO>24 years). The genotyping of the Romanian patients was performed at the Institute of Human Genetics of Bonn. PLINK 1.07 (Purcell, 2009) was used for computing polygenic scores, means of which were compared by t-test between the early- and the late-AO patient groups.
Results
2114 out of 10, 681 SCZ-SNPs were informative in our sample contributing to polygenic scores in BP-I patients. There was no significant difference in mean polygenic scores between the early- and the late-onset group of BP-I patients (t=1.14, P=0.25).
Conclusion
The polygenic scores based on 2114 SCZ-associated common variants did not predict the onset group in our BP-I patients under the AO-cutoff 24 years. Other AO-cutoffs and phenotypic traits (e.g. incongruent psychosis) might be tested.
We recently demonstrated that weight gain could be prevented in young people experiencing a first-episode of psychosis commencing treatment with antipsychotics. A 12-week, intensive lifestyle and life skills intervention – the Keeping the Body in Mind program, – was delivered by dedicated nursing, dietetic and exercise physiology clinicians, for new referrals with < one month of antipsychotic exposure. (Curtis et al., Early intervention in psychiatry, in press). At the conclusion of the intervention the 16 young people participating in the program experienced a mean weight gain of 1.8 kilograms, and a mean increase in waist circumference of 0.1 centimeters. The participants were followed up for two years after initial referral.
Methods
During the two-year follow-up, participants had continuing access to an in house gym and weekly cooking groups, but without the same intensity of follow-up. Two year follow-up data were obtained from 11 participants form the original cohort.
Results
Mean weight gain at two-year follow-up was 0.90 (SD 8.7) kilograms, and this difference was not statistically significant [t (10) = 0.3, NS]. Waist circumference decreased by 0.7 (SD 7.7) centimeters, which was not t statistically significant [t (10) = 0.3, NS]. Nine of the participants (82%) did not experience clinically significant weight gain two years after initiation of antipsychotic medication.
Conclusion
This two-year follow-up data demonstrated that it is feasible to prevent weight gain in youth with first-episode psychosis over the first two years of treatment.
Disclosure of interest
The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
Nutrition interventions are critical for weight management and cardiometabolic risk reduction in people experiencing severe mental illness (SMI). As mental health teams evolve to incorporate nutrition interventions, evidence needs to guide clinical practice.
Aims
A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to assess whether nutrition interventions improve:
– anthropometric and biochemical measures,
– nutritional intake of people experiencing SMI.
To evaluate the effectiveness of a dietician-led nutrition intervention, as part of a broader lifestyle intervention, in the early stages of antipsychotic prescription.
Method
An electronic database search was conducted to identify all trials with nutritional components. Included trials were pooled for meta-analysis. Meta-regression analyses were run on potential anthropometric moderators. Weekly individualised dietetic consultations plus group cooking classes were then offered to clients attending a Community Early Psychosis Programme, who had recently commenced antipsychotics for a 12-week period.
Results
From pooled trials, nutrition interventions resulted in significant weight loss (19 studies, g = –0.39, P < 0.001), reduced BMI (17 studies, g = –0.40, P < 0.001), decreased waist circumference (10 studies, g = –0.27, P < 0.001) and lower blood glucose levels (5 studies, g = –0.37, P = 0.02). Dietician-led interventions (g = –0.90) and trials focussing on preventing weight gain (g = –0.61) were the most effective. The 12-week nutrition intervention resulted in a 47% reduction in discretionary (junk) food intake (P < 0.001) and reductions in daily energy (–24%, P < 0.001) and sodium intakes (–26%, P < 0.001), while improving diet quality (P < 0.05).
Conclusion
Evidence supports the inclusion of nutrition interventions as part of standard care for preventing weight gain and metabolic deterioration among people with SMI.
Disclosure of interest
The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
People experiencing severe mental illness (SMI) face a shortened life expectancy of up to 20 years, primarily due to preventable cardiovascular (CV) diseases. Lifestyle interventions are effective in reducing CV risk, yet examples of service-wide interventions are lacking. Staff culture remains a barrier to the successful implementation of lifestyle interventions. The Keeping the Body in Mind (KBIM) program, established by SESLHD (Australia), aims to close the gap in life expectancy through multidisciplinary teams, including clinical nurse consultants, dieticians, exercise physiologists, and peer support workers. Prior to the KBIM rollout, an individualized lifestyle intervention called Keeping Our Staff In Mind (KoSiM) was offered to all district mental health staff.
Objective
KoSiM examined the effectiveness of a staff intervention to improve physical health, confidence, knowledge and attitudes of mental health staff.
Methods
Mental health staffs were invited to participate in an online survey and a 4-week individualized intervention including personalised health screening and lifestyle advice, with a 16-week follow-up. Outcomes assessed included: attitudes, confidence and knowledge regarding metabolic health, weight, waist circumference (WC), blood pressure, sleep, diet, physical activity and exercise capacity.
Results
Of a total of 702 staff, 204 completed the survey (29%). Among those completing the survey, 154 staff (75%) participated in the intervention. A mean decrease in waist circumference of 2 ± 2.7 cm, (P < 0.001) was achieved. Among staffs that were overweight or obese at baseline, 75% achieved a decrease in WC.
Conclusion
Improving staff culture regarding physical health interventions is an important step in integrating lifestyle interventions into routine care.
Disclosure of interest
The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
In Canada, recreational use of cannabis was legalized in October 2018. This policy change along with recent publications evaluating the efficacy of cannabis for the medical treatment of epilepsy and media awareness about its use have increased the public interest about this agent. The Canadian League Against Epilepsy Medical Therapeutics Committee, along with a multidisciplinary group of experts and Canadian Epilepsy Alliance representatives, has developed a position statement about the use of medical cannabis for epilepsy. This article addresses the current Canadian legal framework, recent publications about its efficacy and safety profile, and our understanding of the clinical issues that should be considered when contemplating cannabis use for medical purposes.
In a crossover trial, a gown designed to increase skin coverage at the hands and wrists significantly reduced contamination of personnel during personal protective equipment (PPE) removal, and education on donning and doffing technique further reduced contamination. Simple modifications of PPE and education can reduce contamination during PPE removal.
Introduction: Intravenous insertion (IVI) is identified by children as extremely painful and the resultant distress can have lasting negative consequences. There is an urgent need to effectively manage such procedures. Our primary objective was to compare the pain and distress of IVI with the addition of humanoid robot-based distraction to standard care, versus standard care alone. Methods: This two-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted from April 2017 to May 2018 at the Stollery Children's Hospital emergency department (ED). Children aged 6 to 11 years who required IVI were included. Exclusion criteria included hearing or visual impairments, neurocognitive delays, sensory impairment to pain, previous enrolment, and discretion of the ED clinical staff. Primary outcomes were measured using the Observational Scale of Behavioural Distress-Revised (OSBD-R) (distress) and the Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R) (pain). A total of 426 pediatric patients were screened and 340 were excluded. Results: We recruited 86 children, of which 55% (47/86) were male; 9% (7/82) were premature at birth; 82% (67/82) had a previous ED visit; 30% (25/82) required previous hospitalization; 78% (64/82) had previous IV placement and 96% (78/81) received topical anesthesia. The mean total OSBD-R score was 1.49 ± 2.36 (standard care) compared to 0.78 ± 1.32 (robot group) (p = 0.047). The median FPS-R during the IV procedure was 4 (IQR 2,6) in the standard care group alone, compared to 2 (IQR 0,4) with the addition of humanoid robot-based distraction (p = 0.10). Change in parental state anxiety pre-procedure versus post-procedure was not significantly different between groups (p = 0.49). Parental satisfaction with the IV start was 93% (39/42) in the robot arm compared to 74% (29/39) in the standard care arm (p = 0.03). Parents were also more satisfied with management of their child's pain in the robot group (95% very satisfied) compared with standard care (72% very satisfied) (p = 0.002). Conclusion: A statistically significant reduction in distress was observed with the addition of robot-based distraction to standard care. Humanoid robot-based distraction therapy reduces distress and to a lesser extent, pain, in children undergoing IVI in the ED. Further trials are required to confirm utility in other age groups and settings.
Schizophrenia and anorexia nervosa were recently added to the list of conditions for which whole genome sequencing might be indicated as part of the 100 000 Genomes Project, reflecting the remarkable recent progress in findings emerging from psychiatric genetics research. Genetic testing methods may offer increased opportunities for diagnosis and estimation of familial risk and could have implications for management and treatment options. They also present ethical and philosophical questions about the role of testing and storage of genetic information. Mental health professionals will need to have a good understanding of this area in order for patients to fully realise the benefits of these advances.
Declaration of Interest
K.S.B. is Editor of the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Problematic alcohol use is associated with detrimental cognitive, physiological and social consequences. In the emergency department (ED), Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is the recommended approach to identify and treat adolescent alcohol-related concerns, but is underused by physicians.
Objective
This study examined pediatric emergency physicians’ perceptions of adolescent drinking and treatment, and their current self-reported SBIRT practices.
Method
Physicians in the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada database (n=245) received a 35-item questionnaire that was administered through a web-based platform and paper-based mail-outs. Recruitment followed a modified Dillman four-contact approach.
Results
From October 2016 to January 2017, 166 pediatric emergency physicians (46.4% males; mean age=43.6 years) completed the questionnaire. The response rate was 67.8%. Physicians recognized the need (65%) and responsibility (86%) to address adolescent alcohol problems. However, confidence in knowledge and abilities for SBIRT execution was low. Twenty-five percent of physicians reported never having practiced all, or part of, SBIRT while 1.3% reported consistent SBIRT delivery for adolescents with alcohol-related visits. More alcohol education and counselling experience was associated with higher SBIRT use; however, physicians generally reported to have received minimal alcohol training. SBIRT practices were also associated with physician perceptions of problematic alcohol use and its treatability.
Conclusions
Pediatric emergency physicians acknowledge the need to address problematic adolescent alcohol use, but routine SBIRT use is lacking. Strategies to educate physicians about SBIRT and enhance perceived self-competency may improve SBIRT use. Effectiveness trials to establish SBIRT impact on patient outcomes are also needed.
Introduction: Intravenous (IV) cannulation is commonly performed in emergency departments (ED), often causing substantial pain and distress. Distraction has been shown to reduce child-reported pain, but there is currently little published about the effects of using iPad technology as a distraction tool. Our primary objective was to compare the reduction of pain and distress using iPad distraction (games, movies, books of the child’s choice) in addition to standard care, versus standard care alone. Methods: This randomized clinical trial, conducted at the Stollery Childrens Hospital ED, recruited children between ages 6 to 11 years requiring IV cannulation. Study arm assignment was performed using REDCaps randomization feature. Due to the nature of the intervention, blinding was not possible for the children, parents or research and ED staff, but the data analyst was blinded to intervention assignment until completion of analysis. Pain, distress, and parental anxiety were measured using the Faces Pain Scale-Revised, the Observed Scale of Behavioural Distress-Revised, and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively. The pain scores and observed behavioural distress scores were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Other co-variates were analyzed using a linear regression analysis. Results: A total of 85 children were enrolled, with 42 receiving iPad distraction and 43 standard care, of which 40 (95%) and 35 (81%) children received topical anesthesia, respectively (p=0.09). There were 40 girls (47.1%) with a mean age of 8.32 +/− 1.61 years. The pain scores during IV cannulation (p=0.35) and the change in pain score during the procedure compared to baseline (p=0.79) were not significantly different between the groups, nor were the observed distress scores during IV cannulation (p=0.09), or the change in observed distress during the procedure compared to baseline (p=0.44). A regression analysis showed children in both groups had greater total behavioural stress if it was their first ED visit (p=0.01), had prior hospitalization experience (p=0.04) or were admitted to hospital during this visit (p=0.007). A previous ED visit, however, was predictive of a greater increase in parental anxiety from baseline (p=0.02). When parents were asked whether they would use the same methods to manage pain for their child, parents of the iPad group were more likely to say yes than were parents of the standard care group (p=0.03). Conclusion: iPad distraction during IV cannulation in school-aged children was not found to decrease pain or distress more than standard care alone, but parents preferred its use. The effects of iPad distraction may have been over-shadowed by potent topical anesthetic effect. Future directions include exploring iPad distraction for other age groups, and studying novel technology such as virtual reality and interactive humanoid robots.
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between maternal sensitivity and offspring intelligence in late childhood and adolescence. Secondary data (N=117) from the Block and Block (2006a, b) 30-year longitudinal study of Californian children, which began in the late 1960s, was used to test the hypothesis that maternal sensitivity in childhood would be predictive of late childhood and adolescent intelligence. Correlational analyses revealed that maternal sensitivity, as judged by raters viewing mother’s interactions with their children in a set of four joint structured cognitive tasks when the child was 5 years of age, was associated with verbal and performance IQ test scores when the children were ages 11 and 18. Using hierarchical regression to control for child sex, socioeconomic status, child temperament, child baseline IQ (as measured at age 4), mother’s level of education and mother’s emotional nurturance, it was found that the maternal sensitivity and child and adolescent IQ association held for verbal, but not performance IQ. Furthermore, a pattern emerged in which the association between maternal sensitivity and verbal IQ was stronger for adolescents with a lower baseline IQ. The results suggest that maternal sensitivity is associated with offspring verbal intelligence and that this association holds when numerous variables are accounted for. Additionally, this association may be stronger for children with lower IQs.
In a randomized trial, a gown designed to allow easy removal at the neck and with increased skin coverage and snugness of fit at the wrist significantly reduced contamination of personnel during personal protective equipment (PPE) removal. Our results suggest that simple modifications of PPE can reduce contamination of personnel.