Childhood adversities (CAs) predict heightened risks of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive episode (MDE) among people exposed to adult traumatic events. Identifying which CAs put individuals at greatest risk for these adverse posttraumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (APNS) is important for targeting prevention interventions.

Data came from n = 999 patients ages 18–75 presenting to 29 U.S. emergency departments after a motor vehicle collision (MVC) and followed for 3 months, the amount of time traditionally used to define chronic PTSD, in the Advancing Understanding of Recovery After Trauma (AURORA) study. Six CA types were self-reported at baseline: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect and bullying. Both dichotomous measures of ever experiencing each CA type and numeric measures of exposure frequency were included in the analysis. Risk ratios (RRs) of these CA measures as well as complex interactions among these measures were examined as predictors of APNS 3 months post-MVC. APNS was defined as meeting self-reported criteria for either PTSD based on the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 and/or MDE based on the PROMIS Depression Short-Form 8b. We controlled for pre-MVC lifetime histories of PTSD and MDE. We also examined mediating effects through peritraumatic symptoms assessed in the emergency department and PTSD and MDE assessed in 2-week and 8-week follow-up surveys. Analyses were carried out with robust Poisson regression models.

Most participants (90.9%) reported at least rarely having experienced some CA. Ever experiencing each CA other than emotional neglect was univariably associated with 3-month APNS (RRs = 1.31–1.60). Each CA frequency was also univariably associated with 3-month APNS (RRs = 1.65–2.45). In multivariable models, joint associations of CAs with 3-month APNS were additive, with frequency of emotional abuse (RR = 2.03; 95% CI = 1.43–2.87) and bullying (RR = 1.44; 95% CI = 0.99–2.10) being the strongest predictors. Control variable analyses found that these associations were largely explained by pre-MVC histories of PTSD and MDE.

Although individuals who experience frequent emotional abuse and bullying in childhood have a heightened risk of experiencing APNS after an adult MVC, these associations are largely mediated by prior histories of PTSD and MDE.

To improve dissemination and accessibility of guidelines to healthcare providers at our institution, guidance for infectious syndromes was incorporated into an electronic application (e-app). The objective of this study was to compare empiric antimicrobial prescribing before and after implementation of the e-app.

This study was a before-and-after trial.

A tertiary-care, public hospital in Halifax, Canada.

This study included pediatric patients admitted to hospital who were empirically prescribed an antibiotic for an infectious syndrome listed in the e-app.

Data were collected from medical records. Prescribing was independently assessed considering patient-specific characteristics using a standardized checklist by 2 members of the research team. Assessments of antimicrobial prescribing were compared, and discrepancies were resolved through discussion. Empiric antimicrobial prescribing before and after implementation of the e-app was compared using interrupted time-series analysis.

In total, 237 patients were included in the preimplementation arm and 243 patients were included in the postimplementation arm. Pneumonia (23.8%), appendicitis (19.2%), and sepsis (15.2%) were the most common indications for antimicrobial use. Empiric antimicrobial use was considered optimal in 195 (81.9%) of 238 patients before implementation compared to 226 (93.0%) 243 patients after implementation. An immediate 15.5% improvement (P = .019) in optimal antimicrobial prescribing was observed following the implementation of the e-app.

Empiric antimicrobial prescribing for pediatric patients with infectious syndromes improved after implementation of an e-app for dissemination of clinical practice guidelines. The use of e-apps may also be an effective strategy to improve antimicrobial use in other patient populations.

Mental health regional differences during pregnancy through the COVID-19 pandemic is understudied.

We aimed to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health during pregnancy.

A cohort study with a web-based recruitment strategy and electronic data collection was initiated in 06/2020. Although Canadian women, >18 years were primarily targeted, pregnant women worldwide were eligible. The current analysis includes data on women enrolled 06/2020-11/2020. Self-reported data included mental health measures (Edinburgh Perinatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Generalized Anxiety Disorders (GAD-7)), stress. We compared maternal mental health stratifying on country/continents of residence, and identified determinants of mental health using multivariable regression models.

Of 2,109 pregnant women recruited, 1,932 were from Canada, 48 the United States (US), 73 Europe, 35 Africa, and 21 Asia/Oceania. Mean depressive symptom scores were lower in Canada (EPDS 8.2, SD 5.2) compared to the US (EPDS 10.5, SD 4.8) and Europe (EPDS 10.4, SD 6.5) (p<0.05), regardless of being infected or not. Maternal anxiety, stress, decreased income and access to health care due to the pandemic were increasing maternal depression. The prevalence of severe anxiety was similar across country/continents. Maternal depression, stress, and earlier recruitment during the pandemic (June/July) were associated with increased maternal anxiety.

In this first international study on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, CONCEPTION has shown significant country/continent-specific variations in depressive symptoms during pregnancy, whereas severe anxiety was similar regardless of place of residence. Strategies are needed to reduce COVID-19’s mental health burden in pregnancy.

No significant relationships.

To describe national antibiotic prescribing for acute gastroenteritis (AGE).

Ambulatory care.

We included visits with diagnoses for bacterial and viral gastrointestinal infections from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS/NHAMCS; 2006–2015) and the IBM Watson 2014 MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database. For NAMCS/NHAMCS, we calculated annual percentage estimates and 99% confidence intervals (CIs) of visits with antibiotics prescribed; sample sizes were too small to calculate estimates by pathogen. For MarketScan, we used Poisson regression to calculate the percentage of visits with antibiotics prescribed and 95% CIs, including by pathogen.

We included 10,210 NAMCS/NHAMCS AGE visits; an estimated 13.3% (99% CI, 11.2%–15.4%) resulted in antibiotic prescriptions, most frequently fluoroquinolones (28.7%; 99% CI, 21.1%–36.3%), nitroimidazoles (20.2%; 99% CI, 14.0%–26.4%), and penicillins (18.9%; 99% CI, 11.6%–26.2%). In NAMCS/NHAMCS, antibiotic prescribing was least frequent in emergency departments (10.8%; 99% CI, 9.5%–12.1%). Among 1,868,465 MarketScan AGE visits, antibiotics were prescribed for 13.8% (95% CI, 13.7%−13.8%), most commonly for Yersinia (46.7%; 95% CI, 21.4%–71.9%), Campylobacter (44.8%; 95% CI, 41.5%–48.1%), Shigella (39.7%; 95% CI, 35.9%–43.6%), typhoid or paratyphoid fever (32.7%; (95% CI, 27.2%–38.3%), and nontyphoidal Salmonella (31.7%; 95% CI, 29.5%–33.9%). Antibiotics were prescribed for 12.3% (95% CI, 11.7%–13.0%) of visits for viral gastroenteritis.

Overall, ∼13% of AGE visits resulted in antibiotic prescriptions. Antibiotics were unnecessarily prescribed for viral gastroenteritis and some bacterial infections for which antibiotics are not recommended. Antibiotic stewardship assessments and interventions for AGE are needed in ambulatory settings.

Caregivers of children with medical complexity (CMC) face decisions about life-sustaining interventions, such as tracheostomy. Our objective is to describe the support needs of caregivers of CMC and the resources they use surrounding tracheostomy decision-making (TDM) for their children.

This qualitative study, conducted between 2013 and 2015, consisted of semi-structured interviews with 56 caregivers of 41 CMC who had tracheostomies, and 5 focus groups of 33 clinicians at a tertiary care children's hospital. Participants were asked about their perspectives on the TDM process. Qualitative data were transcribed, coded, and organized into themes.

Caregivers used five domains of resources surrounding TDM: (1) social network including extended family members, friends, and clergy; (2) healthcare providers including physicians and nurses; (3) other parents of children with tracheostomy; (4) tangible materials such as print materials, videos, tracheostomy tubes, mannequins, and simulation labs; and (5) internet including websites, social media, and online health communities. Caregivers used these resources for (1) decision-making, (2) becoming knowledgeable and skillful about child's diagnosis, tracheostomy, and home care, and (3) emotional and spiritual well-being. Caregivers agreed that they received enough support, but there were gaps. Clinicians were knowledgeable about these resources, discussed social network and internet less often than the other domains, and identified gaps in supporting caregivers.

Caregivers’ need for support and use of resources surrounding tracheostomy placement for CMC extended beyond decision-making, and included becoming knowledgeable and getting emotional/spiritual support. Healthcare providers exploring these resources with caregivers could improve the quality of TDM communication.

The transition from military service to civilian life is a high-risk period for suicide attempts (SAs). Although stressful life events (SLEs) faced by transitioning soldiers are thought to be implicated, systematic prospective evidence is lacking.

Participants in the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (STARRS) completed baseline self-report surveys while on active duty in 2011–2014. Two self-report follow-up Longitudinal Surveys (LS1: 2016–2018; LS2: 2018–2019) were subsequently administered to probability subsamples of these baseline respondents. As detailed in a previous report, a SA risk index based on survey, administrative, and geospatial data collected before separation/deactivation identified 15% of the LS respondents who had separated/deactivated as being high-risk for self-reported post-separation/deactivation SAs. The current report presents an investigation of the extent to which self-reported SLEs occurring in the 12 months before each LS survey might have mediated/modified the association between this SA risk index and post-separation/deactivation SAs.

The 15% of respondents identified as high-risk had a significantly elevated prevalence of some post-separation/deactivation SLEs. In addition, the associations of some SLEs with SAs were significantly stronger among predicted high-risk than lower-risk respondents. Demographic rate decomposition showed that 59.5% (s.e. = 10.2) of the overall association between the predicted high-risk index and subsequent SAs was linked to these SLEs.

It might be possible to prevent a substantial proportion of post-separation/deactivation SAs by providing high-risk soldiers with targeted preventive interventions for exposure/vulnerability to commonly occurring SLEs.

Perfectionism, low self-esteem and external locus of control are psychological constructs linked to insomnia, anxiety and depression. Examining how these constructs impact mental health and serve as risk factors for the development of clinically significant symptoms may help direct psychological support resources and preventative measures for university students.

To longitudinally examine associations between the aforementioned psychological constructs and symptoms of insomnia, anxiety and depression in a large representative sample of first-year university students.

Electronic surveys including validated measures of the predictors and outcomes were emailed to all first-year undergraduate students at entry to a major Canadian university, and followed up on at conclusion of the academic year.

Compared with healthy sleepers, students screening positive for insomnia had lower self-esteem, higher self-evaluative perfectionism and increased external locus of control (all P < 0.001). Self-evaluative perfectionism (standardised β = 0.13, P < 0.01), self-esteem (β = −0.30, P < 0.001) and external locus of control (β = 0.07, P = 0.02) measured at entry were significantly associated with insomnia symptoms at follow-up. Insomnia symptoms at entry were strong predictors of symptoms of depression (β = 0.15, P < 0.001) and anxiety (β = 0.16, P < 0.001) at follow-up, even after controlling for baseline symptoms of those disorders.

Perfectionism, low self-esteem and external locus of control may predispose the development of insomnia symptoms in university students. In turn, insomnia symptoms appear to be robust predictors for depressive and anxiety symptoms. Sleep may be an important prevention target in university students.

Contrasting the well-described effects of early intervention (EI) services for youth-onset psychosis, the potential benefits of the intervention for adult-onset psychosis are uncertain. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of EI on functioning and symptomatic improvement in adult-onset psychosis, and the optimal duration of the intervention.

360 psychosis patients aged 26–55 years were randomized to receive either standard care (SC, n = 120), or case management for two (2-year EI, n = 120) or 4 years (4-year EI, n = 120) in a 4-year rater-masked, parallel-group, superiority, randomized controlled trial of treatment effectiveness (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00919620). Primary (i.e. social and occupational functioning) and secondary outcomes (i.e. positive and negative symptoms, and quality of life) were assessed at baseline, 6-month, and yearly for 4 years.

Compared with SC, patients with 4-year EI had better Role Functioning Scale (RFS) immediate [interaction estimate = 0.008, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.001–0.014, p = 0.02] and extended social network (interaction estimate = 0.011, 95% CI = 0.004–0.018, p = 0.003) scores. Specifically, these improvements were observed in the first 2 years. Compared with the 2-year EI group, the 4-year EI group had better RFS total (p = 0.01), immediate (p = 0.01), and extended social network (p = 0.05) scores at the fourth year. Meanwhile, the 4-year (p = 0.02) and 2-year EI (p = 0.004) group had less severe symptoms than the SC group at the first year.

Specialized EI treatment for psychosis patients aged 26–55 should be provided for at least the initial 2 years of illness. Further treatment up to 4 years confers little benefits in this age range over the course of the study.

To describe acute respiratory illnesses (ARI) visits and antibiotic prescriptions in 2011 and 2018 across outpatient settings to evaluate progress in reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for ARIs.

Cross-sectional study.

Outpatient medical and pharmacy claims captured in the IBM MarketScan commercial database, a national convenience sample of privately insured individuals aged <65 years.

We calculated the annual number of ARI visits and visits with oral antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 enrollees overall and by age category, sex, and setting in 2011 and 2018. We compared these and calculated prevalence rate ratios (PRRs). We adapted existing tiered-diagnosis methodology for International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) codes.

In our study population, there were 829 ARI visits per 1,000 enrollees in 2011 compared with 760 ARI visits per 1,000 enrollees in 2018. In 2011, 39.3% of ARI visits were associated with ≥1 oral antibiotic prescription versus 36.2% in 2018. In 2018 compared with 2011, overall ARI visits decreased 8% (PRR, 0.92; 99.99% confidence interval [CI], 0.92–0.92), whereas visits with antibiotic prescriptions decreased 16% (PRR, 0.84; 99.99% CI, 0.84–0.85). Visits for antibiotic-inappropriate ARIs decreased by 9% (PRR, 0.91; 99.99% CI, 0.91–0.92), and visits with antibiotic prescriptions for these conditions decreased by 32% (PRR, 0.68; 99.99% CI, 0.67–0.68) from 2011 to 2018.

Both the rate of antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 enrollees and the percentage of visits with antibiotic prescriptions decreased modestly from 2011 to 2018 in our study population. These decreases were greatest for antibiotic-inappropriate ARIs; however, additional reductions in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing are needed.