Wait times and breast cancer survival: a population-based retrospective cohort study using CanIMPACT data.

PURPOSE: The time from breast cancer surgery to chemotherapy has been shown to affect survival outcomes; however, the effect of time from first breast cancer-related healthcare contact to first cancer specialist consultation, or the time from first breast cancer-related healthcare contact to adjuvant chemotherapy on survival has not been well explored. We aimed to determine whether various wait times along the breast cancer treatment pathway (contact-to-consultation, contact-to-chemotherapy, surgery-to-chemotherapy) were associated with overall survival in women within the Canadian province of Ontario. METHODS: We performed a population-based retrospective cohort study of women diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer in Ontario between 2007 and 2011 who received surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. This was the Ontario cohort of a larger, nationwide study (the Canadian Team to improve Community-Based Cancer Care along the Continuum - CanIMPACT). We used Cox-proportional hazards regression to determine the association between the contact-to-consultation, contact-to-chemotherapy, and surgery-to-chemotherapy intervals and overall survival while adjusting for cancer stage, age, comorbidity, neighborhood income, immigration status, surgery type, and method of cancer detection. RESULTS: Among 12,782 breast cancer patients, longer surgery-to-chemotherapy intervals (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.18 per 30-day increase), but not the contact-to-consultation (HR 0.979, 95% CI 0.95-1.01 per 30-day increase), nor the more comprehensive contact-to-chemotherapy intervals (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.98-1.02 per 30-day increase) were associated with decreased survival in our adjusted analyses. CONCLUSION: Our findings emphasize the prognostic importance of a shorter surgery-to-chemotherapy interval, whereas the contact-to-consultation and contact-to-chemotherapy intervals have less impact on survival outcomes.

Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homecare services among individuals with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injuries.

STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive repeated-cross sectional retrospective longitudinal cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homecare services in individuals with traumatic or non-traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). SETTING: Health administrative database in Ontario, Canada. METHODS: A repeated cross-sectional study using linked health administrative databases from March 2015 to June 2022. Monthly homecare utilization was assessed in 3381 adults with SCI using Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models. RESULTS: Compared to pre-pandemic levels, between March 2020 to June 2022, the traumatic group experienced a decrease in personal and/or homemaking services, as well as an increase in nursing visits from April 2020-March 2022 and June 2022. Case management increased at various times for the traumatic group, however therapies decreased in May 2020 only. The non-traumatic group experienced a decrease in personal and/or homemaking services in July 2020, as well as an increase in nursing visits from March 2020 to February 2021 and sporadically throughout 2020. Case management also increased at certain points for the non-traumatic group, but therapies decreased in April 2020, July 2020, and September 2021. CONCLUSION: The traumatic group had decreases in personal and/or homemaking services. Both groups had increases in nursing services, increases in case management, and minimal decreases in therapies at varying times during the pandemic. Investigation is warranted to understand the root cause of these changes, and if they resulted in adverse outcomes.

Bone health in young adults with type 1 diabetes and progressive eGFR decline.

BACKGROUND: Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is associated with increased risk of fractures, worsened by presence of microvascular complications. This study's objective is to determine the impact of progressive decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) on bone biomarkers and bone microarchitecture in youth with T1D. METHODS: Slopes of eGFR were calculated using measures obtained at four timepoints from adolescence to young adulthood. Participants were identified as eGFR decliners if eGFR decreased ≥ 3ml/min/1.73m2/year. Bone health was assessed in young adulthood by high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HRpQCT Xtreme CTII) and bone biomarkers; osteocalcin, procollagen 1 intact n-terminal pro-peptide (P1NP), c-terminal telopeptide (CTX), and bone specific alkaline phosphatase. The relationship between diabetes duration, glycated hemoglobin, body mass index (BMI) and vitamin D level on bone biomarkers and microarchitecture was evaluated. Linear regression analysis was used for the statistical analysis in this study. RESULTS: Ninety-nine study participants were studied with longitudinal evaluation of eGFR over 7.4 ± 1.0 years with mean age of 14.7 ± 1.7 years at baseline. Cross sectional evaluation of bone was performed at 21.3 ± 2.1 years. 44% participants had eGFR decline and showed 5% higher cortical porosity diameter than non-decliners (p = 0.035). Greater diabetes duration was associated with higher trabecular separation (p = 0.004) and lower trabecular number (p = 0.01). Higher level of 25 hydroxy-vitamin D was associated with lower trabecular separation (p = 0.01). Elevated glycated hemoglobin (p = 0.0008) and BMI (p = 0.009), were associated with lower markers of bone formation. CONCLUSION: Mild increase in cortical porosity diameter was found in youth with T1D and eGFR decline, however, overall measures of bone microarchitecture on HR-pQCT were similar between both groups and there were no statistically significant changes in bone biomarkers. Hence, skeletal impairments were limited in youth with different eGFR trajectories near peak bone mass. Longitudinal HR-pQCT studies are needed to further understand the impact of eGFR decline on bone microarchitecture. Optimal glycemic control, normal BMI and vitamin D status were supported by this study as important markers for good bone health.

Duration of risk reduction in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality after a complete colonoscopy in Ontario, Canada: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer guidelines recommend screening colonoscopy every 10 years after a negative procedure. If risk reduction extends past 10 years, the recommended interval could be extended, reducing the burden on the individual and health-care system. We aimed to estimate the duration that patients remain at reduced risk of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality after a complete colonoscopy. METHODS: We did a population-based cohort study of individuals aged 50-65 years between Jan 1, 1994, to Dec 31, 2017. We excluded individuals with previous exposure to colonoscopy or colorectal surgery, those previously diagnosed with colorectal cancer, or a history of hereditary or other bowel disorders. We followed up participants until Dec 31, 2018, and identified all colonoscopies performed in this time period. We used a 9-level time-varying measure of exposure, capturing time since last complete colonoscopy (no complete colonoscopy, ≤5 years, >5-10 years, >10-15 years, and >15 years) and whether an intervention was performed (biopsy or polypectomy). A Cox proportional hazards regression model adjusting for age, sex, comorbidity, residential income quintile, and immigration status was used to estimate the association between exposure to a complete colonoscopy and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. FINDINGS: 5 298 033 individuals (2 609 060 [49·2%] female and 2 688 973 [50·8%] male; no data on ethnicity were available) were included in the cohort, with a median follow-up of 12·56 years (IQR 6·26-20·13). 90 532 (1·7%) individuals were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 44 088 (0·8%) died from colorectal cancer. Compared with those who did not have a colonoscopy, the risk of colorectal cancer in those who had a complete negative colonoscopy was reduced at all timepoints, including when the procedure occurred more than 15 years earlier (hazard ratio [HR] 0·62 [95% CI 0·51-0·77] for female individuals and 0·57 [0·46-0·70] for male individuals. A similar finding was observed for colorectal cancer mortality, with lower risk at all timepoints, including when the procedure occurred more than 15 years earlier (HR 0·64 [95% CI 0·49-0·83] for female participants and 0·65 [0·50-0·83] for male participants). Those who had a colonoscopy with intervention had a significantly lower colorectal cancer incidence than those who did not undergo colonoscopy if the procedure occurred within 10 years for females (HR 0·70 [95% CI 0·63-0·77]) and up to 15 years for males (0·62 [(0·53-0·72]). INTERPRETATION: Compared with those who do not receive colonoscopy, individuals who have a negative colonoscopy result remain at lower risk for colorectal cancer incidence and mortality more than 15 years after the procedure. The current recommendation of repeat screening at 10 years in these individuals should be reassessed. FUNDING: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Characteristics of primary care practices by proportion of patients unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2: a cross-sectional cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Variations in primary care practices may explain some differences in health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to evaluate the characteristics of primary care practices by the proportion of patients unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional cohort study using linked administrative data sets in Ontario, Canada. We calculated the percentage of patients unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 enrolled with each comprehensive-care family physician, ranked physicians according to the proportion of patients unvaccinated, and identified physicians in the top 10% (v. the other 90%). We compared characteristics of family physicians and their patients in these 2 groups using standardized differences. RESULTS: We analyzed 9060 family physicians with 10 837 909 enrolled patients. Family physicians with the largest proportion (top 10%) of unvaccinated patients (n = 906) were more likely to be male, to have trained outside of Canada, to be older, and to work in an enhanced fee-for-service model than those in the remaining 90%. Vaccine coverage (≥ 2 doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine) was 74% among patients of physicians with the largest proportion of unvaccinated patients, compared with 87% in the remaining patient population. Patients in the top 10% group tended to be younger and live in areas with higher levels of ethnic diversity and immigration and lower incomes. INTERPRETATION: Primary care practices with the largest proportion of patients unvaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 served marginalized communities and were less likely to use team-based care models. These findings can guide resource planning and help tailor interventions to integrate public health priorities within primary care practices.

Chronic disease prevention and screening outcomes for patients with and without financial difficulty: a secondary analysis of the BETTER WISE cluster randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Building on Existing Tools To improvE chronic disease pRevention and screening in primary care Wellness of cancer survIvorS and patiEnts (BETTER WISE) was designed to assess the effectiveness of a cancer and chronic disease prevention and screening (CCDPS) programme. Here, we compare outcomes in participants living with and without financial difficulty. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a cluster-randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Patients of 59 physicians from 13 clinics enrolled between September 2018 and August 2019. PARTICIPANTS: 596 of 1005 trial participants who responded to a financial difficulty screening question at enrolment. INTERVENTION: 1-hour CCDPS visit versus usual care. OUTCOME MEASURES: Eligibility for a possible 24 CCDPS actions was assessed at baseline and the primary outcome was the percentage of eligible items that were completed at 12-month follow-up. We also compared the change in response to the financial difficulty screening question between baseline and follow-up. RESULTS: 55 of 265 participants (20.7%) in the control group and 69 of 331 participants (20.8%) in the intervention group reported living with financial difficulty. The primary outcome was 29% (95% CI 26% to 33%) for intervention and 23% (95% CI 21% to 26%) for control participants without financial difficulty (p=0.01). Intervention and control participants with financial difficulty scored 28% (95% CI 24% to 32%) and 32% (95% CI 27% to 38%), respectively (p=0.14). In participants who responded to the financial difficulty question at both time points (n=302), there was a net decrease in the percentage of participants who reported financial difficulty between baseline (21%) and follow-up (12%, p<0.001) which was similar in the control and intervention groups. The response rate to this question was only 51% at follow-up. CONCLUSION: The BETTER intervention improved uptake of CCDPS manoeuvres in participants without financial difficulty, but not in those living with financial difficulty. Improving CCDPS for people living with financial difficulty may require a different clinical approach or that social determinants be addressed concurrently with clinical and lifestyle needs or both. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN21333761.

Socioeconomic Status, Palliative Care, and Death at Home Among Patients With Cancer Before and During COVID-19.

Importance: The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the delivery of cancer care, but less is known about its association with place of death and delivery of specialized palliative care (SPC) and potential disparities in these outcomes. Objective: To evaluate the association of the COVID-19 pandemic with death at home and SPC delivery at the end of life and to examine whether disparities in socioeconomic status exist for these outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cohort study, an interrupted time series analysis was conducted using Ontario Cancer Registry data comprising adult patients aged 18 years or older who died with cancer between the pre-COVID-19 (March 16, 2015, to March 15, 2020) and COVID-19 (March 16, 2020, to March 15, 2021) periods. The data analysis was performed between March and November 2023. Exposure: COVID-19-related hospital restrictions starting March 16, 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes were death at home and SPC delivery at the end of life (last 30 days before death). Socioeconomic status was measured using Ontario Marginalization Index area-based material deprivation quintiles, with quintile 1 (Q1) indicating the least deprivation; Q3, intermediate deprivation; and Q5, the most deprivation. Segmented linear regression was used to estimate monthly trends in outcomes before, at the start of, and in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Of 173 915 patients in the study cohort (mean [SD] age, 72.1 [12.5] years; males, 54.1% [95% CI, 53.8%-54.3%]), 83.7% (95% CI, 83.6%-83.9%) died in the pre-COVID-19 period and 16.3% (95% CI, 16.1%-16.4%) died in the COVID-19 period, 54.5% (95% CI, 54.2%-54.7%) died at home during the entire study period, and 57.8% (95% CI, 57.5%-58.0%) received SPC at the end of life. In March 2020, home deaths increased by 8.3% (95% CI, 7.4%-9.1%); however, this increase was less marked in Q5 (6.1%; 95% CI, 4.4%-7.8%) than in Q1 (11.4%; 95% CI, 9.6%-13.2%) and Q3 (10.0%; 95% CI, 9.0%-11.1%). There was a simultaneous decrease of 5.3% (95% CI, -6.3% to -4.4%) in the rate of SPC at the end of life, with no significant difference among quintiles. Patients who received SPC at the end of life (vs no SPC) were more likely to die at home before and during the pandemic. However, there was a larger immediate increase in home deaths among those who received no SPC at the end of life vs those who received SPC (Q1, 17.5% [95% CI, 15.2%-19.8%] vs 7.6% [95% CI, 5.4%-9.7%]; Q3, 12.7% [95% CI, 10.8%-14.5%] vs 9.0% [95% CI, 7.2%-10.7%]). For Q5, the increase in home deaths was significant only for patients who did not receive SPC (13.9% [95% CI, 11.9%-15.8%] vs 1.2% [95% CI, -1.0% to 3.5%]). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with amplified socioeconomic disparities in death at home and SPC delivery at the end of life. Future research should focus on the mechanisms of these disparities and on developing interventions to ensure equitable and consistent SPC access.

Operational status of mental health, substance use, and problem gambling services: A system-level snapshot two years into the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this paper is to provide a system-level snapshot of the operational status of mental health, substance use, and problem gambling services 2 years into the pandemic in Ontario, Canada, with a specific focus on services that target individuals experiencing vulnerable circumstances (e.g., homelessness and legal issues). METHODS: We examined data from 6038 publicly funded community services that provide mental health, substance use, and problem gambling services in Ontario. We used descriptive statistics to describe counts and percentages by service type and specialisation of service delivery. We generated cross-tabulations to analyse the relationship between the service status and service type for each target population group. RESULTS: As of March 2022, 38.4% (n = 2321) of services were fully operational, including 36.0% (n = 1492) of mental health, 44.1% (n = 1037) of substance use, and 23.4% (n = 78) of problem gambling services. These service disruptions were also apparent among services tailored to sexual/gender identity (women/girls, men/boys, 2SLGBTQQIA + individuals), individuals with legal issues, with acquired brain injury, and those experiencing homelessness. CONCLUSION: Accessible community-based mental health, substance use and problem gambling services are critical supports, particularly for communities that have historically contended with higher needs and greater barriers to care relative to the general population. We discuss the public health implications of the findings for the ongoing pandemic response and future emergency preparedness planning for community-based mental health, substance use and problem gambling services.

Healthcare providers' perspectives on implementing a brief physical activity and diet intervention within a primary care smoking cessation program: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Post-smoking-cessation weight gain can be a major barrier to quitting smoking; however, adding behavior change interventions for physical activity (PA) and diet may adversely affect smoking cessation outcomes. The "Picking up the PACE (Promoting and Accelerating Change through Empowerment)" study assessed change in PA, fruit/vegetable consumption, and smoking cessation by providing a clinical decision support system for healthcare providers to utilize at the intake appointment, and found no significant change in PA, fruits/vegetable consumption, or smoking cessation. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the factors affecting the implementation of the intervention and contextualize the quantitative results. METHODS: Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare providers, using questions based on the National Implementation Research Network's Hexagon Tool. The data were analyzed using the framework's standard analysis approach. RESULTS: Most healthcare providers reported a need to address PA and fruit/vegetable consumption in patients trying to quit smoking, and several acknowledged that the intervention was a good fit since exercise and diet could improve smoking cessation outcomes. However, many healthcare providers mentioned the need to explain the fit to the patients. Social determinants of health (e.g., low income, food insecurity) were brought up as barriers to the implementation of the intervention by a majority of healthcare providers. Most healthcare providers recognized training as a facilitator to the implementation, but time was mentioned as a barrier by many of healthcare providers. Majority of healthcare providers mentioned allied health professionals (e.g., dieticians, physiotherapists) supported the implementation of the PACE intervention. However, most healthcare providers reported a need for individualized approach and adaptation of the intervention based on the patients' needs when implementing the intervention. The COVID-19 pandemic was found to impact the implementation of the PACE intervention based on the Hexagon Tool indicators. CONCLUSION: There appears to be a need to utilize a flexible approach when addressing PA and fruit/vegetable consumption within a smoking cessation program, based on the context of clinic, the patients' it is serving, and their life circumstances. Healthcare providers need support and external resources to implement this particular intervention. NAME OF THE REGISTRY: Clinicaltrials.gov. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04223336. DATE OF REGISTRATION: 7 January 2020 Retrospectively registered. URL OF TRIAL REGISTRY RECORD: https://classic. CLINICALTRIALS: gov/ct2/show/NCT04223336 .

CARD (Comfort Ask Relax Distract) for school-based immunizations in Calgary, Canada: a pragmatic cluster trial.

ABSTRACT: School-based immunizations are fear-inducing events for many students and contribute to vaccine hesitancy. We developed an immunization delivery framework called the CARD (Comfort Ask Relax Distract) system that incorporates evidence-based interventions to improve the experience (eg, reduce fear, pain, dizziness). We evaluated CARD in grades 6 and 9 students in Calgary, Canada. In this pragmatic, hybrid, effectiveness-implementation, cluster trial, we randomized 8 Community Health Centres providing regional immunization services to CARD or control (usual care). In the CARD group, public health staff educated students about CARD and planned processes to reduce fear cues and support student coping choices during immunization. Students self-reported fear, pain, and dizziness during immunization using a 0-10 numerical rating scale; staff recorded procedure details, including vaccines administered, fainting episodes, and coping strategies used. Staff participated in focus groups afterward. Altogether, 8839 children from 105 schools in the 2019 to 2020 school calendar year were included. Fear was lower for CARD (mean = 3.6 [SD = 3.1] vs control 4.1 [3.2]; mean difference = -0.5; 95% confidence interval = -0.74 to -0.21; P < 0.001). Effectiveness persisted after stratification by student gender (male and female) and grade level (grade 6 and grade 9). Other symptoms did not differ. Compared with control, CARD students used peers, privacy, muscle tension, and topical anesthetics more; verbal distraction, deep breathing, and adult support were used less frequently ( P < 0.05, all analyses). Immunization rate did not differ. Staff reported positive to neutral attitudes about CARD. In summary, this pragmatic trial demonstrated that CARD improved the immunization experiences of students at school.

MR Imaging of Pediatric Neuroblastoma: Is Gadolinium Enhancement Necessary for Evaluation of Image-Defined-Risk Factors?

Background: Pre-treatment stratification and outcomes of neuroblastoma patients often depend on the assessment of image-defined risk factors (IDRFs) on MR Imaging, usually using Gadolinium-contrast materials which are cautioned in pediatrics. We aimed to address whether gadolinium contrast-enhanced sequences are necessary to identify the presence/absence of IDRFs. Methods: Patients with neuroblastoma with MR imaging were retrospectively identified from 2005 to 2021. Ninety confirmed IDRFs were evaluated in 23 patients. Corresponding MR studies were anonymized, randomized, and independently evaluated by 3 fellowship-trained pediatric radiologists. Each radiologist assessed the studies twice. At the first reading, all enhanced sequences were omitted, while in the second reading, the full study with enhanced sequences were included. Consensus reading was obtained among readers. Inter- and intra-rater agreements using Kappa statistics (κ) as well as the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of non-enhanced MR in assessing IDRFs with respect to enhanced MR were calculated. Results: There were substantial (ĸ: 0.64-0.73) intra-reader agreements, and moderate to substantial (ĸ: 0.57-0.62) inter-reader agreements among radiologists in identifying IDRFs using non-enhanced MR. Non-enhanced MR had a sensitivity of 87.8% (95% CI [79-94]), specificity of 93% (89-96), PPV of 82.3 (73-89), NPV of 95.4 (92-98), and accuracy of 91.6 (88-94) in identifying IDRFs. However, 5/23 patients (21.7%) had a change in staging with the inclusion of contrast sequences. Conclusion: Although contrast sequences have a role in IDRF assessment, the majority can be adequately assessed on MR without gadolinium-contrast enhancement. Validation in a larger cohort is an important next step.

Multimorbidity and Blood Pressure Control in Patients Attending Primary Care in Canada.

BACKGROUND: There has been conflicting evidence on the association between multimorbidity and blood pressure (BP) control. This study aimed to investigate this associations in people with hypertension attending primary care in Canada, and to assess whether individual long-term conditions are associated with BP control. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in people with hypertension attending primary care in Toronto between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019. Uncontrolled BP was defined as systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg. A list of 11 a priori selected chronic conditions was used to define multimorbidity. Multimorbidity was defined as having ≥1 long-term condition in addition to hypertension. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between multimorbidity (or individual long-term conditions) with uncontrolled BP. RESULTS: A total of 67 385 patients with hypertension were included. They had a mean age of 70, 53.1% were female, 80.6% had multimorbidity, and 35.7% had uncontrolled BP. Patients with multimorbidity had lower odds of uncontrolled BP than those without multimorbidity (adjusted OR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.68-0.76). Among the long-term conditions, diabetes (aOR = 0.73, 95%CI 0.70-0.77), heart failure (aOR = 0.81, 95%CI 0.73-0.91), ischemic heart disease (aOR = 0.74, 95%CI 0.69-0.79), schizophrenia (aOR = 0.79, 95%CI 0.65-0.97), depression/anxiety (aOR = 0.91, 95%CI 0.86-0.95), dementia (aOR = 0.87, 95%CI 0.80-0.95), and osteoarthritis (aOR = 0.89, 95%CI 0.85-0.93) were associated with a lower likelihood of uncontrolled BP. CONCLUSION: We found that multimorbidity was associated with better BP control. Several conditions were associated with better control, including diabetes, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, schizophrenia, depression/anxiety, dementia, and osteoarthritis.

Trends in infection-related and infection-unrelated cancer incidence among people with and without HIV infection in Ontario, Canada, 1996-2020: a population-based matched cohort study using health administrative data.

BACKGROUND: People with HIV infection are at higher risk for certain cancers than the general population. We compared trends in infection-related and infection-unrelated cancers among people with and without HIV infection. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective population-based matched cohort study of adults with and without HIV infection using linked health administrative databases in Ontario, Canada. Participants were matched on birth year, sex, census division (rurality), neighbourhood income quintile and region of birth. We followed participants from cohort entry until the earliest of date of cancer diagnosis, date of death, Nov. 1, 2020, or date of loss to follow-up. Incident cancers identified from Jan. 1, 1996, to Nov. 1, 2020, were categorized as infection-related or-unrelated. We examined calendar periods 1996-2003, 2004-2011 and 2012-2020, corresponding to the early combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), established cART and contemporary cART eras, respectively. We used competing risk analyses to examine trends in cumulative incidence by calendar period, age and sex, and cause-specific hazard ratios (HRs). RESULTS: We matched 20 304 people with HIV infection to 20 304 people without HIV infection. A total of 2437 cancers were diagnosed, 1534 (62.9%) among infected people and 903 (37.0%) among uninfected people. The risk of infection-related cancer by age 65 years for people with HIV infection decreased from 19.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.6%-22.3%) in 1996-2011 to 10.0% (95% CI 7.9%-12.1%) in 2012-2020. Compared to uninfected people, those with HIV infection had similar HRs of infection-unrelated cancer but increased rates of infection-related cancer, particularly among younger age groups (25.1 [95% CI 13.2-47.4] v. 1.9 [95% CI 1.0-3.7] for age 18-39 yr v. ≥ 70 yr); these trends were consistent when examined by sex.Interpretation: We observed significantly higher rates of infection-related, but not infection-unrelated, cancer among people with HIV infection than among uninfected people. The elevated rate of infection-related cancer in 2012-2020 highlights the importance of early and sustained antiretroviral therapy along with cancer screening and prevention measures.

Nasal Suctioning Therapy Among Infants With Bronchiolitis Discharged Home From the Emergency Department: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Although nasal suctioning is the most frequently used supportive management for bronchiolitis, its benefit remains unknown. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of enhanced vs minimal nasal suctioning in treating infants with bronchiolitis after discharge from the emergency department (ED). Design, Setting, and Participants: This single-blind, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial was conducted from March 6, 2020, to December 15, 2022, at 4 tertiary-care Canadian pediatric EDs. Participants included otherwise healthy infants aged 1 to 11 months with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis who were discharged home from the ED. Interventions: Participants were randomized to minimal suctioning via bulb or enhanced suctioning via a battery-operated device before feeding for 72 hours. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was additional resource use, a composite of unscheduled revisits for bronchiolitis or use of additional suctioning devices for feeding and/or breathing concerns. Secondary outcomes included health care utilization, feeding and sleeping adequacy, and satisfaction. Results: Of 884 screened patients, 352 were excluded for criteria, 79 declined participation, 81 were otherwise excluded, 372 were randomized (185 to the minimal suction group and 187 to the enhanced suction group), and 367 (median [IQR] age, 4 [2-6] months; 221 boys [60.2%]) completed the trial (184 in the minimal suction and 183 in the enhanced suction group). Additional resource use occurred for 68 of 184 minimal suction participants (37.0%) vs 48 of 183 enhanced suction participants (26.2%) (absolute risk difference, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.20; P = .03). Unscheduled revisits occurred for 47 of 184 minimal suction participants (25.5%) vs 40 of 183 enhanced suction participants (21.9%) (absolute risk difference, 0.04; 95% CI, -0.05 to 0.12; P = .46). A total of 33 of 184 parents in the minimal suction group (17.9%) used additional suctioning devices vs 11 of 183 parents in the enhanced suction group (6.0%) (absolute risk difference, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.19; P < .001). No significant between-group differences were observed for all bronchiolitis revisits (absolute risk difference, 0.07; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.16; P = .15), ED revisits (absolute risk difference, 0.04; 95% CI, -0.03 to 0.12; P = .30), parental care satisfaction (absolute risk difference, -0.02; 95% CI, -0.10 to 0.06; P = .70), and changes from baseline to 72 hours in normal feeding (difference in differences, 0.03; 95% CI, -0.10 to 0.17; P = .62), normal sleeping (difference in differences, 0.05; 95% CI, -0.08 to 0.18; P = .47), or normal parental sleeping (difference in differences, 0.10; 95% CI, -0.02 to 0.23; P = .09). Parents in the minimal suction group were less satisfied with the assigned device (62 of 184 [33.7%]) than parents in the enhanced suction group (145 of 183 [79.2%]) (risk difference, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.54; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: Compared with minimal suctioning, enhanced suctioning after ED discharge with bronchiolitis did not alter the disease course because there were no group differences in revisits or feeding and sleeping adequacy. Minimal suctioning resulted in higher use of nonassigned suctioning devices and lower parental satisfaction with the assigned device. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03361371.

Examining the impact of COVID-19 on health care utilization among persons with chronic spinal cord injury/dysfunction: a population study.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective longitudinal cohort time-series analysis study. OBJECTIVES: To examine healthcare utilization and delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with spinal cord injury/dysfunction (SCI/D). SETTING: Health administrative database in Ontario, Canada. METHODS: In 5754 individuals with SCI/D diagnosed from 2004-2014 and living in the community, healthcare utilization (physician visits, primary care visits, specialist visits, urologist visits, physiatrist visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospital admissions) and delivery (total, in-person, virtual) were determined at the (1) pre-pandemic period (March 2015 to February 2020), (2) initial pandemic onset period (March 2020-May 2020), and (3) pandemic period (June 2020 to March 2022). Autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modelling was conducted to determine the impact of the pandemic on monthly healthcare utilization and delivery. RESULTS: The initial pandemic onset period had a significant reduction of 24% in physicians (p = 0.0081), 35% in specialists (p < 0.0001), and 30% in urologist (p < 0.0001) visits, compared to pre-pandemic levels, with a partial recovery as the pandemic progressed. In April 2020, compared to the pre-pandemic period, a significant increase (p < 0.0001) in virtual visits for physicians, specialists, urologists, and primary care was found. The initial pandemic onset period had a 58% decrease in hospital admissions (p = 0.0011), compared to the pre-pandemic period. CONCLUSION: Healthcare utilization dropped in the initial pandemic onset period as physicians, specialists, and urologists, as well as hospitalization visits decreased significantly (p < 0.05) versus pre-pandemic levels. Virtual visit increases compensated for in-person visit decreases as the pandemic progressed to allow for total visits to partially recover.

T2 mapping magnetic resonance imaging of cartilage in hemophilia.

Background: In hemophilia, recurrent hemarthrosis may lead to irreversible arthropathy. T2 mapping MRI may reflect cartilage changes at an earlier reversible stage of arthropathy as opposed to structural MRI. Objectives: To evaluate interval changes of T2 mapping compared with the International Prophylaxis Study Group (IPSG) structural MRI scores of ankle cartilage in boys with hemophilia receiving prophylaxis. Methods: Eight boys with hemophilia A (median age, 13; range, 9-17 years), 7 age- and sex-matched healthy boys (controls, median age, 15; range, 7-16 years). A multiecho spin-echo T2-weighted MRI sequence at 3.0T was used to obtain T2 maps of cartilage of boys with hemophilia and controls. Structural joint status was evaluated using the IPSG MRI score. Results: T2 relaxation times of ankle cartilage increased significantly over time in both persons with hemophilia and controls (P = .002 and P = .00009, respectively). Changes in T2 relaxation time strongly correlated with changes in IPSG cartilage scores (rs = 0.93 to rs = 0.78 [P = .0007 to P = .023]), but not with changes in age (P = .304 to P = .840). Responsiveness of T2 relaxation times were higher than that of IPSG cartilage scores, with standardized response means >1.4 for T2 mapping in all regions-of-interest compared with 0.84 for IPSG cartilage scores. Baseline T2 relaxation time strongly correlated with timepoint 2 IPSG cartilage score (rs = 0.93 to rs = 0.82 [P = .001 to P = .012]) and T2 relaxation time (rs = 0.98 to rs = 0.88 [P = .00003 to P = .004]) changes in most regions-of-interest. Conclusion: T2 mapping shows sensitivity to biochemical changes in cartilage prior to detectable damage using conventional MRI, offering potential for early detection of bleed-related cartilage damage in boys with hemophilia.

Results from the BETTER WISE trial: a pragmatic cluster two arm parallel randomized controlled trial for primary prevention and screening in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Cancer and chronic diseases are a major cost to the healthcare system and multidisciplinary models with access to prevention and screening resources have demonstrated improvements in chronic disease management and prevention. Research demonstrated that a trained Prevention Practitioner (PP) in multidisciplinary team settings can improve achievement of patient level prevention and screening actions seven months after the intervention. METHODS: We tested the effectiveness of the PP intervention in a pragmatic two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. Patients aged 40-65 were randomized at the physician level to an intervention group or to a wait-list control group. The intervention consisted of a patient visit with a PP. The PP received training in prevention and screening and use of the BETTER WISE tool kit. The effectiveness of the intervention was assessed using a composite outcome of the proportion of the eligible prevention and screening actions achieved between intervention and control groups at 12-months. RESULTS: Fifty-nine physicians were recruited in Alberta, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Of the 1,005 patients enrolled, 733 (72.9%) completed the 12-month analysis. The COVID-19 pandemic occurred during the study time frame at which time nonessential prevention and screening services were not available and in-person visits with the PP were not allowed. Many patients and sites did not receive the intervention as planned. The mean composite score was not significantly higher in patients receiving the PP intervention as compared to the control group. To understand the impact of COVID on the project, we also considered a subset of patients who had received the intervention and who attended the 12-month follow-up visit before COVID-19. This assessment demonstrated the effectiveness of the BETTER visits, similar to the findings in previous BETTER studies. CONCLUSIONS: We did not observe an improvement in cancer and chronic disease prevention and screening (CCDPS) outcomes at 12 months after a BETTER WISE prevention visit: due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was not implemented as planned. Though benefits were described in those who received the intervention before COVID-19, the sample size was too small to make conclusions. This study may be a harbinger of a substantial decrease and delay in CCDPS activities under COVID restrictions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN21333761. Registered on 19/12/2016. http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN21333761 .

Eviction filings during bans on enforcement throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: an interrupted time series analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Bans on evictions were implemented to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to protect vulnerable populations during a public health crisis. Our objective was to examine how three bans on eviction enforcement impacted eviction filings from March 2020 through January 2022 in Ontario, Canada. METHODS: Data were derived from eviction application records kept by the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board. We used segmented regression analysis to model changes in the average weekly filing rates for evictions due to non-payment of rent (L1 filings) and reasons other than non-payment of rent (L2 filings). RESULTS: The average number of weekly L1 and L2 applications dropped by 67.5 (95% CI: 55.2, 79.9) and 31.7 (95% CI: 26.7, 36.6) filings per 100,000 rental dwellings, respectively, following the first ban on eviction enforcement (p < 0.0001). Notably, they did not fall to zero. Level changes during the second and third bans were insubstantial and slope changes for L2 applications varied throughout the study period. The L1 filing rate appeared to increase towards the end of the study period (slope change: 1.3; 95% CI: 0.1, 2.6; p = 0.0387). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that while the first ban on eviction enforcement appeared to substantially reduce filing rates, subsequent bans were less effective and none of them eliminated eviction filings altogether. Enacting upstream policies that tackle the root causes of displacement would better equip jurisdictions during future public health emergencies.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIF: Les ordonnances d'expulsion résidentielles ont été suspendues pour réduire la propagation de la COVID-19 et pour protéger les populations vulnérables pendant une crise de santé publique. Notre objectif était d'examiner l'impact de trois interdictions d'exécution d'ordonnance d'éviction sur les requêtes d'expulsion de mars 2020 à janvier 2022 en Ontario, au Canada. MéTHODES: Les données ont été tirées des dossiers de requêtes d'expulsion conservés par la Commission de la location immobilière de l'Ontario. Nous avons utilisé une analyse de régression segmenté pour modéliser les changements dans les taux hebdomadaires moyens de requêtes d'expulsion pour non-paiement du loyer (requêtes L1) et pour des raisons autres que le non-paiement du loyer (requêtes L2). RéSULTATS: Le nombre moyen de demandes hebdomadaires de dépôts de requêtes L1 et L2 a chuté de 67,5 % (IC à 95% : 55,2, 79,9) et de 31,7 % (IC à 95% : 26,7, 36,6) pour 100 000 logements locatifs, respectivement, suite à la première interdiction d'exécution des expulsions. Il est à noter qu'elles ne sont pas tombées à zéro. Les changements du taux de requêtes au cours de la deuxième et la troisième interdictions n'étaient pas substantiels et les changements de pente pour les applications L2 ont varié tout au long de la période d'étude. Le taux de dépôt de L1 a semblé augmenter vers la fin de la période d'étude (changement de pente : 1,3; IC à 95% : 0,1, 2,6; p = 0,0387). CONCLUSION: Nos résultats suggèrent qu'alors que la première interdiction d'exécution des expulsions a semblé réduire considérablement les taux de dépôt d'expulsion, les interdictions ultérieures ont été moins efficaces et aucune d'entre elles n'a complètement éliminé les dépôts d'expulsion. L'adoption de politiques en amont qui s'attaquent plutôt aux causes profondes des expulsions permettrait de mieux équiper les juridictions lors de futures urgences de santé publique.

Quality indices for topic model selection and evaluation: a literature review and case study.

BACKGROUND: Topic models are a class of unsupervised machine learning models, which facilitate summarization, browsing and retrieval from large unstructured document collections. This study reviews several methods for assessing the quality of unsupervised topic models estimated using non-negative matrix factorization. Techniques for topic model validation have been developed across disparate fields. We synthesize this literature, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different techniques for topic model validation, and illustrate their usefulness for guiding model selection on a large clinical text corpus. DESIGN, SETTING AND DATA: Using a retrospective cohort design, we curated a text corpus containing 382,666 clinical notes collected between 01/01/2017 through 12/31/2020 from primary care electronic medical records in Toronto Canada. METHODS: Several topic model quality metrics have been proposed to assess different aspects of model fit. We explored the following metrics: reconstruction error, topic coherence, rank biased overlap, Kendall's weighted tau, partition coefficient, partition entropy and the Xie-Beni statistic. Depending on context, cross-validation and/or bootstrap stability analysis were used to estimate these metrics on our corpus. RESULTS: Cross-validated reconstruction error favored large topic models (K ≥ 100 topics) on our corpus. Stability analysis using topic coherence and the Xie-Beni statistic also favored large models (K = 100 topics). Rank biased overlap and Kendall's weighted tau favored small models (K = 5 topics). Few model evaluation metrics suggested mid-sized topic models (25 ≤ K ≤ 75) as being optimal. However, human judgement suggested that mid-sized topic models produced expressive low-dimensional summarizations of the corpus. CONCLUSIONS: Topic model quality indices are transparent quantitative tools for guiding model selection and evaluation. Our empirical illustration demonstrated that different topic model quality indices favor models of different complexity; and may not select models aligning with human judgment. This suggests that different metrics capture different aspects of model goodness of fit. A combination of topic model quality indices, coupled with human validation, may be useful in appraising unsupervised topic models.