Effects of opioid use in pregnancy on pediatric development and behaviour in children older than age 2: Systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize information on the effects of opioid use in pregnancy on subsequent pediatric development and behaviour. DATA SOURCES: Searches were performed in EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO for peer-reviewed, English articles, including a manual search of their references, that were published between January 1, 2000, and May 1, 2018. STUDY SELECTION: Of the 543 articles reviewed, 19 relevant articles that focused on developmental effects of opioid exposure in utero were identified. Most of the studies provided level II evidence. One level I meta-analysis and 1 level III expert committee report were included. SYNTHESIS: The literature was divided between documenting some level of impairment or normalization of early development deficits over time. Often no opioid effect was found once researchers controlled for socioenvironmental factors. The degree to which environmental factors, opioid exposure, or both affect pediatric development remains to be determined. CONCLUSION: The effect of maternal opioid use on pediatric development is unclear and the evidence is inconsistent. However, opioid exposure in pregnancy does define these children as a population at risk. They might experience developmental delays compared with their peers, yet remain within population norms in cognition, fine-motor skills, hand-eye coordination, executive function, and attention and impulsivity levels.

Defining "high-frequency" emergency department use: Does one size fit all for urban and rural areas?

OBJECTIVE: To suggest a functional definition for identification of "high-frequency" emergency department (ED) users in rural areas. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of secondary data. SETTING: Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre in northwestern Ontario. PARTICIPANTS: All ED visitors (N = 7121) in 2014 (N = 17 911 visits) in one rural hospital. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of patients and visits identified using different definitions of high-frequency use. RESULTS: By using the most common definition of high-frequency use (≥ 4 annual visits) for our hospital data, we identified 16.7% of ED patients. Using 6 or more annual visits as the definition, we identified 7.9% of ED patients; these patients accounted for 31.3% of the ED visit workload. Using the definition of 6 or more identifies less than 10% of the patients, which is a similar result to using the lower visit standard (≥ 4) in urban centres. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the definition for high-frequency visitors to a rural ED should be 6 or more annual visits. Other useful subsets might include very high-frequency users (12 to 19 annual visits) and super users (≥ 20 annual visits).

Acute rheumatic fever in First Nations communities in northwestern Ontario: Social determinants of health "bite the heart".

OBJECTIVE: To document a case series of 8 young First Nations patients diagnosed with acute rheumatic fever (ARF), a preventable disease that resulted in the death of 2 patients, in northwestern Ontario in the context of late diagnosis, overcrowded housing, and inadequate public health response. DESIGN: Retrospective case series over an 18-month period. SETTING: Remote First Nations communities in northwestern Ontario. PARTICIPANTS: Eight patients with ARF. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence, mortality, residual rheumatic heart disease, time to diagnosis, barriers to diagnosis and treatment, housing situation of patients, patient demographic characteristics (age, sex), and investigation results. RESULTS: The incidence of ARF in this population was 21.3 per 100,000, which is 75 times greater than the overall Canadian estimated incidence. The average patient age was 9.4 years. Most cases developed joint findings, and 5 of the surviving patients had rheumatic heart disease when they received echocardiography. The average time to diagnosis was 88 days. Two 4-year-old children died from ARF. Most patients lived in inadequate and crowded housing. CONCLUSION: This rare disease still exists in remote First Nations communities. These communities demonstrate an incidence equal to that in aboriginal communities in Australia and New Zealand, which have among the highest international incidence of ARF. Primordial prevention, including improved on-reserve housing, is urgently needed. Case detection and ongoing surveillance for primary and secondary prophylaxis requires a well resourced regional strategy.