Pediatric Malaria: Global and North American Perspectives.

Malaria is a leading cause of death in children less than 5 years of age globally, and a common cause of fever in the returning North American traveler. New tools in the fight against malaria have been developed over the past decades: potent artemisinin derivatives; rapid diagnostic tests; long-lasting insecticidal bed nets; and a new vaccine, RTS,S/AS01. Thwarting these advances, parasite and Anopheles vector resistance are emerging. In the meantime, clinicians will continue to see malaria among febrile travelers from the tropics. Early recognition, diagnosis, and treatment can be lifesaving, but rely on the vigilance of frontline clinicians.

Systematic review of the use of process evaluations in knowledge translation research.

BACKGROUND: Experimental designs for evaluating knowledge translation (KT) interventions can provide strong estimates of effectiveness but offer limited insight into how the intervention worked. Consequently, process evaluations have been used to explore the causal mechanisms at work; however, there are limited standards to guide this work. This study synthesizes current evidence of KT process evaluations to provide future methodological recommendations. METHODS: Peer-reviewed search strategies were developed by a health research librarian. Studies had to be in English, published since 1996, and were not excluded based on design. Studies had to (1) be a process evaluation of a KT intervention study in primary health, (2) be a primary research study, and (3) include a licensed healthcare professional delivering or receiving the intervention. A two-step, two-person hybrid screening approach was used for study inclusion with inter-rater reliability ranging from 94 to 95%. Data on study design, data collection, theoretical influences, and approaches used to evaluate the KT intervention, analysis, and outcomes were extracted by two reviewers. Methodological quality was assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). RESULTS: Of the 20,968 articles screened, 226 studies fit our inclusion criteria. The majority of process evaluations used qualitative forms of data collection (43.4%) and individual interviews as the predominant data collection method. 72.1% of studies evaluated barriers and/or facilitators to implementation. 59.7% of process evaluations were stand-alone evaluations. The timing of data collection varied widely with post-intervention data collection being the most frequent (46.0%). Only 38.1% of the studies were informed by theory. Furthermore, 38.9% of studies had MMAT scores of 50 or less indicating poor methodological quality. CONCLUSIONS: There is widespread acceptance that the generalizability of quantitative trials of KT interventions would be significantly enhanced through complementary process evaluations. However, this systematic review found that process evaluations are of mixed quality and lack theoretical guidance. Most process evaluation data collection occurred post-intervention undermining the ability to evaluate the process of implementation. Strong science and methodological guidance is needed to underpin and guide the design and execution of process evaluations in KT science. REGISTRATION: This study is not registered with PROSPERO.

Repurposing Pharmaceuticals as Neuroprotective Agents for Cerebral Malaria.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral malaria (CM) is a severe complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection which may result in death or developmental disability. The pathologic processes leading to CM are not fully elucidated; however, widely accepted mechanisms include parasite sequestration, release of infected red blood cell contents, activation of endothelial cells, increased inflammatory responses, and ultimately dysfunction of the neurovascular unit (NVU). The endothelium plays a central role in these processes as the site of parasitized erythrocyte sequestration and as the regulator of fluid extravasation into the central nervous system. Modulating endothelial barrier function at the NVU may provide new therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes in CM. METHODS: Here we provide a narrative review of the literature of peer-reviewed research relating to adjunctive therapies for CM. We discuss regulatory pathways of the NVU, with a focus on the potential for pharmacologic modulation of the NVU to improve CM outcomes. RESULTS: Recently licensed pharmaceuticals, developed as therapies for cancer or neurologic disease, could be re-purposed for use as host-directed therapies in CM to target pathways involved in endothelial stability and activation. CONCLUSION: The findings of this review highlight recently licensed pharmaceuticals that may be developed as future adjunctive therapies for CM.

Obliterative Surgery for the Treatment of Pelvic Organ Prolapse: A Patient Survey on Reasons for Surgery Selection and Postoperative Decision Regret and Satisfaction.

OBJECTIVES: To identify patient-reported reasons for selecting obliterative surgery for the purpose of predicting decision regret and satisfaction. METHODS: We created a deidentified database of patients who underwent an obliterative procedure for prolapse from 2006 to 2013. Patients were excluded if they declined study participation, were deceased, or had dementia. Participants completed a survey regarding reasons for selecting obliterative surgery and a modified version of validated questionnaires on decision regret (Decision Regret Scale-Pelvic Floor Disorder) and satisfaction (Satisfaction with Decision Scale-Pelvic Floor Disorder). Parsimonious multivariate linear regression models were constructed to determine if any of the reasons given for choosing obliterative surgery were independent predictors of decision regret and satisfaction after controlling for significant sociodemographic, clinical, and surgical outcome data identified by bivariate analysis. RESULTS: Seventy-seven women completed the surveys. "To follow my doctor's recommendations" and "no longer sexually active," and/or "did not plan to be" as reasons for selecting obliterative surgery made the most difference; however, these reasons were not identified as independent predictors of decision regret or satisfaction after controlling for confounders. The regret linear regression models identified preoperative sexual activity rather than the patient-reported reason "no longer sexually active and/or did not plan to be," as the only independent predictor of more decision regret after obliterative surgery (B coefficient 1.68, P < 0.01). The satisfaction linear regression models identified reoperation for any reason as an independent predictor of lower satisfaction (ß, -0.24; P = 0.04) and the patient-reported reason for choosing obliterative surgery "not interested in pessary" as a predictor of higher satisfaction (ß, 0.30, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study advances our knowledge about the obliterative surgical decision making process. Behavioral and educational interventions directed at improving patient and physician communications concerning the dynamics of sexual health issues in an aging population will likely decrease regret when obliterative surgery is chosen. Minimizing reoperation after obliterative surgery through increased experience, knowledge, and improved surgical skills and patient validation when pessary is declined will likely improve satisfaction when obliterative surgery is chosen.