Abdominal drainage after elective colorectal surgery: propensity score-matched retrospective analysis of an Italian cohort.

BACKGROUND: In Italy, surgeons continue to drain the abdominal cavity in more than 50 per cent of patients after colorectal resection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of abdominal drain placement on early adverse events in patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery. METHODS: A database was retrospectively analysed through a 1:1 propensity score-matching model including 21 covariates. The primary endpoint was the postoperative duration of stay, and the secondary endpoints were surgical site infections, infectious morbidity rate defined as surgical site infections plus pulmonary infections plus urinary infections, anastomotic leakage, overall morbidity rate, major morbidity rate, reoperation and mortality rates. The results of multiple logistic regression analyses were presented as odds ratios (OR) and 95 per cent c.i. RESULTS: A total of 6157 patients were analysed to produce two well-balanced groups of 1802 patients: group (A), no abdominal drain(s) and group (B), abdominal drain(s). Group A versus group B showed a significantly lower risk of postoperative duration of stay >6 days (OR 0.60; 95 per cent c.i. 0.51-0.70; P < 0.001). A mean postoperative duration of stay difference of 0.86 days was detected between groups. No difference was recorded between the two groups for all the other endpoints. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that placement of abdominal drain(s) after elective colorectal surgery is associated with a non-clinically significant longer (0.86 days) postoperative duration of stay but has no impact on any other secondary outcomes, confirming that abdominal drains should not be used routinely in colorectal surgery.

The intensity and duration of occupational noise exposure and cardiovascular disease in the United States: a nationally representative study, 2015 to 2020.

OBJECTIVES: Occupational noise exposure may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yet the findings are inconclusive. This study aimed to examine the association between self-reported occupational noise exposure and CVD (using a broad composite case definition and by each condition) and identify how these associations vary with the intensity and duration of noise exposure, and combinations thereof. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included a nationally representative sample (n = 6,266) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015 to 2020), aged 20 and greater, in the United States. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were constructed from multiple imputed datasets. RESULTS: Relative to the unexposed, the adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of composite CVD was 1.33 (1.05 to 1.67) among the noise-exposed population, and ranged from 1.23 to 1.56 when examining CVD conditions separately. The odds ratios of composite CVD were 1.43 (1.06 to 1.93), 1.43 (1.04 to 1.95), and 1.51 (1.03 to 2.21) among those who had noise exposure with very loud intensity of any duration, with duration ≥10 years at any intensity, and with a combination of very loud noise ≥10 years, respectively, compared to those unexposed. CONCLUSIONS: Increased risk of CVD is associated with occupational noise exposure, particularly at higher intensities and longer durations. Policies and interventions for noise mitigation at workplaces are warranted, targeting individuals with chronic exposure to high-level noise.

The association between HIV self-test awareness and recent HIV testing uptake in the male population in Gambia: data analysis from 2019-2020 demographic and health survey.

BACKGROUND: The Gambian Ministry of Health is supportive of HIV self-testing (HIVST) and HIVST initiatives are being piloted as an additional strategy to increase HIV testing for individuals not currently reached by existing services, particularly men. This study aimed to determine awareness of HIVST among Gambian men, and whether prior awareness of HIVST is associated with recent HIV testing uptake. METHODS: We used men's cross-sectional data from the 2019-2020 Gambian Demographic and Health Survey. We employed design-adjusted multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between HIVST awareness and recent HIV testing. Propensity-score weighting was conducted as sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: Of 3,308 Gambian men included in the study, 11% (372) were aware of HIVST and 16% (450) received HIV testing in the last 12 months. In the design-adjusted multivariable analysis, men who were aware of HIVST had 1.76 times (95% confidence interval: 1.26-2.45) the odds of having an HIV test in the last 12 months, compared to those who were not aware of HIVST. Sensitivity analyses revealed similar findings. CONCLUSION: Awareness of HIVST may help increase the uptake of HIV testing among men in Gambia. This finding highlights HIVST awareness-raising activities to be an important intervention for nationwide HIVST program planning and implementation in Gambia.

Does Vaccination Protect against Human Papillomavirus-Related Cancers? Preliminary Findings from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2018).

Most oropharyngeal and anogenital cancers are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Although HPV vaccines showed high efficacy against oropharyngeal and anogenital HPV infections, and cancer precursors in randomized clinical trials, there are limited data on the effectiveness of HPV vaccination against HPV-related cancers. We aimed to evaluate the association of HPV vaccination with HPV-related cancers among a nationally representative sample of United States adults, aged 20-59 years. In a cross-sectional study combining four cycles from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, from 2011 through 2018, we used a survey-weighted logistic regression model, propensity score matching and multiple imputations by chained equations to explore the association of HPV vaccination with HPV-related cancers. Among 9891 participants, we did not find an association of HPV vaccination with HPV-related cancers (adjusted OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.19; 1.75). Despite no statistically significant association between HPV vaccination and HPV-related cancers, our study findings suggest that HPV-vaccinated adults might have lower odds of developing HPV-related cancers than those who were not vaccinated. Given the importance of determining the impact of vaccination on HPV-related cancers, there is a need to conduct future research by linking cancer registry data with vaccination records, to obtain more robust results.

Patterns and determinants of adherence to colorectal cancer primary and secondary prevention recommendations in the BC Generations Project. / Tendances et déterminants de l'adhésion aux recommandations en matière de prévention primaire et secondaire du cancer colorectal dans le cadre du BC Generations Project.

INTRODUCTION: Adherence to cancer prevention recommendations can greatly reduce colorectal cancer risk. This study explored patterns and determinants of adherence to these recommendations by participants (n = 26 074) at baseline in a cohort study in British Columbia, Canada. METHODS: Adherence to five colorectal cancer primary prevention behaviours derived from Canadian Cancer Society/World Cancer Research Fund recommendations (nonsmoking, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, alcohol consumption and fruit and vegetable consumption) was measured, and a composite score constructed based on their sum. The definition of secondary prevention adherence was based on the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care recommendations for colorectal cancer screening. RESULTS: Adherence to primary prevention guidelines ranged from 94.8% (nonsmoking) to 44.2% (healthy BMI). Median composite score was 4. Higher composite scores were associated with being female, being married and with a higher educational attainment. Colorectal cancer screening adherence was 62.4%. Older age, chronic conditions, a recent medical examination and higher income were associated with greater odds of adherence to screening. CONCLUSION: Adherence to some colorectal cancer prevention behaviours was high, consistent with findings that British Columbia has low rates of many risky health behaviours. However, there was a clustering of poorer adherence to prevention behaviours with each other and with other risk factors. Screening adherence was high but varied with some sociodemographic and health factors. Future work should evaluate targeted interventions to improve adherence among those in the lowest socioeconomic status and health groups. A better understanding is also needed of the barriers to access and engagement with colorectal cancer screening that persist even in the Canadian public health care system.

Prescription opioid treatment for non-cancer pain and initiation of injection drug use: large retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between long term prescription opioid treatment medically dispensed for non-cancer pain and the initiation of injection drug use (IDU) among individuals without a history of substance use. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Large administrative data source (containing information for about 1.7 million individuals tested for hepatitis C virus or HIV in British Columbia, Canada) with linkage to administrative health databases, including dispensations from community pharmacies. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals age 11-65 years and without a history of substance use (except alcohol) at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Episodes of prescription opioid use for non-cancer pain were identified based on drugs dispensed between 2000 and 2015. Episodes were classified by the increasing length and intensity of opioid use (acute (lasting <90 episode days), episodic (lasting ≥90 episode days; with <90 days' drug supply and/or <50% episode intensity), and chronic (lasting ≥90 episode days; with ≥90 days' drug supply and ≥50% episode intensity)). People with a chronic episode were matched 1:1:1:1 on socioeconomic variables to those with episodic or acute episodes and to those who were opioid naive. IDU initiation was identified by a validated administrative algorithm with high specificity. Cox models weighted by inverse probability of treatment weights assessed the association between opioid use category (chronic, episodic, acute, opioid naive) and IDU initiation. RESULTS: 59 804 participants (14 951 people from each opioid use category) were included in the matched cohort, and followed for a median of 5.8 years. 1149 participants initiated IDU. Cumulative probability of IDU initiation at five years was highest for participants with chronic opioid use (4.0%), followed by those with episodic use (1.3%) and acute use (0.7%), and those who were opioid naive (0.4%). In the inverse probability of treatment weighted Cox model, risk of IDU initiation was 8.4 times higher for those with chronic opioid use versus those who were opioid naive (95% confidence interval 6.4 to 10.9). In a sensitivity analysis limited to individuals with a history of chronic pain, cumulative risk for those with chronic use (3.4% within five years) was lower than the primary results, but the relative risk was not (hazard ratio 9.7 (95% confidence interval 6.5 to 14.5)). IDU initiation was more frequent at higher opioid doses and younger ages. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of IDU initiation among individuals who received chronic prescription opioid treatment for non-cancer pain was infrequent overall (3-4% within five years) but about eight times higher than among opioid naive individuals. These findings could have implications for strategies to prevent IDU initiation, but should not be used as a reason to support involuntary tapering or discontinuation of long term prescription opioid treatment.

Post-tuberculosis mortality risk among immigrants to British Columbia, Canada, 1985-2015: a time-dependent Cox regression analysis of linked immigration, public health, and vital statistics data.

OBJECTIVE: To compare non-tuberculosis (non-TB)-cause mortality risk overall and cause-specific mortality risks within the immigrant population of British Columbia (BC) with and without TB diagnosis through time-dependent Cox regressions. METHODS: All people immigrating to BC during 1985-2015 (N = 1,030,873) were included with n = 2435 TB patients, and the remaining as non-TB controls. Outcomes were time-to-mortality for all non-TB causes, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and injuries/poisonings, and were ascertained using ICD-coded vital statistics data. Cox regressions were used, with a time-varying exposure variable for TB diagnosis. RESULTS: The non-TB-cause mortality hazard ratio (HR) was 4.01 (95% CI 3.57-4.51) with covariate-adjusted HR of 1.69 (95% CI 1.50-1.91). Cause-specific covariate-adjusted mortality risk was elevated for respiratory diseases (aHR = 2.96; 95% CI 2.18-4.00), cardiovascular diseases (aHR = 1.63; 95% CI 1.32-2.02), cancers (aHR = 1.40; 95% CI 1.13-1.75), and injuries/poisonings (aHR = 1.85; 95% CI 1.25-2.72). CONCLUSIONS: In any given year, if an immigrant to BC was diagnosed with TB, their risk of non-TB mortality was 69% higher than if they were not diagnosed with TB. Healthcare providers should consider multiple potential threats to the long-term health of TB patients during and after TB treatment. TB guidelines in high-income settings should address TB survivor health.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIF: Au moyen de régressions de Cox avec une covariable temporalisée, comparer le risque global de mortalité non due à la tuberculose et les risques de mortalité par cause au sein de la population immigrante de la Colombie-Britannique (C.-B.) avec et sans diagnostic de tuberculose. MéTHODE: Toutes les personnes ayant immigré en C.-B. entre 1985 et 2015 (N = 1 030 873) ont été incluses, dont n = 2 435 patients tuberculeux, le reste étant des témoins non tuberculeux. Nos résultats incluaient le temps jusqu'à la mortalité de toute cause autre que la tuberculose, soit les maladies respiratoires, les maladies cardiovasculaires, les cancers et les blessures/empoisonnements, déterminé à l'aide des statistiques de l'état civil codées selon la CIM. Nous avons utilisé des régressions de Cox avec une variable d'exposition temporalisée pour le diagnostic de tuberculose. RéSULTATS: Le coefficient de danger (CD) de mortalité non due à la tuberculose était de 4,01 (IC de 95 % : 3,57-4,51) avec un CD ajusté selon la covariable de 1,69 (IC de 95 % : 1,50-1,91). Le risque de mortalité par cause ajusté selon la covariable était élevé pour : les maladies respiratoires (CDa = 2,96; IC de 95 % : 2,18-4,00), les maladies cardiovasculaires (CDa = 1,63; IC de 95 % : 1,32-2,02), les cancers (CDa = 1,40; IC de 95 % : 1,13-1,75) et les blessures/empoisonnements (CDa = 1,85; IC de 95 % : 1,25-2,72). CONCLUSIONS: Chaque année, si une personne ayant immigré en C.-B. avait un diagnostic de tuberculose, son risque de mortalité non due à la tuberculose était supérieur de 69 % à celui d'une personne sans diagnostic de tuberculose. Les professionnels de santé devraient tenir compte des multiples menaces possibles à la santé à long terme de leurs patients tuberculeux pendant et après le traitement de la tuberculose. Les lignes directrices sur la tuberculose dans les milieux à revenu élevé devraient tenir compte de la santé des survivants de la tuberculose.

Multimorbidity prevalence in Canada: a comparison of Northern Territories with Provinces, 2013/14.

Rapid social, economic, and environmental changes in the northern territories of Canada have raised concerns about potentially increasing levels of chronic disease. This concern prompted us to compare multimorbidity prevalence in Canada between the territories and provinces. We analyzed Canadian Community Health Survey data for 2013/14. We defined multimorbidity, the outcome, as having 3 or more chronic conditions and used survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression for comparisons between territories and provinces. We found a prevalence of multimorbidity in Canada of 14.0% (95% CI: 13.6, 14.3). We could not find significant difference in multimorbidity prevalence between the territories and provinces of Canada overall; however, the territories tended to have lower prevalence estimates than provinces for multimorbidity (adj-OR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.74-1.04). Sensitivity analyses from propensity score analyses had similar conclusions. Effect modification analyses identified lower multimorbidity in territories versus provinces among households without a post-secondary graduate (adj-OR = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.34-0.61 for northern residence), males (adj-OR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.54-0.93), and ages 12-29 years (adj-OR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.39-0.99). Caution is needed in interpreting the results in light of representativeness of CCHS in northern populations of Canada.

Nurses "Seeing Forest for the Trees" in the Age of Machine Learning: Using Nursing Knowledge to Improve Relevance and Performance.

Although machine learning is increasingly being applied to support clinical decision making, there is a significant gap in understanding what it is and how nurses should adopt it in practice. The purpose of this case study is to show how one application of machine learning may support nursing work and to discuss how nurses can contribute to improving its relevance and performance. Using data from 130 specialized hospitals with 101 766 patients with diabetes, we applied various advanced statistical methods (known as machine learning algorithms) to predict early readmission. The best-performing machine learning algorithm showed modest predictive ability with opportunities for improvement. Nurses can contribute to machine learning algorithms by (1) filling data gaps with nursing-relevant data that provide personalized context about the patient, (2) improving data preprocessing techniques, and (3) evaluating potential value in practice. These findings suggest that nurses need to further process the information provided by machine learning and apply "Wisdom-in-Action" to make appropriate clinical decisions. Nurses play a pivotal role in ensuring that machine learning algorithms are shaped by their unique knowledge of each patient's personalized context. By combining machine learning with unique nursing knowledge, nurses can provide more visibility to nursing work, advance nursing science, and better individualize patient care. Therefore, to successfully integrate and maximize the benefits of machine learning, nurses must fully participate in its development, implementation, and evaluation.