Canine Assisted Occupational Therapy for Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Pilot Randomised Control Trial.

Children on the autism spectrum frequently display difficulties engaging with people and with functional tasks. A pilot, randomised control trial was completed to explore the impact of canine assisted occupational therapy on the on-task behaviours and goal attainment of autistic children when compared to occupational therapy sessions as usual. Twenty-two children between the ages of 4, and 6 years and 11 months, were randomly placed in either the treatment group (n-11) or waitlist control group (n = 11). Results showed that although there was a positive trend for on-task behaviour and goal attainment within the treatment group, results were not statistically significant. These results support the need for further research in the area of canine assisted occupational therapy for autistic children.

Factors associated with prolonged length of stay in patients admitted with severe hypoglycaemia to a tertiary care hospital.

Severe hypoglycaemia carries considerable morbidity and potential mortality. We aim to elucidate the factors which were associated with a prolonged length of stay (LOS) among patients with diabetes who were admitted to the hospital with severe hypoglycaemia. Three hundred and four patients were included in the analysis, with a mean age of 70.6 ± 11.3 years, mean glycated haemoglobin of 6.9 ± 1.3% and median LOS of 3 days. Patients with a LOS >3 days had significantly higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) (4.9 ± 2.1 vs 4.1 ± 2.1, P < 0.01), a lower glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (34.6 ± 31.4 mL/min vs 44.8 ± 28.9 mL/min, P = 0.01) and a higher proportion of these patients suffered from recurrent hypoglycaemia during the admission (38.9% vs 27.7%, P = 0.04). In addition, they had higher white cell counts (11.1 ± 4.8 × 109/L vs 9.3 ± 3.2 × 109/L) and lower albumin concentrations (32.9 ± 6.6 g/L vs 36.8 ± 4.9 g/L). Bivariate analysis showed that the same factors were associated with prolonged LOS. Identification of risk factors associated with prolonged LOS provides the opportunity for intervention to reduce the LOS and improve the outcomes for these patients.