Microbiological Analysis and Content of Heavy Metals in Different Candies, Chocolates, and Their Wrappers in Bangladesh.

Present study investigates 39 brands of candies, chocolate, and litchis, purchased from Dhaka City, Bangladesh, for their moisture content, sulphated ash value, heavy metal, and bacterial contamination. All the brands showed moisture content (0.64%-4.775%) within the BSTI range, but sulphated ash values (18.80%-25.72%) were beyond the accepted value. Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr ranged from 0.24-2.40 µg/g, 0.071-0.44 µg/g, 0.38-48.10 µg/g, and 0.50-12.79 µg/g, respectively, in the tested brands. Most of the brands contained Pb and Cd beyond the acceptable limits of WHO/FDA. Pb (2.24-2586.75 µg/g) was found in high concentration in the packaging of most brands, and Ni and Cd ranged from 2.10-108.05 µg/g and 1.68-45 µg/g, respectively. Bacterial presence was found in 15 brands, and 4 of them had a total aerobic bacterial count of >1 log CFU/g. Consumption of such contaminated confectionaries holds significant public health risks, specially in children, and demands necessary precautionary steps.

Evaluating the psychosocial status of BC children and youth during the COVID-19 pandemic: A MyHEARTSMAP cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the psychosocial status of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic is vital to the appropriate and adequate allocation of social supports and mental health resources. This study evaluates the burden of mental health concerns and the impact of demographic factors while tracking mental health service recommendations to inform community service needs. METHODS: MyHEARTSMAP is a digital self-assessment mental health evaluation completed by children and their guardian throughout British Columbia between August 2020 to July 2021. Severity of mental health concerns was evaluated across psychiatric, social, functioning, and youth health domains. Proportional odds modelling evaluated the impact of demographic factors on severity. Recommendations for support services were provided based on the evaluation. RESULTS: We recruited 541 families who completed 424 psychosocial assessments on individual children. Some degree of difficulty across the psychiatric, social, or functional domains was reported for more than half of children and adolescents. Older youth and those not attending any formal school or education program were more likely to report greater psychiatric difficulty. Girls experienced greater social concerns, and children attending full-time school at-home were more likely to identify difficulty within the youth health domain but were not more likely to have psychiatric difficulties. Considerations to access community mental health service were triggered in the majority (74%) of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Psychosocial concerns are highly prevalent amongst children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on identified needs of this cohort, additional community health supports are required, particularly for higher risk groups.

The Impact of Guideline Integration into Electronic Medical Records on Outcomes for Patients with Diabetes: A Systematic Review.

Optimal strategies for integration of clinical practice guidelines into electronic medical records and its impact on processes of care and clinical outcomes in diabetic patients are not well understood. A systematic review of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases in August 2016, November 2017, and June 2020 was conducted. Studies investigating integration of diabetes guidelines into ambulatory care electronic medical records reporting quantitative results were included. After screening 15,783 records, 21 articles were included. Lipid and blood pressure control consistently improved with guideline integration, but A1c control remained equivocal. Electronic guideline integration improved microvascular complication screening, vaccination, and documentation of cardiovascular risk factors, while medication prescription and blood pressure, lipid, and A1c documentation did not improve. Studies employing a combination of electronic record intervention strategies were associated with improvement in monitoring and attainment of guideline and screening targets. Thus, strategies employing combinations of interventions to incorporate guidelines into electronic records may improve processes of care and some clinical outcomes.