In the past decade, the number of epidemiological publications addressing environmental chemical exposures and autism has grown tremendously. These studies are important because it is now understood that environmental factors play a larger role in causing autism than previously thought and because they address modifiable risk factors that may open up avenues for the primary prevention of the disability associated with autism. In this review, we covered studies of autism and estimates of exposure to tobacco, air pollutants, volatile organic compounds and solvents, metals (from air, occupation, diet, dental amalgams, and thimerosal-containing vaccines), pesticides, and organic endocrine-disrupting compounds such as flame retardants, non-stick chemicals, phthalates, and bisphenol A. We included studies that had individual-level data on autism, exposure measures pertaining to pregnancy or the 1st year of life, valid comparison groups, control for confounders, and adequate sample sizes. Despite the inherent error in the measurement of many of these environmental exposures, which is likely to attenuate observed associations, some environmental exposures showed associations with autism, especially traffic-related air pollutants, some metals, and several pesticides, with suggestive trends for some volatile organic compounds (e.g., methylene chloride, trichloroethylene, and styrene) and phthalates. Whether any of these play a causal role requires further study. Given the limited scope of these publications, other environmental chemicals cannot be ruled out, but have not yet been adequately studied. Future research that addresses these and additional environmental chemicals, including their most common routes of exposures, with accurate exposure measurement pertaining to several developmental windows, is essential to guide efforts for the prevention of the neurodevelopmental damage that manifests in autism symptoms.

BackgroundUnrecognised changes in a hospitalised patient’s clinical course may lead to a preventable adverse event. Early warning systems (EWS) use patient data, such as vital signs, nursing assessments and laboratory values, to aid in the detection of early clinical deterioration. In 2018, an EWS programme was deployed at an academic hospital that consisted of a commercially available EWS algorithm and a centralised virtual nurse team to monitor alerts. Our objective was to understand the nursing perspective on the use of an EWS programme with centralised monitoring.MethodsWe conducted and audio-recorded semistructured focus groups during nurse staff meetings on six inpatient units, stratified by alert frequency (high: >100 alerts/month; medium: 50–100 alerts/month; low: <50 alerts/month). Discussion topics included EWS programme experiences, perception of EWS programme utility and EWS programme implementation. Investigators analysed the focus group transcripts using a grounded theory approach.ResultsWe conducted 28 focus groups with 227 bedside nurses across all shifts. We identified six principal themes: (1) Alert timeliness, nurses reported being aware of the patient’s deterioration before the EWS alert, (2) Lack of accuracy, nurses perceived most alerts as false positives, (3) Workflow interruptions caused by EWS alerts, (4) Questions of actionability of alerts, nurses were often uncertain about next steps, (5) Concerns around an underappreciation of core nursing skills via reliance on the EWS programme and (6) The opportunity cost of deploying the EWS programme.ConclusionThis qualitative study of nurses demonstrates the importance of earning user trust, ensuring timeliness and outlining actionable next steps when implementing an EWS. Careful attention to user workflow is required to maximise EWS impact on improving hospital quality and patient safety.

Key Points Question Is participation in a remote monitoring program for COVID-19, supported by nurses around the clock, associated with subsequent hospitalization? Findings In this cohort study of 9378 patients, participation in a remote monitoring program was associated with lower odds of hospitalization 2 to 14 days after a positive COVID-19 test, after an adjusted analysis using inverse propensity score weighting. Meaning These findings suggest that remote patient monitoring for COVID-19 may help patients better manage symptoms at home and help hospitals better manage bed capacity.

IMPORTANCE Clostridioides difficile infection is the most frequent health care-associated infection in the United States. However, exposure to this organism might occur outside the health care setting. OBJECTIVE To examine whether exposure to environmental factors, such as livestock farms, is associated with a higher probability of being colonized with C difficile at hospital admission. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective cohort study was conducted from May 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, at a teaching-affiliated hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All consecutive patients underwent C difficile screening using a nucleic acid amplification test at hospital admission. Data analyses were performed from July 2018 to October 2019. EXPOSURES The distances from patient residence to the nearest livestock farms, meat processing plants, raw materials services, and sewage facilities were measured in addition to risk factors previously evaluated in other studies. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The main outcome was a positive result on C difficile screening tests performed within 72 hours of hospital admission. RESULTS A total of 3043 patients admitted to the hospital were included in the final analysis. Of those, 1564 (51.4%) were women and 2074 (68.9%) were white, with a mean (SD) age of 62.0 (15.9) years; 978 patients (32.1%) were admitted to hematology-oncology units. At first admission, 318 patients (10.4%) were detected through testing as C difficile carriers. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed on a stratified sample of patients based on hematology-oncology admission status. These analyses indicated that although patients admitted to hematology-oncology units were 35% more likely to be colonized with C difficile, no significant association existed between their sociodemographic and economic characteristics or health care and environmental exposures and the likelihood of a positive C difficile test result. In contrast, among patients admitted to non-hematology-oncology units, comorbidities increased the likelihood for colonization by more than 4 times; women had 60% greater colonization than men, and a history of recent hospitalization (ie, within the preceding 6 months) increased the likelihood of colonization by 70%. Residential proximity to livestock farms were all significantly associated with a higher likelihood of a positive C difficile test result. Residential proximity to livestock farms more than doubled the probability of C difficile colonization in patients admitted to non-hematology-oncology units. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE A shorter distance between residence and livestock farms was associated with C difficile colonization. Knowledge of the epidemiology of C difficile in the community (continued) Key Points Question Is an individual's location of residence associated with asymptomatic carriage of toxigenic Clostridiodes difficile? Findings In this cohort study of 3043 adult participants admitted to the hospital, patients who lived closer to livestock farms had a higher likelihood...