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Female adolescents with AN have preserved systolic function and abnormalities of diastolic ventricular function. AN ≤ 10th may be a higher risk group.

The present study highlighted the reluctance of specialists to provide treatment to current IDUs infected with HCV. Providing treatment services for HCV-infected substance abusers is challenging and there are many treatment barriers. However, effective delivery of treatment to this population will help to limit the spread of HCV. The present study clearly identified a need for improved HCV treatment accessibility for IDUs.

Prolonged previous cannabis consumption and the substantial overlap between recreational and medicinal cannabis use highlight the challenges in obtaining a tenable definition of medicinal cannabis therapy.

BackgroundPakistan, among the other developing countries, has a higher prevalence rate of depression because of the current social adversities. There is, thus, a great need for systematic studies on prevalence of depression. The current study aims at exploring the prevalence of depression among households in three capital cities of Pakistan.Methodology and Principal FindingsA sample of N = 820 was randomly selected, and a cross sectional telephone-based study was conducted for a duration of six months. It was found that there was a regional variation in prevalence rates for depression among the three cities. Lahore had the highest number of depressives (53.4%), as compared to Quetta (43.9%) and Karachi (35.7%). Middle age, female gender and secondary school level of education were significantly associated with depression among the study group.Conclusions/SignificanceThe different rates of prevalence among the three cities could be attributed to local cultural influence, geographical locations and social adversities. There is a need for revision of existing health policy by the government.

BackgroundCervical cancer is highly preventable and treatable if detected early through regular screening. Women in the Canadian province of Newfoundland & Labrador have relatively low rates of cervical cancer screening, with rates of around 40 % between 2007 and 2009. Persistent infection with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary cause for the development of cervical cancer, and HPV testing, including self-sampling, has been suggested as an alternative method of cervical cancer screening that may alleviate some barriers to screening. Our objective was to determine whether offering self-collected HPV testing screening increased cervical cancer screening rates in rural communities.MethodsDuring the 2-year study, three community-based cohorts were assigned to receive either i) a cervical cancer education campaign with the option of HPV testing; ii) an educational campaign alone; iii) or no intervention. Self-collection kits were offered to eligible women at family medicine clinics and community centres, and participants were surveyed to determine their acceptance of the HPV self-collection kit. Paired proportions testing for before-after studies was used to determine differences in screening rates from baseline, and Chi Square analysis of three dimensional 2 × 2 × 2 tables compared the change between communities.ResultsCervical cancer screening increased by 15.2 % (p < 0.001) to 67.4 % in the community where self-collection was available, versus a 2.9 % increase (p = 0.07) in the community that received educational campaigns and 8.5 % in the community with no intervention (p = 0.193). The difference in change in rates was statistically significant between communities A and B (p < 0.001) but not between communities A and C (p = 0.193). The response rate was low, with only 9.5 % (168/1760) of eligible women opting to self-collect for HPV testing. Of the women who completed self-collection, 15.5 % (26) had not had a Pap smear in the last 3 years, and 88.7 % reported that they were somewhat or very satisfied with self-collection.ConclusionsOffering self-collected HPV testing increased the cervical cancer screening rate in a rural NL community. Women who completed self-collection had generally positive feelings about the experience. Offering HPV self-collection may increase screening compliance, particularly among women who do not present for routine Pap smears.

Background Staphylococcus aureus bacteriuria (SABU) may represent multiple processes ranging from asymptomatic colonization to a marker of S. aureus bacteremia (SAB). Our objective was to describe SABU at a population-based level and determine patient characteristics associated with SAB. Methods A retrospective study was performed using electronic databases. All urine cultures positive for S. aureus between 2010 and 2013 within the Calgary Health Zone were included. Patient characteristics were compared among patients with and without SAB and risk factors identified using multiple logistic regression modeling. Results A total of 2540 urine cultures positive for S. aureus from 2054 patients were analyzed. The incidence of SABU was greatest among geriatric males with multiple comorbidities. SAB occurred in 175 (6.9%) of SABU patients. Those with SAB were more likely to be hospitalized, male, have a recent urinary procedure, have pure S. aureus culture in urine, and have laboratory findings suggesting systemic infection. Patients with isolated SABU were more likely to be ≥65 years, have dementia, and have abnormal urinalyses with pyuria and urine nitrites. In-hospital mortality in patients with SABU and SABU+SAB was 9.2% and 17.5%, respectively. Patients with SABU detected ≥48 hours before SAB had the highest risk of death. Conclusions Less than 7% of patients with SABU have or will develop SAB. Characteristics associated with SABU were identified that established higher risk for systemic infection. Investigating SABU patients with these characteristics for systemic infection is warranted because a delay in diagnosis is associated with increased mortality.