Background The objective of this study was to explore Canadian emergency physicians' experiences, concerns, and perspectives during the first wave of the coronavirus disease pandemic. Methods This cross-sectional survey of physician members of Pediatric Emergency Research Canada and the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians explored: personal safety/responsibility to care; patient interactions; ethical issues in pandemic care; institutional dynamics and communication practices. Data analysis was descriptive: categorical data were summarised with frequency distributions, continuous data [100 mm visual analog scales (VAS)] were analysed using measures of central tendency. Short open-ended items were coded to identify frequencies of responses. Results From June 29 to July 29, 2020, 187 respondents (13% response rate) completed the survey: 39% were from Ontario and 20% from Quebec, trained in general (50%) or pediatric (37%) emergency medicine. Respondents reported a high moral obligation to care for patients (97/100, IQR: 85-100, on 100 mm VAS). Fear of contracting COVID-19 changed how 82% of respondents reported interacting with patients, while 97% reported PPE negatively impacted patient care. Despite reporting a high proportion of negative emotions (84%), respondents (59%) were not/slightly concerned about their mental health. Top concerns included a potential second wave, Canada's financial situation, worldwide solidarity, and youth mental health. Facilitators to provide emergency care included: teamwork, leadership, clear communications strategies. Conclusion Canadian emergency physicians felt a strong sense of responsibility to care, while dealing with several ethical dilemmas. Clear communication strategies, measures to ensure safety, and appropriate emergency department setups facilitate pandemic care. Emergency physicians were not concerned about their own mental health, requiring further exploration. Keywords COVID-19 • Emergency medicine • Pediatric emergency medicine • Physician wellness • EthicsRésumé Contexte L'objectif de cette étude était d'explorer les expériences, les préoccupations et les perspectives des médecins urgentistes canadiens pendant la première vague de la pandémie de coronavirus (COVID-19).

Drug use has been identified as a major public health issue in Pakistan. A descriptive questionnaire survey in Karachi city was made to identify the socioeconomic profile and beliefs and practices of 500 drug users. The most commonly used drugs were cocaine (19.0%) and crack-cocaine (15.0%), followed by amphetamines (11.0%), alcohol, caffeine, barbiturates and benzodiazepines (10.0% each). Key psychological factors leading to drug use were problems with parental or marital relations or break-up of a relationship (45.0%). Drugs were seen as an escape from stressful life events (28.0%) or feelings of failure (18.2%). Many drug users blamed the origins of their drug use on bad social influences (47.0%) or socioeconomic problems (23.4%). Preventive measures are needed to decrease the rate of drug addiction in Karachi. RÉSUMÉ L'usage de drogues a été identifié comme un problème de santé publique majeur au Pakistan. Une enquête descriptive par questionnaire dans la ville de Karachi a été élaborée pour identifier le profil socioéconomique de 500 utilisateurs de drogues, leurs croyances et leurs pratiques. Les drogues les plus fréquemment utilisées étaient la cocaïne (19,0 %) et le crack (15,0 %), suivies par les amphétamines (11,0 %), l'alcool, la caféine, les barbituriques et les benzodiazépines (10,0 % respectivement). Les facteurs psychologiques déclenchants conduisant à l'utilisation de drogues étaient les problèmes relationnels avec des parents ou avec des conjoints ou une rupture relationnelle (45,0 %). Les drogues étaient perçues comme une échappatoire aux événements stressants de la vie (28,0 %) ou aux sentiments d'échec (18,2 %). De nombreux utilisateurs de drogues expliquaient que les mauvaises fréquentations (47,0 %) ou les problèmes socio-économiques (23,4 %) étaient à l'origine de leur utilisation de drogues. Des mesures préventives sont nécessaires pour réduire le taux de toxicomanie à Karachi.

Background The smoking-paradox of a better outcome in ischemic stroke patients who smoke may be due to increased efficacy of thrombolysis. We investigated the effect of smoking on outcome following endovascular therapy (EVT) with mechanical thrombectomy alone versus in combination with intra-arterial (IA-) thrombolysis. Methods The primary endpoint was defined by three-month modified Rankin Scale (mRS). We performed a generalized linear model and reported relative risks (RR) for smoking (adjustment for age, sex, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, stroke severity, time to EVT) in patient data stemming from the Virtual International Stroke Trials Archive—Endovascular database. Results Among 1,497 patients, 740(49.4%) were randomized to EVT; among EVT patients, 524(35.0%) received mechanical thrombectomy alone and 216(14.4%) received it in combination with IA-thrombolysis. Smokers (N = 396) had lower mRS scores (mean 2.9 vs. 3.2; p = 0.02) and mortality rates (10% vs. 17.3%; p<0.001) in univariate analysis. In all patients and in patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy alone, smoking had no effect on outcome in regression analyses. In patients who received IA-thrombolysis (N = 216;14%), smoking had an adjusted RR of 1.65 for an mRS≤1 (95%CI 0.77–3.55). Treatment with IA-thrombolysis itself led to reduced RR for favorable outcome (adjusted RR 0.30); interaction analysis of IA-thrombolysis and smoking revealed that non-smokers with IA-thrombolysis had mRS≤2 in 47 cases (30%, adjusted RR 0.53 [0.41–0.69]) while smokers with IA-thrombolysis had mRS≤2 in 23 cases (38%, adjusted RR 0.61 [0.42–0.87]). Conclusions Smokers had no clear clinical benefit from EVT that incorporates IA-thrombolysis.

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BackgroundAccurate prediction of clinical outcomes in individual patients following acute stroke is vital for healthcare providers to optimize treatment strategies and plan further patient care. Here, we use advanced machine learning (ML) techniques to systematically compare the prediction of functional recovery, cognitive function, depression, and mortality of first-ever ischemic stroke patients and to identify the leading prognostic factors.MethodsWe predicted clinical outcomes for 307 patients (151 females, 156 males; 68 ± 14 years) from the PROSpective Cohort with Incident Stroke Berlin study using 43 baseline features. Outcomes included modified Rankin Scale (mRS), Barthel Index (BI), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-M), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and survival. The ML models included a Support Vector Machine with a linear kernel and a radial basis function kernel as well as a Gradient Boosting Classifier based on repeated 5-fold nested cross-validation. The leading prognostic features were identified using Shapley additive explanations.ResultsThe ML models achieved significant prediction performance for mRS at patient discharge and after 1 year, BI and MMSE at patient discharge, TICS-M after 1 and 3 years and CES-D after 1 year. Additionally, we showed that National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was the top predictor for most functional recovery outcomes as well as education for cognitive function and depression.ConclusionOur machine learning analysis successfully demonstrated the ability to predict clinical outcomes after first-ever ischemic stroke and identified the leading prognostic factors that contribute to this prediction.