Similar to other studies, WD/WHLS was the most common cause of death in academic ICUs and poor patient prognosis was considered the most important factor in deciding on WDLS. However, in contrast to other studies, future quality of life was not as frequently cited a reason for WDLS and larger amounts of morphine were used during WDLS. These discrepancies suggest areas for potential future research.

ABSTRACT:Background:Unemployment is common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and is associated with loss of income and impaired health related quality of life. This study determined variables associated with unemployment and risk factors for the development of unemployment in people with MS.Methods:Ninety-six patients who were under age 65 and participated in two previous studies to measure economic costs and health related quality of life in MS were included. The baseline employment rate and variables associated with unemployment at baseline were determined. The ability of these variables to predict unemployment over the next two and a half years was then evaluated.Results:At baseline 50.1% (50/96) of participants were employed. Two and a half years later only 40.6% (39/96) remained employed. This represents loss of employment for 22.0% (11/50) of those originally employed. Factors associated with unemployment at baseline included greater disability, progressive disease course, longer disease duration, and older age. Risk factors for loss of employment over the next 2.5 years included greater disability and older age.Conclusions:This study confirms the low employment rate among people with MS and confirms the association of several previously-reported factors with greater risk of unemployment. It is also the first study to confirm that some of these factors also increase the risk of future unemployment. People with MS who are over age 39 or have moderate disability and are still employed can now be identified as at risk for becoming unemployed over the next 2.5 years. They should be considered for interventions to maintain employment or to lessen the impact of unemployment.

The incidence of WD/WHLS was similar in community hospitals and teaching hospitals; however, withholding of life support was more common in community hospitals. The process of WDLS appears to differ between community hospitals and teaching hospitals.

Correlations (Corrected and Observed) of New Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Total Scores and Undergraduate Grade Point Averages (UGPAs), Alone and Together, with Students' Summative Performance a in the First Year of Medical School (M1) Data type Corrected b (observed) correlations of MCAT total scores with summative performance in M1 Corrected (observed) correlations of UGPAs with summative performance in M1 Corrected (observed) correlations of MCAT total scores and UGPAs with summative performance in M1 Median 0.57 (0.39) 0.52 (0.34) 0.65 (0.52) Interquartile range (25%-75%)

Disease modifying therapies (DMTs) reduce the frequency of relapses and accumulation of disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). Long-term persistence with treatment is important to optimize treatment benefit. This long-term, cohort study was conducted at the Calgary MS Clinic. All consenting adults with relapsing-remitting MS who started either glatiramer acetate (GA) or interferon-β 1a/1b (IFN-β) between January 1st, 1996 and July 1st, 2011 were included. Follow-up continued to February 1st, 2014. Time-to-discontinuation of the initial and subsequently-prescribed DMTs (switches) was analysed using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. Group differences were compared using log-rank tests and multivariable Cox regression models. Analysis included 1471 participants; 906 were initially prescribed GA and 565 were initially prescribed IFN-β. Follow-up information was available for 87%; 29 (2%) were lost to follow-up and 160 (11%) moved from Southern Alberta while still using DMT. Median time-to-discontinuation of all injectable DMTs was 11.1 years. Participants with greater disability at treatment initiation, those who started treatment before age 30, and those who started between 2006 and 2011 were more likely to discontinue use of all injectable DMTs. Median time-to-discontinuation of the initial DMT was 8.6 years. Those initially prescribed GA remained on treatment longer. Of 610 participants who discontinued injectable DMT, 331 (54%) started an oral DMT, or a second-line DMT, or resumed injectable DMT after 90 days. Persistence with injectable DMTs was high in this long-term population-based study. Most participants who discontinued injectable DMT did not remain untreated. Further research is required to understand treatment outcomes and outcomes after stopping DMT.

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy is a fulminant neurologic disease seen predominantly in Japan and Taiwan. We present two cases diagnosed at a Canadian center within the same year in Caucasian children. Both were previously well, developed an acute viral illness with fever and vomiting, and progressed to brain death within 2 to 4 days. Neuroimaging and postmortem examination demonstrated the unique features of bilateral and severe necrosis of deep gray- and subcortical white-matter structures. The first case was associated with extensive, but transient, hepatic involvement, recent varicella and rotavirus infections, and detailed metabolic studies, including mitochondrial functional analysis, were normal. The second case tested positive for influenza A infection, whereas evidence of liver damage was lacking. Both children demonstrated early lymphopenia and myocardial necrosis, two features not previously associated with acute necrotizing encephalopathy. These cases are unique in their occurrence in non-Japanese children and are among the first published reports in Canada.

After many years in the making, an increasing number of postgraduate medical education (PGME) training programs in North America are now adopting a competency-based medical education (CBME) framework based upon entrustable professional activities (EPAs) that, in turn, encompass a larger number of competencies and training milestones. Following the lead of PGME, CBME is now being incorporated into undergraduate medical education (UME) in an attempt to improve integration across the medical education continuum and to facilitate a smooth transition from clerkship to residency by ensuring that all graduates are ready for indirect supervision of required EPAs on day one of residency training. The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada recently finalized its list of 12 EPAs, which closely parallels the list of 13 EPAs published earlier by the Association of American Medical Colleges, and defines the "core" EPAs that are an expectation of all medical school graduates.In this article, the authors focus on important, practical considerations for the transition to CBME that they feel have not been adequately addressed in the existing literature. They suggest that the transition to CBME should not threaten diversity in UME or require a major curricular upheaval. However, each UME program must make important decisions that will define its version of CBME, including which terminology to use when describing the construct being evaluated; which rating tools and raters to include in the assessment program; and how to make promotion decisions based upon all of the available data on EPAs.

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy is a fulminant neurologic disease seen predominantly in Japan and Taiwan. We present two cases diagnosed at a Canadian center within the same year in Caucasian children. Both were previously well, developed an acute viral illness with fever and vomiting, and progressed to brain death within 2 to 4 days. Neuroimaging and postmortem examination demonstrated the unique features of bilateral and severe necrosis of deep gray- and subcortical white-matter structures. The first case was associated with extensive, but transient, hepatic involvement, recent varicella and rotavirus infections, and detailed metabolic studies, including mitochondrial functional analysis, were normal. The second case tested positive for influenza A infection, whereas evidence of liver damage was lacking. Both children demonstrated early lymphopenia and myocardial necrosis, two features not previously associated with acute necrotizing encephalopathy. These cases are unique in their occurrence in non-Japanese children and are among the first published reports in Canada.