Telepsychiatry is acceptable to patients and families for safe emergency assessment and follow-up, reducing unnecessary travel to urban centers. Longer time outcomes are needed to establish validity of telepsychiatry for emergency assessments.

Using the objectification theory, scholars have theorized the sense of detachment and disregard for the body that results from continued body objectification are believed to put a person at greater risk for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), due to a lack of emotional investment in the body. The goal of the current study was to longitudinally investigate the association between body objectification and NSSI among an early adolescent sample. The overall sample consisted of 120 participants (56 % female) who ranged in age from 11 to 13 years of age (M = 12.34, SD = .48). Participants were followed over the course of a 12-month period, and classified into three groups of interest; adolescents who reported maintaining NSSI behaviour over the course of a year (NSSI Maintain group, n = 20), adolescents who reported stopping the behaviour over the course of a year (NSSI Stop group, n = 40), and a comparison group of adolescents who did not report engaging in NSSI (n = 60). Using a 3 (NSSI Maintain, NSSI Stop, and Comparison) X 2 (Gender) X 2 (Time 1 and Time 2) repeated measures multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA), results indicated a significant group by time interaction, showing group differences with respect to body shame and body surveillance over time. Specifically, both NSSI groups reported significantly greater body shame and body surveillance over time than the non-NSSI group. Additionally, the NSSI Maintain group reported significantly greater body surveillance at T2 when compared to the NSSI Stop and non-NSSI group. The NSSI Maintain group also reported significantly more emotion dysregulation difficulties and depressive symptoms at T2 when compared to the NSSI Stop and non-NSSI group. The influence of body objectification as a core intrapersonal risk factor related to the maintenance and cessation of NSSI behaviour is discussed, as are clinical implications considering body objectification as an important variable in prevention and treatment efforts.

Many health profession schools have student-run free clinics (SRFCs), but their educational relevance has not been well studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the learning experiences and skills developed among interprofessional healthcare students at an SRFC serving marginalised populations, in order to provide data for ongoing programme improvement and recommendations for other SRFCs based on lessons learned. Under 1:1 supervision with a preceptor, interprofessional students completed three clinical shifts at an SRFC and attended a reflection session. A total of 101 out of 105 participants answered semi-structured pre- and post-programme surveys (response rate: 96%). Descriptive statistics and descriptive thematic analyses were used for quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Numerous skills derived from learning objectives common to many healthcare professions were addressed while participating at the SRFC. Valued programme elements included working with and learning about inner city populations in an interprofessional care model. Interprofessional SRFCs encourage student learning about resources for inner city populations and interprofessional collaboration while providing an opportunity to develop skills related to the formal curriculum. This may provide a workable strategy to address an interprofessional education gap in the healthcare professional curriculum.

ObjectivesOpioid-related emergency department (ED) visits have increased significantly in recent years. Our objective was to evaluate an ED-initiated buprenorphine/naloxone program, which provided rapid access to an outpatient community-based addictions clinic, for patients in opioid withdrawal.MethodsA retrospective chart review was completed within a health system encompassing four community EDs in Ontario, Canada. Patients were screened for opioid withdrawal between April 2017-December 2017 and offered buprenorphine/naloxone treatment and referral to outpatient addictions follow-up. The main outcome measure was treatment retention in the six-month period after the index visit.ResultsThe overall sample (N = 49) showed high healthcare utilization in the year prior to the index ED visit. 88% of patients (n = 43) consented to ED-initiated buprenorphine/naloxone and were referred to outpatient addictions follow-up, with 54% attending the initial follow-up visit. In the 6-month follow-up period from the index ED visit, 35% of patients were receiving ongoing buprenorphine/naloxone treatment and 2.3% were weaned off opioids. Patients with ongoing treatment had significantly lower number of ED visits at 3 and 6 months (3 and 10, respectively) compared to patients who did not show up for outpatient follow-up (28, 40) or started/stopped treatment (23, 41).ConclusionsScreening for opioid use disorder in the ED and initiating buprenorphine/naloxone treatment with rapid referral to an outpatient community-based addictions clinic led to a 6-month treatment retention rate of 37% and a significant reduction in ED visits at 3 and 6 months. Buprenorphine/naloxone initiation in the ED appears to be an effective intervention, but further research is needed.

Acute β-blockade with metoprolol has been associated with increased mortality by undefined mechanisms. Since metoprolol is a relatively high affinity blocker of β(2)-adrenoreceptors, we hypothesized that some of the increased mortality associated with its use may be due to its abrogation of β(2)-adrenoreceptor-mediated vasodilation of microvessels in different vascular beds. Cardiac output (CO; pressure volume loops), mean arterial pressure (MAP), relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF; laser Doppler), and microvascular brain tissue Po(2) (G2 oxyphor) were measured in anesthetized mice before and after acute treatment with metoprolol (3 mg/kg iv). The vasodilatory dose responses to β-adrenergic agonists (isoproterenol and clenbuterol), and the myogenic response, were assessed in isolated mesenteric resistance arteries (MRAs; ∼200-μm diameter) and posterior cerebral arteries (PCAs ∼150-μm diameter). Data are presented as means ± SE with statistical significance applied at P < 0.05. Metoprolol treatment did not effect MAP but reduced heart rate and stroke volume, CO, rCBF, and brain microvascular Po(2), while concurrently increasing systemic vascular resistance (P < 0.05 for all). In isolated MRAs, metoprolol did not affect basal artery tone or the myogenic response, but it did cause a dose-dependent impairment of isoproterenol- and clenbuterol-induced vasodilation. In isolated PCAs, metoprolol (50 μM) impaired maximal vasodilation in response to isoproterenol. These data support the hypothesis that acute administration of metoprolol can reduce tissue oxygen delivery by impairing the vasodilatory response to β(2)-adrenergic agonists. This mechanism may contribute to the observed increase in mortality associated with acute administration of metoprolol in perioperative patients.