The Recovery-Based Interprofessional Distance Education (RIDE) Rotation: Content and Rationale

A faculty team of two psychiatric nurse practitioners, an exercise physiologist, a registered dietician and a pharmacist developed the 8-week Recovery-Based Interprofessional Distance Education (RIDE) rotation for graduate students in the four disciplines. Organizing the RIDE rotation around the recovery model ensured an emphasis upon optimal health and quality of life. RIDE faculty engaged in project planning for several months before the RIDE rotation was offered to students. In this paper, we describe details of the 8-week program. Our next step will be to analyze student feedback and de-identified evaluation data from the first student cohort.     

Testicular epidermoid cyst

Epidermoid cyst of the testis is a benign, non-teratomatous tumour. It is often possible to make the diagnosis pre-operatively, combining typical sonographic features with normal biochemical tumour markers. The accurate pre-operative diagnosis will allow for testis-sparing surgery and prevent unnecessary orchiectomy. An 11-year-old boy with testicular epidermoid cyst who presented with pain in testis was presented in this report.     

Evaluation of Structured Assessment and Mediating Factors of Suicide-Focused Group Therapy for Veterans Recently Discharged from Inpatient Psychiatry

The current study investigated the impact of adding the Suicide Status Form (SSF) to a suicide-focused group therapy for veterans recently discharged from an inpatient psychiatry setting. A sample of 141 veterans was enrolled and randomized into a Usual Assessment Group Therapy or SSF-Assessment Group Therapy. Participants completed interviews at baseline, 1, and 3 months. No significant differences were observed between groups regarding group attendance (IRR?=?1.01, Std. Err?=?0.08, 95% CI?=?0.87, 1.18) or client satisfaction (β?=?0.23, Std. Err?=?0.66, p?=?0.73, d?=??.25). No main effects were observed across the study on secondary outcomes of interest for suicidal ideation and overall symptom distress, although participants in both treatment conditions reported significant improvements on these outcomes over the course of the study. Patients in the Usual Assessment Group Therapy demonstrated greater reductions in overall symptom distress across the 3-month follow-up window (β?=?6.08, Std. Err?=?2.04, p?=?0.003; f²?=?0.05). Follow-up path analyses revealed that more frequent session attendance was significantly related to less suicidal ideation at 1-month, higher working alliance between individual members and group facilitators was associated with greater suicidal ideation at 1-month, and higher group cohesion among group members at 1-month was significantly associated with less thwarted belongingness at 1-month. Although the SSF did not improve the impact of an existing suicide-focused group therapy, the study findings support future research on group treatments for suicidal veterans.     

The Relationship Between Tachycardia After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy and the Development of Postoperative Complications

Obesity Surgery - Bariatric surgery can be associated with severe complications. Tachycardia is an important indicator of certain complications, such as anastomotic leak and hemorrhage. Our aim was...     

Adolescent substance abuse treatment clinicians' self-help meeting referral practices and adolescent attendance rates

Clinicians in adolescent substance abuse treatment programs often recommend attendance at 12-Step meetings; however, there has been no systematic study of their referral practices or possible influence on attendance rates. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to examine: (a) the self-help referral practices of clinicians employed in adolescent substance abuse treatment programs; and (b) the potential relationship between practices and self-help attendance. Data were analyzed from open-ended interviews with 28 clinicians at eight CSAT-funded SCY sites and from follow-up interviews with over 1,600 adolescents. Results indicated that clinicians referred adolescents almost exclusively to 12-Step groups. Various factors were considered when recommending attendance, including substance use severity and ability to grasp 12-Step concepts. Meeting age composition and availability were common influences when suggesting specific meetings. Clinicians who described their treatment programs as "12-Step based" and actively linked adolescents to groups tended to be employed at sites that had the highest overall rates of self-help attendance. Findings suggest that if clinicians want to facilitate self-help attendance, they might assess the "fit" between individual adolescents and particular meetings. Additionally, programs may want to develop and train staff in standardized referral procedures. Further research is needed to empirically test referral strategies with adolescents.     

Protection from EAE in DOCK8 mutant mice occurs despite increased Th17 cell frequencies in the periphery

Mutation of Dedicator of cytokinesis 8 (DOCK8) has previously been reported to provide resistance to the Th17 cell dependent EAE in mice. Contrary to expectation, we observed an elevation of Th17 cells in two different DOCK8 mutant mouse strains in the steady state. This was specific for Th17 cells with no change in Th1 or Th2 cell populations. In vitro Th cell differentiation assays revealed that the elevated Th17 cell population was not due to a T cell intrinsic differentiation bias. Challenging these mutant mice in the EAE model, we confirmed a resistance to this autoimmune disease with Th17 cells remaining elevated systemically while cellular infiltration in the CNS was reduced. Infiltrating T cells lost the bias toward Th17 cells indicating a relative reduction of Th17 cells in the CNS and a Th17 cell specific migration disadvantage. Adoptive transfers of Th1 and Th17 cells in EAE‐affected mice further supported the Th17 cell‐specific migration defect, however, DOCK8‐deficient Th17 cells expressed normal Th17 cell‐specific CCR6 levels and migrated toward chemokine gradients in transwell assays. This study shows that resistance to EAE in DOCK8 mutant mice is achieved despite a systemic Th17 bias.