with gold-labeled antibodies against kappa, lambda, transthyretin and amyloid A. Results: IEM identified specific staining of amyloid fibrils in 91.6% of the biopsies; in 6 biopsies amyloid fibrils were not identified, and in 2 biopsies the subtype of the amyloid fibrils could not be established. MS identified an amyloigenic protein signature in 104/106 biopsies but in 9 of the biopsies the amyloid subtype could not be clearly identified. Protein subtype was established in 95 biopsies (89.6%). The concordance of the results ranged from 89.6-100% for the different subtypes. Importantly, the combined use of both methods increased the diagnostic sensitivity to 100%. Some variety in performances of the methods was observed on organ level. Summary/Conclusion: In conclusion, we demonstrate that both IEM and LDM-MS are sensitive and specific methods for the identification of amyloidogenic proteins in amyloid deposits in biopsies from various organs.

Background Given global issues with antimicrobial resistance and a need to optimize antimicrobial usage, antimicrobial stewardship (AS) programs are becoming a necessary component of hospitals and are increasingly mandated worldwide. It is important to evaluate these programs with respect to relevant clinical outcomes. Methods An AS program with a prospective audit and feedback service (PAF) of antimicrobial usage was initiated May 11, 2015 at our tertiary care center, for patients admitted under the hospitalist service. We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study. Patients assessed during the first year of this PAF were considered to be the exposed cohort and were compared to unexposed controls matched on gender, age and infectious diagnosis selected from patients who had been admitted under the hospitalist service prior to initiation of the PAF. Descriptive analysis was completed and a multivariate conditional logistic regression was performed to analyze differences between the exposed and control groups in terms of a composite endpoint of 30 day mortality, 30 day post hospital discharge mortality and hospital re-admission. Results A total of 348 patients were assessed and received PAF suggestions during the first year were compared to 827 matched control patients who did not receive PAF suggestions. Of 707 PAF suggestions made, the most common was to stop an antimicrobial (23%). A significantly lower (20.7% vs 28.8%, p = 0.008) composite endpoint was found in the group exposed to the PAF (OR 0.71 95%CI 0.52–0.97). This difference persisted when only patients with PAF suggestions that were completely or partially accepted were considered (18.6% vs 28.5%, p = 0.001) but was no longer significant when patients who had their ASP suggestions declined were analyzed (30.2% vs 26.7%, p = 0.610). Conclusions In this retrospective cohort study, patient admissions in which PAF recommendations were accepted had better clinical outcomes than matched historical controls managed in the absence of this AS service.

Introduction Les bases de données sur les services médicaux (BDSM) constituent une ressource précieuse pour la recherche et la surveillance au Canada. Toutefois, étant donné que les provinces et les territoires entretiennent des bases distinctes, les éléments de données ne sont pas uniformisés. Dans cette étude, nous comparons les principales caractéristiques des BDSM. Méthodologie La source primaire a été une enquête auprès d'informateurs clés, ce qui a permis de recueillir des renseignements sur les années de disponibilité des données, les caractéristiques des patients et des fournisseurs de soins, les éléments inclus dans les bases de données et ceux exclus ainsi que le codage des diagnostics, des interventions et des lieux de prestation des services. On a également utilisé des données provenant de la Base de données nationale sur les médecins de l'Institut canadien d'information sur la santé (ICIS) pour examiner les modes de rémunération des médecins, ce qui peut influer sur l'exhaustivité des BDSM. Les données d'enquête ont été obtenues pour neuf provinces et deux territoires. Résultats La plupart des bases de données renfermaient des fichiers postérieurs à 1990. Les diagnostics étaient fréquemment inscrits au moyen des codes de la CIM-9. Différents systèmes de codage ont été utilisés selon les provinces et territoires et selon les périodes; néanmoins, dans toutes les BDSM, les services aux malades hospitalisés ont été indiqués comme tels et la médecine familiale a été distinguée des autres spécialités. L'inscription des services rémunérés autrement qu'à l'acte présentait des différences, et les données de l'ICIS révélaient une proportion croissante, au fil du temps, des médecins non rémunérés à l'acte. Conclusion Il faut procéder à des recherches plus approfondies pour étudier les effets que pourraient avoir les différences entre les BDSM sur la comparabilité des résultats des études pancanadiennes.