Despite the importance of Medicaid for the oral health of low-income adults, the extent to which Medicaid dental policy variation influences outcomes is unknown. This study aims to review the evidence evaluating adult Medicaid dental policies to synthesize conclusions and motivate future research. A comprehensive search of academic literature published in English between 1991 and 2020 was conducted to identify studies which evaluated an adult Medicaid dental policy for its effect on outcomes. Studies strictly involving children, policies not related to adult Medicaid dental coverage, and non-evaluation studies were excluded. The data analysis identified the policies, outcomes, methods, populations, and conclusions of the included studies. Among the 2731 unique articles extracted, 53 met the inclusion criteria. 36 studies evaluated the effect of expanding Medicaid dental coverage, which was found to consistently increase dental service visits (21 studies) and reduce unmet dental needs (4 studies). Provider density, reimbursement rates, and level of benefits appear to influence the effect of expanding Medicaid dental coverage. The evidence for changing Medicaid benefits and reimbursement rates were mixed for its impact on provider participation and emergency dental services. Few studies examined how adult Medicaid dental policies impact health outcomes. Most of the recent research has focused on evaluating the effect of expanding or reducing Medicaid dental coverage on dental service utilization. Future research investigating the impact of adult Medicaid dental policies on clinical, health, and wellness outcomes remains warranted. Low-income adults are responsive to Medicaid dental policy changes and utilize more care with more generous coverage. Less is known about how these policies influence health.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants associated with neurodevelopmental toxicity, yet the effects of exposure during adolescence and adulthood remain underexplored. This scoping review evaluates the neurotoxic outcomes of post-weaning PCB exposure in rodent models. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, and Scopus. Studies were screened according to PRISMA guidelines. Articles were included if they reported neurotoxic or behavioral outcomes in mice or rats exposed to PCBs during post-weaning stages. Thirty-five studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing a variety of PCB congeners and mixtures administered via oral, inhalation, or intraperitoneal routes. Reported neurotoxic outcomes included histological and morphological brain changes, oxidative stress, disrupted calcium signaling, altered neurotransmitter systems, apoptosis, and gene expression alterations. These outcomes were assessed using diverse methodological approaches, including immunohistochemistry, biochemical assays, and gene expression profiling. Behavioral outcomes affected by PCB exposure included locomotion, anxiety-like behavior, learning and memory, motor coordination, and cognitive flexibility. Effects were often exposure-specific and sex-dependent, with limited female-focused studies and integrative molecular-behavioral assessments. These findings highlight the broad neurotoxic potential of PCBs following adolescent or adult exposure and underscore the need for further mechanistic, sex-specific research to inform health risk assessment and regulatory policy.

Background: Individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) are at risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) and diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), which can lead to foot ulcers and lower-extremity amputations. However, cognitive differences and communication barriers may impede some methods for screening and prevention of DPN. Wearable and mobile technologies—such as smartphone apps and pressure-sensitive insoles—could help to offset these barriers, yet little is known about the effectiveness of these technologies among individuals with ID. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the databases Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science using search terms for DM, DPN, ID, and technology to diagnose or monitor DPN. Finding a lack of research in this area, we broadened our search terms to include any literature on technology to diagnose or monitor DPN and then applied these findings within the context of ID. Results: We identified 88 articles; 43 of 88 (48.9%) articles were concerned with gait mechanics or foot pressures. No articles explicitly included individuals with ID as the target population, although three articles involved individuals with other cognitive impairments (two among patients with a history of stroke, one among patients with hemodialysis-related cognitive changes). Conclusions: Individuals with ID are not represented in studies using technology to diagnose or monitor DPN. This is a concern given the risk of DM complications among patients with ID and the potential for added benefit of such technologies to reduce barriers to screening and prevention. More studies should investigate how wearable devices can be used among patients with ID.

For adult patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), Infectious Diseases consultation (IDC) significantly lowers mortality and recurrence rate. Our systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrate that IDC is also associated with significantly lower mortality in children with SAB. Analysis of the impact of IDC on pediatric recurrence rates revealed moderate heterogeneity.

Introduction The underdevelopment of preterm infants can lead to delayed progression through key early milestones. Demonstration of safe oral feeding skills, constituting proper suck-swallow reflex are requirements for discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to ensure adequate nutrition acquisition. Helping an infant develop these skills can be draining and emotional for both families and healthcare staff involved in the care of preterm infants with feeding difficulties. Currently, there are no systematic reviews evaluating both family and healthcare team perspectives on aspects of oral feeding. Thus, we first aim to evaluate the current knowledge surrounding the perceptions, experiences and needs of families with preterm babies in the context of oral feeding in the NICU. Second, we aim to evaluate the current knowledge surrounding the perceptions, experiences and needs of healthcare providers (physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, dietitians, speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists) in the context of oral feeding in the NICU. Methods and analysis A literature search will be conducted in multiple electronic databases from their inception, including PubMed, CINHAL, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials and PsycINFO. No restrictions will be applied based on language or data of publication. Two authors will screen the titles and abstracts and then review the full text for the studies’ inclusion in the review. The data will be extracted into a pilot-tested data collection sheet by three independent authors. To evaluate the quality, reliability and relevance of the included studies, the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist will be used. The overall evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria. We will report the results of the systematic review by following the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the synthesis of Qualitative research checklist. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval of this project is not required as this is a systematic review using published and publicly available data and will not involve contact with human subjects. Findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO registration number CRD42023479288.