October

Researchers at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) and Simon Fraser University, in partnership with the University of British Columbia and Western University, have developed a novel way for dating “hibernating” HIV strains, in an advancement for HIV cure research in the province.

Improvements in both surgical and anesthetic practices have shifted care away from surgeries followed by protracted postoperative hospital stays to a significant proportion of day and short-stay procedures. In 1986 approximately 40% of all surgical procedures in North America involved day surgery compared with approximately 65% in 2001.[1,2] Previously, when patients had longer hospital stays, surgeons were intimately involved in the identification and treatment of postoperative complications and continuity of care was maintained.

British Columbia is experiencing one of the greatest public health emergencies in its history. Opioid-related deaths continue to climb because opioid use is increasing and illicit drugs are being contaminated with devastatingly potent opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil. In 2017 the province had 1210 illicit drug overdose deaths associated with fentanyl compared with 667 the year before.[1]