Spartan medical research journal最新文献

{"title":"The Impact of COVID-19 on the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Experience.","authors":"Devan O Higginbotham, Abdul K Zalikha, Steven K Stoker, Bryan E Little","doi":"10.51894/001c.25963","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.25963","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus led to dramatic changes in graduate medical education and surgical practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Orthopaedic Surgery residency education in the United States.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A survey sent to all residents of the 201 ACGME-accredited Orthopaedic Surgery programs in the United States.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 309 Orthopaedic surgery residents responded to our survey. A subset of 283 (91.6%) residents surveyed reported decreased Orthopaedic-related clinical duty hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 300/309 (97.1%) reported a decrease in surgical case volume. 298 (96.4%) residents reported that their program had scheduled activities or made changes to supplement their education, most common being virtual and video conferences 296/309 (95.5%), required practice questions 132/309 (42.7%), required reading or pre-recorded lectures 122/309 (39.5%), in-person small group meetings or lectures 24/309 (7.77%), and surgical simulation activities 17/309 (5.50%). Almost half (152/309 (48.9%)) of respondents reported their overall resident education was somewhat or much worse due to the impact of COVID-19. Over a quarter (81 (26.2%)) of residents reported their well-being was negatively impacted by residency-related changes due to COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Based on these results, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes to the training experience of Orthopaedic surgery residents in the United States. Although the majority of residents in this sample had favorable opinions of the educational changes their programs have instituted in light of the pandemic, clinical duty hours and case volume were reported to have substantially decreased, with a large portion of residents viewing their overall resident education as worsened and reporting negative impacts on their overall well-being.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":" ","pages":"25963"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8405282/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39424804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does Losing 5-7% of Prediabetic Body Weight from a Diabetes Prevention Program decrease Cardiovascular Risks?","authors":"Molly Kucera, Tiffany Marchewka, Annie Craib","doi":"10.51894/001c.27627","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.27627","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one-third of adults have prediabetes (i.e., at risk for developing type 2 diabetes), a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) focuses on lifestyle modifications to help participants lose 5-7% of their body weight and prevent Type 2 Diabetes. The purpose of this community-based pilot study was to investigate how successful completion of the DPP might be associated with decreases in body weight and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risks.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Single-site, prospective cohort study. The DPP was implemented at the Farmington Village Family Practice Clinic and delivered virtually via Zoom from January 2020 through December 2020. During the first six months, participants met weekly for one hour. In the remaining six months, monthly sessions were held for one hour. Each session began with a private weigh-in followed by a uniquely designed lesson plan. A total of 14 prediabetic patients, based on hemoglobin A1c (A1c), fasting blood glucose levels, or diabetic risk calculator scores, were enrolled. For analyses, data concerning body mass index (BMI), smoking status, anti-hypertensive medications, age, race, sex, A1c, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were measured at baseline, six and 12 months. These parameters were used to calculate composite ASCVD risk percentages based on the 2013 Risk Calculator from the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Using a series of Wilcoxon Matched Signed Rank Pair T test procedures, initial base-to six-month analyses showed a statistically significant improvement in ASCVD risk scores (p < 0.01), BMI (p < 0.01), HDL (p < 0.01), estimated weekly minutes of physical activity (p =< 0.01), and total cholesterol (p = 0.048) levels. In addition, base-to-12-month differences for ASCVD, BMI, HDL and physical activity outcomes remained statistically significant.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>After completion of the DPP program, both initial (base to six month) as well as follow up (base to 12-month) statistically significant improvements in ASCVD, HDL, BMI, physical activity levels, and total cholesterol were observed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These pilot study results are promising and consistent with the reduction of cardiovascular risk factors. These findings support the value of a structured, evidence-based educational curriculum focused on nonpharmacologic intervention to decrease weight loss and ASCVD risk scores for prediabetes adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":" ","pages":"27627"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8405285/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39427125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparing Postoperative Leg Length Discrepancy and Femoral Offset Using Two Different Surgical Approaches for Hemiarthroplasty of the Hip.","authors":"James T Layson, Matthew S Coon, Rajan Sharma, Benjamin Diedring, Alan Afsari, Benjamin Best","doi":"10.51894/001c.25096","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.25096","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The direct anterior approach (DAA) and anterolateral approach (ALA) may be used for hip hemiarthroplasty (HHA) as a treatment for femoral neck fractures. The DAA often utilizes intraoperative fluoroscopy to determine leg length and offset, while the ALA traditionally utilizes an intraoperative clinical exam to determine offset and leg length. This study will evaluate two techniques: the \"grid fluoroscopy [GF] technique\" and the \"intraoperative exam [IE] technique,\" each performed by one of two separate surgeons, and compare each technique's accuracy to restore leg length and femoral offset in a patient population that underwent HHA.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Two investigators retrospectively reviewed charts of 208 randomly selected patients who had an HHA from either a DAA or ALA performed by two different surgeons for the treatment of femoral neck fractures. Postoperative AP pelvis radiographs were measured to determine offset and leg length compared with the non-operative extremity. Non-normal continuous variables were provided by median and interquartile range. Data were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test and Student's t-test.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After inclusion and exclusion criteria, data were reviewed on 173 hemiarthroplasties. The mean age was 80.3 years (± 11.2 years). Of the surgical patients, 65.9% were female, and 70.9% identified their ethnicity as white. The DAA was used in 93 patients and ALA in 80 patients. Analysis comparing the two techniques demonstrated no statistically significant differences in median leg length between GF technique (1.02 IQR -0.1, 2.0 mm) and IE technique (1.25 IQR -2.4, 1.3 mm,) (p=0.67). There was also no statistically significant difference in offset between GF technique (1.3 IQR 0.2, 2.1 mm) and IE technique (0.6 IQR -2.7 mm, 3.2 mm) (p=0.13). However, a difference was found in mean length of surgery that was statistically significant. We found that the mean length of surgery for the IE technique was 74.8 ± 24.7 minutes versus the GF technique, which was 95.1 ± 23.0 minutes, (p<0.0001).</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>There was no significant difference between leg length and offset with the use of intraoperative fluoroscopy with DAA compared to no intraoperative imaging with ALA. Our study suggests that DAA and ALA are equally effective approaches for re-establishing symmetric leg length and offset in HHA for femoral neck fractures. In this study, the ALA had a shorter surgical time compared to DAA, potentially due to the utilization of intraoperative fluoroscopy for this particular technique during the DAA.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":" ","pages":"25096"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8405281/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39424801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mycoplasma Pneumoniae-Induced Rash and Mucositis: A Systematic Review of the Literature.","authors":"Daniel Lofgren, Christopher Lenkeit","doi":"10.51894/001c.25284","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.25284","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma pneumoniae&lt;/i&gt; (MP) is a common respiratory pathogen that can result in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Approximately 25% of patients diagnosed with MP experience extrapulmonary manifestations. &lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma&lt;/i&gt;-induced rash and mucositis (MIRM) was coined as a unique disease process in 2014. MIRM has prominent mucositis with or without a characteristic vesiculobullous and/or atypical targetoid eruption. Appropriate identification of this disease is important because it has a milder disease course with low rates of sequelae, and lower mortality compared to Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiforme, and toxic epidermal necrolysis. The objective of this systematic review was to examine the English literature on &lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma Pneumonia&lt;/i&gt;-induced rash and mucositis since the establishment of its diagnosis in 2014.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;The following online databases were used to identify appropriate studies that met the established inclusion and exclusion criteria: Pubmed, Cochrane, MedLine, Health Evidence, EPPI center, Allied Health Evidence. The following MesH search terms were used to further identify articles; \"&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma pneumoniae&lt;/i&gt; induced rash and mucositis,\" \"&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma pneumoniae&lt;/i&gt; rash and mucositis,\" \"&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma pneumoniae&lt;/i&gt; rash,\" \"&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma pneumoniae&lt;/i&gt; mucositis,\" \"MIRM,\" \"&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma&lt;/i&gt; induced rash and mucositis,\" \"&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma&lt;/i&gt; rash and mucositis,\" \"&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma&lt;/i&gt; rash,\" and \"&lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma&lt;/i&gt; mucositis.\" Data was extracted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;One hundred and seventy-five records were initially screened, and nineteen studies were included in the review, leading to a total of 27 patients. Patients had a mean age of 16 years old (Range 4 - 46 years old), with the majority being males (74%). Pulmonary symptoms tended to precede extrapulmonary symptoms on an average of 7.8 days. Extrapulmonary symptoms consisted of oral lesions (96.3%) followed by ocular lesions (92.6%) and genital lesions (59.3%). Female patients were more likely to have genital lesions (71.4%) when compared with male patients (55%). Cutaneous rashes occurred in approximately one-half of the patients, which supports the theory that MIRM is a separate clinical entity from SJS and other related skin disorders.Confirmatory testing for MIRM was performed using IgM/IgG &lt;i&gt;Mycoplasma&lt;/i&gt; antibody testing or PCR in 19 (66.7%) and 6 (22.2%) patients respectively, although four cases reported the use of both serology and PCR, while five did not report confirmatory testing. Systemic antibiotics were used frequently in treatment 22 patients (77.8%) and 27 (100%) of the patients received various supportive care. Approximately 11 (37%) patients of reported cases used systemic steroids to reduce systemic inflammation. Other systemic treatments were used in six (21.4%) case","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":" ","pages":"25284"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8405277/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39424802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Management of a Unique Presentation of a Common Dermatologic Condition.","authors":"Casey P Schukow, Madeline Schaeffer, Katherine Boss, David Fivenson","doi":"10.51894/001c.24501","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.24501","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Context: </strong>Skin rashes are a common complaint seen in the primary care setting. There are many dermatologic conditions which a primary care provider (PCP) should be able to recognize and manage. One such condition is granuloma annulare (GA), which commonly presents as smooth, annular plaques on the trunk and/or extremities. Rashes like GA rarely present as unique variants and may be difficult for PCPs to determine from patient history and physical exam alone. Patch granuloma annulare (patch GA) is an example that may clinically mimic a cutaneous lymphoma known as mycosis fungoides (MF). PCPs should ideally be able to recognize the utility of performing a skin biopsy and/or referring the patient to a dermatologist when history and physical exam alone are insufficient. The histologic findings of skin biopsies often become essential in establishing a proper diagnosis and guiding patient management in unique dermatologic variants.</p><p><strong>Example case: </strong>The patient in this clinical practice report is a Caucasian female in her late 60s who presented to a dermatology clinic with a two-year history of a worsening widespread eruption on her trunk and extremities. She had been evaluated previously by her PCP about 4 months prior and, without obtaining skin biopsies, treated her with a medium potency topical corticosteroid cream. The eruption had spread over her hips, buttocks, back, thighs, wrists, and elbows. Multiple skin biopsies of affected sites were taken by the second author and revealed findings consistent with patch GA. The patient was started on topical betamethasone dipropionate 0.05% ointment twice daily and noted marked improvement of her symptoms.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although GA is a benign condition of the skin that may be readily detected by PCPs, skin biopsies may be necessary to establish a proper diagnosis when this condition presents as a unique variant (e.g., patch GA). Therapy for patch GA often begins with a trial of high-potency topical steroid therapy in combination with ultraviolet light exposure, depending on disease severity and patient preference. Early evaluation with a skin biopsy by her PCP or an earlier referral to a dermatologist to have skin biopsies performed likely would have helped establish a prompter diagnosis and treatment plan for this patient.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":" ","pages":"24501"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8405279/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39470656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Longitudinal Observation of the Influence of Michigan Sports Concussion Law on Parents' Knowledge and Perception of Sport-Related Concussion.","authors":"Virginia LaBond, Karyn Liebsch, Brian West, Dane Caputo, Kimberly Barber","doi":"10.51894/001c.22067","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.22067","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>In 2013, Michigan enacted legislation requiring parents and athletes to receive educational material concerning sport-related concussion (SRC). The aim of this study was to examine trends in concussion knowledge of parents from one community following implementation of Michigan's Sports Concussion Laws (MSCL).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A convenience sample of parents of students from a suburban school district were surveyed via district email at one year and five years post MSCL implementation. Results were compared to an equivalent 33-item survey obtained prior to the law. Individual questions were compared between the three surveys using Chi-square analysis with statistical significance observed at p < 0.05.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 381 responses were obtained from the one-year post-MSCL (1yMSCL) and 178 in the five-year post-MSCL (5yMSCL) survey. Awareness of district policy regarding concussion was significantly higher after implementation of the MSCL (i.e., 77% at 1yMSCL and 71% at 5yMSCL) compared to prior 18% pre-MSCL (p < 0.0001). Respondents to the 5yMSCL survey were also significantly more aware of medical guidelines surrounding \"return to play\" after SRC compared to 1yMSCL (84.8% v 78.7%, p = 0.01). At 5yMSCL, significantly more respondents agreed that head injuries could cause more brain damage to children than adults (86.5% v 78.7% at 1yMSCL, p = 0.03). Finally, most parents at both survey periods rated the concussion educational material as the most helpful information source regarding SRC.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Based on these results, parental knowledge awareness appears to have increased concerning awareness of medical guidelines for SRC and potential brain damage risks to children after enactment of the MSCL.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":"6 1","pages":"22067"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8043906/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38806908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Closer Look into the Association between the Sacroiliac Joint and Low Back Pain.","authors":"Ashley Wieczorek, Erin Campau, Elizabeth Pionk, Molly E Gabriel-Champine, Carlos F Ríos-Bedoya","doi":"10.51894/001c.21971","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.21971","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Low back pain is the most common type of global disability and annually costs the United States over two billion dollars. Opioids have been used to reduce low back pain, although current evidence concerning efficacy is lacking. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SIJD) is estimated to be a primary pain source of low back pain in between 10 and 25% of affected patients. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the rate of SIJD identified through osteopathic techniques in a convenience sample of patients seeking low back pain treatment. The secondary objective was to assess prevalence of low back pain and SIJD among different age groups, and genders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Retrospective chart reviews were completed the adult patients who had received osteopathic manipulative treatment for low back pain at Family Health and Wellness Center in Essexville, MI from January 2018 through June 2019. The prevalence of patients with SIJD was identified during reviews of osteopathic procedural documentation for patients seeking low back pain treatment. Data regarding patients' age, sex, and treatment modalities were also extracted. Descriptive statistics consisting of frequencies and percentages were calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 84 patient records were reviewed. A total of 51 (60.7%) patients seeking low back pain treatment were diagnosed with SIJD identified by osteopathic providers. This included patients with both lumbar and sacral diagnoses simultaneously. SIJD alone accounted for 26 (31%) of patients seeking treatment. Female patients were more likely to have SIJD involvement than males. Forty one (48.8%) treated patients were between 45-64 years old. Muscle Energy Technique was documented to be the most used for 68 (81%) patients. In addition, techniques tended to move from direct to indirect for older patients.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Our study demonstrated that SIJD appeared to contribute to low back pain in 51 (60.7%) of low back pain cases identified using osteopathic techniques. This is much greater than the previously reported percentages of 10 to 25%. One possible confounding influence included varied resident screening and reporting of sacral dysfunction. Since multiple areas of the body can be treated at one time, our current procedure notes did not allow for distinguishing between which types of modalities were used on each region or capture residents' preferred treatments.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although further studies are needed, our results suggest that knowledge of SIJD's impact on low back pain could lead to improved patient outcomes such as decreased medical costs and opioid use.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":"6 1","pages":"21971"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8043903/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38806905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using Quantitative D-Dimer to Determine the Need for Pulmonary CT Angiography in COVID-19 Patients.","authors":"Gary Mikhjian, Ahmad Elghoroury, Keith Cronovich, Kevin Brody, Robert Jarski","doi":"10.51894/001c.18652","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.18652","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>COVID-19 has been frequently cited as a condition causing a pro-inflammatory state leading to hypercoagulopathy and increased risk for venous thromboembolism. This condition has thus prompted prior studies and screening models that utilize D-dimer for pulmonary embolism (PE) into question. The limited research to date has failed to provide tools or guidance regarding what COVID-19 positive patients should receive pulmonary CT angiography screening. This knowledge gap has led to missed diagnoses, CT overutilization, and increased morbidity and mortality.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of the quantitative D-dimer lab marker in a convenience sample of 426 COVID-19 positive patients to assist providers in determining the utility of pulmonary CT angiography.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The authors conducted a retrospective analysis on all COVID-19 positive patients within the Henry Ford Medical System between March 1st, 2020 through April 30th, 2020 who received pulmonary CT angiography and had a quantitative D-dimer lab drawn within 24 hours of CT imaging.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our sampling criteria yielded a total of n = 426 patients, of whom 347 (81.5%) were negative for PE and 79 (18.5%) were positive for PE. The average D-dimer in the negative PE group was 2.95 μg./mL. (SD 4.26), significantly different than the 9.15 μg./mL. (SD 6.80) positive PE group (P < 0.05; 95% CI -7.8, -4.6). Theoretically, applying the traditional ≤ 0.5 μg./mL. D-dimer cut-off to our data would yield a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 7.49% for exclusion of PE. Based on these results, the authors would be able to increase the D-dimer threshold to < 0.89 μg./mL. to maintain their sensitivity to 100% and raise the specificity to 27.95%. Observing a D-dimer cut-off value of ≤ 1.28 μg./mL. would reduce sensitivity to 97.47% but increase the specificity to 57.93%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These study results support the utilization of alternative D-dimer thresholds to exclude PE in COVID-19 patients. Based on these findings, providers may be able to observe increased D-dimer cut-off values to reduce unnecessary pulmonary CT angiography scans.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":"6 1","pages":"18652"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8043904/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38886863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Implementation of a Rapid Post-Code Debrief Quality Improvement Project in a Community Emergency Department Setting.","authors":"Tomasz Przednowek,&nbsp;Camille Stacey,&nbsp;Katherine Baird,&nbsp;Robert Nolan,&nbsp;Jesse Kellar,&nbsp;William D Corser","doi":"10.51894/001c.21376","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.21376","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Context: </strong>Regular debriefing has been associated with improved resource utilization and measurable improvements in team performance in crisis situations. While Emergency Department (ED) staff have often stated that they would like to be provided a formal debriefing model after \"code blue\" and similar events, few EDs have such protocols in place.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study consisted of two data collection processes: (1) completion of a 7-item survey distributed pre-intervention, 6-months post-intervention, and 1-year post-intervention, and (2) completion of a Rapid Post-Code Debriefing form. Overall responses were measured on a possible 0-10 scale and individual responses were tracked. The debrief process was triggered by one of four criteria and followed a standard format using a readily available form.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 178 pre- and post-debriefing protocol implementation survey responses were collected throughout the duration of the study. Of those, 79 (44.4%) were pre-protocol response surveys. The post-protocol responses were comprised of 51 (51.5%) six month and 48 (48.5%) 12-month surveys. The average overall satisfaction with code-response performance increased significantly following the implementation of the debriefing protocol, from M=6.661, SD=2.028 to M=7.90, SD=1.359 (independent t-test = 5.069, p<0.001). There was a statistically significant decrease regarding how respondents felt emotionally supported after a code by their staff, (Pearson Chi Square 14.977, df 4, p = 0.005).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>During this study, implementation of a post-code debriefing resulted in increased overall satisfaction with how codes had been conducted and there was a significant change in how staff felt in regards to code team leaders and an expectation of \"returning to work.\" However, there a noted overall decrease in perceptions of feeling supported by other staff involved during the code. Further studies in both community and academic-based ED settings are needed to further explore these complex relationships.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":"6 1","pages":"21376"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8043908/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38886866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Common Problematic Scholarly Activity Project Planning Expectations of Project Novices.","authors":"Samuel J Wisniewski, William D Corser","doi":"10.51894/001c.21274","DOIUrl":"10.51894/001c.21274","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Scholarly Activity (SA) projects, whether using methods more traditionally associated with research and or \"quality improvement\" projects, have been shown to confer value to resident physicians and other project novices in multiple ways. The inclusion of community and university-based residents and faculty in spearheading SA projects has led to improved understanding of medical literature and enhanced clinical practices, arguably producing more \"well-rounded\" physicians.</p><p><strong>Purpose of paper: </strong>The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of problematic expectations frequently assumed by project novices when developing and conducting SA projects.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The authors will discuss a total of 26 problematic project-related novice expectations during five typical project phase categories.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Learning to navigate the complexities of training to become a practicing physician, while also planning high quality SA project designs has been and will continue to be a complex challenge. The authors hope that this article can be used by supervising faculty and other graduate medical education mentors to assist the SA project novice (SAPN) plan SA projects. By establishing realistic expectations during project planning phases, the SAPN can avoid potential missteps that typically impede SA project completion.</p>","PeriodicalId":74853,"journal":{"name":"Spartan medical research journal","volume":"6 1","pages":"21274"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8043909/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38886865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}