Approach to Handling Atypical Field Blood Transfusion Scenarios

Special Operations Forces (SOF) medical personnel have been at the forefront of administering blood products in the austere field medicine environment. These far-forward medical providers regularly treat patients and deliver blood transfusions in some of the world's most extreme environments with minimal resources. A multitude of questions have been raised on this topic based on the unique experiences of senior providers in this field. In this paper, we analyze the available literature and present the recommendations of several experts in transfusion medicine for managing atypical field transfusion scenarios.

They Didn't Believe Her Pain: My Education in Interpersonal Violence

In my first year of medical school, I began to care for patients who were survivors of interpersonal violence. As I transitioned from didactics to clinical experiences, I was struck by how common the hidden threads of physical and sexual violence were in my patients' stories of chronic pain, depression, and poor health outcomes. Their symptoms often seemed intangible and challenging to treat, unable to fit neatly into typical diagnostic and therapeutic algorithms. In response, I saw clinicians become frustrated and dissatisfied with their ability to treat these patients. Better care for survivors may begin simply with believing our patients' pain.

Predictors of Primary Care Physician Practice Location in Underserved Urban or Rural Areas in the United States: A Systematic Literature Review

PURPOSE

The authors conducted a systematic review of the medical literature to determine the factors most strongly associated with localizing primary care physicians (PCPs) in underserved urban or rural areas of the United States.

METHOD

In November 2015, the authors searched databases (MEDLINE, ERIC, SCOPUS) and Google Scholar to identify published peer-reviewed studies that focused on PCPs and reported practice location outcomes that included U.S. underserved urban or rural areas. Studies focusing on practice intentions, nonphysicians, patient panel composition, or retention/turnover were excluded. They screened 4,130 titles and reviewed 284 full-text articles.

RESULTS

Seventy-two observational or case-control studies met inclusion criteria. These were categorized into four broad themes aligned with prior literature: 19 studies focused on physician characteristics, 13 on financial factors, 20 on medical school curricula/programs, and 20 on graduate medical education (GME) programs. Studies found significant relationships between physician race/ethnicity and language and practice in underserved areas. Multiple studies demonstrated significant associations between financial factors (e.g., debt or incentives) and underserved or rural practice, independent of preexisting trainee characteristics. There was also evidence that medical school and GME programs were effective in training PCPs who locate in underserved areas.

CONCLUSIONS

Both financial incentives and special training programs could be used to support trainees with the personal characteristics associated with practicing in underserved or rural areas. Expanding and replicating medical school curricula and programs proven to produce clinicians who practice in underserved urban or rural areas should be a strategic investment for medical education and future research.

Staff stress on the intensive care unit: a comparison of doctors and nurses

Working on an intensive care unit is perceived as stressful. This study investigated occupational stress in staff working on an intensive care unit using the occupational stress indicator. Questionnaires were given to all intensive care staff; the replies were then analysed and compared with normative data. The response rate was 62%. Intensive care unit staff found aspects of their job relating to career and achievement and organisational design and structure more stressful than a normal working population. Their coping strategies differ but the only significantly different measure of adverse outcome was related to personal relationships at work. The job itself was not found to be a significant source of stress. Nursing staff have different sources of stress from medical staff and individuals with partners or children are relatively protected from stress.

Transient zinc deficiency in a full-term breast-fed infant of normal birth weight

A full-term male infant was seen at age 5 months with symptomatic zinc deficiency. He was breast fed and the mother's milk zinc levels were low. The infant responded to oral zinc supplements and has continued to be asymptomatic for 12 months after their withdrawal. This is the first report of transient zinc deficiency in an otherwise healthy, breast-fed, full-term infant of normal birth weight.

Oral spironolactone improves acne vulgaris and reduces sebum excretion

In a consecutive series of thirty-six male and female patients referred with severe acne, the effect of 3 months' treatment with placebo or spironolactone (50-200 mg daily) on sebum excretion and clinical and endocrine status was evaluated double-blind. Twenty-six patients completed the study. Abnormal free androgen indices were found in 27% of the original nineteen female subjects. Spironolactone reduced sebum excretion in all female subjects, but there was no correlation between sebum response and androgen status. The clinical response was dose-dependent, with maximum subjective and objective benefit when spironolactone doses of 150-200 mg were used.

Hypertrichosis lanuginosa acquisita

The purpose of this report is to give further details of a case of hypertrichosis lanuginosa acquisita, previously documented as not having an associated malignancy, which at post-mortem was found to have evidence of widespread internal malignant disease.

Focal epithelial hyperplasia of the oral mucosa. A case report from the United Kingdom

A case of focal epithelial hyperplasia of the oral mucosa (Heck's disease) is presented, which appears to be the first to be described in the United Kingdom. Virus particles were found in tissue from the lesions studied by electron microscopy, and identified as belonging to the papilloma virus sub-group of the family of papovaviruses.