Psychometric Properties of Entrustable Professional Activity-Based Objective Structured Clinical Examinations During Transition From Undergraduate to Graduate Medical Education: A Generalizability Study

PURPOSE

The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) assesses clinical competence in health sciences education. There is little research regarding the reliability and validity of using an OSCE during the transition from undergraduate to graduate medical education. The goal of this study was to measure the reliability of a unique 2-rater entrustable professional activity (EPA)-based OSCE format for transition to internship using generalizability theory for estimating reliability.

METHOD

During the 2018 to 2022 academic years, 5 cohorts of interns (n = 230) at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics participated in a 6-station OSCE assessment delivered during orientation. A univariate and multivariate generalizability study (G study) was conducted on the scores generated by the 3 cases in the orientation OSCE that shared the 2-rater format. This analysis was supplemented with an associated decision study (D study).

RESULTS

The univariate G study for the cases that used a simulated patient and a faculty rater demonstrated that this OSCE generated a moderately reliable score with 3 cases. The D study showed that increasing the OCSE to 12 cases yielded a mean score reliable enough (G = 0.76) for making high-stakes normative decisions regarding remediation and readiness to practice. The universe score correlation between 2 types of raters was 0.398. The faculty ratings displayed a larger proportion of universe (true) score variance and yielded a more reliable (G = 0.433) score compared with the standardized patient ratings (G = 0.337).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides insight into the development of an EPA-based OSCE. The univariate G study demonstrated that when using the 2 rater types, this assessment could generate a moderately reliable score with 3 cases. The multivariate G study showed that the 2 types of raters assessed different aspects of clinical skills and faculty raters were more reliable.

Diurnal temperature variation and the implications for diagnosis and infectious disease screening: a population-based study

OBJECTIVES

Fevers have been used as a marker of disease for hundreds of years and are frequently used for disease screening. However, body temperature varies over the course of a day and across individual characteristics; such variation may limit the detection of febrile episodes complicating the diagnostic process. Our objective was to describe individual variation in diurnal temperature patterns during episodes of febrile activity using millions of recorded temperatures and evaluate the probability of recording a fever by sex and for different age groups.

METHODS

We use timestamped deidentified temperature readings from thermometers across the US to construct illness episodes where continuous periods of activity in a single user included a febrile reading. We model the mean temperature recorded and probability of registering a fever across the course of a day using sinusoidal regression models while accounting for user age and sex. We then estimate the probability of recording a fever by time of day for children, working-age adults, and older adults.

RESULTS

We find wide variation in body temperatures over the course of a day and across individual characteristics. The diurnal temperature pattern differed between men and women, and average temperatures declined for older age groups. The likelihood of detecting a fever varied widely by the time of day and by an individual's age or sex.

CONCLUSIONS

Time of day and demographics should be considered when using body temperatures for diagnostic or screening purposes. Our results demonstrate the importance of follow-up thermometry readings if infectious diseases are suspected.

Learning from the early careers of master clinicians

BACKGROUND

Master clinicians are recognized as multidimensional experts in clinical medicine. Studying their formative clinical activities could generate insights to guide medical trainees and early career clinicians.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate which early career activities were adopted more commonly by master clinicians than their matched peers and to characterize master clinicians' early career activities across institutions and specialties.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

We surveyed master clinicians at seven medical centres about their early career activities. For master clinicians in the Department of Medicine (DOM), we also surveyed matched internist peers.

RESULTS

Of 150 master clinician respondents, 65% were internists (DOM); 35% practiced in other specialties. Compared to their internist peers, there was a trend toward internist master clinicians reading more about their patients' conditions (6.0 vs. 4.8 h per week), reading more case reports (4.0 vs. 2.1 per month), engaging in more frequent teaching duties and devoting less time to research.

CONCLUSIONS

The early career activities identified in this study can be adopted by clinicians pursuing clinical excellence and promoted by training programs that seek to foster life-long learning.

Neuromuscular and gene signaling responses to passive whole-body heat stress in young adults

This study aimed to investigate whether acute passive heat stress 1) decreases muscle Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC); 2) increases peripheral muscle fatigue; 3) increases spinal cord excitability, and 4) increases key skeletal muscle gene signaling pathways in skeletal muscle. Examining the biological and physiological markers underlying passive heat stress will assist us in understanding the potential therapeutic benefits. MVCs, muscle fatigue, spinal cord excitability, and gene signaling were examined after control or whole body heat stress in an environmental chamber (heat; 82 °C, 10% humidity for 30 min). Heart Rate (HR), an indicator of stress response, was correlated to muscle fatigue in the heat group (R = 0.59; p < 0.05) but was not correlated to MVC, twitch potentiation, and H reflex suppression. Sixty-one genes were differentially expressed after heat (41 genes >1.5-fold induced; 20 < 0.667 fold repressed). A strong correlation emerged between the session type (control or heat) and principal components (PC1) (R = 0.82; p < 0.005). Cell Signal Transduction, Metabolism, Gene Expression and Transcription, Immune System, DNA Repair, and Metabolism of Proteins were pathway domains with the largest number of genes regulated after acute whole body heat stress. Acute whole-body heat stress may offer a physiological stimulus for people with a limited capacity to exercise.

Reimagining the Rheumatology Fellowship Interview: Using Participatory Design-Thinking Process to Create a More Applicant-Centered Experience

OBJECTIVE

Design thinking is a creative problem-solving process used to better understand users' needs and experiences so that a product or service can be improved. Its emphasis on empathy, iterative prototyping, and participatory collaboration make it an ideal methodology for innovation in medical education. We apply this framework to the virtual rheumatology fellowship interview process so that interviews can become more applicant centered.

METHODS

This educational quality improvement project uses a design-thinking framework to identify opportunities and challenges for rheumatology fellowship applicants. The investigators use the 5-step process (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test) and incorporate rapid qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews to innovate the interview experience. The iterative and collaborative nature of this process has empowered participants to codesign an applicant-centered interview experience.

RESULTS

Interviews with fellowship applicants (n = 9), fellow physicians (n = 4), and faculty members (n = 3) identified three major dynamics of the interview process: (1) Is it a safe environment to ask questions? (2) How do I exchange information effectively? and (3) How do I fit all these data into the bigger picture? Creative brainstorming techniques at a series of three workshops yielded four prototypes emphasizing customization, hybridization, facilitation, and preparation. A finalized applicant-centered interview template was devised in preparation for the 2023-2024 application season.

CONCLUSION

Design thinking has yielded insights into three important dynamics that drive applicant experiences. These insights allow for a redesign of processes so that virtual interviews can be more applicant centered. This framework allows for further iterations and modifications as the needs of applicants and programs evolve over time.

Let the Program Evaluation Committee SOAR: Applying the Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, and Results (SOAR) Framework for Program Evaluation

OBJECTIVE

Annual program evaluations are important activities of all graduate medical education programs. Although the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education provides general guidelines, there is substantial scope for educational innovation. Strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results (SOAR) is a strengths-based framework for strategic planning. Because SOAR emphasizes positivity and engagement, it is an appealing framework for evaluating graduate medical education programs. Our objective was to demonstrate the feasibility and acceptability of SOAR in a program evaluation committee of a fellowship program to generate strategic initiatives.

METHODS

The authors used the four steps of SOAR within the program evaluation committee in 2022. Interviewers collected positive stories to understand program strengths. Then, rapid ideation was used to translate strengths into opportunities. These opportunities were condensed and refined for fellows to assess how well they align with aspirations. The ones that aligned best with aspirations were prioritized for implementation. Results were monitored through a scorecard based on specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals every month.

RESULTS

Of 15 divisional members, 11 participated (73.3%). Five major strengths were identified: supportive environment, variety of cases, scheduling flexibility, integration with larger networks, and multidisciplinary collaboration. These 5 yielded 15 opportunities, which were refined and condensed to 9. Four were selected for implementation: scholarly works accountability group, hybrid-flex curriculum, fellowship weekly huddles, and structured electives. Scorecards have shown successful implementation during a 4-month period.

CONCLUSIONS

SOAR is an innovative and feasible approach to program evaluation that uses trainee engagement to translate and synergize existing program strengths into actionable program improvement.

Professional identity formation among undergraduate pre-medical students: a scoping review protocol

BACKGROUND

Professional Identity formation is the process by which learners internalize a profession's values, behaviors, and perceptions. With respect to physicians, this occurs at multiple levels of medical education, including the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education stages. Professional identity formation likely starts even earlier, during the undergraduate pre-medical years but, to date, no known scoping or systematic review has been conducted on this topic. The objective of this scoping review is to systematically map the literature on professional identity formation among undergraduate pre-medical students.

METHODS

This review protocol has been designed following the Arksey and O'Malley framework. We will search MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus, as well as relevant grey literature, conference proceedings, and citations of selected articles. Inclusion criteria are articles (1) written in the English language, (2) involving undergraduate pre-medical students in the USA and Canada, and (3) containing original data about professional identity formation. Two independent reviewers will evaluate the titles, abstracts, and full articles for eligibility. A third reviewer will help resolve any disputes. Once the full text of articles are obtained, data will be abstracted using a standardized form. A narrative summary of findings will then be conducted, as well as a consultation exercise with university pre-medical students, pre-med advisors, and first-year medical students.

DISCUSSION

By conducting this scoping review, we expect to gain a better understanding of how the experiences of undergraduate pre-medical students impact their professional identity formation. These findings will help to identify gaps in the literature, to better characterize professional identity formation in the specific context of the undergraduate pre-medical track, and to outline potential approaches to facilitate professional identity formation among undergraduate pre-medical students.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

The protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework ( htps://osf.io/nfzxc ).

Healthcare educational debt in the united states: unequal economic impact within interprofessional team members

BACKGROUND

Advancing healthcare access and quality for underserved populations requires a diverse, culturally competent interprofessional workforce. However, high educational debt may influence career choice of healthcare professionals. In the United States, health professions lack insight into the maximum educational debt that can be supported by current entry-level salaries. The purpose of this interprofessional economic analysis was to examine whether average educational debt for US healthcare graduates is supportable by entry-level salaries. Additionally, the study explored whether trainees from minoritized backgrounds graduate with more educational debt than their peers in physical therapy.

METHODS

The study modeled maximum educational debt service ratios for 12 healthcare professions and 6 physician specialties, incorporating profession-specific estimates of entry-level salary, salary growth, national average debt, and 4 loan repayment scenarios offered by the US Department of Education Office of Student Financial Aid. Net present value (NPV) provided an estimate for lifetime "economic power" for the modeled careers. The study used a unique data source available from a single profession (physical therapy, N = 4,954) to examine whether educational debt thresholds based on the repayment model varied between minoritized groups and non-minoritized peers.

RESULTS

High salary physician specialties (e.g. obstetrics/gynecology, surgery) and professions without graduate debt (e.g. registered nurse) met debt ratio targets under any repayment plan. Professions with strong salary growth and moderate debt (e.g. physician assistant) required extended repayment plans but had high career NPV. Careers with low salary growth and high debt relative to salary (e.g. physical therapy) had career NPV at the lowest range of modeled professions. 29% of physical therapy students graduated with more debt than could be supported by entry-level salaries. Physical therapy students from minoritized groups graduated with 10-30% more debt than their non-minoritized peers.

CONCLUSIONS

Graduates from most healthcare professions required extended repayment plans (higher interest) to meet debt ratio benchmarks. For several healthcare professions, low debt relative to salary protected career NPV. Students from minoritized groups incurred higher debt than their peers in physical therapy.

Pivoting during a Pandemic: Reimagining Intern Orientation EPA-Based OSCE

OBJECTIVES

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) provide reliable and standardized means for assessing the performance of specific clinical skills. Our previous experience with entrustable professional activity-based multidisciplinary OSCEs suggests that this exercise offers just-in-time baseline information regarding critical intern skills. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic forced medical education programs to reimagine such educational experiences. For the safety of all of the participants, the Internal Medicine and Family Medicine residency programs pivoted from an in-person OSCE to a hybrid model (combination of in-person and virtual encounters) while maintaining the goals of the OSCEs administered in previous years. Here, we describe an innovative hybrid approach to redesigning and implementing the existing OSCE model while maximizing risk mitigation.

METHODS

In total, 41 interns from Internal Medicine and Family Medicine participated in the 2020 hybrid OSCE. Five stations allowed for clinical skills assessment. Faculty completed skills checklists with global assessments and simulated patients completed communication checklists with global assessments. Interns, faculty, and simulated patients completed a post-OSCE survey.

RESULTS

Informed consent, handoffs, and oral presentation were the lowest performing stations (29.2%, 53.6%, 53.6%, respectively) as assessed by faculty skill checklists. One hundred percent of interns (41/41) indicated that immediate faculty feedback was the most valuable part of the exercise, and all of the participating faculty believed that the format was efficient, allowing ample time to provide feedback and complete checklists. Eighty-nine percent of simulated patients cited they would be willing to participate again if the same assessment were to be held during the pandemic. The limitations of the study included the lack of demonstration of physical examination maneuvers by interns.

CONCLUSIONS

A hybrid OSCE to assess interns' baseline skills during orientation using Zoom technology could be delivered successfully and safely during the pandemic without compromising the program's goals or satisfaction.

Empathy levels among health professional students at a large midwestern public university - a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Empathic care is considered extremely important by patients and providers alike but there is still an ample need for assessing empathy among healthcare students and professionals and identifying appropriate educational interventions to improve it. This study aims to assess empathy levels and associated factors among students at different healthcare colleges at the University of Iowa.

METHODS

An online survey was delivered to healthcare students, including nursing, pharmacy, dental, and medical colleges (IRB ID #202,003,636). The cross-sectional survey included background questions, probing questions, college-specific questions, and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professionals Student version (JSPE-HPS). To examine bivariate associations, Kruskal Wallis and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used. A linear model with no transformation was used in the multivariable analysis.

RESULTS

Three hundred students responded to the survey. Overall JSPE-HPS score was 116 (± 11.7), consistent with other healthcare professional samples. There was no significant difference in JSPE-HPS score among the different colleges (P = 0.532).

CONCLUSION

Controlling for other variables in the linear model, healthcare students' view of their faculty's empathy toward patients and students' self-reported empathy levels were significantly associated with students' JSPE-HPS scores.

Longitudinal clinical reasoning theme embedded across four years of a medical school curriculum

OBJECTIVES

The acquisition of clinical reasoning (CR) skills is essential for future healthcare providers as they advance through their education. There is growing consensus that CR skills should be longitudinally integrated into undergraduate curriculum for acquisition/application of these skills. However, only a minority of schools reported having CR focused teaching sessions, citing a lack of curricular time and faculty expertise as the largest barriers. We describe the design and implementation of this theme and report the effects of its early introduction in Phase One as measured by the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory (DTI).

METHODS

The Carver College of Medicine developed and implemented a longitudinal four-year clinical reasoning theme (CRT) with a special emphasis on introducing concepts in the preclinical years (Phase One). Educational strategies used to implement the theme relied on following principles: 1) new skills are best acquired in context of application; 2) contextual learning stimulates transfer of knowledge; and 3) knowledge of pathophysiology is necessary but alone is not sufficient to develop CR skills. A patient-centered CR schema served as the framework for developing the theme. Specific focus areas, pedagogies and assessment strategies were established for each of the three phases.

RESULTS

The cohort with CRT demonstrated a significant increase in total DTI score after theme implementation compared to the cohort without.

CONCLUSIONS

A formal 4-year longitudinal CR theme is feasible, allowing for integration of pathophysiology, social determinants of health, and clinical skills. Early introduction of CR concepts as assessed by DTI showed improvement in student reasoning skills post-intervention.

Abstract P301: The Proportion Of Physician Notes Addressing Elevated Blood Pressures Varies Dramatically Across Internal Medicine Specialties

Introduction: Approximately 20% of U.S. adults are unaware that they have a diagnosis of hypertension (HTN). Of those diagnosed, almost half are uncontrolled. This study provides a potential explanation of these care gaps: providers whose specialization does not include cardiovascular disease rarely document HTN, even when the patient has markedly elevated blood pressures (BPs) during their visit.

Methods: We randomly sampled ten thousand patients with clinic visits after Jan 1, 2017.We then selected notes from only these visits with patient BPs above 140/90. The assessment and plans (A/Ps) of these notes were searched for words related to elevated BP or HTN. A/Ps with no mention of BP or HTN were considered not to have addressed hypertension. Results were grouped by the specialties listed in the figure.

Results: We found 5674 clinic visits with associated BPs above 140/90. A/Ps from nephrology, cardiology, and general internal medicine visits mentioned elevated BP at least 50% of the time (in 55 of 77, 206 of 366, and 251 of 438 encounters, respectively). In contrast, A/Ps from encounters with allergy/immunology, endocrinology, and rheumatology specialists referenced the patient’s BP less than 10% of the time (in 3 of 52, 0 of 15, and 10 of 124 encounters, respectively. See figure).

Discussion: Our results suggest specialties focused on the management of HTN are substantially more likely to address elevated BP in their documentation. However, there appears to be room for improvements in documentation across all specialties. Future studies will measure the impact of these missed opportunities on the diagnosis and management of HTN.

The Doctors in the House: Examining Physician Legislators in the US Congress from 2011 to 2020

OBJECTIVES

Legislation dictating federal healthcare policy is drafted largely by members of the US Senate and House of Representatives. As such, their personal and professional backgrounds play important roles in setting the national healthcare agenda. We examine the professional and legislative records of the 28 federal physician legislators with voting privileges between 2011 and 2020.

METHODS

Two researchers compiled the names of every federal legislator in both the US Senate and the US House of Representatives who served at any time between 2011 and 2020. The researchers used publicly available records to abstract information regarding their professional and legislative records. Data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

The majority of the 28 federal physician legislators are Doctor of Medicine graduates (96%), Republican (86%), represent southern states (71%), were in private practice before serving as legislators (78.5%), and have not previously held elected positions as legislators (57%). Approximately 15% of the bills that they sponsor are related to health policy. Obstetrics/Gynecology, Surgery, and Family Medicine are the most common specialties. On average, it takes 25 years from medical school graduation to election to their federal legislative position. Approximately half represent states, or districts within states, in which they attended medical school or completed residency.

CONCLUSIONS

To engage in meaningful healthcare policy advocacy, professional organizations must support and encourage leadership training for physicians, increase the geographic and professional diversity of physician legislators, prioritize the election of physicians from both political parties, and inculcate deep and lasting professional relationships to physicians in Congress.

Diagnostic delays in infectious diseases

OBJECTIVES

Diagnostic delays are a major source of morbidity and mortality. Despite the adverse outcomes associated with diagnostic delays, few studies have examined the incidence and factors that influence diagnostic delays for different infectious diseases. The objective of this study was to understand the relative frequency of diagnostic delays for six infectious diseases commonly seen by infectious diseases (ID) consultants and to examine contributing factors for these delays.

METHODS

A 25-item survey to examine diagnostic delays in six infectious diseases was sent to all infectious diseases physicians in the Emerging Infections Network (EIN) who provide care to adult patients. Diseases included (1) tuberculosis, (2) non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections, (3) syphilis, (4) epidural abscess, (5) infective endocarditis, and (6) endemic fungal infections (e.g., histoplasmosis, blastomycosis).

RESULTS

A total of 533 of 1,323 (40%) EIN members responded to the survey. Respondents perceived the diagnosis not being considered initially and the appropriate test not being ordered as the two most important contributors to diagnostic delays. Unusual clinical presentations and not consulting ID physicians early enough were also reported as a contributing factor to delays. Responses recorded in open-text fields also indicated errors related to testing as a likely cause of delays; specifically, test-related errors included ordering the wrong laboratory test, laboratory delays (specialized labs not available at the facility), and lab processing delays.

CONCLUSIONS

Diagnostic delays commonly occur for the infectious diseases we considered. The contributing factors we identified are potential targets for future interventions to decrease diagnostic delays.

Diagnostic Reasoning by Expert Clinicians: What Distinguishes Them From Their Peers?

Objectives

Expert clinicians (ECs) are defined in large part as a group of physicians recognized by their peers for their diagnostic reasoning abilities. However, their reasoning skills have not been quantitatively compared to other clinicians using a validated instrument.

Methods

We surveyed Internal Medicine physicians at the University of Iowa to identify ECs. These clinicians were administered the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory, along with an equivalent number of their peers in the general population of internists. Scores were tabulated for structure and thinking, as well as four previously identified elements of diagnostic reasoning (data acquisition, problem representation, hypothesis generation, and illness script search and selection). We compared scores between the two groups using the two-sample t-test.

Results

Seventeen ECs completed the inventory (100%). Out of 25 randomly-selected non-EC internists (IM), 19 completed the inventory (76%). Mean total scores were 187.2 and 175.8 for the EC and the IM groups respectively. Thinking and structure subscores were 91.5 and 95.71 for ECs, compared to 85.5 and 90.3 for IMs (p-values: 0.0783 and 0.1199, respectively). The mean data acquisition, problem representation, hypothesis generation, and illness script selection subscores for ECs were 4.46, 4.57, 4.71, and 4.46, compared to 4.13, 4.38, 4.45, and 4.13 in the IM group (p-values: 0.2077, 0.4528, 0.095, and 0.029, respectively).

Conclusions

ECs have greater proficiency in searching for and selecting illness scripts compared to their peers. There were no statistically significant differences between the other scores and subscores. These results will help to inform continuing medical education efforts to improve diagnostic reasoning.

Well-Being, Burnout, and Resiliency Among Early-Career Rheumatologists: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Physician well-being is being increasingly recognized for its important role in high-quality patient care, integrity of the healthcare system, and vitality of the workforce. However, little is known about well-being, resiliency, and burnout among rheumatologists, particularly early-career rheumatologists. In this qualitative study, the investigators explore these concepts among early-career rheumatologists.

METHODS

We performed a qualitative study using semistructured phone interviews of rheumatologists who completed fellowship in 2017. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Twenty questions were devised by the investigators, covering sample demographics, exploring definitions of well-being, resiliency, and burnout, and probing potential solutions.Interviews were recorded and transcribed independently and verified for consistency. The investigators used grounded theory to code the transcripts and iteratively derive categories, subthemes, and themes until reaching theoretical sufficiency.

RESULTS

Sixty-four rheumatologists were interviewed, accounting for 30.6 hours of material. Seven major themes were identified: (1) well-being as a holistic state where an individual is able to translate one's potential to maximal performance, (2) work-family balance as a dynamic equilibrium changing over time, (3) inadequacy of training in addressing self-doubt over autonomy, (4) uncertainty over career development and progression, (5) excessive administrative burdens, (6) protective nature of longitudinal relationships, and (7) addressing burnout requires a multifaceted approach at multiple levels.

CONCLUSIONS

New rheumatologists face a series of challenges as they enter the workforce. Investments into well-being can help reduce the risk of burnout and enlarge our community. Our results highlight drivers and potential solutions, as identified by recent fellowship graduates.

Genomic and Epigenomic Evaluation of Electrically Induced Exercise in People With Spinal Cord Injury: Application to Precision Rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE

Physical therapists develop patient-centered exercise prescriptions to help overcome the physical, emotional, psychosocial, and environmental stressors that undermine a person's health. Optimally prescribing muscle activity for people with disability, such as a spinal cord injury, is challenging because of their loss of volitional movement control and the deterioration of their underlying skeletal systems. This report summarizes spinal cord injury-specific factors that should be considered in patient-centered, precision prescription of muscle activity for people with spinal cord injury. This report also presents a muscle genomic and epigenomic analysis to examine the regulation of the proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) (oxidative) and myostatin (hypertrophy) signaling pathways in skeletal muscle during low-frequency (lower-force) electrically induced exercise versus higher-frequency (higher-force) electrically induced exercise under constant muscle recruitment (intensity).

METHODS

Seventeen people with spinal cord injury participated in 1 or more unilateral electrically induced exercise sessions using a lower-force (1-, 3-, or 5-Hz) or higher-force (20-Hz) protocol. Three hours after the exercise session, percutaneous muscle biopsies were performed on exercised and nonexercised muscles for genomic and epigenomic analysis.

RESULTS

We found that low-frequency (low-force) electrically induced exercise significantly increased the expression of PGC-1α and decreased the expression of myostatin, consistent with the expression changes observed with high-frequency (higher-force) electrically induced exercise. Further, we found that low-frequency (lower-force) electrically induced exercise significantly demethylated, or epigenetically promoted, the PGC-1α signaling pathway. A global epigenetic analysis showed that >70 pathways were regulated with low-frequency (lower-force) electrically induced exercise.

CONCLUSION

These novel results support the notion that low-frequency (low-force) electrically induced exercise may offer a more precise rehabilitation strategy for people with chronic paralysis and severe osteoporosis. Future clinical trials are warranted to explore whether low-frequency (lower-force) electrically induced exercise training affects the overall health of people with chronic spinal cord injury.

Development and Test-Item Analysis of a Freely Available 1900-Item Question Bank for Rheumatology Trainees

Background

Tests composed of multiple-choice questions are an established tool to help evaluate knowledge of medical content. Within the field of rheumatology, there is an absence of free and easily-accessible sets of multiple-choice questions that have been rigorously evaluated and analyzed.

Objective

To develop a question bank composed of multiple-choice questions that evaluate trainee knowledge of rheumatology, as well as to investigate the psychometric properties (reliability, discrimination indices, difficulty indices) of items within the question bank.

Methods

Multiple-choice questions were drafted according to a strict methodology devised by the investigators. Between January and December 2020, questions were administered in sets of 20-25 questions to test-takers who were either current trainees or had recently graduated from training programs. Performance was evaluated through descriptive statistics (mean, median, range, standard deviation) and test-item statistics (difficulty index, discrimination index, reliability).

Results

Investigators drafted 1900 multiple choice questions within 45 sections each composed of 20 to 25 questions each. These questions were administered to 32 participants. The mean discrimination index was 0.57 (standard deviation: 0.22) and mean difficulty index was 0.38 (standard deviation: 0.23). Reliability indices for the 45 sections ranged from 0.45 to 0.85 (mean: 0.613, standard deviation: 0.09). The overall reliability index for the entire item bank was greater than 0.95.

Conclusion

The investigators developed a 1900-item question bank composed of items that have sufficient difficulty and discrimination indices to be used for low- and moderate-stakes settings. A rigorous methodology was employed to create the first freely-accessible reliable tool for the assessment of rheumatology knowledge. This tool can be purposed for both summative and formative evaluation in multiple settings and platforms.

Reducing Delays in Diagnosing Primary Immunodeficiency Through the Development and Implementation of a Clinical Decision Support Tool: A Study Protocol

Background

Primary immunodeficiencies (PIs) are a set of heterogeneous chronic disorders characterized by immune dysfunction. They are diagnostically challenging because of their clinical heterogeneity, knowledge gaps among primary care physicians, and continuing shortages of clinically trained immunologists. As a result, patients with undiagnosed PIs are at increased risk for recurrent infections, cancers, and autoimmune diseases.

Objective

The aim of this research is to develop and implement a clinical decision support (CDS) tool for the identification of underlying PIs.

Methods

We will develop and implement a CDS tool for the identification of underlying PIs among patients who receive primary care through a health care provider at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The CDS tool will function through an algorithm that is based on the Immune Deficiency Foundation’s 10 Warning Signs for Primary Immunodeficiency. Over the course of a year, we will use Lean Six Sigma principles and the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) framework to guide the project. The primary measure is the number of newly diagnosed PI patients per month. Secondary measures include the following: (1) the number of new patients identified by the CDS as being at high risk for PI, (2) the number of new PI cases in which immunoglobulin replacement or rotating antibiotics are started, (3) the cost of evaluation of each patient identified by the CDS tool as being at high risk for PIs, (4) the number of new consults not diagnosed with a PI, and (5) patient satisfaction with the process of referral to the Immunology Clinic.

Results

This study was determined to not be Human Subjects Research by the Institutional Review Board at the University of Iowa. Data collection will begin in August 2021.

Conclusions

The development and implementation of a CDS tool is a promising approach to identifying patients with underlying PI. This protocol assesses whether such an approach will be able to achieve its objective of reducing diagnostic delays. The disciplined approach, using Lean Six Sigma and the DMAIC framework, will guide implementation to maximize opportunities for a successful intervention that meets the study’s goals and objectives as well as to allow for replication and adaptation of these methods at other sites.

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/32635

Successful implementation of a longitudinal skill-based teaching curriculum for residents

BACKGROUND

Despite significant teaching responsibilities and national accreditation standards, most residents do not receive adequate instruction in teaching methods. Published reports of residents-as-teachers programs vary from brief one-time exposures to curricula delivered over several months. A majority of interventions described are one or two-day workshops with no clear follow-up or reinforcement of skills. A three-year longitudinal teaching skills curriculum was implemented with these goals: 1) deliver an experiential skill-based teaching curriculum allowing all residents to acquire, practice and implement specific skills; 2) provide spaced skills instruction promoting deliberate practice/reflection; and 3) help residents gain confidence in their teaching skills.

METHODS

One hundred percent of internal medicine residents (82/82) participated in the curriculum. Every 10 weeks residents attended a topic-specific experiential skills-based workshop. Each workshop followed the same pedagogy starting with debriefing/reflection on residents' deliberate practice of the previously taught skill and introduction of a new skill followed by skill practice with feedback. Every year, participants completed: 1) assessment of overall confidence in each skill and 2) retrospective pre-post self-assessment. A post-curriculum survey was completed at the end of 3 years.

RESULTS

Residents reported improved confidence and self-assessed competence in their teaching skills after the first year of the curriculum which was sustained through the three-year curriculum. The curriculum was well received and valued by residents.

CONCLUSIONS

A formal longitudinal, experiential skills-based teaching skills curriculum is feasible and can be delivered to all residents. For meaningful skill acquisition to occur, recurrent continuous skill-based practice with feedback and reflection is important.

Embedding a longitudinal diagnostic reasoning curriculum in a residency program using a bolus/booster approach

Background Diagnostic reasoning skills are essential to the practice of medicine, yet longitudinal curricula to teach residents and evaluate performance in this area is lacking. We describe a longitudinal diagnostic reasoning curriculum implemented in a university-based internal medicine residency program and self-evaluation assessment of the curriculum's effectiveness. Methods A longitudinal diagnostic reasoning curriculum (bolus/booster) was developed and implemented in the fall of 2015 at the University of Iowa. R1, R2, and R3 cohorts were taught the "bolus" curriculum at the beginning of each academic year followed by a "booster" component to maintain and build upon diagnostic reasoning skills taught during the "bolus" phase. Self-administered diagnostic thinking inventory (DTI) scores were collected in the spring of pre-curriculum (baseline, 2014-2015) and post-curriculum (2016-2017). Results The overall DTI scores improved in the R1 cohort, although statistically significant differences were not seen with R2s and R3s. In the original DTI categories, R1s improved in both flexibility of thinking and structure of thinking, the R2s improved in structure of thinking and the R3s did not improve in either category. R1s showed improvement in three of the four subcategories - data acquisition, problem representation, and hypothesis generation. The R2s improved in the subcategory of problem representation. R3s showed no improvement in any of the subcategories. The R3 cohort had higher mean scores in all categories but this did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Our program created and successfully implemented a longitudinal diagnostic reasoning curriculum. DTI scores improved after implementation of a new diagnostic reasoning curriculum, particularly in R1 cohort.

Leadership training programs in graduate medical education: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

With the increasing recognition that leadership skills can be acquired, there is a heightened focus on incorporating leadership training as a part of graduate medical education. However, there is considerable lack of agreement regarding how to facilitate acquisition of these skills to resident, chief resident, and fellow physicians.

METHODS

Articles were identified through a search of Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycNet, Cochrane Systemic Reviews, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from 1948 to 2019. Additional sources were identified through contacting authors and scanning references. We included articles that described and evaluated leadership training programs in the United States and Canada. Methodological quality was assessed via the MERSQI (Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument).

RESULTS

Fifteen studies, which collectively included 639 residents, chief residents, and fellows, met the eligibility criteria. The format, content, and duration of these programs varied considerably. The majority focused on conflict management, interpersonal skills, and stress management. Twelve were prospective case series and three were retrospective. Seven used pre- and post-test surveys, while seven used course evaluations. Only three had follow-up evaluations after 6 months to 1 year. MERSQI scores ranged from 6 to 9.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite interest in incorporating structured leadership training into graduate medical education curricula, there is a lack of methodologically rigorous studies evaluating its effectiveness. High-quality well-designed studies, focusing particularly on the validity of content, internal structure, and relationship to other variables, are required in order to determine if these programs have a lasting effect on the acquisition of leadership skills.

Impact of short- and long-term electrically induced muscle exercise on gene signaling pathways, gene expression, and PGC1a methylation in men with spinal cord injury

Exercise attenuates the development of chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Gene signaling pathway analysis offers an opportunity to discover if electrically induced muscle exercise regulates key pathways among people living with spinal cord injury (SCI). We examined short-term and long-term durations of electrically induced skeletal muscle exercise on complex gene signaling pathways, specific gene regulation, and epigenetic tagging of PGC1a, a major transcription factor in skeletal muscle of men with SCI. After short- or long-term electrically induced exercise training, participants underwent biopsies of the trained and untrained muscles. RNA was hybridized to an exon microarray and analyzed by a gene set enrichment analysis. We discovered that long-term exercise training regulated the Reactome gene sets for metabolism (38 gene sets), cell cycle (36 gene sets), disease (27 gene sets), gene expression and transcription (22 gene sets), organelle biogenesis (4 gene sets), cellular response to stimuli (8 gene sets), immune system (8 gene sets), vesicle-mediated transport (4 gene sets), and transport of small molecules (3 gene sets). Specific gene expression included: oxidative catabolism of glucose including PDHB (P < 0.001), PDHX (P < 0.001), MPC1 (P < 0.009), and MPC2 (P < 0.007); Oxidative phosphorylation genes including SDHA (P < 0.006), SDHB (P < 0.001), NDUFB1 (P < 0.002), NDUFA2 (P < 0.001); transcription genes including PGC1α (P < 0.030) and PRKAB2 (P < 0.011); hypertrophy gene MSTN (P < 0.001); and the myokine generating FNDC5 gene (P < 0.008). Long-term electrically induced exercise demethylated the major transcription factor PGC1a. Taken together, these findings support that long-term electrically induced muscle activity regulates key pathways associated with muscle health and systemic metabolism.

The ecology of program director leadership: power relationships and characteristics of effective program directors

BACKGROUND

Program directors are often perceived as strong and independent leaders within the academic medical environment. However, they are not as omnipotent as they initially appear. Indeed, PDs are beholden to a variety of different agents, including trainees (current residents, residency applicants, residency alumni), internal influencers (departmental faculty, hospital administration, institutional graduate medical education), and external influencers (the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), medical education community, and society-at-large). Altogether, these agents form a complex ecosystem whose dynamics and relationships shape the effectiveness of program directors.

MAIN BODY

This perspective uses management theory to examine the characteristics of effective PD leadership. We underline the importance of authority, accessibility, adaptability, authenticity, accountability, and autonomy as core features of successful program directors. Additionally, we review how program directors can use the six power bases (legitimacy, referent, informational, expert, reward, and coercive) to achieve positive and constructive change within the complexity of the academic medical ecosystem. Lastly, we describe how local and national institutions can better structure power relationships within the ecosystem so that PD leadership can be most effective.

CONCLUSION

Keen leadership skills are required by program directors to face a variety of challenges within their educational environments. Understanding power structures and relationships may aid program directors to exercise leadership judiciously towards fulfilling the educational missions of their departments.

A texting-based blood pressure surveillance intervention

The authors examined whether using home BP measurements collected via a custom-built bi-directional-texting platform incorporated into patients' electronic medical records would lead to treatment calibration and improved BP management. Patients were randomized to either the intervention group and collected home measurements based on reminders and reported via bi-directional texting, or to the control group, with home BP measurement reporting via standard practice (eg, phone, electronic medical record portal) and instructed to return 7 morning and 7 evening BP measurements. Outcomes included number of BP measurements submitted, the number of medication changes, reduction in BP, and BP control. 72% of the intervention group submitted at least 14 readings, compared with 45% of the control group. BP control improved in both groups. However, the authors found no statistically significant difference in BP or the number of BP-medication changes at 1, 3, or 6 months compared with the control group.

Learning to drive: resident physicians' perceptions of how attending physicians promote and undermine autonomy

BACKGROUND

Providing appropriate levels of autonomy to resident physicians is an important facet of graduate medical education, allowing learners to progress toward the ultimate goal of independent practice. While studies have identified the importance of autonomy to the development of resident physicians, less is known about resident perspectives on their "lived experiences" with autonomy and ways in which clinical educators either promote or undermine it. The current study aims to provide an empirically based practical framework based on resident perspectives through which supervising physicians can attempt to more adequately foster resident physician autonomy.

METHODS

Residents completed open ended surveys followed by facilitated group discussions of their perspectives on autonomy. Qualitative thematic analysis identified key themes in resident definitions of autonomy and how clinical educators either promote or undermine resident autonomy during supervision. Fifty-nine resident physicians representing six different specialties from two institutions participated.

RESULTS

Learners felt that autonomy was critical to their development as independent physicians. Leading the approach to care, a sense of ownership for patients, and receiving appropriate levels of supervision were identified as key components of autonomy. Attending physicians who promoted this active involvement with patient care were felt to have a strong positive influence on resident autonomy. Autonomy was undermined when decisions were micromanaged and resident input in decision-making process was minimized.

CONCLUSIONS

Fostering autonomy is a critical aspect of medical education. Allowing residents to take the lead in the delivery of patient care while supporting them as important members of the health care team can help to promote resident autonomy in the clinical setting.

Estimating Time Physicians and Other Health Care Workers Spend with Patients in an Intensive Care Unit Using a Sensor Network

BACKGROUND

Time and motion studies have been used to investigate how much time various health care professionals spend with patients as opposed to performing other tasks. However, the majority of such studies are done in outpatient settings, and rely on surveys (which are subject to recall bias) or human observers (which are subject to observation bias). Our goal was to accurately measure the time physicians, nurses, and critical support staff in a medical intensive care unit spend in direct patient contact, using a novel method that does not rely on self-report or human observers.

METHODS

We used a network of stationary and wearable mote-based sensors to electronically record location and contacts among health care workers and patients under their care in a 20-bed intensive care unit for a 10-day period covering both day and night shifts. Location and contact data were used to classify the type of task being performed by health care workers.

RESULTS

For physicians, 14.73% (17.96%) of their time in the unit during the day shift (night shift) was spent in patient rooms, compared with 40.63% (30.09%) spent in the physician work room; the remaining 44.64% (51.95%) of their time was spent elsewhere. For nurses, 32.97% (32.85%) of their time on unit was spent in patient rooms, with an additional 11.34% (11.79%) spent just outside patient rooms. They spent 11.58% (13.16%) of their time at the nurses' station and 23.89% (24.34%) elsewhere in the unit. From a patient's perspective, we found that care times, defined as time with at least one health care worker of a designated type in their intensive care unit room, were distributed as follows: 13.11% (9.90%) with physicians, 86.14% (88.15%) with nurses, and 8.14% (7.52%) with critical support staff (eg, respiratory therapists, pharmacists).

CONCLUSIONS

Physicians, nurses, and critical support staff spend very little of their time in direct patient contact in an intensive care unit setting, similar to reported observations in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Not surprisingly, nurses spend far more time with patients than physicians. Additionally, physicians spend more than twice as much time in the physician work room (where electronic medical record review and documentation occurs) than the time they spend with all of their patients combined.

X + Y = Time for QI: Meaningful Engagement of Residents in Quality Improvement During the Ambulatory Block

BACKGROUND

Meaningful resident engagement in quality improvement (QI) remains challenging. Barriers include a lack of time and of faculty with QI expertise. We leveraged our internal medicine (IM) residency program's adoption of an "X" (inpatient rotations) plus "Y" (ambulatory block) schedule to implement a QI curriculum for all residents during their ambulatory block.

OBJECTIVE

We sought to engage residents in interprofessional QI, improve residents' QI confidence and knowledge and application to practice, and create opportunities for QI scholarship.

METHODS

In July 2015, the program provided dedicated time for QI in the ambulatory block. All categorical IM residents and 11 voluntary faculty mentors were divided into 10 teams based on clinic site and "Y" block schedule. Teams participated in resident-led, interprofessional ambulatory QI projects. Resident QI knowledge and confidence were assessed before the curriculum and 11 months after using the Quality Improvement Knowledge Application Tool-Revised (QIKAT-R) and surveys. QI project implementation and scholarship were tracked.

RESULTS

All categorical residents (N = 81) participated. Residents reported increased confidence in all QI skills, and they demonstrated increased knowledge, with mean QIKAT-R paired scores improving from 15.8 ± 4.6 to 19.1 ± 5.9 (n = 45 pairs, P < .001). A total of 9 of 10 teams implemented process changes, and 6 team project improvements have been sustained.

CONCLUSIONS

This ongoing curriculum engaged IM and IM-psychiatry residents in QI during their ambulatory block using volunteer clinic faculty mentors. Residents demonstrated improved QI confidence and knowledge. The majority of resident projects were sustained and generated scholarship.

Use of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers for Geriatric Ischemic Stroke Patients: Are the Rates Right?

BACKGROUND

Our objective is to estimate the effects associated with higher rates of renin-angiotensin system antagonists, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEI/ARBs), in secondary prevention for geriatric (aged >65 years) patients with new ischemic strokes by chronic kidney disease (CKD) status.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The effects of ACEI/ARBs on survival and renal risk were estimated by CKD status using an instrumental variable (IV) estimator. Instruments were based on local area variation in ACEI/ARB use. Data abstracted from charts were used to assess the assumptions underlying the instrumental estimator. ACEI/ARBs were used after stroke by 45.9% and 45.2% of CKD and non-CKD patients, respectively. ACEI/ARB rate differences across local areas grouped by practice styles were nearly identical for CKD and non-CKD patients. Higher ACEI/ARB use rates for non-CKD patients were associated with higher 2-year survival rates, whereas higher ACEI/ARB use rates for patients with CKD were associated with lower 2-year survival rates. While the negative survival estimates for patients with CKD were not statistically different from zero, they were statistically lower than the estimates for non-CKD patients. Confounders abstracted from charts were not associated with the instrumental variable used.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher ACEI/ARB use rates had different survival implications for older ischemic stroke patients with and without CKD. ACEI/ARBs appear underused in ischemic stroke patients without CKD as higher use rates were associated with higher 2-year survival rates. This conclusion is not generalizable to the ischemic stroke patients with CKD, as higher ACEI/ARBS use rates were associated with lower 2-year survival rates that were statistically lower than the estimates for non-CKD patients.

Hydralazine-associated vasculitis: Overlapping features of drug-induced lupus and vasculitis

INTRODUCTION

Hydralazine is an antihypertensive medication that has been associated with drug-induced lupus erythematosus (DIL) as well as ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). Although rare, early diagnosis is critical since drug cessation is the mainstay of therapy. This retrospective study aims to characterize the clinical, laboratory, and histopathologic features of this disease.

METHODS

Once approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board at the University of Iowa, all patients carrying a diagnosis of vasculitis (ICD9 code: 447.6 or ICD10 code: I77.6, I80, L95, M30, or M31) and positive ANCA lab results over the past 15 years were identified. Age, gender, comorbid conditions, medications taken over the prior 6 months, laboratory data, including electrolytes, urine studies and serologies, chest x-rays, CT scans, and pathologic biopsy records were abstracted from the electronic medical record.

RESULTS

323 cases of AAV were identified, of which 12 were exposed to hydralazine, all at the time of diagnosis. The average duration of hydralazine therapy was 22 months and mean cumulative dose was 146g. Patients were typically older (70.3 years old) with slight female preponderance (7 females). Eleven patients presented with dyspnea, fatigue, and unintentional weight loss. Five had polyarthralgias and 8 had lower extremity petechiae. All 12 patients were both ANA and ANCA positive. ANA titers ranged from 1:160 and 1:2560. Ten were of diffuse pattern while 2 were nucleolar. ANCA titers ranged from 1:320 to 1:2560. Eleven had a pANCA pattern while one had cANCA. All 12 patients were positive for histone and 11 were positive for myeloperoxidase antibodies. Eleven also had dsDNA antibodies, and 4 had anti-cardiolipin IgG or IgM antibodies. Nine patients were also hypocomplementemic (mean C3 level: 88.4mg/dL; mean C4 level: 16.5mg/dL). All patients had variable levels of proteinuria (1+ to 3+) and eleven had active urine sediment. Urine protein:creatinine ratios ranged from 0.2 to 1.7. Of the 6 patients who underwent kidney biopsy, all 6 showed pauci-immune crescentic glomerulonephritis. Seven patients had bilateral pulmonary interstitial infiltrates and four had pleural effusions on CT scan. Four had pericardial effusions as demonstrated by echocardiography.

CONCLUSIONS

Hydralazine-associated vasculitis is a drug-associated autoimmune syndrome that presents with interstitial lung disease, hypocomplementemia, and pauci-immune glomerulonephritis. Patients have elements of both DIL and DIV, as manifested by high ANA and ANCA titers as well as the presence of histone and MPO antibodies. Further research is needed to understand the etiopathogenesis of this condition.

Resident perceptions of the impact of duty hour restrictions on resident-attending interactions: an exploratory study

BACKGROUND

The institution of duty hour reforms by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 2003 has created a learning environment where residents are consistently looking for input from attending physicians with regards to balancing duty hour regulations and providing quality patient care. There is a paucity of literature regarding resident perceptions of attending physician actions or attitudes towards work hour restrictions. The purpose of this study was to identify attending physician behaviors that residents perceived as supportive or unsupportive of their compliance with duty hour regulations.

METHODS

Focus group interviews were conducted with residents exploring their perceptions of how duty hour regulations impact their interactions with attending physicians. Qualitative analysis identified key themes in residents' experiences interacting with faculty in regard to duty hour regulations. Forty residents from five departments in two hospital systems participated.

RESULTS

Discussion of these interactions highlighted that attending physicians demonstrate behaviors that explicitly or implicitly either lend their support and understanding of residents' need to comply with these regulations or imply a lack of support and understanding. Three major themes that contributed to the ease or difficulty in addressing duty hour regulations included attending physicians' explicit communication of expectations, implicit non-verbal and verbal cues and the program's organizational culture.

CONCLUSIONS

Resident physicians' perception of attending physicians' explicit and implicit communication and residency programs organization culture has an impact on residents' experience with duty hour restrictions. Residency faculty and programs could benefit from explicitly addressing and supporting the challenges that residents perceive in complying with duty hour restrictions.

Hypertensive Emergency

A rapid and severe increase in blood pressure resulting in new or progressive end-organ damage is defined as hypertensive emergency. Clinicians should effectively use the patient interview, physical examination, and additional testing to differentiate hypertensive emergency from nonemergent hypertension. Patients with evidence or high suspicion for end-organ damage should be expediently referred from the outpatient setting to a higher level of care. Knowledge of appropriate hypertensive emergency management and the ability to initiate this care in the clinic could help reduce patient morbidity in certain situations. Patients presenting with nonemergent hypertension can continue to be safely managed in the clinic.

Significance of Hyperferritinemia in Hospitalized Adults

BACKGROUND

Although high ferritin levels are associated with iron overload, it is known that ferritin is also an acute-phase reactant that may be elevated in conditions associated with acute and chronic inflammation. In addition, an elevated ferritin level is a criterion for the diagnosis of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome (HLH/MAS). Therefore, the significance of elevated serum ferritin is often unclear. As HLH/MAS is a medical emergency, prompt diagnosis is important to guide appropriate treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To study the spectrum of diagnoses associated with elevated serum ferritin, we did a retrospective review of adult patients admitted to our academic medical center from 2008-2012 with serum ferritin levels greater than 2,000ng/mL. The degree of hyperferritinemia was compared to different diagnoses and selected laboratory values.

RESULTS

A total of 333 patients were identified with a serum ferritin level >2,000ng/mL. Hepatocellular injury was the most prevalent diagnosis with n = 126; infection was next with n = 96. Eleven patients were diagnosed with HLH/MAS.

CONCLUSIONS

Elevated ferritin, as an isolated finding, was not a specific marker for the diagnosis of HLH/MAS. However, as a group, HLH/MAS patients had the highest mean and median ferritin values.

Impact of adding additional providers to resident workload and the resident experience on a medical consultation rotation

BACKGROUND

Excellence in Graduate Medical Education requires the right clinical environment with an appropriate workload where residents have enough patients to gain proficiency in medicine with optimal time for reflection. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has focused more on work hours rather than workload; however, high resident workload has been associated with lower resident participation in education and fatigue-related errors. Recognizing the potential risks associated with high resident workload and being mindful of the costs of reducing resident workload, we sought to reduce residents' workload by adding an advanced practice provider (APP) to the surgical comanagement service (SCM) and study its effect on resident satisfaction and perceived educational value of the rotation.

METHODS

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 and 2015, an additional faculty member was added to the SCM rotation. In FY 2014, the faculty member was a staff physician, and in FY 2015, the faculty member was an APP.. Resident workload was assessed using billing data. We measured residents' perceptions of the rotation using an anonymous electronic survey tool. We compared FY2014-2015 data to the baseline FY2013.

RESULTS

The number of patients seen per resident per day decreased from 8.0(SD 3.3) in FY2013 to 5.0(SD 1.9) in FY2014 (p < 0.001) and 5.7(SD 2.0) in FY2015 (p < 0.001). A higher proportion of residents reported "just right" patient volume (64.4%, 91.7%, 96.7% in FY2013, 2014, 2015 respectively p < 0.001), meeting curricular goals (79.9%, 95.0%, 97.2%, in FY2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively p < 0.001), and overall educational value of the rotation (40.0%, 72.2%, 72.6% in FY2013, 2014, 2015 respectively, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Decreasing resident workload through adding clinical faculty (both staff physician and APPs) was associated with improvements on resident perceived educational value and clinical experience of a medical consultation rotation.

Distinct Skeletal Muscle Gene Regulation from Active Contraction, Passive Vibration, and Whole Body Heat Stress in Humans

Skeletal muscle exercise regulates several important metabolic genes in humans. We know little about the effects of environmental stress (heat) and mechanical stress (vibration) on skeletal muscle. Passive mechanical stress or systemic heat stress are often used in combination with many active exercise programs. We designed a method to deliver a vibration stress and systemic heat stress to compare the effects with active skeletal muscle contraction. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine whether active mechanical stress (muscle contraction), passive mechanical stress (vibration), or systemic whole body heat stress regulates key gene signatures associated with muscle metabolism, hypertrophy/atrophy, and inflammation/repair. Methods: Eleven subjects, six able-bodied and five with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) participated in the study. The six able-bodied subjects sat in a heat stress chamber for 30 minutes. Five subjects with SCI received a single dose of limb-segment vibration or a dose of repetitive electrically induced muscle contractions. Three hours after the completion of each stress, we performed a muscle biopsy (vastus lateralis or soleus) to analyze mRNA gene expression. Results: We discovered repetitive active muscle contractions up regulated metabolic transcription factors NR4A3 (12.45 fold), PGC-1α (5.46 fold), and ABRA (5.98 fold); and repressed MSTN (0.56 fold). Heat stress repressed PGC-1α (0.74 fold change; p < 0.05); while vibration induced FOXK2 (2.36 fold change; p < 0.05). Vibration similarly caused a down regulation of MSTN (0.74 fold change; p < 0.05), but to a lesser extent than active muscle contraction. Vibration induced FOXK2 (p < 0.05) while heat stress repressed PGC-1α (0.74 fold) and ANKRD1 genes (0.51 fold; p < 0.05). Conclusion: These findings support a distinct gene regulation in response to heat stress, vibration, and muscle contractions. Understanding these responses may assist in developing regenerative rehabilitation interventions to improve muscle cell development, growth, and repair.

Evidence for metabolic aberrations in asymptomatic persons with type 2 diabetes after initiation of simvastatin therapy

Hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) prevent vascular events and are widely prescribed, particularly in persons with type 2 diabetes. However, intolerability because of myopathic symptoms often limits their use. We investigated the effects of simvastatin on parameters of mitochondrial function and muscle gene expression in 11 subjects with type 2 diabetes, none of whom had statin intolerance. After withdrawal of statins for 2 months, we obtained blood samples, performed vastus lateralis muscle biopsies, and assessed whole body resting energy expenditure (REE). We then reinitiated therapy using simvastatin, 20 mg/d, for 1 month before repeating these studies. As expected, simvastatin lowered low-density lipoprotein, but did not induce myalgias or significant increases in serum creatine kinase. However, we found subtle but significant reductions in muscle citrate synthase activity and REE. In addition, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and gene set enrichment analysis of muscle samples revealed significantly repressed gene sets involved in mitochondrial function and induced gene sets involved in remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Furthermore, the effects of simvastatin on muscle gene sets showed some similarities to previously described changes that occur in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, polymyositis, and dermatomyositis. Although statins inhibit an early step in coenzyme Q (CoQ) biosynthesis, we observed no differences in CoQ content within skeletal muscle mitochondria, muscle tissue, or circulating platelets. In summary, we report subtle changes in whole body energetics, mitochondrial citrate synthase activity, and microarray data consistent with subclinical myopathy. Although the benefits of statin therapy are clear, further understanding of muscular perturbations should help guide safety and tolerability.

Thrombotic microangiopathy associated with proteasome inhibitors

The ubiquitin proteasome pathway plays a key role in cell cycle, function and survival. Bortezomib (BTZ) and Carfilzomib (CFZ) are the first two inhibitors of the proteasome pathway, indicated in treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. In the past few years, there have been few case reports that have highlighted the association between proteasome inhibitors (BTZ and CFZ) with acute kidney injury (AKI). In most of these case reports and initial trials, the underlying mechanism of AKI has been unclear. In this article, we discuss the association and pathogenesis of proteasome inhibitors-associated AKI. We also report the first case of CFZ-associated AKI with kidney biopsy evidence of thrombotic microangiopathy and the presence of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia.

Low-frequency stimulation regulates metabolic gene expression in paralyzed muscle

The altered metabolic state after a spinal cord injury compromises systemic glucose regulation. Skeletal muscle atrophies and transforms into fast, glycolytic, and insulin-resistant tissue. Osteoporosis is common after spinal cord injury and limits the ability to exercise paralyzed muscle. We used a novel approach to study the acute effect of two frequencies of stimulation (20 and 5 Hz) on muscle fatigue and gene regulation in people with chronic paralysis. Twelve subjects with chronic (>1 yr) and motor complete spinal cord injury (ASIA A) participated in the study. We assessed the twitch force before and after a single session of electrical stimulation (5 or 20 Hz). We controlled the total number of pulses delivered for each protocol (10,000 pulses). Three hours after the completion of the electrical stimulation (5 or 20 Hz), we sampled the vastus lateralis muscle and examined genes involved with metabolic transcription, glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, and mitochondria remodeling. We discovered that the 5-Hz stimulation session induced a similar amount of fatigue and a five- to sixfold increase (P < 0.05) in key metabolic transcription factors, including PGC-1α, NR4A3, and ABRA as the 20-Hz session. Neither session showed a robust regulation of genes for glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, or mitochondria remodeling. We conclude that a low-force and low-frequency stimulation session is effective at inducing fatigue and regulating key metabolic transcription factors in human paralyzed muscle. This strategy may be an acceptable intervention to improve systemic metabolism in people with chronic paralysis.

A minimal dose of electrically induced muscle activity regulates distinct gene signaling pathways in humans with spinal cord injury

Paralysis after a spinal cord injury (SCI) induces physiological adaptations that compromise the musculoskeletal and metabolic systems. Unlike non-SCI individuals, people with spinal cord injury experience minimal muscle activity which compromises optimal glucose utilization and metabolic control. Acute or chronic muscle activity, induced through electrical stimulation, may regulate key genes that enhance oxidative metabolism in paralyzed muscle. We investigated the short and long term effects of electrically induced exercise on mRNA expression of human paralyzed muscle. We developed an exercise dose that activated the muscle for only 0.6% of the day. The short term effects were assessed 3 hours after a single dose of exercise, while the long term effects were assessed after training 5 days per week for at least one year (adherence 81%). We found a single dose of exercise regulated 117 biological pathways as compared to 35 pathways after one year of training. A single dose of electrical stimulation increased the mRNA expression of transcriptional, translational, and enzyme regulators of metabolism important to shift muscle toward an oxidative phenotype (PGC-1α, NR4A3, IFRD1, ABRA, PDK4). However, chronic training increased the mRNA expression of specific metabolic pathway genes (BRP44, BRP44L, SDHB, ACADVL), mitochondrial fission and fusion genes (MFF, MFN1, MFN2), and slow muscle fiber genes (MYH6, MYH7, MYL3, MYL2). These findings support that a dose of electrical stimulation (∼10 minutes/day) regulates metabolic gene signaling pathways in human paralyzed muscle. Regulating these pathways early after SCI may contribute to reducing diabetes in people with longstanding paralysis from SCI.