The Feasibility and Efficacy of Video Education with Individual Review in Early Surgical Education.

Purpose: Use of video-based education (VBE) to teach surgical skills has increased rapidly and been shown to accelerate students' and residents' time to satisfactory skill acquisition while also improving trainees' satisfaction. However, its implementation is limited by logistical factors such as: video quality, view obstruction, and excessive motion. We aim to study the feasibility of using VBE to teach medical students basic suturing skills.

Association between electrodiagnosis and neuromuscular ultrasound in the diagnosis and assessment of severity of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Background: Neuromuscular ultrasound plays an increasing role in diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). There are limited data supporting the correlation between the electrodiagnostic studies and ultrasound measurements in CTS.

Objective: To assess the association between different electrodiagnostic severities and ultrasound measurements of the median nerve in CTS.

Breast reconstruction using the Latissimus Dorsi Flap and Immediate Fat Transfer (LIFT): A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Despite several efforts have been made to increase the volume of the latissimus dorsi (LD) flap, few studies have reported the outcomes of LD flap and immediate fat transfer (LIFT) to restore a natural native breast appearance during the initial reconstructive procedure. The aim of this study was to report the different surgical techniques used when implementing LIFT for breast reconstruction and evaluate the postoperative outcomes.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Ovid MEDLINE®, and Scopus.

Association Between Primary Payer Status and Survival in Patients With Stage III Colon Cancer: An National Cancer Database Analysis.

Background: Colon cancer is the third most frequent cancer diagnosis, and primary payer status has been shown to be associated with treatment modalities and survival in cancer patients. The goal of our study was to determine the between-insurance differences in survival in patients with clinical stage III colon cancer using data from the National Cancer Database (NCDB).

Materials And Methods: We identified 130,998 patients with clinical stage III colon cancer in the NCDB diagnosed from 2004 to 2012.

Socioeconomic status and survival for patients with melanoma in the United States: an NCDB analysis.

Background: The importance of socioeconomic factors and healthcare treatment and outcomes for lower income patients is tremendous, affecting not only those afflicted by poverty and decreased quality of care but also physicians, healthcare professionals, and society at large.

Methods: The National Cancer Database was used to identify 80,907 patients with stage 0-4 melanoma and analyze variables to track patterns in survival and outcome.

Results: This study demonstrates that disparities in income, insurance status, and education affects treatment and survival rates across all stages of melanoma and seeks to establish further understanding surrounding socioeconomic factors and quality of healthcare in America.

Impact of siltuximab on patient-related outcomes in multicentric Castleman's disease.

Multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD) is a rare, widespread lymphoproliferative disorder and a life-threatening disease involving hyperactivity of the immune system, excessive proinflammatory cytokine release, immune cell proliferation, and organ system dysfunction. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that plays a key role in the pathogenesis of MCD, as it is involved in the synthesis of acute-phase reactants and aids in the induction of B-cell proliferation. Siltuximab is an anti-IL-6 chimeric monoclonal antibody that acts as a novel treatment modality to bind to IL-6 with high affinity, thus neutralizing the cytokine bioactivity and inhibiting B-cell proliferation.

Factors Affecting Adjuvant Therapy in Stage III Pancreatic Cancer-Analysis of the National Cancer Database.

Background: Adjuvant therapy after curative resection is associated with survival benefit in stage III pancreatic cancer. We analyzed the factors affecting the outcome of adjuvant therapy in stage III pancreatic cancer and compared overall survival with different modalities of adjuvant treatment.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients with stage III pancreatic cancer listed in the National Cancer Database (NCDB) who were diagnosed between 2004 and 2012.

Immunobiology of spinal cord injuries and potential therapeutic approaches.

The incidence of spinal cord injuries (SCI) is high every year. As the spinal cord is the highway that allows for the brain to control the rest of the body, spinal cord injuries greatly impact the quality of life of the patients. The SCI include the primary response consisting of the initial accident-induced damage and the secondary response that is characterized by damage due to inflammation and biological responses.