Neonatal Necrotizing Enterocolitis: An Update on Pathophysiology, Treatment, and Prevention.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a life-threatening disease predominantly affecting premature and very low birth weight infants resulting in inflammation and necrosis of the small bowel and colon and potentially leading to sepsis, peritonitis, perforation, and death. Numerous research efforts have been made to better understand, treat, and prevent NEC. This review explores a variety of factors involved in the pathogenesis of NEC (prematurity, low birth weight, lack of human breast milk exposure, alterations to the microbiota, maternal and environmental factors, and intestinal ischemia) and reports treatment modalities surrounding NEC, including pain medications and common antibiotic combinations, the rationale for these combinations, and recent antibiotic stewardship approaches surrounding NEC treatment.

Assessing the impact of hospital mergers and acquisitions on safety culture with proactive risk assessments.

Hospitals seeking to understand patient safety strengths and vulnerabilities in the context of mergers/acquisitions benefit more from a third-party perspective than from a limited internal process. A well-structured and highly-inclusive risk assessment-involving a broad cross-section of interviews-can be key to a successful transition of optimal health care safety during organizational changes.

Gastric Adenocarcinoma and Proximal Polyposis of the Stomach in a Hispanic Pediatric Patient With APC Gene Variant c.-191T>G.

Gastric adenocarcinoma and proximal polyposis of the stomach (GAPPS) is a rare gastric polyposis syndrome defined by numerous polyps (>100) in the fundus and body of the stomach with sparing of the lesser curvature and antrum. GAPPS is linked to a variant in the promoter 1B region of the APC gene. These variants carry a high risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma, which can occur at an early age.

The fate of endothelial function testing: rationale and design of the Firefighters And Their Endothelium (FATE) study.

Endothelial dysfunction plays a pivotal role in the development and progression of atherosclerotic vascular disease. The endothelium is strategically located between blood and vascular smooth muscle, making it both vulnerable to a variety of injurious stimuli but also available for interrogation as a marker of vascular health. Firefighters And Their Endothelium (FATE) is a prospective, longitudinal cohort study designed to assess the relationship between endothelial function, emerging cardiovascular risk factors and ultimately atherosclerotic vascular disease.