Development and external validation of tools for categorizing diagnosis codes in international hospital data.

Background: The Clinical Classification Software Refined (CCSR) is a tool that groups many thousands of International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis codes into approximately 500 clinically meaningful categories, simplifying analyses. However, CCSR was developed for use in the United States and may not work well with other country-specific ICD-10 coding systems.

Method: We developed an algorithm for semi-automated matching of Canadian ICD-10 codes (ICD-10-CA) to CCSR categories using discharge diagnoses from adult admissions at 7 hospitals between Apr 1, 2010 and Dec 31, 2020, and manually validated the results.

Integration of Clinical Skills into Preclinical Medical Curriculum Via a Low-Cost Femoral Triangle Ultrasound Model.

We created a low-cost femoral triangle model that allows first year medical students to practice ultrasound-guided procedures while reinforcing their knowledge of femoral triangle anatomy. Use of this model also increased opportunities for informal near-peer teaching and student involvement in the creation of instructional materials.

Role of Interventional Radiology in the Management of Non-aortic Thoracic Trauma.

Trauma remains a leading cause of death for all age groups, and nearly two-thirds of these individuals suffer thoracic trauma. Due to the various types of injuries, including vascular and nonvascular, interventional radiology plays a major role in the acute and chronic management of the thoracic trauma patient. Interventional radiologists are critical members in the multidisciplinary team focusing on treatment of the patient with thoracic injury.

Diabetes and Alzheimer's disease crosstalk.

Despite intensive research efforts over the past few decades, the mechanisms underlying the etiology of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain unknown. This fact is of major concern because the number of patients affected by this medical condition is increasing exponentially and the existing treatments are only palliative in nature and offer no disease modifying affects. Interestingly, recent epidemiological studies indicate that diabetes significantly increases the risk of developing AD, suggesting that diabetes may play a causative role in the development of AD pathogenesis.