Medical Student Parental Leave Policies at U.S. Medical Schools.

As medical training occurs during prime childbearing years, parental leave policies may affect the career and family choices of medical students. This cross-sectional study builds on existing research by quantifying the prevalence of formal policies for parental leave in highly ranked United States Medical Degree granting institutions, and analyzing the characteristics of those policies, with the objective of identifying existing best practices for future policy adopters to consider. Only 14% of the medical schools reviewed had substantive, stand-alone parental leave policies, and the majority of schools had leave of absence policies without mention of parental leave.

Childbearing Among Women Cardiologists: The Interface of Experience, Impact, and the Law.

Background: Maternity leave is highly variable in the United States given the lack of a federal workforce mandate.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences and impact of childbearing on women cardiologists and their careers, within a legal framework.

Methods: A survey was sent to women cardiologists, asking about their experiences while pregnant and on maternity leave.

Is load control necessary to produce physiological AP displacement and axial rotation in wear testing of TAR?

The International Standard Organization, ISO 22622, specifies two options for joint wear simulator evaluation of total ankle replacements (TARs): load-controlled and displacement-controlled. In the present study, the load-controlled testing parameters were applied to cadaveric specimens to quantify and compare the observed sagittal translations and axial rotations to those specified under the displacement-controlled option. Twelve cadaveric specimens were stripped of extraneous tissues, keeping surrounding ankle ligaments.

The Health Care Provider's Role in Securing Work Accommodations for Pregnant and Postpartum Patients.

Most women today are the primary, sole, or cobreadwinners for their families; their continued ability to work during and after pregnancy is crucial for their families' well-being. Midwives and other health care providers are regularly asked to provide work notes for patients who need adjustments to how, when, or where their job is done to continue working while maintaining a healthy pregnancy or breastfeeding. Whereas an improperly written work note can result in the patient being forced out on leave or losing their job, an effectively written work note from a health care provider can ensure the patient will receive the adjustments they need to stay safe and healthy on the job.

Incidence and predictors of early complications following primary and revision total ankle arthroplasty.

Background: Total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) offers an effective option for end-stage osteoarthritis. The incidence and preoperative risk factors for early adverse events (AEs) following primary and revision TAA may be useful information for providers.

Methods: A large database was queried from 2010 to 2016 to identify 905 patients of whom 818 underwent primary TAA (90.

A Clinical Nurse's Walk Through Research: Relieving Postoperative Urinary Urgency.

A clinical nurse at a small community hospital recognized a need to help patients with urinary urgency following laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy. The subsequent continuous quality improve- ment project is described.

Large BM Intra-Articular Allograft.

Posttraumatic tibiotalar arthritis is a challenging problem in young, active patients. Many of these patients do not want to pursue ankle arthrodesis after they fail conservative treatment measures, as they wish to preserve joint motion. Osteochondral shell allograft arthroplasty has been described as a reasonable alternative for treating these patients.

Incidence of Preoperative Deep Vein Thrombosis in Calcaneal Fractures.

Objectives: This study examined the incidence and risk factors of preoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients presenting to an outpatient setting with an isolated calcaneal fracture.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: All patients included in the study presented to the treating surgeon at a Level I trauma center with isolated calcaneal fractures as an outpatient between 2005 and 2013.

Beyond Work-Life "Integration".

Research on the work-family interface began in the 1960s and has grown exponentially ever since. This vast amount of research, however, has had relatively little impact on workplace practice, and work-family conflict is at an all-time high. We review the work-family research to date and propose that a shift of attention is required, away from the individual experience of work and family and toward understanding how identity and status are defined at work.

My Obstetrician Got Me Fired: How Work Notes Can Harm Pregnant Patients and What to Do About It.

Prenatal care providers are frequently asked to provide employment notes for their patients requesting medical leave or changes to work duties. Writing employment notes correctly can help patients negotiate for and obtain medically indicated workplace accommodations, allowing them to continue to work and earn an income. However, a poorly written or poorly timed note can jeopardize a patient's employment and salary.

Intraoperative and perioperative complications during revision arthroplasty for salvage of a failed total ankle arthroplasty.

Background: Revision of a failed total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) remains a challenge. Advances in total ankle implant design have renewed interest in revision TAA as an alternative to ankle arthrodesis or amputation in the management of a failed TAA. The purpose of our study was to review a series of failed Agility TAA revised to INBONE II TAA and identify reasons for revision as well as perioperative complications.

A line drawn along the radial shaft misses the capitellum in 16% of radiographs of normal elbows.

Background: The radiocapitellar line (RCL) is a routinely referenced radiographic measurement for evaluating injury of the pediatric elbow, such as a Monteggia fracture. It is most commonly described as a line drawn along the radius that should intercept the center of the capitellum in a normal elbow. However, the RCL has not been rigorously defined or validated in young children.

West Nile virus infection in blood donors in the New York City area during the 2010 seasonal epidemic.

Background: A uniform threshold strategy for converting from minipool (MP)-nucleic acid testing (NAT) to individual donation (ID)-NAT screening for acute West Nile virus (WNV) infection among blood donors is lacking. We report on WNV screening at the New York Blood Center during the 2010 seasonal WNV epidemic, the most severe epidemic in that state since the original outbreak in 1999.

Study Design And Methods: Between July 1 and October 31, 2010, blood donations were screened by MP-NAT or ID-NAT and the presence of anti-WNV immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG was evaluated among NAT-positive donations.

West Nile virus testing experience in 2007: evaluation of different criteria for triggering individual-donation nucleic acid testing.

Background: In 2007, clients served by Blood Systems Laboratories used variable approaches for triggering West Nile virus (WNV) RNA individual-donation (ID) nucleic acid testing (NAT). These included two minipool (MP) NAT-reactive donations and a greater than 1:1000 rate in a 7-day interval (primary trigger), criteria based on one MP-NAT-reactive donation when there was WNV activity in overlapping and/or adjacent geographic areas (neighbor trigger), or zero MP-NAT-reactive donation (self-trigger).

Study Design And Methods: The Procleix WNV assay was used in either a 16-sample MP or an ID format.

Clearance of hepatitis C virus RNA from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of blood donors who spontaneously or therapeutically control their plasma viremia.

Unlabelled: We determined whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA could be detected associated with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of seropositive blood donors who had spontaneously or therapeutically cleared their plasma viremia. Blood donor plasma viremia status was first determined with a highly sensitive transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) test performed in duplicate assays. PBMC from 69 aviremic and 56 viremic blood donors were then analyzed for the presence of HCV RNA with TMA adapted to detect viral RNA in PBMC and with a reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction assay.

Performance of a transcription-mediated-amplification HIV-1 RNA assay in pooled specimens.

Background: Very limited data exist on the comparative performance of nucleic acid amplification tests (NATs) for the screening of pooled specimens for acute human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Study Design: In this study, we compared a transcription-mediated-amplification assay (Procleix HIV-1 Discriminatory Assay, [TMA]) with a branched DNA assay (Bayer Versant HIV-1 RNA 3.0 assay, [bDNA]).

Reduced muscarinic type 2 receptor binding in subjects with bipolar disorder.

Context: A variety of indirect evidence has implicated the central muscarinic-cholinergic system, and more specifically the type 2 muscarinic (M2) receptor, in the pathogenesis of depressive symptoms arising in major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.

Objective: To assess the binding potential of muscarinic2 receptors in vivo during depression in subjects with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder.

Design: The M2 receptor binding was compared between unmedicated subjects with major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder during depression vs healthy controls, using positron emission tomography and [18F]FP-TZTP (fluorodopa F 18 [3-(3-[3-fluoroproply]thio)-1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl]-1,2,5,6-tetrahydro-1-methylpyridine), a selective M2 receptor radioligand.

Bone scintigraphic findings in patients with foot ulcers and normal plain film radiographs.

A prospective study was performed to examine the performance of bone scintigraphy in the earliest stage of soft-tissue foot ulceration with potential risk for progression to osteomyelitis. Twenty-three podiatry clinic patients with new or recurrent foot ulcers but negative plain film radiographs of the foot underwent 24 (one patient was studied twice) multiphase bone scans (flow, blood pool, and 3- and 24-hour delayed images) that were visually scored for severity of increased uptake on a scale of 0 to 3+, with 0 indicating normal and 3+ indicating severe. Twenty-one scans (88%) showed abnormal uptake on at least one phase, with 17 (71%) having increased bone uptake on late images.