Publications by authors named "Lowenstein S"

Despite significant advancements in the care of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) morbidity and mortality remain high. Postnatal right ventricular dysfunction and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) are associated with worse outcomes in HLHS. We aim to determine if right ventricle functional parameters and TR on fetal echocardiogram are associated with postnatal outcomes in HLHS patients.

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Resident physician burnout and well-being are increasingly important and salient topics in medical training. Unfortunately, limited research exists regarding the efficacy of various burnout and wellness interventions for resident physicians. Better characterization of the causes of burnout and the components of well-being must necessarily precede implementation and evaluation of interventions.

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Purpose Of Review: This commentary summarizes recent literature pertaining to healthcare challenges and needs during the current pandemic among refugees and asylum seekers residing in a host country. We conducted a literature review to identify barriers to shielding these structurally marginalized populations from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent Findings: Many populations, including refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, endure structural vulnerabilities in refugee camps and during their resettlement.

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Late diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) is associated with higher levels of morbidity and mortality in neonates. Nearly all states have passed laws mandating universal pulse oximetry screening (POxS) of newborns to improve early detection rates of CCHD. We performed a retrospective chart review of all transthoracic echocardiograms (TTEs) interpreted by our institution on patients between 0 and 30 days of life in the years 2010 (prior to POxS) and 2015 (after POxS).

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Objective: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a single ventricle defect. While staged surgical palliative treatments have revolutionised care, patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome continue to have significant morbidity and mortality. In 2017, the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative recommended all single ventricle patients to receive a prenatal palliative care consult.

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Student mistreatment represents an ongoing challenge for US medical schools. Students experiencing mistreatment may become marginalized and cynical, and they have higher rates of burnout, depression and substance use disorders. Although numerous attempts to eliminate mistreatment have been proposed, best practices remain elusive.

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Skin cancer is the most common malignancy affecting solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR), and SOTR experience increased skin cancer-associated morbidity and mortality. There are no formal multidisciplinary guidelines for skin cancer screening after transplant, and current practices are widely variable. We conducted three rounds of Delphi method surveys with a panel of 84 U.

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Skin cancer is a common post-transplant complication. In this study, the Skin and Ultraviolet Neoplasia Transplant Risk Assessment Calculator (SUNTRAC) was developed to stratify patients into risk groups for post-transplant skin cancer. Data for this study were obtained from the Transplant Skin Cancer Network (TSCN), which conducted a multicenter study across 26 transplant centers in the United States.

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Background: Hands-only bystander CPR increases survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Video-based CPR instruction in schools has been proposed as a means to mass-educate laypersons in Hands-only CPR™ (HOCPR), in developed as well as developing countries.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine whether a brief video- and mannequin-based instructional program, developed by the American Heart Association (AHA), is an effective strategy for teaching Costa Rican middle- and high-school age children to learn the steps of HOCPR.

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Importance: Pyoderma gangrenosum and necrotizing Sweet syndrome are diagnostically challenging variants of neutrophilic dermatosis that can clinically mimic the cutaneous and systemic features of necrotizing fasciitis. Improved characterization of these rare variants is needed, as improper diagnosis may lead to inappropriate or delayed treatment and the potential for morbidity.

Objective: To determine the characteristics of necrotizing neutrophilic dermatosis to improve diagnostic accuracy and distinguish from infection.

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Long-term iatrogenic immunosuppression increases the risk of cutaneous malignancies in organ transplant recipients (OTRs), particularly the keratinocyte cancers basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). cSCC is the most common malignancy in OTRs, with the risk increased to over 65-fold in transplanted patients relative to the general population. There have been very few risk prediction tools developed for accurate determination of the risk of developing keratinocyte cancers in the OTR population.

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Importance: Skin cancer is the most common malignancy occurring after organ transplantation. Although previous research has reported an increased risk of skin cancer in solid organ transplant recipients (OTRs), no study has estimated the posttransplant population-based incidence in the United States.

Objective: To determine the incidence and evaluate the risk factors for posttransplant skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), melanoma (MM), and Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) in a cohort of US OTRs receiving a primary organ transplant in 2003 or 2008.

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Background: In 2008, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) developed a set of recruitment strategies designed to increase the number of under-represented minorities (URMs) in Emergency Medicine (EM) residency.

Objectives: We conducted a survey of United States (US) EM residency program directors to: describe the racial and ethnic composition of residents; ascertain whether each program had instituted CORD recruitment strategies; and identify program characteristics associated with recruitment of a high proportion of URM residents.

Methods: The survey was distributed to accredited, nonmilitary US EM residency programs during 2013.

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Background: Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) improves survival after prehospital cardiac arrest. While community CPR training programs have been implemented across the US, little is known about their acceptability in non-US Latino populations.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to enrolling in CPR training classes and performing CPR in San José, Costa Rica.

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Article Synopsis
  • Solid organ transplant recipients have a higher risk of skin cancer death, with specific mortality rates calculated over a period from 1987 to 2013.
  • Key risk factors for skin cancer death include being over 50 years old, male, white, and having undergone thoracic transplantation.
  • This study highlights that the highest mortality rates are associated with malignant melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma, although there are limitations regarding potential data inaccuracies.
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Problem: Much work remains to be done to align the diversity of the health care workforce with the changing racial and ethnic backgrounds of patients, especially in the field of emergency medicine.

Approach: In academic year (AY) 2012-2013, to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) candidates who were interviewed and matched, the Denver Health Residency in Emergency Medicine program (DHREM) initiated a focused pilot intervention with three principal strategies: (1) a scholarship-based externship program, (2) a funded second-look event, and (3) increased involvement and visibility of URM faculty in the interview and recruitment process.

Outcomes: One year after implementation of the pilot intervention, the percentage of URMs among all applicants invited to interview at the DHREM doubled (7.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to better understand the role canonical/β-catenin Wnt signaling plays in the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) into retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE), with the goal of improving methods for derivation.

Methods: Fluorescent reporters were generated to monitor RPE differentiating from hESCs by using a previously described 14-day derivation protocol. Reporters were used to test the effects of the canonical/β-catenin Wnt pathway agonist CHIR99021 on differentiating RPE.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the effectiveness of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria in identifying critical illness among emergency department patients, both with and without infections.
  • It included a review of 1152 ED patients over a year, revealing that 23% were critically ill, with SIRS detected in 39% of cases.
  • The findings indicated that SIRS criteria had a sensitivity of only 52% overall, suggesting that its current definition is not very reliable for diagnosing critical illness in this population.
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Academic medicine shares the handicap of many hierarchical organizations in that it is difficult for those lower in the hierarchy to speak up when doing so requires challenging their chronologic and administrative elders. Elsewhere in this issue, Dankoski and colleagues offer specific recommendations for combating this "organizational silence," including training and mentorship for junior faculty. In this related Commentary, the authors cite their lack of success with isolated initiatives to address the problem of organizational silence in their own institution.

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