Applying the Modified Five-Item Frailty Index to Predict Complications following Lower Extremity Free Flap Reconstruction in Trauma Patients.

Background:  Free flap reconstruction in the setting of lower extremity trauma continues to be a challenging clinical problem fraught with a high risk of complications including flap compromise. Although studies have described certain risk factors that predispose these patients to poor outcomes, there remains a paucity of literature detailing frailty as a risk factor. As such, the aim of our study was to examine the application of the 5-item modified frailty index (mFI-5) in trauma patients undergoing lower extremity free flap reconstruction.

An Op-Ed Writing Curriculum for Medical Students to Engage in Advocacy Through Public Writing.

Background: Op-ed writing can be a powerful and accessible advocacy tool for physicians, but training is lacking in undergraduate medical education.

Aim: To train and engage first-year medical students in op-ed writing.

Setting: Midwestern research-intensive medical school.

US Medical-Legal Partnerships to Address Health-Harming Legal Needs: Closing the Health Injustice Gap.

The medical-legal partnership (MLP) model is emerging across the USA as a powerful tool to address the adverse social conditions underlying health injustice. MLPs embed legal experts into healthcare teams to address health-harming legal needs with civil legal remedies. We conducted a narrative review of peer-reviewed articles published between 2007 and 2022 to characterize the structure and impacts of US MLPs on patients, providers, and healthcare systems.

Restoring Trust in Science and Medicine: Empowering and Educating Future Physicians in Science Communication With the Public.

While the traditional medical school curriculum specializes in teaching doctor-patient communication at the individual patient level, the need to train physicians to communicate science and medicine effectively to the public at large is, for the most part, ignored. With the unchecked proliferation of misinformation and disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that current and future medical professionals learn to engage in the public arena using multiple methods (written, oral, social media) across multimedia platforms to dispel misinformation and accurately educate the public. This article describes the authors' interdisciplinary approach at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine to teaching science communication to medical students, early experiences, and future directions in this vein.

Cranium growth, patterning and homeostasis.

Craniofacial development requires precise spatiotemporal regulation of multiple signaling pathways that crosstalk to coordinate the growth and patterning of the skull with surrounding tissues. Recent insights into these signaling pathways and previously uncharacterized progenitor cell populations have refined our understanding of skull patterning, bone mineralization and tissue homeostasis. Here, we touch upon classical studies and recent advances with an emphasis on developmental and signaling mechanisms that regulate the osteoblast lineage for the calvaria, which forms the roof of the skull.