Publications by authors named "Marc Berg"

Background: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Tanzania, the competency of healthcare providers critically influences the quality of pediatric care. To address this issue, we introduced Pediatric Acute Care Education (PACE), an adaptive learning program to enhance provider competency in Tanzania's guidelines for managing seriously ill children. Adaptive learning is a promising alternative to current in-service education, yet optimal implementation strategies in LMIC settings are unknown.

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Introduction: The main obstacle in treating cancer patients is drug resistance. Lenvatinib treatment poses challenges due to loss of response and the common dose-limiting adverse events (AEs). The Constrained-disorder-principle (CDP)-based second-generation artificial intelligence (AI) systems introduce variability into treatment regimens and offer a potential strategy for enhancing treatment efficacy.

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Gaucher Disease type 1 (GD1) is a recessively inherited lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency in the enzyme β-glucocerebrosidase. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has become the standard of care for patients with GD. However, over 10% of patients experience an incomplete response or partial loss of response to ERT, necessitating the exploration of alternative approaches to enhance treatment outcomes.

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Background: In low- and -middle-income countries (LMICs) like Tanzania, the competency of healthcare providers critically influences the quality of pediatric care. To address this, we introduced PACE (Pediatric Acute Care Education), an adaptive e-learning program tailored to enhance provider competency in line with Tanzania's national guidelines for managing seriously ill children. Adaptive e-learning presents a promising alternative to traditional in-service education, yet optimal strategies for its implementation in LMIC settings remain to be fully elucidated.

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Background: Annually 15,200 children suffer an in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in the US. Ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VF/pVT) is the initial rhythm in 10-15% of these arrests. We sought to evaluate the association of number of shocks and early dose escalation with survival for initial VF/pVT in pediatric IHCA.

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Article Synopsis
  • Study Objective
  • : The study aimed to improve Tanzanian healthcare providers' knowledge of newborn care through an adaptive e-learning platform (aESNC) while evaluating its implementation success and assessing baseline provider knowledge.
  • Methodology
  • : Conducted over 6 months in Mwanza, Tanzania, the observational study measured the reach and effectiveness of aESNC using specific frameworks and models, while also examining factors influencing providers' completion of training.
  • Results
  • : The aESNC reached 85% of targeted providers, with a median clinical experience of 4 years. Providers showed 78% completion of initial learning, but 67% experienced inactivity. Higher baseline understanding and nursing officers were linked to better training completion.
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Article Synopsis
  • - The study assessed the link between chest compression interruption (CCI) patterns and outcomes for pediatric patients undergoing extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) in a children's hospital from 2013 to 2021.
  • - Results showed that of 41 ECPR cases, 37% survived to hospital discharge, with survival linked to shorter and less variable CCI durations during the procedure; specifically, longer CCI durations worsened survival odds.
  • - Ultimately, the findings suggest that minimizing both the duration and variability of CCI during ECPR can improve survival rates among children experiencing severe cardiac arrest.
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  • Rapid response teams (RRTs) help reduce heart problems in hospitals, but their use during surgeries was low.
  • A project aimed to get more staff to use a similar help system called "staff assists" (SAs) instead of waiting for emergencies (code blues).
  • After training and simulations, the use of SAs increased significantly, showing that the project was successful in improving patient care.
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Globally, inadequate healthcare provider (HCP) proficiency with evidence-based guidelines contributes to millions of newborn, infant, and child deaths each year. HCP guideline proficiency would improve patient outcomes. Conventional (in person) HCP in-service education is limited in 4 ways: reach, scalability, adaptability, and the ability to contextualize.

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Introduction: To improve healthcare provider knowledge of Tanzanian newborn care guidelines, we developed adaptive Essential and Sick Newborn Care (aESNC), an adaptive e-learning environment (AEE). The objectives of this study were to 1) assess implementation success with use of in-person support and nudging strategy and 2) describe baseline provider knowledge and metacognition.

Methods: 6-month observational study at 1 zonal hospital and 3 health centers in Mwanza, Tanzania.

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Objectives: To describe the quality of pediatric resuscitative care in general emergency departments (GEDs) and to determine hospital-level factors associated with higher quality.

Methods: Prospective observational study of resuscitative care provided to 3 in situ simulated patients (infant seizure, infant sepsis, and child cardiac arrest) by interprofessional GED teams. A composite quality score (CQS) was measured and the association of this score with modifiable and nonmodifiable hospital-level factors was explored.

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The reuse of construction components is considered as a higher value process in a Circular Economy (CE) than recycling. However, this is not yet widely adopted as many barriers still prevent the successful integration of the concept. The ISO20887 standard advocates that the implementation of construction standards will benefit circular reuse.

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Introduction: Diuretics are a mainstay therapy for congestive heart failure (CHF); however, over one-third of patients develop diuretic resistance. Second-generation artificial intelligence (AI) systems introduce variability into treatment regimens to overcome the compensatory mechanisms underlying the loss of effectiveness of diuretics. This open-labeled, proof-of-concept clinical trial sought to investigate the ability to improve diuretic resistance by implementing algorithm-controlled therapeutic regimens.

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The plateau effect in training is a significant obstacle for professional athletes and average subjects. It evolves from both the muscle-nerve-axis-associated performance and various cardiorespiratory parameters. Compensatory adaptation mechanisms contribute to a lack of continuous improvement with most exercise regimens.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is a respiratory illness associated with high mortality, has been classified as a pandemic. The major obstacles for the clinicians to contain the disease are limited information availability, difficulty in disease diagnosis, predicting disease prognosis, and lack of disease monitoring tools. Additionally, the lack of valid therapies has further contributed to the difficulties in containing the pandemic.

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Respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection require life-saving procedures that aerosolize virus and increase risk of transmission. To educate faculty, trainees, and staff on safe practices, a video with embedded questions was created demonstrating intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in pediatric SARS-CoV-2+ patients. Just-in-time in situ simulations of these scenarios were also carried out while adhering to isolation and social distancing protocols.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the current infrastructure and practice characteristics of pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) programs. A 40-question survey of center-specific demographics, practice structure, program experience, and support network utilized to cannulate and maintain a pediatric patient on ECMO was designed via a web-based survey tool. The survey was distributed to pediatric ECMO programs in the United States and Canada.

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Objective: To describe the impact of a national interventional collaborative on pediatric readiness within general emergency departments (EDs).

Study Design: A prospective, multicenter, interventional study measured pediatric readiness in general EDs before and after participation in a pediatric readiness improvement intervention. Pediatric readiness was assessed using the weighted pediatric readiness score (WPRS) on a 100-point scale.

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Article Synopsis
  • The AHA recommends a first defibrillation energy dose of 2 J/kg for kids in cardiac arrest with VF or pVT, but it's unclear if this is the best dose.
  • A study used a database to examine children under 12 with these heart issues, finding those who received energy doses other than 1.7-2.5 J/kg had lower survival rates.
  • Results indicate that doses over 2.5 J/kg worsen survival rates, supporting the AHA's current guideline of starting with 2 J/kg for pediatric patients.
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Unlabelled: Pediatric patients in intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) settings are at high risk for morbidity should an adverse event occur. We describe an experience in the iMRI scanner where no harm occurred, yet revealed an opportunity to improve the safety of patients utilizing the iMRI. The perioperative quality improvement team, resuscitation team, and radiology nurse leadership collaborated to understand the process better through in situ simulation.

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This 2019 focused update to the American Heart Association pediatric basic life support guidelines follows the 2019 systematic review of the effects of dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DA-CPR) on survival of infants and children with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. This systematic review and the primary studies identified were analyzed by the Pediatric Task Force of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. It aligns with the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation's continuous evidence review process, with updates published when the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation completes a literature review based on new published evidence.

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This 2019 focused update to the American Heart Association pediatric advanced life support guidelines follows the 2018 and 2019 systematic reviews performed by the Pediatric Life Support Task Force of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. It aligns with the continuous evidence review process of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, with updates published when the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation completes a literature review based on new published evidence. This update provides the evidence review and treatment recommendations for advanced airway management in pediatric cardiac arrest, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in pediatric cardiac arrest, and pediatric targeted temperature management during post-cardiac arrest care.

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This 2019 focused update to the American Heart Association pediatric advanced life support guidelines follows the 2018 and 2019 systematic reviews performed by the Pediatric Life Support Task Force of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. It aligns with the continuous evidence review process of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, with updates published when the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation completes a literature review based on new published evidence. This update provides the evidence review and treatment recommendations for advanced airway management in pediatric cardiac arrest, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in pediatric cardiac arrest, and pediatric targeted temperature management during post-cardiac arrest care.

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