Race-Conscious Learning and Sociocultural Competence in an Academic Surgery Program: Diversity, Equity, and All-Inclusion Program.

Introduction: Race-based associations in medicine are often taught and learned early in medical education. Students and residents enter training with implicit and explicit biases from their educational environments, further propagating biases in their practice of medicine. Health disparities described out of context can lead trainees to develop harmful stereotypes.

Non-invasive prenatal test identifies circulating cell-free DNA chromosomal abnormalities derived from clonal hematopoiesis in aggressive hematological malignancies.

Liquid biopsy is a minimally invasive diagnostic tool for identification of tumor-related mutations in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA). The aim of this study was to investigate feasibility, sensitivity, and specificity of non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) for identification of chromosomal abnormalities in cfDNA from a total of 77 consecutive patients with non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), or plasma cell dyscrasia. In this case series, half of patients had at least one alteration, more frequently in chromosome 6 (23.

Besieged in the Bronx: Lessons from an in-hospital mass casualty.

Background: An active shooter in a hospital is an emergency extraordinaire. We report a single institution's response to the largest active shooter mass casualty event in American History.

Methods: Review of notification, flow of prioritized patients, and key elements of the day's dynamic after a hospital attack by a lone gunman were commenced.

Predictive Risk Factors for Childbirth-Associated Breast Infections in the United States: A 10-Year Perspective.

Infectious mastitis is a common condition that affects up to 33% of lactating women. Several risk factors have been suggested to be strongly associated with breast abscess, nipple infection, and non-purulent mastitis associated with childbirth. In this retrospective cohort study, we gathered data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) between 2005 and 2014 and utilized data stratification and backward linear regression to analyze the predictive factors associated with patients hospitalized with breast infection after childbirth, with special consideration of risk factors affecting hospital length of stay (LOS).

Quilting Suture Technique After Mastectomy: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: There is no level 1a evidence testing quilting suture (QS) technique after mastectomy on wound outcomes. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates QS and association with surgical site occurrences as compared to conventional closure (CC) for mastectomy.

Methods: MEDLINE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched to include adult women with breast cancer undergoing mastectomy.

Robotic-assisted surgery training (RAST) program: module 1 of a three-module program. Assessment of patient cart docking skills and educational environment.

There is currently no standardized robotic surgery training program in General Surgery Residency. RAST involves three modules: ergonomics, psychomotor, and procedural. This study aimed to report the results of module 1, which assessed the responsiveness of 27 PGY (postgraduate year) 1-5 general surgery residents (GSRs) to simulated patient cart docking, and to evaluate the residents' perception of the educational environment from 2021 to 2022.

Disparate access to breast cancer screening and treatment.

Background: Barriers to breast cancer screening remain despite Medicaid expansion for preventive screening tests and implementation of patient navigation programs under the Affordable Care Act. Women from underserved communities experience disproportionately low rates of screening mammography. This study compares barriers to breast cancer screening among women at an inner-city safety-net center (City) and those at a suburban county medical center (County).

Liver transplantation does not increase morbidity or mortality in women undergoing surgery for breast cancer.

Purpose: The incidence of breast cancer following solid organ transplantation is comparable to the age-matched general population. The rate of de novo breast cancer following liver transplantation varies. Furthermore, there is limited information on the management and outcomes of breast cancer in liver transplant recipients.

Defer surgery in operable breast cancer: how long is too long?

Purpose: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate outcomes of surgery compared to primary endocrine therapy (PET) in patients with non-advanced, operable invasive breast cancer, and to determine if PET as initial therapy may safely postpone surgery.

Methods: The MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane Library were searched from database inception to July 2020 to identify eligible studies. Inclusion criteria were experimental or observational studies with at least one arm treated with PET and a second arm treated with surgery with or without PET.

Independent Predictors of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients Undergoing Reconstructive Breast Cancer Surgery.

Introduction: Breast cancer is a hypercoagulable state and predisposes patients to venous thromboembolism (VTE). We sought to determine independent risk factors for VTE post-surgical treatment for breast cancer using a national risk adjusted database.

Methods: Participant Use Data Files in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2012 to 2016 were studied.

Robotic-Assisted Surgery Training (RAST) Program: An Educational Research Protocol.

Technology has had a dramatic impact on how diseases are diagnosed and treated. Although cut, sew, and tie remain the staples of surgical craft, new technical skills are required. While there is no replacement for live operative experience, training outside the operating room offers structured educational opportunities and stress modulation.

Breast Cancer Screening in Inner City and County Populations: A Tale of Two Centers.

Background: New York's statewide "Get Screened, No Excuses" campaign has been one of the nation's most aggressive actions to improve access to breast cancer screening. Inner city and suburban county medical centers' initiatives were studied to compare outcomes of breast cancer screening and factors that influence access to care.

Methods: Women delinquent in breast cancer screening one year or greater were offered patient navigator services to aid in timely breast cancer screening.

Protocol for a Systematic Review Assessing Surgery versus Primary Endocrine Therapy in Operable Breast Cancer. Prep for Pandemic.

Introduction: In COVID-19 pandemic epicenters cancer care was severely impacted. All elective and semi-elective procedures, as well as select urgent cases, were postponed in order to preserve resources and protect patients and staff from SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Structured decision making for breast cancer treatment resulted in deferment of surgery with initiation of endocrine therapy.

Predictive Factors for Surgical Site Infections in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Breast Carcinoma.

Introduction: Operative interventions for breast cancer are generally classified as clean surgeries. Surgical site infections (SSIs), while rare, do occur. This study sought to identify risk factors for SSI, using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP).

'Design, synthesis, and strategic use of small chemical probes toward identification of novel targets for drug development'.

Chemical probes are essential tools used to study and modulate biological systems. Here, we describe some of the recent scientific advancement in the field of chemical biology, as well as how the advent of new technologies is redefining the criteria of 'good' chemical probes and influencing the discovery of valuable drug leads. In this review, we report selected examples of the usage of linkered and linker-free chemical probes for target identification, biological discovery, and general mechanistic understanding.

NSQIP Impacts Patient Experience.

National Quality Improvement Project (NSQIP) semiannual reports (SARs) revealed high observed to expected ratios for venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) on the surgical service. Press Ganey scores identified an area of particular weakness in shared decision-making in patient care. Patients reported little to no participation in shared decision-making.

Introducing a Clinical Documentation Specialist to Improve Coding and Collectability on a Surgical Service.

Introduction: Inadequate electronic medical record (EMR) documentation remains a significant source of revenue loss. The Department of Surgery in a trauma and tertiary care teaching hospital developed a revenue optimization initiative for inpatients on general, vascular, and trauma surgery and surgical intensive care unit services to enhance clinical documentation and increase revenue capture.

Methods: Clinical documentation management program included six trained clinical documentation specialists (CDSs), five physician assistants (PAs), directors of health information management (HIM), and two surgical champions.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells from the Wharton's Jelly of the Human Umbilical Cord: Biological Properties and Therapeutic Potential.

Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) are a class of stem cells with high differentiative potential, an immuno-privileged status and easy access for collection, which raise no legal or ethical issues. WJ-MSCs exhibit several features of embryonic stem cells, both in the phenotypic and genetic aspects, with only a few differences, such as a shorter doubling time and a more extensive ex vivo expansion capacity. WJ-MSCs have immunomodulatory properties, involving both innate and adaptive immune responses.

Implementing Daily Leadership Safety Huddles in a Public Hospital: Bridging the Gap.

Background: A Leadership Safety Huddle was instituted in efforts to improve communication and make safety culture a priority at our institution. The Huddle is a transparent, regularly recurring forum of clinical and administrative hospital leaders, in which safety issues and concerns are identified, shared, and swiftly addressed.

Methods: Metrics regarding huddle effectiveness in 3 areas are studied: information technology (IT) services ticket resolution time, bladder catheterization, and one-to-one inpatient monitoring.