Publications by authors named "Maroun Matta"

To examine an underreported and underdiagnosed phenomenon with implications for the pathophysiological mechanisms of tattoo-induced uveitis. Two cases highlighting the clinical presentation of tattoo-related uveitis were evaluated. A 28-year-old man with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis and ocular manifestations presented with worsening retinal vasculitis after acquiring a red-ink tattoo.

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Background: Because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, fellowship interviews for pulmonary disease and critical care medicine (PCCM) switched from an in-person to virtual interview format.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the changes that resulted from this switch (appointment year 2021 and beyond) for both the individual applicants and the match process as a whole.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used longitudinal data from the Electronic Residency Application Service and the National Resident Matching Program from appointment years 2017 to 2022.

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Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic brought the virtual interview (VI) format to graduate medical education (GME) and the trainee recruitment process. It is unclear if applicants' VI experience is consistent across all demographic groups. Our group collected 2 years of survey data to assess longitudinal changes in applicants' attitudes towards the VI format.

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Background: Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) is frequently used during diagnostic procedures in patients with or suspected to have lung cancer. There is variation in ROSE use among bronchoscopists, and discussion of ROSE results can have significant consequences for patients. This study was performed to define ROSE practice and result disclosure patterns among bronchoscopists.

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Lung transplant patients often suffer from posttransplant airway pathologies that require placement of endobronchial stents. In addition to surveillance bronchoscopy, patients often undergo radiographic stent evaluations. Chest x-rays are extremely limited in their ability to diagnose stent complications, so many patients require chest computed tomography (CT) scans for stent evaluation.

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Current human donor care protocols following death by neurologic criteria (DNC) can stabilize macro-hemodynamic parameters but have minimal ability to preserve systemic blood flow and microvascular oxygen delivery. S-nitrosylated hemoglobin (SNO-Hb) within red blood cells (RBCs) is the main regulator of tissue oxygenation (StO). Based on various pre-clinical studies, we hypothesized that brain death (BD) would decrease post-mortem SNO-Hb levels to negatively-impact StO and reduce organ yields.

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Objective: A paucity of data exists on the role of the interview day in programs and applicants' final rank list. The objective of our study was to investigate the impact interview day has on our programs and our interviewees' final rank list.

Methods: For the 2020 appointment year, our program used an Electronic Residency Application System Application Scoring Tool and Interview Scoring Tool to generate the preliminary rank list for our pulmonary and critical care fellowship applicants.

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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic brought profound change to the medical education system, and residency and fellowship recruitment was not spared. Many of the activities required for recruitment of new fellows (e.g.

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Background: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is the preferred diagnostic modality for sampling mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes (LNs). The conventional needle used for sampling is either a 21-gauge (21G) or 22-gauge (22G). A 25-gauge (25G) needle has recently been introduced with little known regarding its efficacy.

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