Assessing and optimizing readability of dermatology patient education materials (PEMs).

Patient education materials (PEMs) are a powerful tool to improve patient understanding; however, inadequate health literacy is a well-established barrier for PEMs to serve their purpose. The average American reads at an 8th grade level and the National Institute of Health (NIH) recommendation for PEMs is at the 6th grade level. The purpose of this study was to assess and optimize PEMs to identify changes that are most effective at lowering the reading level without diluting its educational content.

Transient Cortical Blindness in a Toddler With Heterozygous Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency.

Ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency is an incredibly rare disease in the subgroup of urea cycle disorders. Although typically seen in the neonate shortly after initiating high protein feeds (human breastmilk or infant formula), patients with partial/heterozygous deficiencies can often be diagnosed later in life with unique sequelae. One such manifestation is sudden, transient vision loss shortly after an initial episode of hyperammonemia in a patient without a known diagnosis of OTC deficiency.

Cost-effective Analysis of Subcutaneous vs Sublingual Immunotherapy From the Payor's Perspective.

Objective: Compare the cost-effectiveness of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) and aqueous sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) as treatment modalities for adult patients with allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis who undergo testing and qualify for allergen immunotherapy (AIT).

Methods: A systematic review was performed to identify key statistics for analysis, including the compliance and efficacy rates for each treatment. The body of literature on this topic is highly heterogeneous, so ranges were obtained and assumptions stated clearly where they were made.