Pharmacist-led Transitions of Care: A Cohort Study on Admission Medication History Factors and Adjustments to the Discharge Medication List.

Patients are at risk of experiencing medication errors during each transition of care (TOC), which can result in adverse drug events and readmissions. Implementing a pharmacist-led TOC service can optimize medication safety and patient outcomes by identifying and correcting medication discrepancies prior to hospital discharge. A pharmacist-led TOC service at a tertiary care center expanded services to review medications at discharge for all enrolled hospitalized patients, but data collection and review had yet to be performed.

Erosion of the temporal bone by vestibular schwannoma: morphometrics and predictive modeling.

Purpose: To perform a comprehensive morphometric analysis of vestibular schwannomas (VS) using multimodal imaging, focusing on the relationship between tumor characteristics and internal acoustic canal (IAC) changes.

Methods: We analyzed a cohort of patients undergoing radiosurgery for VS, utilizing high-definition MRI and bone CT for detailed anatomical assessment. Image co-registration and fusion techniques were employed to examine VS and IAC dimensions.

Evaluation of a Pharmacist-Led COVID-19 Vaccination Program in a Hospital Setting.

A pharmacist-led COVID-19 vaccination screening and administration tool was implemented at a tertiary care hospital in the Upper Midwest, allowing pharmacists to determine if an inpatient is a candidate for the COVID-19 vaccination. The purpose of this observational study was to examine the feasibility of a pharmacist-led, COVID-19 vaccination administration workflow to the inpatient population in a tertiary care hospital. This observational study was conducted at an Upper-Midwest facility and includes a study population of adult patients admitted to the hospital between 10/1/2021 - 1/1/2022.

Impact of Pharmacist-Led Education on Proper Prophylactic Enoxaparin Dosing in Obese Patients.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common cardiovascular complication in middle-aged adults. There is a likelihood a patient may experience VTE when admitted to a hospital. Prophylactic medications such as low-dose unfractionated heparin and enoxaparin are started to prevent VTE.

Outcomes of same-day discharge following percutaneous coronary intervention in a rural population.

Background: Same-day discharge (SDD) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is safe, yet the nationwide rate of SDD remains low. The impact that residing in a rural area has on the safety of SDD is unknown.

Objective: To investigate the safety of SDD compared to next-day discharge (NDD) among PCI patients living in a largely rural area.

Bridging Community Mental Health and Primary Care to Improve Medication Monitoring and Outcomes for Patients With Mental Illness Taking Second-Generation Antipsychotics-Phase 2: Quality Improvement Initiative Over 15 Months.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a quality improvement (QI) initiative to improve family medicine residents' metabolic monitoring of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) for patients comanaged across nonintegrated community mental health and family medicine clinics. Patients were aged ≥ 18 years seen by family medicine residents and prescribed at least 1 SGA (N = 175). Preparative and scheduled QI interventions were nonblinded and included collaboration across organizations, education, and monthly interprofessional care conferences.

MRI Changes in Failed Radiosurgery for Vestibular Schwannomas.

Introduction: Radiosurgery is now a recognized treatment of vestibular schwannoma (VS); however, radiosurgical irradiation sometimes fails to stop tumor growth in the long term. Some changes in MR imaging after radiosurgery that are supposed to be related to permanent tumor control may be observed in patients with failed treatment. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the MRI changes observed early after radiosurgery in a cohort of patients with failed radiosurgery for VS.

Epidemiology of traumatic brain injuries at a rural-serving Level II trauma center, 2004 - 2016.

Objective: To describe the epidemiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and quantify rural and urban differences.

Methods: Patient characteristics, injury characteristics, imaging, and outcomes were extracted from the trauma registry of the level II trauma center at Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center, Duluth, MN, for patients admitted for a TBI from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2016.

Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Early Mobility Protocol in a Regional Level II Trauma Center.

The purpose of this project was to develop and evaluate a collaborative nursing/therapist protocol for early mobility in a medical-surgical intensive care unit (MICU) in a regional level II trauma center. Data for patients in the MICU were compared for the periods August 3, 2015-August 2, 2016, and August 3, 2014-August 2, 2015. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 nurses and 1 therapist.

Feasibility of preemptive pharmacogenetic testing in colorectal cancer patients within a community oncology setting.

Introduction: Pharmacogenetics, in hand with precision medicine in oncology, represents an opportunity to holistically tailor a patient's treatment regimen using both somatic and germline variants to improve efficacy and decrease toxicity. Colorectal cancer patients represent a population with frequent use of fluoropyrimidine and irinotecan and are an ideal opportunity for implementation of preemptive pharmacogenetics as evidence supports pharmacogenetic testing for and to reduce fluoropyrimidine and irinotecan toxicities.

Methods: This was a single arm proof-of-concept study at a large community-based health system.

Predictive utility of the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care '6-Clicks' short forms on discharge disposition and effect on readmissions: a retrospective observational cohort study.

Objectives: To evaluate the predictive utility of the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care '6-Clicks' daily activity and basic mobility functional assessment short forms on inpatient discharge to home compared with skilled nursing facilities, including by diagnostic group (trauma injury, major lower joint replacement/reattachment, spinal fusion excluding cervical), as well as assess the effect of the short forms on 30-day inpatient readmissions.

Design: Retrospective, observational cohort study of electronic health record data.

Setting: Five hospitals in a multistate, integrated healthcare system serving a large, rural US population.

Epidemiology, Management, and Outcomes of Accidental Hypothermia: A Multicenter Study of Regional Care.

Background: Hypothermia is an uncommon, potentially life-threatening condition. We hypothesized (1) advanced rewarming techniques were more frequent with increased hypothermia severity, (2) active rewarming is increasingly performed with smaller intravascular catheters and decreased cardiopulmonary bypass, and (3) mortality was associated with age, hypothermia severity, and type.

Methods: Trauma patients with temperatures <35°C at 4 ACS-verified trauma centers in Wisconsin and Minnesota from 2006 to 2016 were reviewed.

Prevalence, Clinical Factors, and Outcomes Associated With Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Artery.

Background: Myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) is an underrecognized clinical problem in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome. Various clinical disorders lead to MINOCA thus making treatment and diagnosis a challenge. We aimed to compare the clinical factors and outcomes of patients with MINOCA versus obstructive disease [myocardial infarction due to coronary artery disease (MI-CAD)] in a largely rural health system.

Blunt traumatic brachial plexus injuries in a northern rural US setting: increased likelihood in unshielded motor-powered crashes.

Background: Blunt traumatic brachial plexus injuries (BTBPI) are severe peripheral nerve injuries which present in a small portion of trauma patients but can result in long-term neurological disability and severe chronic pain.

Objective: The goal of this study was to describe the epidemiology of BTBPI in a northern rural setting caused by motor-powered collisions, and to determine the relative risk of these injuries in shielded (cars, trucks, vans, and so on) and unshielded vehicles (snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles).

Methods: This retrospective study describes the epidemiology of BTBPI caused by motor-powered collisions and treated at two level II trauma centers in northeast Minnesota and determines the relative risk of these injuries in shielded (cars, trucks, vans, and so on) and unshielded vehicles (snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles).

Detection of EGFR Mutations in cfDNA and CTCs, and Comparison to Tumor Tissue in Non-Small-Cell-Lung-Cancer (NSCLC) Patients.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapies, based on the evaluation of mutations, have shown dramatic clinical benefits. mutation assays are mainly performed on tumor biopsies, which carry risks, are not always successful and give results relevant to the timepoint of the assay.

Chest Pain Severity Rating Is a Poor Predictive Tool in the Diagnosis of ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Current ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) guidelines require persistent electrocardiogram ST-segment elevation, cardiac enzyme changes, and symptoms of myocardial ischemia. Chest pain is the determinant symptom, often measured using an 11-point scale (0-10). Greater severity of chest pain is presumed to be associated with a stronger likelihood of a true positive STEMI diagnosis.

Mathematical Analysis of Melanocyte Patterns on .

The study of zebrafish skin pattern development could lead to a better understanding of how these patterns are generated and how they evolved. To compare and contrast wild-type (WT) striped and mutant spotted patterns, photographs were taken of the developing fish. Initial observations led to the hypothesis that the black melanocyte spots in mutants were not randomly distributed, but rather were located in "dashed" stripes.

Investigating circulating tumor cells and distant metastases in patient-derived orthotopic xenograft models of triple-negative breast cancer.

Background: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) represent a temporal "snapshot" of a patient's cancer and changes that occur during disease evolution. There is an extensive literature studying CTCs in breast cancer patients, and particularly in those with metastatic disease. In parallel, there is an increasing use of patient-derived models in preclinical investigations of human cancers.

Bridging Community Mental Health and Primary Care to Improve Medication Monitoring and Outcomes for Patients With Mental Illness Taking Second-Generation Antipsychotics-HDC/DFMC Bridge Project, Phase 1: Group Concept Mapping.

Objective: Patients with severe mental illness often lack care coordination between primary care and mental health providers. Siloed patient care across separate health care systems can negatively impact quality and safety of patient care. The purpose of the project discussed in this article is to effectively engage stakeholders from separate primary care and mental health organizations to develop an ideal cross-organization communication system to improve metabolic monitoring for their comanaged patients prescribed second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs).

VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System for Fully-Automated and Label-Free Isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells with Automated Enumeration by BioView Platform.

Clinicians continue to rely on invasive tissue biopsies as a mean to assess a patient's disease and prescribe appropriate treatment regimens. Biopsies not only are risky and expensive but also limit the understanding of disease. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be isolated from a simple blood draw and offer a promising potential to both diagnose and monitor cancer progression.

Preventing Exercise-Associated Collapse Using Online Runner Education: A Randomized, Controlled Trial.

Objective: To determine whether online exercise-associated collapse (EAC) prevention education decreases medical tent EAC visits among first-time marathoners.

Design: A prospective controlled study, with age- and sex-stratified randomization, evaluated rates of medical tent diagnosed EAC among runners randomized to the intervention group and intervention participants, compared with a control group.

Setting: Grandma's Marathon Medical Tent in Duluth, MN, June 2016.

Acute skin allergy to thermoplastic mask used for patient immobilization during radiation therapy: a case report.

Background: Radiosurgical treatments of brain tumors, vascular malformations, and functional disorders are more and more frequently used. Gamma Knife irradiation with the Icon system necessitates the use of a thermoplastic mask for head immobilization during treatment. Acute cutaneous allergy to thermoplastic masks has never been reported.