Statewide evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Rhode Island.

Background: Vaccines are effective in preventing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Vaccine hesitancy defined as delay of acceptance or refusal of the vaccine is a major barrier to effective implementation.

Methods: Participants were recruited statewide through an English and Spanish social media marketing campaign conducted by a local news station during a one-month period as vaccines were becoming available in Rhode Island (from December 21, 2020 to January 22, 2021).

Mobile Mitral Valve Vegetations: Not Your Usual Endocarditis.

Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is a chronic degenerative condition that is associated with age, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and tobacco use. Mobile calcified lesions can be mistaken for endocarditis on trans-thoracic echocardiogram (TTE), creating a unique diagnostic challenge. In this case, we describe a young dialysis patient who presented with dyspnea on exertion with no obvious etiology on initial work-up.

"Was It Worth It?": A Pilot Study in Patient Perspectives on the Worthwhileness of Radiation Therapy.

Objectives: Radiation therapy is a core oncologic treatment, but literature detailing patient satisfaction post-treatment is sparse. The authors conducted a pilot study to determine whether a simple survey would be feasible to administer and could elucidate factors predictive of satisfaction with radiotherapy.

Materials And Methods: Patients with cancer receiving radiotherapy in an academic radiation oncology department from 2014 to 2015 received a 4-item radiotherapy-focused version of the "Was It Worth It?" questionnaire (r-WIWI) on the last day of treatment and at the first follow-up.

Safety and Efficacy of Accelerated Hypofractionation and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients With Varying Degrees of Hepatic Impairment.

Purpose: To report the toxicities and outcomes for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and accelerated hypofractionated radiation therapy (AHRT) in patients with Child-Pugh (CP) class A, B, or C and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score 1, 2, or 3 hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods And Materials: We retrospectively reviewed the data from 146 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had undergone SBRT (50 Gy in 5 fractions) or AHRT (45 Gy in 18 fractions). The primary endpoint was liver toxicity, defined as an increase in the CP score of ≥2 within 6 months of radiation therapy.

Evaluation of near-miss and adverse events in radiation oncology using a comprehensive causal factor taxonomy.

Purpose: Incident learning systems (ILSs) are a popular strategy for improving safety in radiation oncology (RO) clinics, but few reports focus on the causes of errors in RO. The goal of this study was to test a causal factor taxonomy developed in 2012 by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and adopted for use in the RO: Incident Learning System (RO-ILS).

Methods And Materials: Three hundred event reports were randomly selected from an institutional ILS database and Safety in Radiation Oncology (SAFRON), an international ILS.