Weight Bias: Examining Achalasia Therapy in the Obese Patient.

We hypothesize that obesity is a common diagnosis in those with achalasia at our institution but time to diagnosis and treatment is longer compared to normal weight counterparts due to implicit bias. We retrospectively reviewed all adult patients between 1/1/2013 and 6/31/2020 with a diagnosis of achalasia. Demographics, comorbidities, Eckardt scores, interventions, complications, time to consult, duration of symptoms, and follow-up were evaluated.

Elevations in inflammatory cytokines are associated with poor outcomes in mechanically ventilated burn patients.

Background: The treatment of burn patients who undergo mechanical ventilation is complicated by many factors; patient outcomes and mortality could potentially be improved with predictive biomarkers. Severe burn provokes a systemic inflammatory response characterized by the release of a host of cytokines. Recent studies evaluated the prognostic value of temporal changes in cytokine levels in several patient populations, but few have compared differences in the cytokine profiles of survivors and nonsurvivors following severe burn.

A Survey of Mechanical Ventilator Practices Across Burn Centers in North America.

Burn injury introduces unique clinical challenges that make it difficult to extrapolate mechanical ventilator (MV) practices designed for the management of general critical care patients to the burn population. We hypothesize that no consensus exists among North American burn centers with regard to optimal ventilator practices. The purpose of this study is to examine various MV practice patterns in the burn population and to identify potential opportunities for future research.