Inter-rater Reliability of Sonographic Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter Measurements by Emergency Medicine Physicians.

Objectives: To compare the degree of agreement of sonographic optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measurements by ultrasound fellowship-trained and resident emergency medicine (EM) physicians.

Methods: Ten ultrasound fellowship-trained EM attending physicians from multiple institutions and 51 resident EM physicians at a single residency were enrolled to measure the ONSD using a computerized ruler on five separate still-frame sonograms of adult eyes that included the retrobulbar optic nerve. Descriptive and bivariate statistics for each ultrasound image were calculated to compare median ONSD measurements among groups.

Validation of a Low-cost Optic Nerve Sheath Ultrasound Phantom: An Educational Tool.

Objective: To validate an ocular phantom as a realistic educational tool utilizing and phantom optic nerve sheath (ONS) images obtained by ultrasound.

Methods: This prospective study enrolled 51 resident physicians from the Denver Health Residency in Emergency Medicine (EM) and 10 ultrasound fellowship-trained EM attending physicians. Participants performed optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) measurements on five and five phantom ocular ultrasound images and rated the realism of each image on a 5-point Likert scale.

The Impact of the 2008 Council of Emergency Residency Directors (CORD) Panel on Emergency Medicine Resident Diversity.

Background: In 2008, the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) developed a set of recruitment strategies designed to increase the number of under-represented minorities (URMs) in Emergency Medicine (EM) residency.

Objectives: We conducted a survey of United States (US) EM residency program directors to: describe the racial and ethnic composition of residents; ascertain whether each program had instituted CORD recruitment strategies; and identify program characteristics associated with recruitment of a high proportion of URM residents.

Methods: The survey was distributed to accredited, nonmilitary US EM residency programs during 2013.

Increasing Resident Diversity in an Emergency Medicine Residency Program: A Pilot Intervention With Three Principal Strategies.

Problem: Much work remains to be done to align the diversity of the health care workforce with the changing racial and ethnic backgrounds of patients, especially in the field of emergency medicine.

Approach: In academic year (AY) 2012-2013, to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) candidates who were interviewed and matched, the Denver Health Residency in Emergency Medicine program (DHREM) initiated a focused pilot intervention with three principal strategies: (1) a scholarship-based externship program, (2) a funded second-look event, and (3) increased involvement and visibility of URM faculty in the interview and recruitment process.

Outcomes: One year after implementation of the pilot intervention, the percentage of URMs among all applicants invited to interview at the DHREM doubled (7.

Improving telephone follow-up for patients discharged from the emergency department: results of a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: Reliable telephone follow-up offers physicians a timely method to notify patients of unexpected laboratory and imaging results, clarify discharge instructions, evaluate health status changes, and potentially boost patient satisfaction. This study sought to determine if verifying telephone numbers, obtaining best contact times, and informing patients that they will be contacted would increase the proportion of emergency department (ED) patients contacted at 48 to 72 hours postdischarge. Secondary outcomes included estimating successful postdischarge follow-up across demographic categories.

Body mass index and prostate cancer severity: do obese men harbor more aggressive disease on prostate biopsy?

Objective: To examine the association of obesity with the prebiopsy prostate-specific antigen (PSA), Gleason score, clinical stage, and D'Amico tumor risk in 2 independent cohorts of men with prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of men with biopsy-proven prostate cancer from California's Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer program and from a random sample of men treated at the University of Michigan. We performed multivariate analyses to examine the relationship of body mass index (BMI) with the prebiopsy PSA level, Gleason score, clinical stage, and D'Amico tumor risk, while controlling for demographics.

Response to valganciclovir in chronic fatigue syndrome patients with human herpesvirus 6 and Epstein-Barr virus IgG antibody titers.

Valganciclovir has been reported to improve physical and cognitive symptoms in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) with elevated human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) IgG antibody titers. This study investigated whether antibody titers against HHV-6 and EBV were associated with clinical response to valganciclovir in a subset of CFS patients. An uncontrolled, unblinded retrospective chart review was performed on 61 CFS patients treated with 900 mg valganciclovir daily (55 of whom took an induction dose of 1,800 mg daily for the first 3 weeks).