Publications by authors named "Thomas Savides"

Introduction: Addressing physician burnout is critical for healthcare systems. As electronic health record (EHR) workload and teamwork have been identified as major contributing factors to physician well-being, we aimed to mitigate burnout through EHR-based interventions and a compassion team practice (CTP), targeting EHR workload and team cohesion.

Methods: A modified stepped wedge-clustered randomized trial was conducted, involving specialties with heavy InBasket workloads.

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The endoscopic evaluation and management of small intestinal diseases continue to evolve and expand. The advent of small bowel wireless capsule endoscopy and deep enteroscopy with either a double- or single-balloon enteroscope now allows complete endoscopic visualization of the entire small intestine and enables access for endoscopic interventions such as biopsies or hemostasis for most of the small bowel. New endoscopic techniques are available to treat proximal malignant small bowel obstruction, including intraluminal stents and endoscopic gastrojejunal stents.

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Background And Aims: Risk factors for pancreatic cancer among patients with pancreatic cysts are incompletely characterized. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate risk factors for development of pancreatic cancer among patients with pancreatic cysts.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study of U.

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Objective: Physicians of all specialties experienced unprecedented stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbating preexisting burnout. We examine burnout's association with perceived and actionable electronic health record (EHR) workload factors and personal, professional, and organizational characteristics with the goal of identifying levers that can be targeted to address burnout.

Materials And Methods: Survey of physicians of all specialties in an academic health center, using a standard measure of burnout, self-reported EHR work stress, and EHR-based work assessed by the number of messages regarding prescription reauthorization and use of a staff pool to triage messages.

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Background And Aim: Dedicated studies evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on outcomes of pancreatobiliary IgG4 related disease (IgG4-RD) patients are scarce. Whether COVID-19 infection or vaccination would trigger IgG4-RD exacerbation remains unknown.

Methods: Pancreatobiliary IgG4-RD patients ≥ 18 years old with active follow-up since January 2020 from nine referral centers in Asia, Europe, and North America were included in this multicenter retrospective study.

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Importance: Physician burnout is an ongoing epidemic; electronic health record (EHR) use has been associated with burnout, and the burden of EHR inbasket messages has grown in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how EHR inbasket messages are associated with physician burnout may uncover new insights for intervention strategies.

Objective: To evaluate associations between EHR inbasket message characteristics and physician burnout.

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BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 1: Forceps bite-on-bite or deep-well biopsies or tunnel biopsies can sometimes establish a pathologic diagnosis of SEL. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 2: EUS is the modality of choice to evaluate indeterminate SEL of the GI track and/or if non-diagnostic tissue by forceps biopsies. BEST PRACTICE ADVICE 3: SEL arising from the submucosa can be sampled using tunnel biopsies (or deep-well biopsies), EUS guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA), EUS guided fine-needle biopsy (FNB), or advanced endoscopic techniques (unroofing or endoscopic submucosal resection).

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Background And Aims: Nonampullary duodenal adenomas can undergo malignant transformation, making endoscopic resection, often by hot snare (HSP) or cold snare polypectomy (CSP), necessary. Although CSP has been shown to be safer for removal of colon polyps, data comparing these techniques for the resection of duodenal adenomas are limited. Our aim was to compare the safety and efficacy of CSP and HSP for the removal of nonampullary duodenal adenomas.

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Background: Treatment options for malignant bowel obstruction are limited, particularly in poor surgical candidates. Standard percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes used for venting are of small caliber, limiting success. This study examines outcomes in patients who received larger-caliber 30-Fr PEGs for treatment of malignant bowel obstruction.

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Introduction: Radiofrequency catheter ablation is a common treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF), during which thermal esophageal injury may rarely occur and lead to an atrio-esophageal fistula. Therefore, we studied the utility of the Circa S-Cath™ multi-sensor luminal esophageal temperature (LET) probe to prevent esophageal thermal injury.

Methods And Results: Thirty-six patients, enrolled prospectively, underwent circumferential or segmental pulmonary vein isolation for treatment of AF.

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Background/aim: During surgical resection of gastroesophageal-junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma, the margin status is often difficult to visualize resulting in high recurrence rates. The aim of the present study was to develop a labelling technique that would allow improved visualization of GEJ tumor margins for surgeons to reduce recurrence rates in a patient-like model.

Materials And Methods: A patient GEJ tumor was obtained from an endoscopic biopsy and implanted subcutaneously in a nude mouse.

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Background And Aims: Pancreatic cancer incidence and mortality among patients with pancreas cysts are unclear. The aims of this study are to evaluate incidence of pancreatic cancer and cause-specific mortality among patients with pancreatic cysts using a large national cohort over a long follow-up period.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of US Veterans diagnosed with a pancreatic cyst 1999-2013, based on International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition (ICD9) coding within national Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data.

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EUS-guided drainage of pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs; pancreatic pseudocyst (PPC) or walled-off necrosis (WON)) using lumen apposing metal stents (LAMSs) is now standard of care. We adopted a protocol of early LAMS removal and prospectively followed patients to determine if this protocol avoids bleeding complications. Prospective, consecutive case series of all patients with PPC and WON who underwent drainage with LAMS at a tertiary care referral center from July 2016 to November 2018.

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For decades, the mainstay of endoscopic hemostasis for a wide variety of gastrointestinal bleeding etiologies was limited to a few tools and techniques, including epinephrine injection, thermal probes, and through-the-scope hemostatic clips. Several novel approaches have recently emerged to control acute gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The concepts behind these approaches are diverse, ranging from upgrading current techniques (eg, over-the-scope clips and endoscopic ultrasound-guided treatment of gastric varices) to developing new technologies (eg, hemostatic powders) and repurposing current tools (eg, Doppler endoscopic probe).

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Constitutional (Biallelic) Mismatch Repair Deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by numerous cancers presenting as early as the first decade of life. Biallelic germline variants in one of four mismatch repair genes ( or ) cause this devastating disease. Given the rarity of the syndrome, often-asymptomatic tumors, and overlap with neurofibromatosis-1, diagnosis is frequently unrecognized or delayed.

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Nonvariceal, nonulcer upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage (UGIH) is a less common cause for acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding. However, nonvariceal, nonulcer UGIH is an important entity to identify and treat appropriately to prevent bleeding-related morbidity and mortality. Over the past 40 years, there has been a revolution in gastrointestinal endoscopy and a similar revolution in the management of UGIH.

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Aim: Over-the-scope-clip (OTSC) System is a relatively new endoluminal intervention for gastrointestinal (GI) leaks, fistulas, and bleeding. Here, we present a single center experience with the device over the course of 4 years.

Methods: Retrospective chart review was conducted for patients who received endoscopic OTSC treatment.

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Background And Significance: The increased emphasis on patient satisfaction has coincided with the growing adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) throughout the U.S. The 2001 Institute of Medicine Report, “Crossing the Quality Chasm,” identified patient-centered care as a key element of quality health care.

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Medullary carcinoma has long been recognized as a subtype of colorectal cancer associated with microsatellite instability and Lynch syndrome. Gastric medullary carcinoma is a very rare neoplasm. We report a 67-year-old male who presented with a solitary gastric mass.

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