218 results match your criteria: "Berkshire Medical Center[Affiliation]"

Alzheimer's disease is a prevalent form of dementia, particularly among the elderly population. It is characterized by progressive cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. Despite numerous studies, the exact cause of Alzheimer's disease remains uncertain, and various theories have been proposed, including Aβ amyloid deposition in the brain and tau protein hyper-phosphorylation.

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Bacteria inhabiting the digestive tract are responsible for our health. The microbiome is essential for the development of the immune system and homeostasis of the body. Maintaining homeostasis is very important, but also extremely complicated.

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Pulsed Dye Laser for Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma.

Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open

March 2023

Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Massachusetts, Berkshire Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery Center, Pittsfield, Mass.

Unlabelled: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignancy worldwide. The incidence of BCC is increasing up to 10% per year worldwide. Surgical excision and Mohs surgery are the gold standard treatment modalities.

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A Review of Left Ventricular Non-compaction Cardiomyopathy (LVNC).

J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect

November 2022

Department of Medicine, Monmouth Medical Center, an affiliate of RWJ/Barnabas Health System, 300 2nd Avenue Long Branch, New Jersey, 07740, USA.

Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a rare congenital phenotype defined by the presence of prominent left ventricular trabeculae, deep intertrabecular recesses (continuous with the ventricular cavity), and a thin compacted layer. The most common presentation of LVNC is dyspnea (60%), followed by palpitations (18%), chest pain (15%), syncope (9%), and prior stroke (3%). LVNC presenting with acute myocardial infarction (MI) has rarely been reported in the literature.

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Update on the Financial Well-Being of Surgical Residents in New England.

J Am Coll Surg

May 2023

From the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, New Haven, CT (Esposito, Coppersmith, White, Papageorge, Oliveira, Longo, Yoo).

Background: Poor personal financial health has been linked to key components of health including burnout, substance abuse, and worsening personal relationships. Understanding the state of resident financial health is key to improving their overall well-being.

Study Design: A secondary analysis of a survey of New England general surgery residents was performed to understand their financial well-being.

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Background: The 2021 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) rheumatoid arthritis (RA) guideline considers the specific context of the United States which differs from that of Saudi Arabia in many aspects that may impact recommendations. The objective of this project was to adapt a set of prioritized recommendations from the 2021 ACR guideline for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis RA for the context of Saudi Arabia, by the Saudi Society for Rheumatology (SSR).

Methods: The process followed the GRADE-ADOLOPMENT methodology, and the reporting adhered to the RIGHT-Ad@pt checklist.

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Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the careers of trainees and early career investigators (ECIs). We sought to assess how the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Rheumatology Research Foundation (RRF) can address the needs of those pursuing research careers.

Methods: The Committee on Research created a survey to assess the impact of COVID-19 and identify topics for the ACR and the RRF to address.

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What the American Journal of Critical Care Junior Peer Reviewers Were Reading During Year 2 of the Program.

Am J Crit Care

September 2022

Aluko A. Hope is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland.

The American Journal of Critical Care's Junior Peer Reviewer program aims to mentor novice reviewers in the peer review process. To grow their critical appraisal skills, the participants take part in discussion sessions in which they review articles published in other journals. Here we summarize the articles reviewed during the second year of the program, which again focused on the care of critically ill patients with COVID-19.

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Measurement of symphysis fundal height for gestational age estimation in low-to-middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PLoS One

August 2022

Global Advancement of Infants and Mothers (AIM) Lab, Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States of America.

In low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), measurement of symphysis fundal height (SFH) is often the only available method of estimating gestational age (GA) in pregnancy. This systematic review aims to summarize methods of SFH measurement and assess the accuracy of SFH for the purpose of GA estimation. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science, POPLINE, and WHO Global Health Libraries from January 1980 through November 2021.

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Opioid tapering support using a web-based app: Development and protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Contemp Clin Trials

August 2022

Pain Research Informatics Multimorbidities and Education (PRIME) Center, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, United States of America; Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America.

Background: Given limited efficacy and potential harms of long-term opioid therapy, it is patient-centered and guideline-concordant to offer patients the opportunity to engage in a supportive, patient-centered tapering program. The goal of this study was to develop and pilot an interactive web-based program designed to support patients willing to consider an opioid taper; this manuscript describes the development and the protocol for a pilot randomized trial of Summit.

Methods: We used intervention mapping to develop the Summit program; during the development period we engaged multiple stakeholder groups and conducted usability testing to refine the interactive, theory-informed, multi-component mobile website program which includes education, video testimonials, self-management skills, and access to a peer specialist.

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Despite the lack of direct evidence that hypertension increases the likelihood of new infections, hypertension is known to be the most common comorbid condition in COVID-19 patients and also a major risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection. The literature review suggests that data is heterogeneous in terms of the association of hypertension with mortality. Hence, it remains a topic of interest whether hypertension is associated with COVID-19 disease severity and mortality.

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The Junior Peer Reviewer program of the American Journal of Critical Care provides mentorship in the peer review process to novice reviewers. The program includes discussion sessions in which participants review articles published in other journals to practice and improve their critical appraisal skills. The articles reviewed during the first year of the program focused on caring for patients with COVID-19.

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Background: Acute submassive a massive pulmonary embolism are known as leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in emergency departments. Choosing the optimal type of catheter directed thrombolysis (CDT) for treatment of pulmonary embolism presents a quandary to the practitioners. To the best of our knowledge, there is no meta-analysis comparing superiority of conventional CDT and ultrasound-accelerated catheter directed thrombolysis (USACDT).

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Purpose: We aimed to explore possible contributors to discrepancies between randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and real-world observational studies (OS) in cardiovascular benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients.

Methods: We searched PubMed and EMBASE to identify meta-analyses of RCTs and OS on cardiovascular effects of SGLT2 inhibitors in T2D patients. Cardiovascular outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, cardiovascular mortality (CVM), all-cause mortality (ACM), hospitalization for heart failure (HHF), and atrial fibrillation (AF).

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Objective: Despite proven benefits, less than half of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are treated using a treat-to-target (TTT) strategy. Our objective was to identify critical discrepancies between rheumatologist and patient mental models related to the treatment of RA to inform interventions designed to increase implementation of TTT.

Methods: We developed rheumatologist and patient mental models using the Mental Models Approach to Risk Communication.

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Contemporary trends in the incidence of spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) - ethnic and household income disparities.

Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther

June 2022

The Department of Medicine, Section of Cardiology, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, USA.

Objectives: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) may contribute to 35% of acute coronary syndrome among women ≤50 years of age. We aimed to investigate the overall incidence, as well as the trends of SCAD incidence based on race, household income, and the U.S.

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Update on the Personal and Professional Well-Being of Surgical Residents in New England.

J Am Coll Surg

September 2022

From the Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (Esposito, Coppersmith, White, Papageorge, Oliveira, Longo, Yoo).

Background: Surgical culture has shifted to recognize the importance of resident well-being. This is the first study to longitudinally track regional surgical resident well-being over 5 years.

Study Design: An anonymous cross-sectional, multi-institutional survey of New England general surgery residents using novel and published instruments to create three domains: health maintenance, burnout, and work environment.

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In the spring of 2020, COVID-19 spread rapidly through a long-term care facility in Massachusetts. 74 (of 134 total) residents tested positive, with 72 testing positive in the first three weeks of the outbreak. Fatigue, anorexia, myalgia, and confusion were the most common symptoms.

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Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of death among people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with an estimated increased risk of 50-60% compared to the general population. Lipid-lowering strategies have been shown to lower CVD risk significantly in people with RA and hyperlipidemia. Thus, CVD risk assessment has an important role to play in reducing CVD among people with RA.

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Purpose: To identify preferred burnout interventions within a resident physician population, utilizing the Nominal Group Technique. The results will be used to design a discrete choice experiment study to inform the development of resident burnout prevention programs.

Methods: Three resident focus groups met (10-14 participants/group) to prioritize a list of 23 factors for burnout prevention programs.

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Venous access is needed for implantation of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) with endocardial leads. Extrathoracic venous access in the prepectoral region has become the standard of care for CIED implantation because of lower risks for pneumothorax and likely less lead malfunction due to subclavian crush syndrome. The most common extrathoracic venous access sites in the pectoral region are extrathoracic subclavian vein access, axillary vein access, and cephalic vein access.

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Article Synopsis
  • Since the 1990s, guidelines have urged hospitals to develop and monitor protocols for treating STEMI (a serious type of heart attack), but a 2003 survey showed many Minnesota hospitals lacked effective protocols and quality assessments.
  • A follow-up study found significant improvements from 2003 to 2010, with 89% of hospitals now having formal STEMI protocols, and the percentage transferring STEMI patients to specialized care increased from 23% to 56%.
  • The improvements in STEMI management coincided with a 33% decrease in heart attack mortality rates in Minnesota, particularly in areas with regional STEMI systems, highlighting the effectiveness of these care strategies.
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Introduction: Recent studies have suggested that point-of-care ultrasonography can be used for confirming the placement of endotracheal tube. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonography for confirming endotracheal tube placement.

Methods: In this meta-analysis, systematic search of the previous published papers investigating the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for confirmation of endotracheal tube placement was performed.

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Background And Objectives: Previous studies have investigated the correlation between diabetes and HPV vaccination; however, there is little evidence about the association between viral infection and diabetes. This study aims to investigate the association between diabetes and human papillomavirus infection.

Methods: Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015-2016), records of 571 diabetic and 4,170 non-diabetic patients were extracted.

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