Parental leave, childcare policies, and workplace bias for hepatology professionals: A national survey.

Background: The presence of workplace bias around child-rearing and inadequate parental leave may negatively impact childbearing decisions and sex equity in hepatology. This study aimed to understand the influence of parental leave and child-rearing on career advancement in hepatology.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of physician members of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) was distributed through email listserv in January 2021.

Population pharmacokinetics of liposomal irinotecan in patients with cancer and exposure-safety analyses in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Liposomal irinotecan is a liposomal formulation of irinotecan, which prolongs circulation of irinotecan and its active metabolite SN-38. A population pharmacokinetic (PK) model was developed based on data from seven studies (N = 440). Adequacy of the model was assessed using multiple methods, including visual predictive check.

Outcomes of Endovascular Therapy in Patients With Prestroke Mobility Impairment.

Background And Purpose: Patients with prestroke mobility impairment (PSMI) were excluded from endovascular clinical trials. There are limited data regarding safety and outcomes of endovascular thrombectomy in this population. We used a large, national data set (Get With The Guidelines–Stroke) to evaluate the safety and outcomes of endovascular thrombectomy in patients with PSMI.

Pseudoaneurysm of the Dorsalis Pedis Artery Diagnosed on Point-of-Care Ultrasound.

A 46-year-old man presented with a painless mass on his dorsal right foot one week after striking it on a door. A traumatic hematoma was suspected, and needle aspiration of the mass is considered. However, point-of-care ultrasound performed by the emergency physician identified a pseudoaneurysm of the dorsalis pedis artery, a rare condition that can occur after minor trauma or iatrogenic intervention.

Identification and Management of Progressive Enhancement After Radiation Therapy for Brain Metastases: Results from a Neurosurgical Survey.

Objective: There is a lack of consensus regarding diagnosis, timing, and method of intervention for progressive enhancement on surveillance imaging after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatment of brain metastases. We sought to characterize current practices among neurosurgeons in identifying and treating infield tumor recurrence (TR) or radiation necrosis (RN) after SRS for brain metastases.

Methods: A voluntary survey was distributed electronically to preidentified neurosurgeons.

Comparison of Patient-Reported Care Satisfaction, Quality of Warfarin Therapy, and Outcomes of Atrial Fibrillation: Findings From the ORBIT - AF Registry.

Background Patient satisfaction with therapy is an important metric of care quality and has been associated with greater medication persistence. We evaluated the association of patient satisfaction with warfarin therapy to other metrics of anticoagulation care quality and clinical outcomes among patients with atrial fibrillation ( AF ). Methods and Results Using data from the ORBIT - AF (Outcomes Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation) registry, patients were identified with AF who were taking warfarin and had completed an Anti-Clot Treatment Scale ( ACTS ) questionnaire, a validated metric of patient-reported burden and benefit of oral anticoagulation.

Systemic Antimicrobial Prophylaxis and Antimicrobial-Coated External Ventricular Drain Catheters for Preventing Ventriculostomy-Related Infections: A Meta-Analysis of 5242 Cases.

Background: External ventricular drain (EVD) placement is essential for the management of many neurocritical care patients. However, ventriculostomy-related infection (VRI) is a serious complication, and there remains no well-established protocol guiding use of perioperative or extended antibiotic prophylaxis to minimize risk of VRI.

Objective: To analyze published evidence on the efficacy of extended prophylactic antimicrobial therapy and antibiotic-coated external ventricular drains (ac-EVDs) in reducing VRI incidence.

Use of Immersive Learning and Simulation Techniques to Teach and Research Opioid Prescribing Practices.

Introduction: Unsafe opioid prescribing practices to treat acute and chronic pain continue to contribute to the opioid overdose crisis in the United States, a growing public health emergency that harms patients and their communities. Poor opioid prescribing practices stem in part from a lack of education and skills training surrounding pain and opioid management.

Methods: As part of the Clinical Pain Medicine Fellowship at Stanford University, physicians were given the opportunity to participate in a pilot program to practice opioid management in a live, simulated interaction.

Evaluation of the SIPAT instrument to assess psychosocial risk in heart transplant candidates: A retrospective single center study.

Objectives: We evaluated the reliability of the Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplantation (SIPAT) in heart transplant (HT) recipients and explored its usefulness in predicting post-transplant outcomes.

Background: Pre-transplant psychosocial and behavioral risk is associated with post-transplant clinical outcomes. SIPAT is a risk assessment tool created for pre-transplant psychosocial evaluation.

Alpha-2 Agonists.

Alpha-2 adrenergic receptors are spread throughout the central and peripheral nervous system, specifically in the pontine locus coeruleus, medullospinal tracts, rostral ventrolateral medulla, and the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Alpha-2 agonist agents cause neuromodulation in these centers, leading to sedation, analgesia, vasodilatation, and bradycardia with little effect on the respiratory drive, which accounts for their good safety profile. The 2 major drugs in this group are clonidine and dexmedetomidine.

Pulmonary Vasodilators and Anesthesia Considerations.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a complex disease process of the pulmonary vasculature system characterized by elevated pulmonary arterial pressures. Patients with PH are at increased risk for morbidity and mortality, including intraoperatively and postoperatively. Appreciation by the clinical anesthesiologist of the pathophysiology of PH is warranted.

Association of Body Mass Index With Care and Outcomes in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Results From the ORBIT-AF Registry.

Objectives: This study sought to determine the association between body mass index (BMI) and clinical outcomes among patients with prevalent atrial fibrillation (AF).

Background: Higher BMI is an independent risk factor for incident AF. However, its impact on management strategies and clinical outcomes among patients with prevalent AF is unclear.

Variables Measured During Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing as Predictors of Mortality in Chronic Systolic Heart Failure.

Background: Data from a cardiopulmonary exercise (CPX) test are used to determine prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). However, few published studies have simultaneously compared the relative prognostic strength of multiple CPX variables.

Objectives: The study sought to describe the strength of the association among variables measured during a CPX test and all-cause mortality in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), including the influence of sex and patient effort, as measured by respiratory exchange ratio (RER).

Multiple sites of calciphylaxis in a patient with chronic renal failure.

Calciphylaxis has seldom been reported in patients with acute renal failure or in pre-dialysis patients. It also has been reported at lower calcium phosphorous products and in patients with adynamic bone disease. We report a pre-hemodialysis (HD) patient with acute renal failure and biopsy-proven calciphylaxis involving multiple cutaneous sites with calcification of the perineal area resulting in dry gangrene of the penis that necessitated a partial penectomy.

Intravenous non-opioid analgesia for peri- and postoperative pain management: a scientific review of intravenous acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

Pain is a predictable consequence following operations, but the management of postoperative pain is another challenge for anesthesiologists and inappropriately controlled pain may lead to unwanted outcomes in the postoperative period. Opioids are indeed still at the mainstream of postoperative pain control, but solely using only opioids for postoperative pain management may be connected with risks of complications and adverse effects. As a consequence, the concept of multimodal analgesia has been proposed and is recommended whenever possible.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® rib fractures.

Rib fracture is the most common thoracic injury, present in 10% of all traumatic injuries and almost 40% of patients who sustain severe nonpenetrating trauma. Although rib fractures can produce significant morbidity, the diagnosis of associated complications (such as pneumothorax, hemothorax, pulmonary contusion, atelectasis, flail chest, cardiovascular injury, and injuries to solid and hollow abdominal organs) may have a more significant clinical impact. When isolated, rib fractures have a relatively low morbidity and mortality, and failure to detect isolated rib fractures does not necessarily alter patient management or outcome in uncomplicated cases.

ACR appropriateness criteria® hemoptysis.

Although hemoptysis is often self-limited and benign in origin, it can be an indicator of serious disease including bronchiectasis, granulomatous infection, and malignancy. Hemoptysis severity can be graded on the basis of the quantity of expectorated blood: <30 mL of hemoptysis as minor, 30 to 300 mL as moderate to severe (major), and >300 to 400 mL in 24 hours as massive. Among patients with hemoptysis, chest radiographs are often abnormal and can guide evaluation.

ACR appropriateness criteria blunt chest trauma.

Imaging is paramount in the setting of blunt trauma and is now the standard of care at any trauma center. Although anteroposterior radiography has inherent limitations, the ability to acquire a radiograph in the trauma bay with little interruption in clinical survey, monitoring, and treatment, as well as radiography's accepted role in screening for traumatic aortic injury, supports the routine use of chest radiography. Chest CT or CT angiography is the gold-standard routine imaging modality for detecting thoracic injuries caused by blunt trauma.

Pulmonary hypertension: a review of pathophysiology and anesthetic management.

Pulmonary hypertension is a condition that can result in serious complications in patients undergoing any type of anesthesia during the perioperative period. By definition, pulmonary artery hypertension is caused by a persistent rise in mean pulmonary artery pressure ≥25 mm Hg with Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure ≤ 15 mm Hg or exercise mean pulmonary artery pressure ≥35 mm Hg and pulmonary vascular resistance ≥ 3 wood unit's. The severity of the complications depends on the severity of the underlying condition, other comorbidities, and type of procedure, anesthetic technique, and anesthetic drugs.