Faculty Bibliography

The most common indication for readmission among Medicare patients is congestive heart failure (CHF). Prior studies underscore the use of residents to bolster hospital-wide programs and reduce CHF readmissions. The authors assessed the effectiveness of a novel online training program designed to improve resident documentation and knowledge related to CHF. The findings suggest that despite a significant increase in knowledge scores following the online educational course, there was only a slight increase in documentation scores. Additional teaching modalities need to be identified to foster resident education and create sustained behavior change.

The Department of Dental Medicine of Lutheran Medical Center has developed an asynchronous online curriculum consisting of prerecorded PowerPoint presentations with audio explanations. The focus of this study was to evaluate if the new asynchronous format satisfied the educational needs of the residents compared to traditional lecture (face-to-face) and synchronous (distance learning) formats. Lectures were delivered to 219 dental residents employing face-to-face and synchronous formats, as well as the new asynchronous format; 169 (77 percent) participated in the study. Outcomes were assessed with pretests, posttests, and individual lecture surveys. Results found the residents preferred face-to-face and asynchronous formats to the synchronous format in terms of effectiveness and clarity of presentations. This preference was directly related to the residents' perception of how well the technology worked in each format. The residents also rated the quality of student-instructor and student-student interactions in the synchronous and asynchronous formats significantly higher after taking the lecture series than they did before taking it. However, they rated the face-to-face format as significantly more conducive to student-instructor and student-student interaction. While the study found technology had a major impact on the efficacy of this curricular model, the results suggest that the asynchronous format can be an effective way to teach a postgraduate course.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to survey American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) members about their beliefs and practices regarding the age 1 dental visit. METHODS: A 31-item survey was mailed to 1,500 randomly selected AAPD members to assess their beliefs and practices regarding the age 1 dental visit and prenatal dental counseling. Descriptive analyses and chi-square tests were done to analyze the data. RESULTS: Five hundred fifty-four (~37%) surveys were returned; 496 (91%) respondents agreed with the AAPD Policy on the Dental Home, while 490 (~90%) respondents performed age 1 dental evaluations. The most commonly cited reason respondents gave for not performing infant evaluations was "parents do not see the value." Eighty-five (~15 %) respondents provided prenatal dental counseling to members in their community, and 250 (~51%) who performed infant oral evaluations inquired about parents' dental history. Younger, more recently trained pediatric dentists were more likely to agree with the policy compared to older, more experienced pediatric dentists. CONCLUSIONS: Most respondents agreed with the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's Policy on the Dental Home and performed infant oral evaluations. Few respondents (15%) provided prenatal dental counseling to individuals/groups in their community.

Recent studies suggest that patients' elevated blood pressure (BP) readings in the Emergency Department (ED) may be due to hypertension (HTN) rather than pain and anxiety. Identifying BP patterns suggestive of HTN in the ED presents an opportunity for referral. The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to assess the feasibility of referral of ED patients with elevated BP readings suggestive of HTN. Adults with elevated BP suggestive of HTN and no history of HTN were tracked as to referral status using an actively monitored ED referral system. Patients referred to a community clinic network were tracked regarding clinic visits, subsequent BP, and diagnosis of HTN. Of 662 patients with elevated BP in the ED at triage, 197 (29.8%) had a pattern of blood pressure readings that were suggestive of HTN. Of these, 63 (32.0%) were referred to in-network clinics, 5 (2.5%) were referred out of network, and 129 (65.5%) were not referred. Of the 63 referred to network clinics, 17 (27.0%) kept their appointments and of those, 5 (29.4%) were diagnosed with HTN. Elevated BP was not mentioned in any ED physician referral notes as a reason for referral and the number of appointments kept among patients who were referred was low. Referral to outpatient clinics based on BP levels suggestive of HTN may not be feasible despite active referral systems.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate prevalence of rectovaginal colonization by Staphylococcus aureus among pregnant women with group B streptococcus (GBS) screening results and its association with maternal and infant outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: Cultures that detected both group B streptococcus (GBS) and S. aureus were obtained at > or = 35 weeks of gestation. Computerized database search and chart review determined invasive neonatal infection and maternal outcomes at the time of delivery through 6 months postpartum. RESULTS: A total of 6,626 GBS screening cultures met study criteria, and 769 (11.6%) GBS isolates and 67 (1.0%) S. aureus were identified. No maternal S. aureus-related outcomes were found. The rate of maternal methicillin-resistant S. aureus colonization was 0.1% (7 in 6,626). GBS-positive patients were twice as likely to be colonized with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus than GBS-negative patients. GBS-positive culture rates differed significantly by primary language: Spanish 10.0%, English 13.7%, Russian 26.9%, Cantonese 13.2%, Mandarin 11.5%, Arabic 15.9%, and other 17.8%. CONCLUSION: In our population, S. aureus colonization percentage (1.0%) was lower than the 7.5-8.2% reported by other medical centers, as was overall GBS carriage rate. S. aureus did not predispose to maternal or infant morbidity or mortality up to 6 months postpartum.

Oral health behavior is voluntary and, therefore, requires motivation. Dentists serve as role models for their patients. We sought to determine the pediatric dentists' own adherence to oral health behavior recommendations through a 14-question survey administered to 129 pediatric dentists. A significant percentage of respondents fell short in brushing, flossing and regularity of dental exams. A trend was seen for decreasing exam frequency with decreasing population density and for increasing brushing frequency with increasing age. Although most dentists follow their profession's oral health guidelines, a significant percentage does not.