Faculty Bibliography

Treatment of pregnancy-related venous thromboembolism is limited by considerations of the health risks to both the patient and fetus. Anticoagulation is the cornerstone treatment for pregnancy-related venous thromboembolism; however, early thrombus removal may be preferred for prompt symptom resolution and to decrease the risk of post-thrombotic syndrome. We report the successful treatment of a patient in the second trimester of pregnancy with symptomatic iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis and May-Thurner syndrome using percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy.

BACKGROUND/UNASSIGNED:Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems allow detailed assessment of postprandial glucose responses (PPGR), offering new insights into food choices' impact on dysglycemia. However, current approaches to analyze PPGR using a CGM require manual meal logging, limiting the scalability of CGM-driven applications like personalized nutrition and at-home diabetes risk assessment. OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:We propose a machine learning (ML) framework to automatically identify and characterize breakfast-related PPGRs from CGM profiles in adults at risk of or living with noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetes (T2D). METHODS/UNASSIGNED:Our PPGR estimation framework uses a random forest ML algorithm trained on 15 adults without diabetes who wore a CGM for up to four weeks. The algorithm performance was evaluated on a held-out subset of the participants' CGM data as well as on an external validation data set of 36 individuals at risk for or with noninsulin-treated T2D. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:= .18). CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:We designed an ML framework to automatically estimate the timing of meal events from CGM data in individuals without diabetes and in individuals at risk or with T2D. This could provide a more scalable approach for analyzing postprandial glycemia, increasing the feasibility of CGM-based precision nutrition and diabetes risk assessment applications.

BACKGROUND/UNASSIGNED:Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a disease entity that often occurs in young, healthy women and can cause life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest. However, the characteristics and outcomes of SCAD with cardiac arrest are not well characterized. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:This study investigated the baseline characteristics of SCAD patients with cardiac arrest using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database between 2016 and 2020. In addition, we also sought to determine the potential impact that implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy had on morbidity and mortality in SCAD patients presenting with cardiac arrest. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:Our findings showed that the SCAD with cardiac arrest population had significantly higher comorbidities, including cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, pulmonary circulation disorders, liver diseases, solid tumors, coagulopathy, fluid disorders, chronic kidney disease (CKD), anemia secondary to deficiency, psychosis, neurological disorders, carotid artery disease, atrial fibrillation, ventricular arrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia (VT), ventricular fibrillation (VF)), and acute myocardial infarction (AMI), compared to the SCAD without cardiac arrest population. Likewise, for SCAD patients who did not have an ICD in place, we found increasing age, fluid and electrolyte disorders, uncomplicated diabetes, neurological disorders, peripheral vascular disease, pulmonary circulatory disorders, cardiac arrhythmias, and congestive heart failure to be associated with greater mortality. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:SCAD patients with certain comorbidities (e.g., pulmonary diseases, liver diseases, cancers, coagulopathy, and CKD) who presented with AMI or congestive heart failure should be monitored closely for ventricular arrhythmias as they have a higher chance of progressing to cardiac arrest. ICD therapy can be considered for these patients, but data on the success of this treatment option are limited, and more research needs to be performed to determine whether the benefits of this outweigh the risks.

In medical education, pathology has traditionally been concentrated in only the preclinical years, often without sufficient emphasis on its practical application in clinical practice. Correspondingly, medical students' interest in pathology as a career has been low. To address this issue and foster a deeper understanding of pathology's clinical relevance and encourage appropriate utilization, we introduced a required exposure to pathology in the surgery clerkship featuring clinicopathological case review in a small group setting. Unlike other approaches, we wanted to create a program that concentrates on pathology cases directly linked to patients whom students cared for during their clerkship rotation, emphasizing the relevance of pathology diagnosis. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from participating students, who report an increased awareness of pathology's importance in patient management and of the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration between pathologists and clinicians. A notable feature of this program is its relatively low time and personnel requirements, which facilitate inclusion in the busy clerkship and acceptance in the Department of Pathology. Challenges, such as timely case selection and administrative co-ordination, are being addressed to optimize the program's implementation. In the future, we are considering expanding this model to other clerkships. By rekindling interest in pathology through practical engagement and highlighting its real-world relevance, this approach offers a promising strategy to counteract recruitment challenges in this crucial medical field.

BACKGROUND/UNASSIGNED:Cow's milk allergy (CMA) is the most complex and common food allergy in infants. Elimination of cow's milk from the diet and replacement with a specialized formula for infants with cow's milk allergy who cannot be breastfed is an established approach to minimize the risk of severe allergic reactions while avoiding nutritional deficiencies. Given the availability of multiple options, such as extensively hydrolyzed cow's milk-based formula (eHF-CM), aminoacid formula (AAF), hydrolyzed rice formula (HRF), and soy formula (SF), there is some uncertainty regarding which formula might represent the most suitable choice with respect to health outcomes. The addition of probiotics to a specialized formula has also been proposed as a potential approach to possibly increase the benefit. We systematically reviewed specialized formulas for infants with CMA to inform the updated World Allergy Organization (WAO) DRACMA guidelines. OBJECTIVE/UNASSIGNED:To systematically review and synthesize the available evidence about the use of specialized formulas for the management of individuals with CMA. METHODS/UNASSIGNED:We searched from inception PubMed, Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and the websites of selected allergy organizations, for randomized and non-randomized trials of any language investigating specialized formulas with or without probiotics. We included all studies irrespective of the language of the original publication. The last search was conducted in January 2024. We synthesized the identified evidence quantitatively or narratively as appropriate and summarized it in the evidence profiles. We conducted this review following the PRISMA, Cochrane methods, and the GRADE approach. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:GG) showed no significant effect, as supported by low to very low CoE. CONCLUSIONS/UNASSIGNED:Currently available studies comparing eHF-CM, AAF, HRF, and SF provide very low certainty evidence about their effects in infants with IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated CMA. Our review revealed several limitations in the current body of evidence, primarily arising from concerns related to the quality of studies, the limited size of the participant populations and most importantly the lack of diversity and standardization in the compared interventions. It is therefore imperative for future studies to be methodologically rigorous and investigate a broader spectrum of available interventions. We encourage clinicians and researchers to review current World Allergy Organization (WAO) Diagnosis and Rationale for Action against Cow's Milk Allergy (DRACMA) Guidelines for suggestions on how to use milk replacement formulas in clinical practice and what additional research would be the most beneficial.

Coronary artery anomalies encompass a spectrum of congenital abnormalities affecting the origin, course, or termination of the major epicardial coronary arteries. Despite their rarity, coronary artery anomalies represent a significant burden on cardiovascular health due to their potential to disrupt myocardial blood flow and precipitate adverse cardiac events. While historically diagnosed postmortem, the widespread availability of imaging modalities has led to an increased recognition of coronary artery anomalies, particularly in adults. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the classification, mechanisms, and clinical implications of coronary anomalies, focusing on prevalent variants with significant clinical impact. We discuss strategies for medical and surgical management, as well as contemporary screening recommendations, acknowledging the evolving understanding of these anomalies. Given the breadth of possible variants and the limited data on some presentations, this review provides a framework to aid clinicians in the recognition and management of coronary anomalies, with a particular emphasis on their stratification by anatomical location. By consolidating existing knowledge and highlighting areas of uncertainty, this review aims to enhance clinical decision-making and improve outcomes for individuals with coronary anomalies.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW/OBJECTIVE:Current biological findings provide new insights into the genetics driving growth of low-grade gliomas in pediatric patients. This has provided new targets for novel therapies. The purpose of this paper is to review novel therapies for pediatric low-grade gliomas that have been published in the past 24 months. RECENT FINDINGS/RESULTS:Low-grade gliomas are often driven by mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) alterations either with BRAF V600E point mutations or BRAF fusions. Current advances have also highlighted novel fusions of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), myeloblastosis family of transcription factors (MYB), meningioma 1 tumor suppressor (MN1), neurotrophic receptor kinase family of receptors (NTRK), Kristen RAS (Rat Sarcoma Virus) oncogene homolog in mammals (KRAS), Receptor tyrosine kinase ROS proto oncogene 1 (ROS1), protein kinase C alpha (PRKCA), and platelet derive growth factor receptor (PDGFR) amplification. Novel therapies have been employed and are showing encouraging results in pediatric low-grade gliomas. Current trials are underway with newer generation pan RAF inhibitors and mitogen activated protein kinase - kinase (MEK) inhibitors. Other early phase clinical trials have provided safety data in pediatric patients targeting FGFR fusion, NTRK fusion, PDGFR amplification and ROS1 mutations. SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS:Historical treatment options in pediatric low-grade gliomas have utilized surgery, radiation therapy and conventional chemotherapy. Recently greater insight into their biology has found that alterations in MAPK driven pathways are often the hallmark of tumorigenesis. Targeting these novel pathways has led to tumor control and shrinkage without the use of conventional chemotherapy. Caution should be taken however, since these treatment options are still novel, and we do not fully appreciate the long-term effects. Nonetheless a new era of targeted medicine is here.

OBJECTIVES/UNASSIGNED:This article focuses on the role of the electronic health record (EHR) to generate meaningful formative feedback for medical students in the clinical setting. Despite the scores of clinical data housed within the EHR, medical educators have only just begun to tap into this data to enhance student learning. Literature to-date has focused almost exclusively on resident education. MATERIALS AND METHODS/UNASSIGNED:Development of EHR auto-logging and triggered notifications are discussed as specific use cases in providing enhanced feedback for medical students. RESULTS/UNASSIGNED:By incorporating predictive and prescriptive analytics into the EHR, there is an opportunity to create powerful educational tools which may also support general clinical activity. DISCUSSION/UNASSIGNED:This article explores the possibilities of EHR as an educational resource. This serves as a call to action for educators and technology developers to work together on creating health record user-centric tools, acknowledging the ongoing work done to improve student-level attribution to patients. CONCLUSION/UNASSIGNED:EHR analytics and tools present a novel approach to enhancing clinical clerkship education for medical students.

BACKGROUND:Open Hartmann's procedure has traditionally been the procedure of choice to treat complicated diverticulitis. We analyzed the ACS-NSQIP database to compare outcomes in patients who underwent emergent laparoscopic Hartmann's procedure (LHP) to those who had an open Hartmann's procedure (OHP). STUDY DESIGN/METHODS:Data analyzed from 2015 to 2019 using ICD-10 codes. Patients were matched on several important covariates using a propensity score matching method (PSM). Patients were matched in a 4:1 ratio of controls to cases based on the propensity score. RESULTS:We identified 5026, of which 456 had LHP and 4570 had OHP. PSM analysis yielded 369 LHP and 1476 OHP patients. LHP had lower rates of superficial surgical site infection (SSSI) compared to OHP (2.44% vs. 5.89%, p = 0.007). LHP had similar post-operative outcomes compared to OHP, including 30-day mortality (5.15% vs. 2.98%, p = 0.060), organ space surgical site infection (OSSSI) (14.36% vs. 12.60%, p = 0.161), wound disruption (1.36% vs. 2.44%, p = 0.349), median LOS (8 vs. 9 days, p = 0.252), readmission within 30 days (11.92% vs. 8.67%, p = 0.176), rate of reoperation (6.0 vs. 6.5%, p = 0.897), and discharge to home (76% vs. 77%, p = 0.992). LHP had longer operative times compared to OHP (median 129 vs. 118 min, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The LHP is associated with lower rates of SSSI. However, it is not associated with lower rates of mortality, OSSSI, readmissions and reoperations within 30 days. Surgical times are longer in LHP. More studies are needed to determine whether LHP offers advantages in the long-term, particularly in rates of incisional hernia and colostomy closure.