Informed consent for invasive procedures in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Informed consent for procedures in the emergency department (ED) challenges practitioners to navigate complex ethical and medical ambiguities. A patient's altered mental status or emergent medical problem does not negate the importance of his or her participation in the decision-making process but, rather, necessitates a nuanced assessment of the situation to determine the appropriate level of participation. Given the complexities involved with informed consent for procedures in the ED, it is important to understand the experience of key stakeholders involved. METHODS: For this review, we searched Medline, the Cochrane database, and Clinicaltrials.gov for studies involving informed consent in the ED. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were designed to select for studies that included issues related to informed consent as primary outcomes. The following data was extracted from included studies: Title, authors, date of publication, study type, participant type (i.e. adult patient, pediatric patient, parent of pediatric patient, patient's family, or healthcare provider), number of participants, and primary outcomes measured. RESULTS: Fifteen articles were included for final review. Commonly addressed themes included medical education (7 of 15 studies), surrogate decision-making (5 of 15 studies), and patient understanding (4 of 15 studies). The least common theme addressed in the literature was community notification (1 of 15 studies). CONCLUSIONS: Studies of informed consent for procedures in the ED span many aspects of informed consent. The aim of the present narrative review is to summarize the work that has been done on informed consent for procedures in the ED.

Barriers to emergency department usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the public's likelihood of being willing to use an emergency department (ED) for urgent/emergent illness during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: An institutional review board-approved, cross-sectional survey of a non-probability sample from Amazon Mechanical Turk was administered May 24-25, 2020. Change in self-reported willingness to use an ED before and during the pandemic (primary outcome) was assessed via McNemar's test; COVID-19 knowledge and perceptions were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: There were 855 survey participants (466 [54.5%] male; 699 [81.8%] White; median age 39). Proportion reporting likelihood to use the ED pre-pandemic (71% [604/855]) decreased significantly during the pandemic (49% [417/855]; P < 0.001); those unlikely to visit the ED increased significantly during the pandemic (41% [347/855] vs 22% [417/855], P < 0.001). Participants were unlikely to use the ED during the pandemic if they were unlikely to use it pre-pandemic (adjusted odds ratio, 4.55; 95% confidence interval, 3.09-6.7) or correctly answered more COVID-19 knowledge questions (adjusted odds ratio, 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.17-1.60). Furthermore, 23.4% (n = 200) of respondents believed the pandemic was not a serious threat to society. Respondents with higher COVID-19 knowledge scores were more likely to view the pandemic as serious (odds ratio, 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.36-1.82). CONCLUSIONS: This survey study investigated the public's willingness to use the ED during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 49% of survey respondents were willing to visit the ED during a pandemic if they felt ill compared with 71% before the pandemic.

Association of Doximity Ranking and Residency Program Characteristics Across 16 Specialty Training Programs.

BACKGROUND: Residency program prestige is an important variable medical students consider when creating their rank list. Doximity Residency Navigator is a ranking system that previous reports have shown significantly influences medical student application decisions. Doximity's use of peer nomination as a central component of its methodology for determining program rank has drawn criticism for its lack of objectivity. Doximity has not published information regarding how peer nomination and more objective measures are statistically weighted in reputation calculation. OBJECTIVE: This study assesses whether a strong negative correlation exists between residency program size and Doximity ranking. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of Doximity residency rankings from the 2018-2019 academic year was conducted. Data extracted from Doximity included program rank, size, and age. Data were additionally collected from the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health, funding in 2018 and the US News & World Report Best Medical Schools 2019-2020. A multivariable linear regression model was used that included Doximity ranking as the outcome variable and residency program size as the predictor variable with adjustment for the aforementioned variables. RESULTS: Sixteen of the 28 specialties on Doximity were included in the analysis, representing 3388 unique residency programs. After adjustment for covariates, residency program size was a significant predictor of Doximity ranking (ß = -1.84; 95% CI -2.01 to -1.66, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the critique that the Doximity reputation ranking system may favor larger residency programs. More transparency for Doximity reputation ranking algorithm is warranted.

Clinical and economic impact of generic versus brand name meropenem use in an intensive care unit in Colombia

Abstract Background: Recent studies suggest that sustained use of generic antibiotics may be associated with clinical failure and emergence of antibacterial resistance. The present study was designed to determine the clinical outcome between the use of generic meropenem (GM) and brand-name meropenem (BNM). Additionally, this study evaluated the economic impact of GM and BNM to determine if the former represents a cost-effective alternative to the latter. Methods: Patients treated between January 2011 and May 2014 received GM while patients treated between June 2014 and March 2017 received BNM. Mortality was compared between groups. Total infection cost was defined by the cost of antimicrobial consumption, length of stay, and laboratory and imaging exams until infection resolution. Findings: A total of 168 patients were included; survival rate for the 68 patients treated with GM was 38% compared to 59% in the patients treated with BNM. Multivariate analysis showed that the variables most strongly-associated with mortality were cardiovascular disease (OR 18.18, 95% CI 1.25-262.3, p = 0.033) and treatment with generic meropenem (OR 18.45, 95% CI 1.45-232.32, p = 0.024). On the other hand, total infection cost did not show a significant difference between groups (BNM $10,771 vs. GM $11,343; p = 0.91). Interpretation: The present study suggests that patients treated with GM have a risk of death 18 times higher compared to those treated with BNM. Furthermore, economic analysis shows that GM is not more cost effective than BNM. Summary: More studies measuring clinical outcomes are needed to confirm the clinical equivalence of brand-name versus generic antibiotics, not only for meropenem but also for other molecules.

Clinical and economic impact of generic versus brand name meropenem use in an intensive care unit in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that sustained use of generic antibiotics may be associated with clinical failure and emergence of antibacterial resistance. The present study was designed to determine the clinical outcome between the use of generic meropenem (GM) and brand-name meropenem (BNM). Additionally, this study evaluated the economic impact of GM and BNM to determine if the former represents a cost-effective alternative to the latter. METHODS: Patients treated between January 2011 and May 2014 received GM while patients treated between June 2014 and March 2017 received BNM. Mortality was compared between groups. Total infection cost was defined by the cost of antimicrobial consumption, length of stay, and laboratory and imaging exams until infection resolution. FINDINGS: A total of 168 patients were included; survival rate for the 68 patients treated with GM was 38% compared to 59% in the patients treated with BNM. Multivariate analysis showed that the variables most strongly-associated with mortality were cardiovascular disease (OR 18.18, 95% CI 1.25-262.3, p = 0.033) and treatment with generic meropenem (OR 18.45, 95% CI 1.45-232.32, p = 0.024). On the other hand, total infection cost did not show a significant difference between groups (BNM $10,771 vs. GM $11,343; p = 0.91). INTERPRETATION: The present study suggests that patients treated with GM have a risk of death 18 times higher compared to those treated with BNM. Furthermore, economic analysis shows that GM is not more cost effective than BNM. SUMMARY: More studies measuring clinical outcomes are needed to confirm the clinical equivalence of brand-name versus generic antibiotics, not only for meropenem but also for other molecules.

Frequency of medication error in pediatric anesthesia: A systematic review and meta-analytic estimate.

BACKGROUND: Clinical evidence shows that pediatric anesthesia patients are subject to a higher rate of life-threatening medical errors than their adult counterparts. Medication error in adult anesthesia is estimated to occur to 1 in 133 anesthetic administrations, but such a figure has not been determined for pediatric anesthesia patients. Individual studies of medication error in pediatric anesthesia have ranged from rates of 0.01% to 1.92% of anesthetic uses. The present study is a systematic review that employs a meta-analytic estimate to determine the rate of medication error in pediatric anesthesia. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature on pediatric anesthesia medication error was conducted using Medline, Cochrane Database, PROSPERO, and Clinicaltrials.gov. A meta-analytic estimate was used to determine the medication error rate for all of the included studies. Subgroup sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate possible sources of heterogeneity in included studies. RESULTS: Of the 433 initially screened records, 13 studies met inclusion criteria. Meta-analytic estimate of medication error rate across all studies was 0.08% (95% CI 0.05%-0.10%), or 1 out of 1250 anesthetics. Ten different countries were represented in the studies. Sample size of anesthetics reported on ranged from 296 to 2 316 635. Data collecting periods ranged from 3 months to 15 years. Six included studies individually reported higher rates of medication error in patients under 1 year of age. CONCLUSION: The present systematic review revealed a medication error rate of 1 per 1250 anesthetic administrations in pediatric anesthesia. This result is significantly lower than would be expected given reported rates of medication error in adult anesthesia, which raises questions regarding the validity of research methods and reporting of medication error in pediatric anesthesia. Future investigations of medication error should employ methodologies other than self-reporting of error, such as retrospective chart review.

Informed Consent in Pediatric Anesthesia: A Narrative Review.

Informed consent for pediatric anesthesia challenges practitioners to navigate complex ethical, medical, and legal ambiguities. A patient's status as a minor does not negate the importance of his or her participation in the decision-making process but, rather, necessitates a nuanced evaluation of age and development to involve the patient to an appropriate extent. Given the complexities involved with pediatric informed consent in anesthesia practice and research, it is important to understand the experience of key stakeholders involved. For this review, we searched Medline, the Cochrane database, PROSPERO, and Clinicaltrials.gov for studies involving pediatric anesthesia informed consent. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were designed to select for studies that included issues related to informed consent as primary outcomes. The following data were extracted from included studies: title, authors, date of publication, study type, intervention, data collection method, participant type (ie, parent, pediatric patient, anesthesia provider), number of participants, pediatric patient age range, and primary outcome measures. Twenty-two articles were included for final review: studies of informed consent in pediatric anesthesia span many aspects of informed consent. Parental understanding has been studied most often (7/22 studies), followed by parental preferences (5/22 studies) and provider-related outcomes (5/22 studies) such as time spent interacting with patients, subjective reporting on amount of training related to informed consent, and provider satisfaction with the informed consent process. Outcomes pertaining to pediatric patients themselves constitute the smallest number of studies, including child anxiety (1/22), child understanding (1/22), and child refusal (1/22). Among the parties involved, parents have been most frequently identified as the subjects of these studies (2719/3805 subjects across all included studies, or 71% of all subjects). Pediatric patients are the least frequently involved subjects of studies that investigate informed consent in pediatric anesthesia (493/3805, or 13% of all subjects). Anesthesia providers and investigators have been study subjects (593/3805, or 16% of all subjects) for a range of topics including time spent interacting with patient, nature of informed consent conversation in relation to trainee status, satisfaction with informed consent process, and priorities for informed consent content. The aim of the present narrative review is to summarize the work that has been done on informed consent for pediatric anesthesia.

Microcephaly in Colombia before the Zika outbreak: A systematic literature review / Microcefalia en Colombia antes de la epidemia del Zika: revisión sistemática de la literatura

Introduction: Microcephaly is characterized by a smaller than normal head circumference. Recently, Zika virus (ZV) has been associated with microcephaly. Objective: To describe the prevalence of microcephaly in Colombia taking as the baseline the information from the period before the Zika virus infection epidemics. Materials and methods: We reviewed Medline, Scopus, Scielo, Lilacs and annual reports of congenital malformation monitoring systems across Latin America, among others sources, for articles published before April, 2015, reporting the prevalence of microcephaly in Colombia between 1982 and 2013. Results: We identified 32 non-duplicate articles; we selected 25 articles for revision of which 12 met the criteria for inclusion in the systematic review, including 2,808,308 births. Conclusions: The prevalence of microcephaly in Colombia from 1982 to 2013, before the introduction of ZV, ranged from 0.3 to 3.1 per 10,000 births, with an average of 1.8 (95% CI 1.7-1.8) per 10,000 births. These findings are important to determine if the prevalence after the introduction of the Zika virus infection registered significant changes.

Introducción. La microcefalia consiste en una circunferencia cefálica menor de la esperada. Recientemente, el virus del Zika se ha asociado con esta condición. Objetivo. Describir la prevalencia de la microcefalia en Colombia, estableciendo como línea de base el periodo anterior a la epidemia del virus del Zika. Materiales y métodos. Se revisaron las bases de datos Medline, Scopus, Scielo, Lilacs y el reporte anual de malformaciones congénitas en Latinoamérica, así como otras fuentes publicadas antes de abril de 2015 con los datos de prevalencia de la microcefalia en Colombia entre 1982 y 2013. Resultados. Se detectaron 32 artículos no duplicados, se revisaron 25 y se seleccionaron 12 que cumplían con los criterios de inclusión para la revisión sistemática, los cuales registraban 2'808.308 nacimientos. Conclusiones. La prevalencia de la microcefalia en Colombia entre 1982 y 2013, antes de la epidemia del virus del Zika, oscilaba entre 0,3 y 3,1 por 10.000 nacimientos, con un promedio de 1,8 (IC95% 1,7-1,8). Este dato es importante para determinar la diferencia en la prevalencia después de la introducción del virus del Zika en Colombia.

First Case Report of Prader-Willi-Like Syndrome in Colombia.

Background: Prader-Willi-like syndrome (PWLS) is believed to be caused by a variety of disruptions in genetic pathways both inside and outside of the genetic region implicated in PWS. By definition, PWLS does not demonstrate mutations in the 15q11-q13 region itself. It is a rare disorder whose clinical hallmarks include hypotonia, obesity, short extremities, and delayed development. This syndrome has been described in patients with 1p, 2p, 3p, 6q, and 9q chromosome abnormalities and in cases with maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 14 and fragile X syndrome. Case presentation: In the present report, we describe a 9-year-old Colombian patient who demonstrated features of PWS and was ultimately diagnosed with PWLS after genetic analysis revealed a 14.97 Mb deletion of 6q16.1-q21. Conclusions: This is the first reported case of PWLS in Colombia and represents one of the largest documented 6q21 deletions.