Investigating the impact of peer supplemental instruction on underprepared and historically underserved students in introductory STEM courses.

Background: Supplemental instruction (SI) is a well-established mode of direct academic support, used in a wide variety of courses. Some reports have indicated that SI and similar peer-led academic support models particularly benefit students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups in STEM. However, these studies have not explicitly examined the role of prior academic experiences, an important consideration in college success. We report on the impact of a modified SI model, Peer Supplemental Instruction (PSI), on student success in introductory STEM courses at a diverse access institution. This study focuses on PSI's impact on the academic performance of students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups, while also considering the effects of prior academic experiences. Results: Data were aggregated for nine courses over five semesters to produce a robust data set (n = 1789). PSI attendees were representative of the overall student population in terms of previous academic experiences/performance (as determined by high school GPA) and self-identified racial/ethnic demographics. Frequent PSI attendance was correlated with a significant increase in AB rates (average increase of 29.0 percentage points) and reduction in DFW rates (average decrease of 26.1 percentage points) when comparing students who attended 10 + vs. 1-2 PSI sessions. Overall, students identifying as Black/African American received the largest benefit from PSI. These students experienced a significant increase in their final course GPA when attending as few as 3-5 PSI sessions, and exhibited the largest increase in AB rates (from 28.7 to 60.5%) and decrease in DFW rates (from 47.1 to 14.8%) when comparing students who attended 10 + vs. 1-2 sessions. However, students with similar HS GPAs experienced similar benefits from PSI, regardless of self-identified race/ethnicity. Conclusions: The data presented here suggest that PSI particularly benefitted underprepared students in their introductory STEM courses. Since students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups have traditionally had inequitable K-12 educational experiences, they enter college less prepared on average, and thus particularly benefit from PSI. PSI, in conjunction with additional strategies, may be a useful tool to help rectify the results of systemic educational inequities for students identifying with historically underserved racial/ethnic groups.

Complicaciones postransfusionales en pacientes pediátricos con leucemia / Post-transfusion complications in pediatric patients with leukemia

Introducción: El cáncer pediátrico es un importante problema de salud pública y el más frecuente es la leucemia. En ocasiones, esta enfermedad puede generar depleción de las líneas celulares y es la transfusión de hemocomponentes un importante pilar de su tratamiento. Este procedimiento puede generar reacciones postransfusionales que pueden ser letales. Objetivo: Exponer las diferentes características clínicas y epidemiológicas de las reacciones postransfusionales en población pediátrica con leucemia. Métodos: Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática en las principales bases de datos de literatura médica. Se incluyeron 46 artículos. Resultados: La complicación más frecuente es la reacción febril no hemolítica. También es frecuente la sobrecarga de hierro. El factor de riesgo más importante para presentar esta sobrecarga es el número de transfusiones. Es necesario monitorizar la cantidad de hierro hepático. La reacción pulmonar aguda relacionada con la transfusión es una condición potencialmente mortal. Las infecciones pueden presentarse y pueden ser mortales dada la inmunosupresión de este grupo de pacientes. Otras reacciones inmunológicas pueden ser raras, pero deben ser tenidas en cuenta. Consideraciones finales: Las reacciones postransfusionales pueden ser más graves en los pacientes con leucemia. Se requiere realizar estudios con modelos epidemiológicos adecuados para identificar las reacciones postransfusionales más frecuentes en población pediátrica con esta enfermedad(AU)

Introduction: Pediatric cancer is a major public health problem and leukemia is the most common. Sometimes this disease can lead to depletion of cell lines and the transfusion of blood components is an important pillar of their treatment. This procedure can generate post-transfusion reactions that can be lethal. Objective: Show the different clinical and epidemiological characteristics of post-transfusion reactions in pediatric population with leukemia. Methods: A systematic search was carried out in the main databases of medical literature. 46 items were included. Results: The most common complication is the non-hemolytic febrile reaction. Iron overloading is also common. The most important risk factor for this overload is the number of transfusions. It is necessary to monitor the amount of iron in the liver. Acute transfusion-related pulmonary reaction is a life-threatening condition. Infections can occur and can be fatal given the immunosuppression of this group of patients. Other immune reactions may be rare, but they should be taken into account. Final considerations: Post-transfusion reactions may be more severe in patients with leukemia. Studies with appropriate epidemiological models are required to identify the most common post-transfusion reactions in the pediatric population with this disease(AU)