Insight Into the Clinical Practices of US-Based Surgical Nongovernmental Organizations.

INTRODUCTION: A growing sector of humanitarian surgical nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) is providing care in low- and middle-income countries. Minimal data exists regarding this extremely heterogeneous community. This study aims to describe the demographics and clinical practices of surgical NGOs. We hypothesize there are identifiable attributes of such organizations which correlate with success. METHODS: A survey was sent to 83 US-based surgical NGOs directly providing general or subspecialty surgical care in low- and middle-income countries. Further information was obtained from organizations' websites. Descriptive statistics were performed to analyze organizational attributes and define protocol-driven practices. RESULTS: Thirty NGOs (36%) responded, averaging 20 ± 11 y of operation. Annually, US humanitarian surgical organizations performed a wide range of operations (10-15,000) with 52% performing fewer than 200 operations per year. Sixty-seven percent of responders were classified as strongly protocol-driven. Only twenty percent reported deviation from standard US practice occurs often or very often, most commonly in pain management (18%), preoperative workup (16%), and operative technique (16%). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first effort to describe the characteristics and clinical practices of the humanitarian surgical sector. There exists a wide scope of clinical practice among responding surgical NGOs, however mostly consistent with US standards, with a prevalance of protocol-driven clinical approach. Developing consensus-based protocols may help standardize and improve quality of care for surgical NGOs.

Train the Trainer in Bleeding Control: A Two-Year Pilot Study in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries.

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic hemorrhage represents a major cause of mortality in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Thus, LMICs can benefit from improvements to prehospital hemorrhage management. One strategy is implementation of a bleeding control course using the "train the trainer" model (TTT) to increase course availability. The Stop the Bleed (STB) campaign provides laypeople with basic knowledge and skills of hemorrhage control. While the feasibility and success of the STB course have been demonstrated in the United States, course dissemination in LMICs has been slower and its feasibility using the TTT model has not been established. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From December 2017 to January 2019, instructors from the International Surgical Health Initiative conducted seven surgical humanitarian trips and taught 10 index 1-h STB training sessions across six LMICs. LMIC instructors were encouraged to continue providing STB courses following departure of the visiting instructors. Course data were collected from sign-in sheets and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. RESULTS: Ten index courses conducted by United States-trained STB experts trained 35 LMIC instructors over 2 y. Six of 35 offered 12 additional courses, certifying 323 new trainees, an 823% increase from the initial cohort. Overall, implementation of the TTT model yielded 22 STB courses in six LMICs, producing 358 new trainees. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study shows the STB TTT model was feasible and effective in expanding bleeding control trainer capacity in four of six LMICs. Use of the TTT model in LMICs may represent a means to increase STB course availability and is one strategy to improve prehospital hemorrhage control in LMICs.

Bacterial shedding and serologic responses following an outbreak of Salmonella Typhi in an endemic cohort.

BACKGROUND: Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Salmonella Typhi) is the cause of typhoid fever. Salmonella Typhi may be transmitted through shedding in the stool, which can continue after recovery from acute illness. Shedding is detected by culturing stool, which is challenging to co-ordinate at scale. We hypothesised that sero-surveillance would direct us to those shedding Salmonella Typhi in stool following a typhoid outbreak. METHODS: In 2016 a typhoid outbreak affected one in four residents of a Nursing School in Malosa, Malawi. The Department of Health asked for assistance to identify nursing students that might spread the outbreak to other health facilities. We measured IgG antibody titres against Vi capsular polysaccharide (anti-Vi IgG) and IgM / IgG antibodies against H:d flagellin (anti-H:d) three and six months after the outbreak. We selected participants in the highest and lowest deciles for anti-Vi IgG titre (measured at visit one) and obtained stool for Salmonella culture and PCR. All participants reported whether they had experienced fever persisting for three days or more during the outbreak (in keeping with the WHO definitions of 'suspected typhoid'). We tested for salmonellae in the Nursing School environment. RESULTS: We obtained 320 paired serum samples from 407 residents. We cultured stool from 25 residents with high anti-Vi IgG titres and 24 residents with low titres. We did not recover Salmonella Typhi from stool; four stool samples yielded non-typhoidal salmonellae; one sample produced a positive PCR amplification for a Salmonella Typhi target. Median anti-Vi and anti-H:d IgG titres fell among participants who reported persistent fever. There was a smaller fall in anti-H:d IgG titres among participants who did not report persistent fever. Non-typhoidal salmonellae were identified in water sampled at source and from a kitchen tap. CONCLUSION: High titres of anti-Vi IgG did not identify culture-confirmed shedding of Salmonella Typhi. There was a clear serologic signal of recent typhoid exposure in the cohort, represented by waning IgG antibody titres over time. The presence of non-typhoidal salmonellae in drinking water indicates sub-optimal sanitation. Developing methods to detect and treat shedding remains an important priority to complement typhoid conjugate vaccination in efforts to achieve typhoid elimination.

Clinical and radiographic outcomes following anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty utilizing an inset glenoid component at 2-year minimum follow-up: a dual center study.

BACKGROUND: Anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA) is a successful and reproducible treatment for patients with painful glenohumeral arthritis. However, long-term outcomes using traditional onlay glenoid components have been tempered by glenoid loosening. Inset components have been proposed to minimize glenoid loosening by reducing edge-loading and opposite-edge lift-off forces with humeral translation. Successful short- and long-term outcomes have been reported while using inset glenoid implants. The current study is the largest study presenting a minimum of 2-year follow-up data following aTSA with an all-polyethylene inset glenoid component (Shoulder Innovations, Holland, MI, USA). METHODS: A dual center, retrospective review of patients undergoing aTSA using an Inset glenoid component by 2 fellowship-trained shoulder surgeons at 2 separate institutions from August, 2016, to August, 2019, was performed. Minimum follow-up was 2 years. Range of motion (ROM), visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE), and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) scores were obtained. Radiographic outcomes, including central peg lucency and glenoid loosening, were assessed by 3 independent reviewers on the postoperative Grashey and axillary radiographs obtained at the final follow-up. RESULTS: Seventy-five shoulders were included for the final analysis. The mean age of the entire cohort was 64 (±11.4) years. Twenty-one (28%) glenoids were type A1, 10 (13.3%) were type A2, 13 (17.3%) were type B1, 22 (29.3%) were type B2, 6 (8%) were type B3, and 3 (4%) were type D. At a minimum follow-up of 24 months (mean: 28.7 months), a significant improvement in ROM in all planes was observed. Significant improvements in VAS (5.1-0.9, P < .001), SANE (39.5-91.2, P < .001), and ASES (43.7-86.6, P < .001) scores were observed. There were 4 (5.3%) cases of central peg lucency about the inset glenoid component and one (1.3%) case of glenoid loosening. No revisions were performed for glenoid loosening. CONCLUSION: At a minimum of 2 years postoperatively, there were significant improvements in ROM, VAS, SANE, and ASES scores with very low rates of central peg lucency and glenoid loosening in patients undergoing aTSA with an inset glenoid component. Further work is needed to determine the long-term benefit of this novel implant.

Heard, valued, supported? Doctors' wellbeing during transitions triggered by COVID-19.

INTRODUCTION: Supporting doctors' wellbeing is crucial for medical education to help minimise negative long-term impacts on medical workforce retention and ultimately patient care. There is limited study of how doctors' transitions experiences impact wellbeing, particularly socially and culturally. Multiple Multidimensional Transitions (MMT) theory views transitions as dynamic, incorporating multiple contexts and multiple domains. Using MMT as our lens, we report a qualitative analysis of how transitions experienced by doctors during the pandemic impacted on social and cultural aspects of wellbeing. METHODS: Longitudinal narrative inquiry was employed, using interviews and audio-diaries. Data were collected over 6 months in three phases: (i) interviews with doctors from across the career spectrum (n = 98); (ii) longitudinal audio-diaries for 2-4 months (n = 71); (iii) second interviews (n = 83). Data were analysed abductively, narrowing focus to factors important to social and cultural wellbeing. RESULTS: Doctors described experiencing multiple interacting transitions triggered by the pandemic in multiple contexts (workplace, role, homelife and education). Patterns identifiable across the dataset allowed us to explore social and cultural wellbeing crosscutting beyond individual experience. Three critical factors contributed to social and cultural wellbeing both positively and negatively: being heard (e.g., by colleagues asking how they are); being valued (e.g., removal of rest spaces by organisations showing lack of value); and being supported (e.g., through regular briefing by education bodies). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to longitudinally explore the multiple-multidimensional transitions experienced by doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our data analysis helped us move beyond existing perceptions around wellbeing and articulate multiple factors that contribute to social and cultural wellbeing. It is vital that medical educators consider the learning from these experiences to help pinpoint what aspects of support might be beneficial to trainee doctors and their trainers. This study forms the basis for developing evidenced-based interventions that ensure doctors are heard, valued and supported.

Early clinical and radiographic outcomes of anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty with a biconvex posterior augmented glenoid for patients with posterior glenoid erosion: minimum 2-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: Glenoid bone loss in anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA) remains a controversial and challenging clinical problem. Previous studies have shown high rates of glenoid loosening for aTSA in shoulders with retroversion, posterior bone loss, and posterior humeral head subluxation. This study is the first to present minimum 2-year follow-up data of an all-polyethylene, biconvex augmented anatomic glenoid component for correction of glenoid retroversion and posterior humeral head subluxation. METHODS: This study is a multicenter, retrospective review of prospectively collected data on consecutive patients from 7 global clinical sites. All patients underwent aTSA using the biconvex posterior augmented glenoid (PAG). Inclusion criteria were preoperative computed tomographic (CT) scan, minimum 2 years since surgery, preoperative and minimum 2-year postoperative range of motion examination, and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Glenoid classification, glenoid retroversion, and posterior humeral head subluxation were measured from preoperative CT and radiography and postoperative radiography. Statistical comparisons between pre- and postoperative values were performed with a paired t test. RESULTS: Eighty-six of 110 consecutive patients during the study period (78% follow-up) met the inclusion criteria and were included in our analysis. Mean follow-up was 35 ± 10 months, with a mean age of 68 ± 8 years (range 48-85). Range of motion statistically improved in all planes from pre- to postoperation. Mean visual analog scale score improved from 5.2 preoperation to 0.7 postoperation, Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation score from 43.2 to 89.5, Constant score from 41.8 to 76.9, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form score from 49.8 to 86.7 (all P < .0001). Mean glenoid retroversion improved from 19.3° to 7.4° (P < .0001). Posterior subluxation improved from 69.1% to 53.5% and posterior decentering improved from 5.8% to -3.0% (P < .0001). There was 1 patient with both a prosthetic joint infection and radiographic glenoid loosening that required revision. Seventy-nine of 86 patients had a Lazarus score of 0 (no radiolucency seen about peg or keel) at final follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that at minimum 2-year follow-up, a posterior-augmented all-polyethylene glenoid can correct glenoid retroversion and posterior humeral head subluxation. Clinically, there was significant improvement in both range of motion and PROMs.

Sulfur Promotion in Au/C Catalyzed Acetylene Hydrochlorination.

The formation of highly active and stable acetylene hydrochlorination catalysts is of great industrial importance. The successful replacement of the highly toxic mercuric chloride catalyst with gold has led to a flurry of research in this area. One key aspect, which led to the commercialization of the gold catalyst is the use of thiosulphate as a stabilizing ligand. This study investigates the use of a range of sulfur containing compounds as promoters for production of highly active Au/C catalysts. Promotion is observed across a range of metal sulfates, non-metal sulfates, and sulfuric acid treatments. This observed enhancement can be optimized by careful consideration of either pre- or post-treatments, concentration of dopants used, and modification of washing steps. Pre-treatment of the carbon support with sulfuric acid (0.76 m) resulted in the most active Au/C in this series with an acetylene conversion of ≈70% at 200 °C.

Import volumes and biosecurity interventions shape the arrival rate of fungal pathogens.

Global trade and the movement of people accelerate biological invasions by spreading species worldwide. Biosecurity measures seek to allow trade and passenger movements while preventing incursions that could lead to the establishment of unwanted pests, pathogens, and weeds. However, few data exist to evaluate whether changes in trade volumes, passenger arrivals, and biosecurity measures have altered rates of establishment of nonnative species over time. This is particularly true for pathogens, which pose significant risks to animal and plant health and are consequently a major focus of biosecurity efforts but are difficult to detect. Here, we use a database of all known plant pathogen associations recorded in New Zealand to estimate the rate at which new fungal pathogens arrived and established on 131 economically important plant species over the last 133 years. We show that the annual arrival rate of new fungal pathogens increased from 1880 to about 1980 in parallel with increasing import trade volume but subsequently stabilised despite continued rapid growth in import trade and recent rapid increases in international passenger arrivals. Nevertheless, while pathogen arrival rates for crop and pasture species have declined in recent decades, arrival rates have increased for forestry and fruit tree species. These contrasting trends between production sectors reflect differences in biosecurity effort and suggest that targeted biosecurity can slow pathogen arrival and establishment despite increasing trade and international movement of people.

Reliability of the modified Walch classification for advanced glenohumeral osteoarthritis using 3-dimensional computed tomography analysis: a study of the ASES B2 Glenoid Multicenter Research Group.

BACKGROUND: Variations in glenoid morphology affect surgical treatment and outcome of advanced glenohumeral osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to assess the inter- and intraobserver reliability of the modified Walch classification using 3-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) imaging in a multicenter research group. METHODS: Deidentified preoperative CTs of patients with primary glenohumeral OA undergoing anatomic or reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) were reviewed with 3D imaging software by 23 experienced shoulder surgeons across 19 institutions. CTs were separated into 2 groups for review: group 1 (96 cases involving all modified Walch classification categories evaluated by 12 readers) and group 2 (98 cases involving posterior glenoid deformity categories [B2, B3, C1, C2] evaluated by 11 readers other than the first 12). Each case group was reviewed by the same set of readers 4 different times (with and without the glenoid vault model present), blindly and in random order. Inter- and intraobserver reliabilities were calculated to assess agreement (slight, fair, moderate, substantial, almost perfect) within groups and by modified Walch classification categories. RESULTS: Interobserver reliability showed fair to moderate agreement for both groups. Group 1 had a kappa of 0.43 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.38, 0.48) with the glenoid vault model absent and 0.41 (95% CI: 0.37, 0.46) with it present. Group 2 had a kappa of 0.38 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.43) with the glenoid vault model absent and 0.37 (95% CI: 0.32, 0.43) with it present. Intraobserver reliability showed substantial agreement for group 1 with (0.63, range 0.47-0.71) and without (0.61, range 0.52-0.69) the glenoid vault model present. For group 2, intraobserver reliability showed moderate agreement with the glenoid vault model absent (0.51, range 0.30-0.72), which improved to substantial agreement with the glenoid vault model present (0.61, range 0.34-0.87). DISCUSSION: Inter- and intraobserver reliability of the modified Walch classification were fair to moderate and moderate to substantial, respectively, using standardized 3D CT imaging analysis in a large multicenter study. The findings potentially suggest that cases with a spectrum of posterior glenoid bone loss and/or dysplasia can be harder to distinguish by modified Walch type because of a lack of defined thresholds, and the glenoid vault model may be beneficial in determining Walch type in certain scenarios. The ability to reproducibly separate patients into groups based on preoperative pathology, including Walch type, is important for future studies to accurately evaluate postoperative outcomes in TSA patient cohorts.

The Current Status of Enteric Fever Diagnostics and Implications for Disease Control.

Enteric (typhoid) fever remains a problem in low- and middle-income countries that lack the infrastructure to maintain sanitation and where inadequate diagnostic methods have restricted our ability to identify and control the disease more effectively. As we move into a period of potential disease elimination through the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV), we again need to reconsider the role of typhoid diagnostics in how they can aid in facilitating disease control. Recent technological advances, including serology, transcriptomics, and metabolomics, have provided new insights into how we can detect signatures of invasive Salmonella organisms interacting with the host during infection. Many of these new techniques exhibit potential that could be further explored with the aim of creating a new enteric fever diagnostic to work in conjunction with TCV. We need a sustained effort within the enteric fever field to accelerate, validate, and ultimately introduce 1 (or more) of these methods to facilitate the disease control initiative. The window of opportunity is still open, but we need to recognize the need for communication with other research areas and commercial organizations to assist in the progression of these diagnostic approaches. The elimination of enteric fever is now becoming a real possibility, but new diagnostics need to be part of the equation and factored into future calculations for disease control.

Aggressive B-cell lymphomas with a primary bone marrow presentation.

Aggressive B-cell lymphomas present as a heterogeneous spectrum of disease. A primary diagnosis in the bone marrow (BM) may be challenging in terms of diagnostic classification and clinical handling, owing to limited architectural information. Aggressive B-cell lymphomas can be subdivided into entities that typically present primarily in the BM, and cases with BM involvement in which the bulk of disease is present in other organs. One main topic at the 2018 BM workshop of the European Association of Haematopathology/Society of Hematopathology was therefore aggressive B-cell lymphomas with a primary BM presentation. The spectrum of cases submitted to this topic gave a good overview of commonly encountered problems, as well as unusual manifestations, and highlighted areas of imprecise disease definitions and diagnostic grey zones. The categories submitted to the workshop included cases of Burkitt lymphoma (BL) with unusual features, high-grade B-cell lymphomas (HG-BCLs) with and without so-called double/triple-hit, and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCLs) with a primary BM presentation. Areas of difficulties included the morphological boundaries of HG-BCL not otherwise specified, cases with MYC and bcl-2 or bcl-6 translocations and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) expression, which were categorised as B-cell lymphoblastic leukaemia/lymphoma if most cells showed TdT positivity, and the clinicopathological overlap between intravascular large B-cell lymphoma, CD5-positive DLBCL, and DLBCL with primary presentations in the BM, spleen, and liver. This review summarises our understanding of the main aggressive B-cell lymphoma categories with a common primary BM presentation and potential problem areas, and makes suggestions for the immunophenotypic and genetic work-up, illustrated by the interesting and challenging cases submitted to the workshop.

On the role of anthropogenic climate change in the emerging food crisis in southern Africa in the 2019-2020 growing season.

Anthropogenic climate change likely influences the beginning of 2020 growing season's water deficit in parts of southern Africa, with severe consequences to food security.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Humanitarian Surgeries: Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction in Rural Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Nongovernmental organizations conduct short-term surgical outreach to lessen the substantial global burden of surgical disease. Long-term outcomes of short-term surgical missions (STSMs) are underreported, raising concern for clinical sequelae and patient satisfaction with essential general surgeries. This study aims to describe long-term follow-up results of one general surgical nongovernmental organization's provision of care in rural Ghana with focus on patient-related outcomes and satisfaction. METHODS: From 2013 to 2018, Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital in Mampong, Ghana, was the host site of annual 1-wk International Surgical Health Initiative (ISHI) STSMs. Beginning in 2016, an ISHI provider-hosted follow-up clinics augmented by mobile telephone support. Surgical patients from 2013 to 2016 were contacted by the local nursing staff and evaluated for long-term outcomes and self-reported satisfaction. RESULTS: Sixty-nine of 256 patients (27%) responded; 39 patients (57%) were interviewed and examined by an ISHI physician, whereas 30 patients (43%) received mobile telephone follow-up. Mean age was 47 (±18) y, with 44% female patients, and mean duration of follow-up was 1.5 (±1) y. Eleven patients (16%) had surgical and anesthesia complications. All patients reported improvement in symptoms and activity level. Eighty-six patients reported complete satisfaction (5/5). Factors associated with reduced patient satisfaction (<5/5) included increased age and complications. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies focusing on patient-reported outcomes for the evaluation of long-term follow-up of general surgery STSMs. With mobile technology, long-term follow-up is achievable toward obtaining meaningful outcomes. Complications in this series are within an acceptable range, whereas symptom improvement and overall satisfaction are high.

Today's doctors: What do men and women value in a training post?

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies suggest that traditional male-female differences may be changing in terms of what is valued in a medical career but there have been no studies directly quantifying the relationship between gender and stated career-related preferences. To address this gap, we examined the differences between male and female doctors in terms of the strength of their work-related preferences at the point of eligibility to enter residency or specialty training in the UK. METHODS: This was a quantitative study using a survey incorporating a discrete choice experiment (DCE). Respondents were asked a series of questions in which they had to choose between two or more scenarios, differing in terms of attributes. The attributes were: location; familiarity with specialty; culture of the working and learning environment; earnings; working conditions, and opportunities for professional development. The main outcome measure was willingness to accept compensation to forgo a desirable attribute within a training position. Conditional logistic regression models were run separately for males and females. RESULTS: A total of 5005 out of 6890 (73%) Foundation Year 2 doctors completed the DCE. The relative value of each attribute was similar for males and females, with location most valued and familiarity with the specialty least valued. There was a pattern of female respondents valuing the move between the best and worst levels of each training attribute more than men, and significantly more than men in respect of the importance of working culture. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to existing knowledge in terms of quantifying gendered values in respect of training or residency preferences. That men value a supportive working culture significantly less than women is well established. However, our findings that location, working conditions and working culture are increasingly important to both men and women, suggests that traditional gender norms may be changing. This intelligence can inform gender-responsive workforce planning and innovation, and future research.

Integrating Bleeding Control Training Into Surgical Missions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

BACKGROUND: Basic bleeding control (BCon) techniques can save lives globally but the knowledge is not widespread in low-income countries where trauma is a common cause of death. Short-term surgical missions (STSMs) are an effective route to share this public health initiative around the world. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Over 2017-2018, the International Surgical Health Initiative organized STSMs to locations in Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Peru, and Ghana. The hour-long official American College of Surgeons Basic Bleeding Control course was offered to host participants several times over the course of the mission. Data including number and size of classes, type of trainee, instructors trained, and success rate in demonstrating acquisition of core BCon principles and techniques were collected. RESULTS: Over the course of four, week-long STSMs, 748 people were successfully trained in BCon over 27 sessions, with an average of 28 trainees and up to four instructors per class. One-hundred percent of trainees demonstrated acquisition of required skills proficiency. Trainees included health care workers and those in public security roles. CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent with a short-term surgical mission, a substantial number of health care providers and would-be bystanders can be trained in BCon in countries most impacted by trauma. Local instructors can be trained to teach BCon independently to sustain the initiative. STSMs are a feasible modality to teach bleeding control techniques to an international audience that does not have rapid access to effective prehospital care.

Gender Equity in Humanitarian Surgical Outreach: A Decade of Volunteer Surgeons.

BACKGROUND: Workforce trends in surgery demonstrate persistent gender inequity. Humanitarian surgical outreach opportunities exist for surgeons; however, it is unclear as to whether gender disparities exist in this arena. This pilot study examines gender equity among volunteer surgeons using a decade of compiled data from a surgical nongovernmental organization (NGO) that hosts multinational surgical outreach. We aim to evaluate gender proportions among surgical volunteers, compare the gender profiles of NGO surgeons with local and nationwide cohorts, and examine the productive output of surgical volunteers by gender. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted of the records of the International Surgical Health Initiative, an NGO that hosts short-term surgical missions, to generate a demographic roster of volunteers between 2009 and 2018. Comparisons were made of gender profiles within volunteer cohorts against local institutional data and nationwide surgical workforce data. Productivity outputs of surgical volunteers were compared. Chi-square tests and Wilcoxon two-sample statistical t-tests were used. RESULTS: A total of 23 short-term surgical trips were inclusive of 227 volunteers, and 61% (139) were female. Physicians were less likely to be female than other volunteers. In addition, nonsurgical volunteers were more likely to be female compared with surgical volunteers (67% versus 44%, P < 0.01). No gender differences were observed by average number of trips or propensity for repeat trips among surgical volunteers. No differences were found in proportions of female surgical attendings and residents in the NGO cohort compared with the local and national cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Females contribute substantially to surgical outreach, representing more than half the volunteers in this organization. Gender profiles of female surgeons in this NGO are in parity with those of surgical attendings and residents in the national census. Male and female volunteer surgeons are equally productive. There is an equitable gender representation among volunteer surgeons in this NGO. Further studies of other surgical organizations participating in surgical outreach are required toward a more complete understanding of female participation in international humanitarian efforts.

The CardiAMP Heart Failure trial: A randomized controlled pivotal trial of high-dose autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells using the CardiAMP cell therapy system in patients with post-myocardial infarction heart failure: Trial rationale and study design.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure following myocardial infarction is a common, disabling, and deadly condition. Direct injection of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells into the myocardium may result in improved functional recovery, relieve symptoms, and improve other cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: CardiAMP-HF is a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, pivotal trial designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells treatment for patients with medically refractory and symptomatic ischemic cardiomyopathy. The primary end point is change in 6-minute walk distance adjusted for major adverse cardiovascular events at 12 months following treatment. Particularly novel aspects of this trial include a cell potency assay to screen subjects who have bone marrow cell characteristics that suggest a favorable response to treatment, a point-of-care treatment method, a high target dose of 200 million cells, and an efficient transcatheter intramyocardial delivery method that is associated with high cell retention. CONCLUSIONS: This novel approach may lead to a new treatment for those with ischemic heart disease suffering from medically refractory heart failure.

Exploring residents' interest and career aspirations in global surgery.

BACKGROUND: Surgical residents increasingly seek global surgery (GS) experiences during training. Understanding their motives and goals is important to develop the optimal educational programs. A survey for surgical residents was developed to explore this interest. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey administered in 2016 to residents in three surgical programs within the same academic institution assessed interest, prior global health experience, preferred training opportunities, and career goals in GS. RESULTS: Seventy-four surgical residents responded (78%) with 82% expressing interest in GS and 86% motivated by a desire for volunteerism. International electives (65%) and volunteer missions (49%) were the preferred experiences during residency over longer commitments such as advanced degrees. A majority of residents planned to incorporate GS into their career (76%) most commonly by volunteering on missions (70%) with a smaller group aiming for a career in GS (13%). Residents with prior global health experience (n = 27, 36%) showed greater interest in GS (96% versus 72%, P = 0.02) and a commitment after residency (93% versus 68%, P = 0.02), and trended toward greater interest in GS careers (22% versus 6%, P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: Institutional interest in GS remains high among surgical residents, motivated primarily by a desire for volunteerism. Following training, most residents plan to participate in short-term volunteer commitments, though a small group envisions GS as part of their long-term career goals. Prior global health experience is associated with interest in GS both in the present and long term. Providing these experiences early may be a strategy to support academic interest.

Using paradox theory to understand responses to tensions between service and training in general surgery.

CONTEXT: The tension between service and training in pressured health care environments can have a detrimental impact on training quality and job satisfaction. Yet the management literature proposes that competing demands are inherent in organisational settings: it is not the demands as such that lead to negative outcomes but how people and organisations react to opposing tensions. We explored how key stakeholders responded to competing service-training demands in a surgical setting that had recently gone through a highly-publicised organisational crisis. METHODS: This was an explanatory case study of a general surgery unit. Public documents informed the research questions and the data were triangulated with semi-structured interviews (n = 14) with key stakeholders. Data coding and analysis were initially inductive but, after the themes emerged, we used a paradox lens to group themes into four contextual dimensions: performing, organising, belonging and learning. RESULTS: Tensions were apparent in the data, with managers, surgeons and trainees or residents in conflict with each other because of different goals or priorities and divergent perspectives on the same issue of balancing service and training (performing). This adversely impacted on relationships across and within groups (belonging, learning) and led to individuals prioritising their own goals rather than working for the 'greater good' (performing, belonging). Yet although relationships and communication improved, the approach to getting a better balance maintained the 'compartmentalisation' of training (organising) rather than acknowledging that training and service cannot be separated. DISCUSSION: Stakeholder responses to the tensions provided temporary relief but were unlikely to lead to real change if the tension between service and training was considered to be an interdependent and persistent paradox. Reframing the service-training paradox in this way may encourage adjusting responses to create effective working partnerships. Our findings add to the body of knowledge on this topic, and will resonate with all those engaged in surgical and other postgraduate training.

Geographical mobility of UK trainee doctors, from family home to first job: a national cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The UK faces geographical variation in the recruitment of doctors. Understanding where medical graduates choose to go for training is important because doctors are more likely to consider practicing in areas where they completed postgraduate training. The wider literature also suggests that there is a relationship between origin and background, and where doctors wish to train/work. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the geographical mobility of UK medical graduates from different socio-economic groups in terms of where they wish to spend their first years of postgraduate training. METHODS: This was an observational study of Foundation Programme (FP) doctors who graduated from 33 UK medical schools between 2012 and 2014. Data was accessed via the UK medical education database (UKMED: https://www.ukmed.ac.uk/ ). Chi-square tests were used to examine the relationships between doctor's sociodemographic characteristics and the dependent variable, average driving time from parental home to foundation school/region. Generalised Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) were used to estimate the effects of those factors in combination against the outcome measure. RESULTS: The majority of doctors prefer to train at foundation schools that are reasonably close to the family home. Those who attended state-funded schools, from non-white ethnic groups and/or from lower socio-economic groups were significantly more likely to choose foundation schools nearer their parental home. Doctors from disadvantaged backgrounds (as determined by entitlement to free school meals, OR = 1.29, p = 0.003 and no parental degree, OR = 1.34, p < 0.001) were associated with higher odds of selecting a foundation schools that were closer to parental home. CONCLUSION: The data suggests that recruiting medical students from lower socioeconomic groups and those who originate from under-recruiting areas may be at least part of the solution to filling training posts in these areas. This has obvious implications for the widening access agenda, and equitable distribution of health services.