Lung Cancer Screening Knowledge in Four Internal Medicine Programs.

INTRODUCTION: Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Low density CT (LDCT) has been shown to reduce mortality in high-risk populations. Recognizing and mitigating gaps in knowledge in early medical training could result in increased utilization of screening CT in high risk-populations. METHODS: An electronic survey was conducted among Internal Medicine (IM) residents at 4 academic programs in the Midwestern United States. A survey was distributed to evaluate knowledge about high-risk populations, mortality benefits, and a comparison in mortality benefits between LDCT and other screening modalities using number needed to screen (NNS). Results: There was a 46.6% (166/360) response rate. Residents correctly answered an average of 2.9/7 (43.1%) questions. PGY-1 (post-graduate year) and PGY-2 residents performed better than PGY-3 (P = .022). Only 1/3 rd of all respondents correctly identified the population needed to be screened. Over 80% of residents thought screening with LDCT had a cancer-specific mortality benefit but were evenly split (except Program 2 residents), on recognizing an all-cause mortality benefit with LDCT, (P = .016). Only 7.7% thought women benefited the most from LDCT. Self-assess and attained knowledge were similar among programs. CONCLUSIONS: LDCT is a noninvasive intervention with a substantial mortality reduction, especially in states with high rates of smoking, and is widely covered by insurers. With average knowledge score less than 50%, this study shows there is a substantial need to increase the knowledge of LCS in IM residency programs.

Sweet outcome for a rare inflammatory condition.

Sweet syndrome is a rare inflammatory condition that was first described by Douglas Sweet in 1964 as an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. It can be associated with infections, inflammatory conditions,pregnancy, drugs, and malignancy. It is usually divided into three subtypes based on etiology: classical(idiopathic); malignancy-associated; and drug-induced. We describe a patient with classical Sweet syndrome who had a dramatic response to corticosteroids.Our patient met the major criteria for diagnosis (positive histopathology and an abrupt onset of a painful rash), along with 4 minor criteria (fever, preceding upper respiratory tract infection, dramatic response to steroids, and leukocytosis).