A systematic review of evidence-based practices for clinical education and health care delivery in the clinical teaching unit.

BACKGROUND: The clinical teaching unit is a widespread clinical training model that requires reform to prepare physicians for practice in the 21st century. In this systematic review, we aimed to identify evidence-based practices in internal medicine clinical teaching units that contribute to improved clinical education and health care delivery. METHODS: We searched several databases from 1993 until Apr. 5, 2021, to identify published studies in inpatient clinical teaching units that involved medical trainees and reported outcomes related to trainee education or health care delivery. We identified emergent themes using a narrative approach and determined confidence in review findings using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research (GRADE-CERQual) methodology. RESULTS: We included 107 studies of internal medicine clinical teaching units, of which 93 (87%) were conducted in North America. Surveys (n = 31, 29%), trials (n = 17, 16%) and narrative studies (n = 15, 14%) were the most prevalent study designs. Practices identified as contributing to improved clinical education or health care delivery included purposeful rounding (high confidence), bedside rounding (moderate confidence), resource stewardship interventions (high confidence), interprofessional rounds (moderate confidence), geographic wards (moderate confidence), allocating more trainee time to patient care or educational activities (moderate confidence), "drip" continuous models of admission (moderate confidence), limiting duty hours (moderate confidence) and limiting clinical workload (moderate confidence). INTERPRETATION: In this review, we identified several evidence-based practices that may contribute to improved educational and health care outcomes in clinical teaching unit settings. These findings may offer guidance for policies, resource allocation and staffing of teaching hospitals.

Oral beta-lactam step down in bacteremic E. coli urinary tract infections.

BACKGROUND: Literature is scarce regarding oral step down to beta-lactams in bacteremic urinary tract infections. Oral fluoroquinolones are an accepted and common step down for bacteremic urinary tract infections; however, their use is associated with mounting safety concerns. We compared clinical cure in patients with E. coli bacteremic urinary tract infections who were stepped down to oral beta-lactams compared to oral fluoroquinolones. METHODS: This multicentre retrospective cohort study included patients with first positive concurrent urine and blood cultures from January 2016 to December 2016. Patients were included if they received empiric intravenous beta-lactam therapy with step down to either oral beta-lactam or fluoroquinolone for treatment completion. The primary outcome was clinical cure. Secondary outcomes were length of hospitalization, all-cause mortality and C. difficile infection. Multivariate analysis and propensity score were used to control for confounding. RESULTS: A total of 207 patients were identified with bacteremic E.coli urinary tract infections. Clinical cure was achieved in 72/77 (94%) in the oral beta-lactam group versus 127/130 (98%) in the oral fluoroquinolone group (absolute difference - 4.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] -10.3 to 1.9%, p = 0.13). The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for clinical cure with oral beta-lactams was 0.31 (95% CI 0.05-1.90, p = 0.21); propensity score adjusted analysis showed a similar result. There was no statistically significant difference in secondary outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Oral beta-lactams appear to be a safe and effective step down option in bacteremic E. coli urinary tract infections compared to oral fluoroquinolones.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) for both anesthesiologists and other airway managers: principles and practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthcare providers are facing a coronavirus disease pandemic. This pandemic may last for many months, stressing the Canadian healthcare system in a way that has not previously been seen. Keeping healthcare providers safe, healthy, and available to work throughout this pandemic is critical. The consistent use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) will help assure its availability and healthcare provider safety. The purpose of this communique is to give both anesthesiologists and other front-line healthcare providers a framework from which to understand the principles and practices surrounding PPE decision-making. We propose three types of PPE including: 1) PPE for droplet and contact precautions, 2) PPE for general airborne, droplet, and contact precautions, and 3) PPE for those performing or assisting with high-risk aerosol-generating medical procedures.

RéSUMé: Les professionnels de la santé sont confrontés à une pandémie de coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Cette pandémie pourrait durer plusieurs mois, soumettant le système de santé canadien à des pressions jusqu'alors méconnues. Il est essentiel de garder les professionnels de la santé en sécurité, en santé et disponibles tout au long de cette pandémie. Une utilisation cohérente des équipements de protection individuelle (EPI) adaptés nous aidera à garantir leur disponibilité et la sécurité des professionnels de la santé. L'objectif de ce communiqué est de fournir aux anesthésiologistes et aux autres professionnels de la santé de première ligne un cadre leur permettant de comprendre les principes et les pratiques entourant la prise de décision par rapport aux EPI. Nous proposons trois types d'EPI, soit 1) les EPI pour prendre des précautions contre les gouttelettes et le contact; 2) les EPI pour prendre des précautions générales contre les suspensions aériennes, les gouttelettes et le contact; et 3) les EPI pour les professionnels réalisant ou assistant des interventions médicales à haut risque de génération d'aérosols.

Clinical teaching unit design: a realist systematic review protocol of evidence-based practices for clinical education and health service delivery.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical teaching unit (CTU) has emerged as a near-ubiquitous model of clinical education across Canadian and international medical schools since it was first proposed over 50 years ago. However, while healthcare has changed dramatically over this period, the CTU model has remained largely unchanged. We thus aimed to systematically review principles of CTU design that contribute to improved outcomes in clinical education and health service delivery. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will perform a realist systematic review in accordance with the Realist And Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards (RAMESES) II protocol for realist reviews. Databases, including MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), were searched to find primary research articles published from 1993 to 2019 involving CTUs or other teaching wards, and outcomes related to either trainee education or health service delivery. Two reviewers will independently screen studies in a two-stage process. Retrieved titles and/or abstracts of studies will be screened in the first stage, with full texts reviewed in the second stage. Selected articles meeting inclusion criteria will undergo data abstraction using a standardised, pre-piloted form for assessment of study quality and knowledge synthesis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This review will generate higher quality evidence on the design of CTUs as a model for both clinical education and health service delivery. In addition, further knowledge translation efforts may be necessary to ensure that known best practices in CTU design become common practice.