Exploring UK medical school differences: the MedDifs study of selection, teaching, student and F1 perceptions, postgraduate outcomes and fitness to practise.

BACKGROUND: Medical schools differ, particularly in their teaching, but it is unclear whether such differences matter, although influential claims are often made. The Medical School Differences (MedDifs) study brings together a wide range of measures of UK medical schools, including postgraduate performance, fitness to practise issues, specialty choice, preparedness, satisfaction, teaching styles, entry criteria and institutional factors. METHOD: Aggregated data were collected for 50 measures across 29 UK medical schools. Data include institutional history (e.g. rate of production of hospital and GP specialists in the past), curricular influences (e.g. PBL schools, spend per student, staff-student ratio), selection measures (e.g. entry grades), teaching and assessment (e.g. traditional vs PBL, specialty teaching, self-regulated learning), student satisfaction, Foundation selection scores, Foundation satisfaction, postgraduate examination performance and fitness to practise (postgraduate progression, GMC sanctions). Six specialties (General Practice, Psychiatry, Anaesthetics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Surgery) were examined in more detail. RESULTS: Medical school differences are stable across time (median alpha = 0.835). The 50 measures were highly correlated, 395 (32.2%) of 1225 correlations being significant with p < 0.05, and 201 (16.4%) reached a Tukey-adjusted criterion of p < 0.0025. Problem-based learning (PBL) schools differ on many measures, including lower performance on postgraduate assessments. While these are in part explained by lower entry grades, a surprising finding is that schools such as PBL schools which reported greater student satisfaction with feedback also showed lower performance at postgraduate examinations. More medical school teaching of psychiatry, surgery and anaesthetics did not result in more specialist trainees. Schools that taught more general practice did have more graduates entering GP training, but those graduates performed less well in MRCGP examinations, the negative correlation resulting from numbers of GP trainees and exam outcomes being affected both by non-traditional teaching and by greater historical production of GPs. Postgraduate exam outcomes were also higher in schools with more self-regulated learning, but lower in larger medical schools. A path model for 29 measures found a complex causal nexus, most measures causing or being caused by other measures. Postgraduate exam performance was influenced by earlier attainment, at entry to Foundation and entry to medical school (the so-called academic backbone), and by self-regulated learning. Foundation measures of satisfaction, including preparedness, had no subsequent influence on outcomes. Fitness to practise issues were more frequent in schools producing more male graduates and more GPs. CONCLUSIONS: Medical schools differ in large numbers of ways that are causally interconnected. Differences between schools in postgraduate examination performance, training problems and GMC sanctions have important implications for the quality of patient care and patient safety.

The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey: an analysis of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in 25 UK medical schools relating to timing, duration, teaching formats, teaching content, and problem-based learning.

BACKGROUND: What subjects UK medical schools teach, what ways they teach subjects, and how much they teach those subjects is unclear. Whether teaching differences matter is a separate, important question. This study provides a detailed picture of timetabled undergraduate teaching activity at 25 UK medical schools, particularly in relation to problem-based learning (PBL). METHOD: The Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey used detailed timetables provided by 25 schools with standard 5-year courses. Timetabled teaching events were coded in terms of course year, duration, teaching format, and teaching content. Ten schools used PBL. Teaching times from timetables were validated against two other studies that had assessed GP teaching and lecture, seminar, and tutorial times. RESULTS: A total of 47,258 timetabled teaching events in the academic year 2014/2015 were analysed, including SSCs (student-selected components) and elective studies. A typical UK medical student receives 3960 timetabled hours of teaching during their 5-year course. There was a clear difference between the initial 2 years which mostly contained basic medical science content and the later 3 years which mostly consisted of clinical teaching, although some clinical teaching occurs in the first 2 years. Medical schools differed in duration, format, and content of teaching. Two main factors underlay most of the variation between schools, Traditional vs PBL teaching and Structured vs Unstructured teaching. A curriculum map comparing medical schools was constructed using those factors. PBL schools differed on a number of measures, having more PBL teaching time, fewer lectures, more GP teaching, less surgery, less formal teaching of basic science, and more sessions with unspecified content. DISCUSSION: UK medical schools differ in both format and content of teaching. PBL and non-PBL schools clearly differ, albeit with substantial variation within groups, and overlap in the middle. The important question of whether differences in teaching matter in terms of outcomes is analysed in a companion study (MedDifs) which examines how teaching differences relate to university infrastructure, entry requirements, student perceptions, and outcomes in Foundation Programme and postgraduate training.

Suprageniculate Approach to Release of Popliteal Entrapment without Distal Bypass Despite Preoperative Runoff Thrombosis.

BACKGROUND: Popliteal artery entrapment syndrome is an uncommon condition in which anatomic or functional popliteal artery compression causes arterial insufficiency. We present a case of popliteal entrapment with runoff thrombosis treated with suprageniculate release of entrapment without distal bypass. RESULTS: A 15-year old boy with Klinefelter syndrome presented with right leg claudication severely limiting his activity. He had a palpable femoral pulse, but no palpable popliteal or foot pulses on the right. Noninvasive testing showed a partially thrombosed popliteal artery with an ankle-brachial index (ABI) of 0.69. Computed tomography scan revealed type III popliteal entrapment with distal thromboses and abnormal insertion of gastrocnemius muscle. Popliteal entrapment release was performed via a medial suprageniculate approach in consideration for distal bypass. The soleus was released first; intraoperative angiography showed continued popliteal compression with forced dorsiflexion. This was followed by release of the gastrocnemius and found caudal and medial to the soleus as a tight band. Repeat angiography showed cessation of popliteal artery compression with dorsiflexion. Bypass was not performed due to improvement of distal flow seen on angiography. Postoperative recovery was unremarkable. On 1-month and 9-month follow-up, he had a normal ABI and arterial duplex, was asymptomatic, and had returned to normal activities. CONCLUSIONS: We describe suprageniculate approach to popliteal release that may be useful if a distal bypass is planned. In this case, bypass was unnecessary despite the abnormal appearance of distal runoff on preoperative imaging, as the child's perfusion improved with entrapment release alone, and arterial remodeling over time resulted in normal perfusion and arterial appearance on duplex imaging.

Cryopreserved venous allograft is an acceptable conduit in patients with current or prior angioaccess graft infection.

OBJECTIVE: The durability of cryopreserved allograft has been previously demonstrated in the setting of infection. The objective of this study was to examine the safety, efficacy, patency, and cost per day of graft patency associated with using cryopreserved allograft (vein and artery) for hemodialysis access in patients with no autogenous tissue for native fistula creation and with arteriovenous graft infection or in patients at high risk for infection. METHODS: Patients implanted with cryopreserved allograft for hemodialysis access between January 2004 and January 2014 were reviewed using a standardized, multi-institutional database that evaluated demographic, comorbidity, procedural, and outcomes data. RESULTS: There were 457 patients who underwent placement of cryopreserved vein (femoral: n = 337, saphenous: n = 11) or artery (femoral: n = 109) for hemodialysis access at 20 hospitals. Primary indications for allograft use included high risk of infection in 191 patients (42%), history of infected prosthetic graft in 169 (37%), and current infection in 97 (21%). Grafts were placed more frequently in the arm (78%) than in the groin, with no difference in allograft conduit used. Mean time from placement to first hemodialysis use was 46 days (median, 34 days). Duration of functional graft use was 40 ± 7 months for cryopreserved vein and 21 ± 8 months for cryopreserved artery (P < .05), and mean number of procedures required to maintain patency at follow-up of 58 ± 21 months was 1.6 for artery and 0.9 for vein (P < .05). Local access complications occurred in 32% of patients and included late thrombosis (14%), graft stenosis (9%), late infection (9%), arteriovenous access malfunction (7%), early thrombosis (3%), and early infection (3%). Early and late infections both occurred more frequently in the groin (P = .030, P = .017, respectively), and late thrombosis occurred more frequently with cryopreserved artery (P < .001). Of the 82 patients (18%) in whom the cryopreserved allograft was placed in the same location as the excised infected prosthetic graft, 13 had infection of the allograft during the study period (early: n = 4; late: n = 9), with no significant difference in infection rate (P = .312) compared with the remainder of the study population. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year primary patency was 58%, 35%, and 17% for cryopreserved femoral vein and 49%, 17%, and 8% for artery, respectively (P < .001). Secondary patency at 1, 3, and 5 years was 90%, 78%, and 58% for cryopreserved femoral vein and 75%, 53%, and 42% for artery, respectively (P < .001). Mean allograft fee per day of graft patency was $4.78 for cryopreserved vein and $6.97 for artery (P < .05), excluding interventional costs to maintain patency. CONCLUSIONS: Cryopreserved allograft provides an excellent conduit for angioaccess when autogenous tissue is not available in patients with current or past conduit infection. Cryopreserved vein was associated with higher patency and a lower cost per day of graft patency. Cryopreserved allograft allows for immediate reconstruction through areas of infection, reduces the need for staged procedures, and allows early use for dialysis.

Creation of a Successful Transposed Antecubital Radiocephalic Arteriovenous Fistula in Patient with Known Ipsilateral Modified Radical Mastectomy, Postoperative Radiation, and Proximal Central Venous Occlusion.

Native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) placement in patients with ipsilateral mastectomy and radiation has been avoided because of concerns regarding central venous outflow obstruction. To our knowledge, only 3 such cases have been reported. We present a patient with bilateral mastectomies and right-sided radiation therapy presenting for vascular access in the setting of multiple failed AVF in her left upper extremity and infected-groin catheter, central catheters, and axillary loop graft. We created and superficialized a radiocephalic AVF in her right upper extremity in the setting of central vein occlusion and robust collaterals which remains patent and has been cannulated successfully.

Late pregnancy in women with renal transplants: A multidisciplinary guide.

Kidney transplant recipients are at risk of complications in late pregnancy, with increased rates of pre-eclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction and preterm birth. It is recommended that these women receive more intensive monitoring after 20 weeks' gestation, ideally provided by a multidisciplinary team in a tertiary centre. This review focuses on the management of late pregnancy in kidney transplant recipients, from the perspective of different members of the multidisciplinary team. This includes evidence and guidance to inform the nephrologist, obstetrician, obstetric anaesthetist, transplant surgeon, midwife, and a summary of the woman's perspective. The review outlines a late pregnancy and early postnatal care pathway as a common algorithm to be used by the whole multidisciplinary team.

Complex Ventral Hernias: A Review of Past to Present.

With the incidence of ventral hernias increasing, surgeons are faced with greater complexity in dealing with these conditions. Proper knowledge of the history and the advancements made in managing complex ventral hernias will enhance surgical results. This review article highlights the literature regarding complex ventral hernias, including a shift from a focus that stressed surgical technique toward a multimodal approach, which involves optimization and identification of suboptimal characteristics.

Primary Epithelial Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Retroperitoneum.

Neuroendocrine tumors are either epithelial or neural in origin. Neuroendocrine tumors of the retroperitoneum are mostly metastatic. Primary epithelial neuroendocrine tumors of the retroperitoneum are exceedingly rare. We describe a case of a retroperitoneal tumor that was discovered incidentally during exploratory laparotomy for small-bowel obstruction. Histopathologic and immunochemical analyses of the biopsied mass were consistent with an epithelial neuroendocrine tumor. The tumor was subsequently removed and final analyses confirmed the initial diagnosis. No evidence of lymph nodes or paraganglia were found within the tumor on histologic examination. Extensive evaluation did not reveal any other primary or metastatic lesions. Therefore, the diagnosis of primary epithelial neuroendocrine tumor of the retroperitoneum was made. The literature is reviewed and discussed. To date, this is only the fifth reported case of primary epithelial retroperitoneal neuroendocrine tumor. Although extremely rare, the possibility of such diagnosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of a retroperitoneal tumor.

Tissue-engineered vascular grafts: autologous off-the-shelf vascular access?

Dialysis grafts have provided reliable access for millions of patients in need of renal replacement therapy. However, regardless of the material used for artificial dialysis grafts their mean patency remains generally poor and infection rates are greater than native arteriovenous fistulas. The need for superior alternatives to conventional synthetic materials used for vascular access has been an area of investigation for more than 25 years and recently there has been a great deal of progress in the field of tissue-engineered vascular grafts. Many of these technologies are either commercially available or are now entering early phases of clinical trials. This review briefly covers the history, potential advantages, and disadvantages of these technologies, which are likely to create an impact in the field of vascular access surgery.