Venous Thromboembolism Risk Assessment in Hospitalized Cancer Patients: A Single Center Study.

This study aimed to identify predictors of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in hospitalized cancer patients and develop a predictive model using demographic, clinical, and laboratory data. Our analysis showed that patient groups categorized under a very high risk, and high risk, patients with low hemoglobin levels and renal disease were at a significantly increased risk of developing VTE. We developed a VTE risk-assessment model (RAM) with moderate discriminatory performance, high specificity, and negative predictive value, indicating its potential utility in identifying patients without VTE risk. However, the model's positive predictive value and sensitivity were low due to the low prevalence of VTE within the analyzed population. Future studies are needed to analyze additional predictive factors, and to validate the effectiveness of our VTE RAM to safely rule out VTE, compare it with other VTE RAMs in hospitalized cancer patients, and address any limitations of our study.

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.

Undiagnosed sarcoidosis presenting as acute pancreatitis: a rare presentation of a known disease.

A 43-year-old African American man presented with right upper quadrant pain and elevated blood pressure. Investigations revealed elevated lipase, hypercalcaemia and elevated creatinine. CT abdomen with contrast revealed extensive intraabdominal lymphadenopathy with an initial suspicion for a lymphoproliferative malignancy. Patient was managed for acute pancreatitis, with further workup of hypercalcaemia revealing an elevated ACE level. Inguinal lymph node biopsy confirmed a non-caseating granuloma leading to the diagnosis of sarcoidosis.