Understanding motivations behind medical student involvement in COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.

BACKGROUND: Although students were removed from patient-facing settings at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic due to concerns of burdening teaching physicians and depleting personal protective equipment, some leaders suggest students can be effectively utilized when personnel resources may be scarce. There have been narrative discussions surrounding medical student involvement, but no studies exploring the attitudes of these students. The authors aim to quantify the degree to which factors influenced a medical student's decision to or to not volunteer during the pandemic and to characterize medical students' attitudes towards medical professionals' duty to serve in a pandemic. METHODS: The authors developed and tested a secure web-based survey before distribution to students at 23 different US allopathic medical schools that did not graduate medical students early to aid in pandemic efforts between April and June 2020. Of the 599 students who completed the survey, 65.5% self-identified as female and were on average 25.94 years old (SD = 2.5). Multiple comparisons were made based on volunteer status. Ordinal scale questions were compared with the Mann Whitney U test, and the Chi-Squared test was used for categorical variables using R version 3.62. RESULTS: 67.6% of students volunteered in pandemic relief activities and a majority of those students volunteered in non-patient-facing roles. Community service, new skills, and time commitment were top 3 influencing factors for students who volunteered, while risk to other, time commitment, and risk to self were top 3 influencing factors for students who chose not to volunteer. Compared to other specialties, students interested in primary care specialties agreed to a greater degree that physicians have a duty to serve in pandemic relief efforts. CONCLUSIONS: Medical students who volunteered cited self-serving factors and altruistic values as significant motivators. Students who did not volunteer were significantly more concerned with risks of COVID-19 exposure. However, medical students in general agreed that students should be allowed to volunteer in COVID-19 related relief efforts. As large areas of the United States continue to experience increases in COVID-19 cases, institutions should involve medical students in balancing the level of acceptable risk with the educational benefits.

Change in Ophthalmic Clinicians' Attitudes Toward Telemedicine During the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic.

Background: Ophthalmic clinicians report low confidence in telemedicine-based eye care delivery, but it may have changed given its rapid expansion during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine clinician confidence in telemedicine-based eye care services during COVID-19. Materials and Methods: An electronic survey was sent to clinicians at University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center (April 17, 2020-May 6, 2020) when nonemergent in-person visits and procedures were restricted. The primary outcome was clinician confidence in using telemedicine-based eye care during COVID-19. Secondary outcomes included telemedicine utilization and its association with clinician confidence using Fisher's exact test. Results: Of the 88 respondents (90.7% response rate; n = 97 total), 83.0% (n = 73) were ophthalmologists and 17.0% (n = 15) were optometrists. Telemedicine utilization increased from 30.7% (n = 27) before the pandemic to 86.2% (n = 75) after the pandemic. Clinicians' confidence in their ability to use telemedicine varied with 28.6% (24/84) feeling confident/extremely confident, 38.1% (32/84) somewhat confident, and 33.3% (28/84) not-at-all confident. Most felt that telemedicine was underutilized (62.1%; 54/87) and planned continued use over the next year (59.8%; 52/87). Confident respondents were more likely to have performed three or more telemedicine visits (p = 0.003), to believe telemedicine was underutilized (p < 0.001), and to anticipate continued use of telemedicine (p = 0.009). Discussion: The majority of clinicians were at least somewhat confident about using telemedicine during the pandemic. Clinician confidence was associated with telemedicine visit volume and intention to continue using telemedicine. Conclusions: Policies that foster clinician confidence will be important to sustain telemedicine-based eye care delivery.

Describing the sternalis muscle: a new variant and an amended classification.

PURPOSE: With emphasis on the clinical setting, knowledge of anatomical variation decreases misdiagnoses and surgical complications. We report a previously undocumented variant of sternalis muscle and recommend an augmented classification scheme. METHODS: Dissection of the anterior thoracic wall on an 83-year-old female cadaver revealed bilateral sternalis muscles. The Snosek et al. classification system was referenced to describe the variant types. RESULTS: The right sternalis muscle has a single belly and can be classified using the Snosek et al. classification system as a simple type, right single. The left sternalis muscle presented with three muscle bellies, each having a unique pattern of superior attachments (heads). This variation is previously undocumented and requires a more detailed classification. CONCLUSIONS: We propose the addition of a new subtype of sternalis classification, as well as a modification to the Snosek et al. (Clin Anat 27:866-884, 2014) classification scheme, to include classification of different muscle bellies when multiple are present.

Retinal neovascularization as self-organized criticality on ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography imaging of diabetic retinopathy.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Do the distributions of surface area of non-perfusion (NP) and neovascularization (NV) on ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (UWF FA) in patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) differ significantly? SUBJECTS/METHODS: Inclusion criteria were patients who had a UWF FA taken for DR at the Kellogg Eye Center from January 2009 to May 2018. Exclusion criteria included previous panretinal photocoagulation and significant media opacity (e.g., vitreous haemorrhage or significant cataract). UWF FAs were manually segmented for surface areas of NP and NV. The total areas per patient were organized in a histogram, and logarithmically binned to test against power law and exponential distributions. Then, a computational model was constructed in Python 3.7 to suggest a mechanistic explanation for the observed distributions. RESULTS: Analysis of areas of NV across 189 images demonstrated a superior fit by the least squares method to a power law distribution (p = 0.014) with an R2 fit of 0.9672. Areas of NP over 794 images demonstrated a superior fit with an exponential distribution instead (p = 0.011). When the far periphery was excluded, the R2 fit for the exponential distribution was 0.9618. A computational model following the principles of self-organized criticality (SOC), akin to earthquake and forest fire models, matched these datasets. CONCLUSIONS: These distributions inform what useful statistics may be applied to study of these imaging characteristics. Further, the difference in event distribution between NV and NP suggests that the two phenomena are mechanistically distinct. NV may follow SOC, propagating as a catastrophic event in an unpredictable manner.

Endophthalmitis, Visual Outcomes, and Management Strategies in Eyes with Intraocular Foreign Bodies.

Purpose: Ocular trauma with intraocular foreign body (IOFB) can have devastating visual consequences. Management and antimicrobial strategies remain variable due to the infrequency and heterogeneity of presentation. Our goal was to identify risk factors for endophthalmitis and poor visual outcomes in cases of IOFB and investigate management strategies. Patients and Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted in 88 eyes of 88 patients suffering traumatic injury with IOFB at the University of Michigan between January 2000 and December 2019. Medical records were reviewed to characterize the injuries and IOFBs as well as how clinical presentation and treatment modalities were associated with outcomes. Results: Delayed presentation (P=0.016) and organic IOFB (P=0.044) were associated with development of endophthalmitis. Retinal detachment (P=0.012), wound length greater than 5 mm (P=0.041), and poor presenting visual acuity (P=0.003) correlated with poor final visual outcome. Antibiotic prophylaxis was given to all patients, though agents and routes of delivery varied. Endophthalmitis developed in 4.9% of the eyes after initial management, with primary and secondary removal of posterior segment IOFBs associated with similar rates of endophthalmitis (P=1.000). Conclusion: Poor presenting visual acuity and severity of injury, as measured by large wound and retinal detachment, correlate with poor visual outcome. Prompt globe closure and antimicrobial prophylaxis are critical for infection prevention. In cases where IOFB removal and globe closure cannot be performed concurrently, primary globe closure with aggressive antibiotic prophylaxis offers a reasonable alternative to prevent endophthalmitis.

Assessment of Keratitis Severity Using Quantitative Image Analysis in an In Vivo Murine Model of Staphylococcus aureus Bacterial Keratitis.

Purpose: Bacterial keratitis (BK) severity in murine models has traditionally been measured by subjective clinical grading or quantification of ocular bacterial burden. This investigation explores an objective and repeatable quantification of slit lamp photography (SLP) images to measure BK severity. Methods: BALB/c strain mice underwent three parallel scratches of the right cornea with subsequent inoculation of 107Staphylococcus aureus cells. SLP imaging and clinical severity grading were performed at 48 hours post-infection. Stromal infiltrate (SI) area on SLP images were quantified. Bacterial burden was determined after enucleation and homogenization. Spearman rank correlations (rs) were used to estimate associations between SI area, clinical severity grades, and bacterial burden. Results: BALB/c strain mice (n = 14) were evaluated with an average SI area of 0.92 mm2 (standard deviation, SD = 0.65) and average bacterial burden of 3.16 × 105 colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL) (SD = 8.3 × 105). Clinical severity grade positively correlated with SI area (rs = 0.59, p = 0.0276) and bacterial burden (rs = 0.66, p = 0.0106). There was a trend towards positive association between SI area and bacterial burden (rs = 0.51, p = 0.0543). Conclusions: SLP annotation of SI area is correlated with clinical severity and may provide an objective, quantitative, and repeatable assessment of BK disease severity. Translational Relevance: SLP annotation of SI area is a novel quantitative method to evaluate bacterial keratitis severity longitudinally in mouse models which may be a powerful tool to better understand BK pathogenesis and response to treatments.

Telehealth-based Eye Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Utilization, Safety, and the Patient Experience.

PURPOSE: To assess the initial utilization, safety, and patient experience with tele-ophthalmology during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: We conducted a telephone survey and interview of a random sample of patients who received different modalities of care (in-person, telephone, videocall, or visits deferred) during Michigan's shelter-in-place order beginning March 23, 2020. The survey assessed patient safety, patient satisfaction with care, perceptions of telehealth-based eye care, and worry about eyesight. Data were analyzed via frequency measures (eg, means and standard deviations), χ2 tests, ANOVA, and paired t tests. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory. RESULTS: A total of 3,274 patients were called and 1,720 (53%) agreed to participate. In-person participants were significantly older than telephone (P = .002) and videocall visit (P = .001) participants. Significantly more white participants had in-person visits than minority participants (P = .002). In-person visit participants worried about their eyesight more (2.7, standard deviation [SD] = 1.2) than those who had telephone (2.5, SD = 1.3), videocall (2.4, SD = 1.1), or deferred visits (2.4, SD = 1.2) (P = .004). Of all telephone or videocall visits, 1.5% (n = 26) resulted in an in-person visit within 1 day, 2.9% (n = 48) within 2-7 days, and 2.4% (n = 40) within 8-14 days after the virtual visit demonstrating appropriate triage to telemedicine-based care. Patients frequently cited a desire for augmenting the telephone or videocall visits with objective test data. CONCLUSIONS: When appropriately triaged, tele-ophthalmology appears to be a safe way to reduce the volume of in-person visits to promote social distancing in the clinic. A hybrid model of eye care combining ancillary testing with a video or phone visit represents a promising model of care.

Risk Factors for Endophthalmitis Following Open Globe Injuries: A 17-Year Analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To determine the rate of endophthalmitis and assess risk factors for development of endophthalmitis following open globe injury (OGI). METHODS: A retrospective chart review of all patients treated for OGI at the University of Michigan from January 2000 to July 2017 was conducted. Exclusion criteria included intravitreal injection or intraocular surgery in the 30 days prior to injury or less than 30 days of follow-up. A total of 586 out of 993 open globe injuries were included in the study. The main outcome measure was the rate of endophthalmitis. RESULTS: In this study, 25/586 eyes (4.3%) had endophthalmitis. Of these, 12/25 eyes (48.0%) presented with endophthalmitis and 13/25 eyes (52.0%) developed endophthalmitis after globe closure. Multivariate analysis identified time to globe repair (OR 4.5, CI 1.9-10.7, p = 0.0008), zone I injury (OR 3.6, CI 1.1-11.0, p = 0.0282), and need for additional surgery (OR 5.5, CI 1.5-19.7, p = 0.0092) as factors associated with increased risk of developing endophthalmitis. Subconjunctival antibiotic injection at the time of globe closure (OR 0.3, CI 0.1-0.7, p = 0.0036) was associated with decreased risk of developing endophthalmitis. CONCLUSION: Prompt globe closure and subconjunctival antibiotics may reduce the risk of endophthalmitis in OGI. Furthermore, our practice of a one-time dose of systemic prophylactic antibiotics, and intravitreal antibiotics if intraocular foreign body (IOFB) removal is delayed, was not found to increase the rate of endophthalmitis.

Inactivation of AR and Notch-1 signaling by miR-34a attenuates prostate cancer aggressiveness.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer related death in men in the United States, suggesting that novel molecular targets as well as the development of agents that could deregulate such targets would become newer therapeutic approach for the treatment of castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) especially the metastatic CRPC (mCRPC). In search for novel targets, microRNAs (miRNAs) are becoming an emerging area because miRNAs function as regulators of gene expression in human cancers including PCa. Previous studies from our laboratory have shown that the expression of miR-34a is significantly down-regulated in human PCa specimens consistent with PCa cell lines with aggressive characteristics, and that the silencing of miR-34a expression was in part due to hypermethylation of its promoter. There are several genes that are direct targets of miR-34a, and in the current study we investigated the cellular consequence of miR-34a over-expression and under-expression in the regulation of androgen receptor (AR) and Notch-1 in PCa cells. We found that over-expression of miR-34a led to reduced expression of AR, PSA and Notch-1. We also found that over-expression of miR-34a significantly inhibited the growth of PCa cells. Moreover, over-expression of miR-34a resulted in decreased self-renewal capacity of PCa cells, and conversely inactivation of miR-34a led to increased self-renewal capacity, which is an indication of tumor cell aggressiveness. These findings suggest that the loss of miR-34a is directly linked with up-regulation of AR and Notch-1 both of which are highly expressed in PCa, and thus finding innovative approaches by which miR-34a expression could be up-regulated will have a huge impact on the treatment of PCa especially for the treatment of mCRPC.