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.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): a scourge from infancy to old age.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common single cause of respiratory hospitalisation of infants and is the second largest cause of lower respiratory infection mortality worldwide. In adults, RSV is an under-recognised cause of deterioration in health, particularly in frail elderly persons. Infection rates typically rise in late autumn and early winter causing bronchiolitis in infants, common colds in adults and insidious respiratory illness in the elderly. Virus detection methods optimised for use in children have low detection rate in adults, highlighting the need for better diagnostic tests. There are many vaccines under development, mostly based on the surface glycoprotein F which exists in two conformations (prefusion and postfusion). Much of the neutralising antibody appears to be to the prefusion form. Vaccines being developed include live attenuated, subunit, particle based and live vectored agents. Different vaccine strategies may be appropriate for different target populations: at-risk infants, school-age children, adult caregivers and the elderly. Antiviral drugs are in clinical trial and may find a place in disease management. RSV disease is one of the major remaining common tractable challenges in infectious diseases and the era of vaccines and antivirals for RSV is on the near horizon.

Exploratory study of frequent attenders in general practice to better understand why patients seek help.

BACKGROUND: Frequent attenders (defined as the top 10% of health care users or those making ≥10 visits per year) account for 30-50% of GP consultations. This has significant resource implications. AIM: To understand the characteristics of frequent attenders (≥18-years) at an outer London general practice (list 5,876; deprivation index 5th decile) and reasons for attending. METHOD: A retrospective case note review was conducted using SystmOne of people attending on ≥10 occasions to see a health professional between March 2022 and February 2023. Data were extracted by hand: age, gender, reason and type of consultation, diagnoses, referrals, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), mortality at one year. Patient notes for ≥30 contacts were reviewed by a senior GP. RESULTS: 544 people (9.3%) attended ≥10 appointments. Of these, five interacted with a GP ≥50 occasions (Group 1;mean age:74.6yrs/female: 4 /CCI:5.0), eight ≥40 occasions (Group 2; 69.6yrs/6.0/5.5) and 35 ≥30 occasions (Group 3;70yrs/27/4.7). Forty-eight people accounted for 882 appointments, 29% face to face and 71% by telephone. Frequency increased with age and CCI. Patients in group 3 underwent more investigations (6.0/6.0/10.0). There was no difference in mean numbers of clinicians seen (6.4/7.1/7.4) or referrals (5.0/4.0/5.0) between the three groups. Frequent attenders tended to fall into two groups: people with chronic diseases, typically associated with anxiety and complex needs, and people with ongoing mental health conditions. Coding was challenging due to complexity. CONCLUSION: Frequent attenders presented due to their medical complexity or mental health disorders rather than medically unexplained symptoms. Most interactions with a GP are understandable.

Experimental Antiviral Therapeutic Studies for Human Rhinovirus Infections.

Rhinovirus infection is common and usually causes mild, self-limiting upper respiratory tract symptoms. Rhinoviruses can cause exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, leading to a significant burden of morbidity and mortality. There has been a great deal of progress in efforts to understand the immunological basis of rhinovirus infection. However, despite a number of in vitro and in vivo attempts, there have been no effective treatments developed. This review article summarises the up to date virological and immunological understanding of these infections. We discuss the challenges researchers face, and key solutions, in their work to investigate potential therapies including in vivo rhinovirus challenge studies. Finally, we explore past and present experimental therapeutic strategies employed in the treatment of rhinovirus infections and highlight promising areas of future work.

Human rhinovirus infection and COPD: role in exacerbations and potential for therapeutic targets.

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory virus infections (predominantly rhinoviruses) are the commonly identified in COPD exacerbations but debate about their role as a trigger of exacerbations continues. Experimental infection studies have provided significant new evidence establishing a causal relationship between virus infection and COPD exacerbations and contributed to a better understanding of the mechanisms of virus-induced exacerbations. However as yet no anti-viral treatments have undergone clinical trials in COPD patients. AREAS COVERED: This review discusses the evidence for and against respiratory viruses being the main trigger of COPD exacerbations from both epidemiological studies and experimental infection studies. The host immune response to rhinovirus infection and how abnormalities in host immunity may underlie increased susceptibility to virus infection in COPD are discussed and the role of dual viral-bacterial infection in COPD exacerbations. Finally the current state of anti-viral therapy is discussed and how these may be used in the future treatment of COPD exacerbations. EXPERT OPINION: Respiratory virus infections are the trigger of a substantial proportion of COPD exacerbations and rhinoviruses are the most common virus type. Clinical trials of anti-viral agents are needed in COPD patients to determine whether they are effective in virus-induced COPD exacerbations.

Lemierre's Syndrome: Recognising a Typical Presentation of a Rare Condition.

Lemierre's syndrome is a rare complication following an acute oropharyngeal infection. The aetiological agent is typically anaerobic bacteria of the genus Fusobacterium. The syndrome is characterised by a primary oropharyngeal infection followed by metastatic spread and suppurative thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein. If left untreated, Lemierre's syndrome carries a mortality rate of over 90%. Whilst relatively common in the preantibiotic era, the number of cases of Lemierre's syndrome subsequently declined with the introduction of antibiotics. With the increase of antibiotic resistance and a greater reluctance to prescribe antibiotics for minor conditions such as tonsillitis, there are now concerns developing about the reemergence of the condition. This increasing prevalence in the face of an unfamiliarity of clinicians with the classical features of this "forgotten disease" may result in the misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis of this potentially fatal illness. This case report illustrates the delay in diagnosis of probable Lemierre's syndrome in a 17-year-old female, its diagnosis, and successful treatment which included the use of anticoagulation therapy. Whilst there was a positive outcome, the case highlights the need for a suspicion of this rare condition when presented with distinctive signs and symptoms.

Implementation of a high-throughput ion chromatographic assay to assess glass degradation in drug product formulations.

UNLABELLED: The primary container for parenterals is usually composed of glass. Given the recent industry-wide spike in glass-related problems, assays capable of detecting glass degradation before glass-related particles are visible in solution have practical significance. A rapid, high-throughput ion chromatography method coupled with molybdate reaction is described here for detection and quantitation of silicic acid (soluble form of silica) in complex samples. The method involves ion exchange separation of the silicate anion at high pH followed by a post-column derivatization step with sodium molybdate reagent. The resulting molybdo-silicate complex is detected with high sensitivity in the visible wavelength range at 410 nm and correlates to the level of soluble silica in solution. This assay is high-throughput and amenable for implementation during the early phase of product development. The assay provides a direct measurement to assess potential incompatibility between the formulation and its glass container. The Si levels measured by this method showed a direct correlation to the vial surface morphology changes as monitored by differential interference contrast microscopy. LAY ABSTRACT: Recently, the pharmaceutical industry has been faced with glass quality challenges that have resulted in many products being recalled from the market. Monitoring levels of soluble silica in solution is critical because silica is the primary component of glass containers used in the pharmaceutical industry. Given this recent industry-wide increase in glass-related problems, assays capable of detecting glass degradation before glass-related particles are visible in solution have practical significance. A rapid assay to detect the soluble form of silica is presented here. The method presented will enable earlier detection of a formulation and container incompatibility instead of waiting until glass-related particles are visible in solution.

Late diagnosis among our ageing HIV population: a cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: With the advent of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), more people infected with HIV are living into older age; 22% of adults receiving care in the UK are aged over 50 years [1]. Age influences HIV infection; the likelihood of seroconversion illness, mean CD4 count and time from infection to development of AIDs defining illnesses decreases with increasing age. A UK study estimates that half of HIV infections in persons over 50 years are acquired at an age over 50 [2]. Studies exploring sexual practices in older persons have repeatedly shown that we cannot assume there is no risk of STI and HIV infection [3,4]. Physicians should be alert to risk of HIV even in the older cohort, where nearly half diagnoses are made late [2]. Local audit has demonstrated poor testing rates in the over 50's on the Acute Medical Unit. Late diagnosis (CD4<350) results in poorer outcomes and age confounds further; older late presenters are 2.4 times more likely to die within the first year of diagnosis than younger counterparts [2]. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective case notes review was conducted of all patients aged 60 years and over attending HIV clinic in the last 2 years. Outcomes audited included features around diagnosis; age, presentation, missed testing opportunities and CD4 count at diagnosis. RESULTS: Of the current cohort of 442 patients, 34 were over 60 years old (8%). Age at diagnosis in this group ranged from 36 to 80 years, mean 56.6 years. Presentation triggers included opportunistic infections or malignancies (n=10), constitutional symptoms (n=6), diagnosis of another STI (n=4), seroconversion illness (n=2), partner status (n=3). Eight patients were diagnosed through asymptomatic screening at Sexual Health. We identified missed opportunities in five patients who were not tested despite diagnoses or symptoms defined as clinical indicators for HIV. Half of older patients had a CD4 count of <200 at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: It is imperative that general medical physicians and geriatricians are alert to enquiring about risk and testing for HIV where clinical indicators are present, irrespective of age. The oldest patient in the cohort was diagnosed with HIV aged 80 years. All patients with missed opportunities for testing were over 47 years old.