Comparing Effectiveness of Remote-learning Formats for Resident Physician Didactics.

BACKGROUND: It is important to investigate remote- learning options for medical education. We evaluated retention of research-related knowledge after exposure to pre-recorded audio-based didactics (AUDIO) versus video conference-based didactics (ZOOM). METHODS: Obstetrics and Gynecology residents over the 2020-2021 academic year were randomized to didactics delivered in AUDIO versus ZOOM formats. At baseline, immediately post-exposure, and 3-month post-exposure, objective knowledge was assessed through 15 multiple choice questions. Confidence and satisfaction were assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. Median differences and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were applied to identify a 10% non-inferiority margin. RESULTS: Thirty of thirty-one (30/31, 96.8%) eligible residents participated. At 3-month post-exposure, AUDIO was non-inferior to ZOOM (6.3% mean difference in knowledge scores, 95% CI -3.5-16.2). There were no differences in satisfaction or confidence, though a greater proportion of AUDIO participants indicated they would use a similar resource independently (p=0.008). CONCLUSION: AUDIO didactics may be non-inferior to ZOOM.

Trends and correlates of the sex distribution among U.S. assisted reproductive technology births.

OBJECTIVE: To assess national trends in the sex distribution of live-born infants in the assisted reproductive technology (ART) and general population and to identify factors correlated with offspring sex. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Fertility treatment centers. PATIENTS: All live-born infants included in the National Vital Statistics System and resulting from ART cycles reported to the National ART Surveillance System during 2006-14. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Trends in the proportion of male infants in the general population and proportion of males from fresh ART cycles among all ART live-born infants and singletons after single ET. RESULT(S): There were 214,274 live-born infants resulting from fresh ART cycles; 53.5% (5,492/10,266) of infants resulting from PGD/PGS cycles were male, as compared with 50.6% (103,228/204,008) in the non-PGD/PGS group. Among non-PGD/PGS cycles, blastocyst transfer was positively associated with male infants (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] = 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.04). Intracytoplasmic sperm injection was negatively associated with male infants (aRR = 0.94; 95% CI, 0.93-0.95) and for singletons after single ET (aRR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90-0.95), as was transfer of two embryos (aRR 0.98; 95% CI, 0.97-0.99) or three or more embryos (aRR = 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99) among all live births from cycles without PGD/PGS use. CONCLUSION(S): The proportion of male live-born infants among ART population did not change during 2006-14, ranging from 50.5% to 51.2%. Factors such as blastocyst transfer, intracytoplasmic sperm injection use, embryo stage, and number of embryos transferred may be associated with infant sex; further investigation is needed to understand possible underlying causes.