Exploring US internal medicine resident career preferences: a Q-methodology study.

Career selection in medicine is a complex and underexplored process. Most medical career studies performed in the U.S. focused on the effect of demographic variables and medical education debt on career choice. Considering ongoing U.S. physician workforce shortages and the trilateral adaptive model of career decision making, a robust assessment of professional attitudes and work-life preferences is necessary. The objective of this study was to explore and define the dominant viewpoints related to career choice selection in a cohort of U.S. IM residents. We administered an electronic Q-sort in which 218 IM residents sorted 50 statements reflecting the spectrum of opinions that influence postgraduate career choice decisions. Participants provided comments that explained the reasoning behind their individual responses. In the final year of residency training, we ascertained participating residents' chosen career. Factor analysis grouped similar sorts and revealed four distinct viewpoints. We characterized the viewpoints as "Fellowship-Bound-Academic," "Altruistic-Longitudinal-Generalist," "Inpatient-Burnout-Aware," and "Lifestyle-Focused-Consultant." There is concordance between residents who loaded significantly onto a viewpoint and their ultimate career choice. Four dominant career choice viewpoints were found among contemporary U.S. IM residents. These viewpoints reflect the intersection of competing priorities, personal interests, professional identity, socio-economic factors, and work/life satisfaction. Better appreciation of determinants of IM residents' career choices may help address workforce shortages and enhance professional satisfaction.

Gaps and Future Directions in Clinical Research on Obesity-Related Asthma.

Obesity is a major comorbidity for the development and worsening of asthma. It is associated with increased disease incidence, reduced response to inhaled and systemic steroids, increased asthma exacerbations, and poor disease control. Over the past two decades, we have learned that there are clinical asthma phenotypes associated with obesity, which have unique immune, inflammatory, and metabolic disease mechanisms. The objectives of this review are to provide a brief overview of the associations and gaps between these chronic inflammatory diseases and the role that traditional therapies have on treating patients with obesity-related asthma, and to describe new clinical research of therapeutic developments targeting mechanisms that are more specific to this patient population.

Pathophysiology of Asthma-Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Overlap.

Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO) is a condition in which a person has clinical and biological features of both asthma and COPD. The pathophysiology behind the development of ACO is complex, with various inflammatory cells, cytokines, environmental factors, and architectural changes within the airways, all affecting a patient's clinical manifestation. A better understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms resulting in the development of ACO will help us to better identify potential drug targets and improve symptom burden and overall quality of life for patients living with ACO.

Pathophysiology and clinical evaluation of the patient with unexplained persistent dyspnea.

INTRODUCTION: Dyspnea is a complex symptom, which largely results from an imbalance between an afferent sensory stimulus and the corresponding efferent respiratory neuromuscular response. In addition, it is heavily influenced by the patient's prior experiences and sociocultural factors. AREAS COVERED: The diagnostic approach to these patients requires a graded, systematic, and often multidisciplinary approach to determine what is the underlying pathophysiologic process. Utilization of objective data obtained through lab testing, imaging, and advanced testing, such as cardiopulmonary exercise testing, is often required to help identify underlying pathology contributing to a patient's symptoms. This article will review dyspnea's underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and standardized approaches to diagnoses. In the expert opinion section, we will discuss our own clinical approach to evaluating patients with persistent dyspnea. EXPERT OPINION: Unexplained dyspnea is a challenging diagnosis that occurs in patients with and without underlying cardiopulmonary diseases. It requires a systematic approach, which initially uses clinical evaluation in addition to standard imaging and clinical biomarkers. When diagnoses are not made during the initial evaluation, subsequent tests can include cardiopulmonary exercise test and methacholine challenge. To be certain of the correct diagnosis, It is imperative that the clinician determines dyspnea's response to a particular therapeutic intervention.

A Severe Case of Diabetic Ketoacidosis and New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Associated with Anti-Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Antibodies Following Immunotherapy with Pembrolizumab.

BACKGROUND Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are a novel class of antibodies, which have been increasingly utilized in cancer immunotherapies. Pembrolizumab is a humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody, which acts against programmed cell death (PD)-1 receptors to help restore the body's T-cell and immune response. CASE REPORT In this case, we present a 51-year-old woman with a past medical history of lung adenocarcinoma and triple-positive breast cancer who was actively receiving therapy with pembrolizumab. Following her second chemotherapy cycle, she developed a severe case of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), with concern for new-onset autoimmune type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), secondary to her recent ICI therapy. The patient was initiated on a high-dose insulin infusion for rapid glycemic control and was successfully transitioned to a subcutaneous regimen approximately 24 h after presentation. She additionally developed other autoimmune-related complications, including hepatoxicity, duodenitis, and a maculopapular rash, which all resolved upon discontinuation of the ICI treatment. Her laboratory test results were consistent with positive anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD) antibodies and undetectable c-peptides, illustrating the uniqueness of an ICI potentially precipitating an autoimmune T1DM. CONCLUSIONS Immune-related adverse events from ICI therapy warrant further investigation to acknowledge the risk of potentially life-threatening adverse reactions, such as the development of DKA. Patients receiving ICI therapy should be educated on signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia, and routine measurements of blood glucose levels should be completed during each chemotherapy cycle. Future research in assessing potential biomarkers of beta cell dysfunction, such as anti-GAD antibodies and c-peptides, is of interest, particularly for patients receiving ICI therapies.