Assessment and feedback methods in competency-based medical education.

Graduate and continuing medical education programs have transitioned to a competency-based medical education model, in which abilities necessary for the practice of medicine, called competencies, are defined as learning outcomes. Each competency contains milestones that describe stages of development from novice to master and provide criteria for assessing learners along this continuum. Assessments in competency-based medical education are formative and are intended to assist learners in achieving the next stage in mastery rather than render a final evaluation. Although written examinations are typically used to evaluate learners, assessments measuring the performance of skills, such as direct observation or patient registries, provide stronger evidence of achievement of learning outcomes. Once assessments identify strengths and areas of improvement in a learner, effective feedback is critical in assisting their professional development. Feedback should be routine, timely, nonthreatening, specific, and encourage self-assessment. The "ask-tell-ask" feedback method follows this framework by asking for the learner's self-assessment first, telling the observer's own assessment next, and then finally asking for the learner's questions and action plan to address the issues raised. Effective assessment and feedback in competency-based medical education assists learners in their continued professional development and aims to provide evidence of their impact on the health status of patients and communities.

The effects of beta-lactam allergy relabeling on antibiotic prescribing practices.

BACKGROUND: Beta-lactam antibiotic allergy labels are highly prevalent but rarely indicate an allergic intolerance. These patient-reported allergies lead to broad-spectrum antibiotic use, conferred resistance, increased expense, and adverse effects. OBJECTIVE: To implement and assess the impact of a history-based clinical guideline that directs antibiotic management and beta-lactam allergy relabeling for patients reporting beta-lactam allergies. METHODS: Patients with beta-lactam allergy labels were identified by our trained multidisciplinary team in diverse clinical settings. This quality improvement project was conducted to evaluate the safety and impact of the guideline on antibiotic use by comparing prescribing practices before and after guideline implementation. RESULTS: A total of 79 patients with beta-lactam allergies were identified (penicillins-90%, cephalosporins-10%). After guideline implementation, outcomes of allergy relabeling included the following: (1) complete removal, indicating an unlikely true allergy (27%); (2) updated to detail successfully tolerated beta-lactam courses (48%); or (3) no change made to current label (25%). Beta-lactam antibiotic courses before and after guideline implementation compared with total antibiotic courses: allergy removed (44% vs 70%; P < .001), allergy updated (32% vs 68%; P < .001), and no change (27% vs 41%; P = .08). Compared with before guideline implementation, beta-lactam antibiotics were 3 times more likely to be prescribed after allergy assessment (odds ratio, 3.22; 95% confidence interval, 2.4-4.3; P < .05). CONCLUSION: The implementation of the beta-lactam allergy clinical guideline resulted in most patients' allergy labels being removed or advantageously updated. These allergy label changes correlated with a substantial increase in the percentage of beta-lactam antibiotics prescribed. After guideline implementation, beta-lactam antibiotics had a 3-fold increased odds of being prescribed independent of allergy label outcome.

Detection of changes of functioning over time after asthma exacerbation in children with the use of PROMIS domains.

OBJECTIVES: Patient reported outcome measures, such as the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) may be utilized to understand experiences of patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the ability of PROMIS domains to detect changes in pain, physical functioning, and asthma impact over time for children experiencing asthma exacerbation. METHODS: Our prospective cohort study included children presenting to the emergency department (ED) for asthma exacerbation. Children completed PROMIS surveys in the ED, 7-10 days, and 1-3 months post-discharge. We used linear mixed models adjusted for age, gender, acute care utilization, and child global health to determine changes in PROMIS T-scores. We used self-reported child health response (Much better now versus a little better now or worse) at discharge as an anchor to determine if change in PROMIS scores corresponded with changes in health. A change was statistically significant if the 95% CI did not include 0. RESULTS: Our study included 63 children who presented to the ED for acute asthma exacerbation. We identified that children improved significantly in all domains over time. There was improvement over time following discharge from ED for all pain and physical functioning domains, and asthma impact. Using the clinical anchor, those with considerable improvement in asthma symptoms had improved T scores from 4-17. CONCLUSIONS: PROMIS domains of pain, physical functioning, depression, fatigue, peer relationships, and asthma impact are responsive to changes in health states over time. These domains may be used to measure clinically significant change in children experiencing asthma exacerbation.

Assessment of pediatric asthma exacerbation with the use of new PROMIS measures.

OBJECTIVE: Patient reported outcome measures, such as the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) may be used to assess patient functioning for asthma and aid in understanding the impact of asthma exacerbation. These domains may be utilized as endpoints in clinical trials and to guide clinical care. The purpose of this study was to determine psychometric properties of the new PROMIS measures for children with asthma, at baseline and with exacerbation. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of children with acute asthma exacerbation or at baseline health. Psychometric properties of validity (using known groups and correlation) and reliability (using Cronbach's alpha and IRT) for the new PROMIS measures were determined. RESULTS: Our study included 220 subjects, 102 were enrolled during an acute exacerbated state. Cronbach's alpha and IRT reliability was greater or equal to 0.75. Our subjects experiencing an acute exacerbated state reported worse T-scores for pain related domains: pain behavior 45.7 vs 53.5 (p < 0.001), pain quality sensory 44.4 vs 48.5 (p < 0.005), pain quality affective 42.5 vs 51.3 (p < 0.001), and physical stress experience 60.5 vs 65.4 (p < 0.001); and asthma impact 47.9 vs 61.0 (p < 0.001), than subjects at baseline. Child and parent-proxy agreement ranged from 35% to 56%. CONCLUSIONS: The new Pediatric PROMIS domains are valid and reliable for use in children with asthma, for both child-reported and parent-proxy reported outcomes. It was determined that children with acute asthma exacerbation have worse patient reported outcomes (PROs) for the new pain related domains and asthma impact.

Life-Threatening Allergies: Using a Patient-Engaged Approach.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents at risk for anaphylaxis are a growing concern. Novel training methods are needed to better prepare individuals to manage anaphylaxis in the community. INTRODUCTION: Didactic training as the sole method of anaphylaxis education has been shown to be ineffective. We developed a smartphone-based interactive teaching tool with decision support and epinephrine auto-injector (EAI) training to provide education accessible beyond the clinic. METHODS: This study consisted of two parts: (1) Use of food allergy scenarios to assess the decision support's ability to improve allergic reaction management knowledge. (2) An assessment of our EAI training module on participant's ability to correctly demonstrate the use of an EAI by comparing it to label instructions. RESULTS: Twenty-two adolescents were recruited. The median (range) baseline number of correct answers on the scenarios before the intervention was 9 (3-11). All subjects improved with decision support, increasing to 11 (9-12) (p < .001). The median (range) demonstration score was 6 (5-6) for the video training module group and 4.5 (3-6) for the label group (p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: Results suggest that the use of this novel m-health application can improve anaphylaxis symptom recognition and increase the likelihood of choosing the appropriate treatment. In addition, performing EAI steps in conjunction with the video training resulted in more accurate medication delivery with fewer missed steps compared to the use of written instructions alone. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that mobile health decision support technology for anaphylaxis emergency preparedness may support traditional methods of training by providing improved access to anaphylaxis training in the community setting.

All that Wheezes is not Asthma or Bronchiolitis.

Wheezing is a common finding across patients of all age groups presenting to the emergency department and being hospitalized for respiratory distress, with most patients responding to standard therapeutics and having readily apparent diagnoses of asthma or bronchiolitis. We describe several clinical entities that may present with wheezing and respiratory distress, calling attention to the broad differential that may masquerade as asthma or bronchiolitis, and potentially lead to misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or inappropriate treatment.

Reported Knowledge and Management of Potential Penicillin Allergy in Children.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) and primary care provider (PCP) providers are the most likely physicians to initially label a child as allergic to penicillin. Differences in knowledge and management of reported penicillin allergy between these 2 groups have not been well characterized. METHODS: A cross-sectional, 20-question survey was administered to PEM and PCPs to ascertain differential knowledge and management of penicillin allergy. Knowledge regarding high- and low-risk symptoms for true allergy and extent of history taking regarding allergy were compared between the 2 groups using t tests, Chi-square, and Wilcoxon tests. RESULTS: In total, 182 PEM and 54 PCPs completed the survey. PEM and PCPs reported that 74.1 ± 19.5% and 69.0 ± 23.8% of patients with remote low-risk symptoms of allergy could tolerate penicillin without an allergic reaction. PEM and PCPs incorrectly identified low-risk symptoms of allergy as high-risk, including vomiting with medication administration and delayed skin rash. PCPs took more detailed allergy histories when compared with PEM providers. In total, 143 (78.5%) of PEM providers and 51 (94.4%) PCPs were interested in using a penicillin allergy questionnaire to segregate children into high- or low-risk categories. CONCLUSIONS: Most pediatric providers believe that children with a remote history of low-risk allergy symptoms could tolerate penicillin without an allergic reaction; however, this is infrequently acted upon. Both PEM and PCP providers were likely to classify low-risk symptoms as high-risk and infrequently referred children for further detailed allergy assessment. Both groups were receptive to decision support measures to facilitate improved penicillin allergy classification and labeling and support antibiotic appropriateness in their patients.

Antibiotic Use After Removal of Penicillin Allergy Label.

BACKGROUND: Penicillin allergy is commonly reported in the pediatric emergency department. We previously performed 3-tier penicillin allergy testing on children with low-risk symptoms, and 100% tolerated a penicillin challenge without an allergic reaction. We hypothesized that no serious allergic reactions would occur after re-exposure to penicillin and that prescription practices would change after testing. METHODS: We performed a follow-up case series of 100 children whose test results were negative for penicillin allergy. Research staff administered a brief follow-up phone survey to the parent and primary care provider of each patient tested. We combined the survey data and summarized baseline patient characteristics and questionnaire responses. We then completed a 3-tier economic analysis from the prescription information gathered from surveys in which cost savings, cost avoidance, and potential cost savings were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 46 prescriptions in 36 patients were reported by the primary care provider and/or parents within the year after patients were tested for penicillin allergy. Twenty-six (58%) of the prescriptions filled were penicillin derivatives. One (4%) child developed a rash 24 hours after starting the medication; no child developed a serious adverse reaction after being given a penicillin challenge. We found that the cost savings of delabeling patients as penicillin allergic was $1368.13, the cost avoidance was $1812.00, and the total potential cost savings for the pediatric emergency department population was $192 223.00. CONCLUSIONS: Children with low-risk penicillin allergy symptoms whose test results were negative for penicillin allergy tolerated a penicillin challenge without a severe allergic reaction developing. Delabeling children changed prescription behavior and led to actual health care savings.

Parent-Reported Penicillin Allergy Symptoms in the Pediatric Emergency Department.

OBJECTIVE: Children often present to the pediatric emergency department (ED) with a reported penicillin allergy. The true incidence of pediatric penicillin allergy is low, and patients may be inappropriately denied first-line antibiotics. We hypothesized that more than 70% of reported penicillin allergies in the pediatric ED are low risk for true allergy. METHODS: Parents of children presenting to the pediatric ED with parent-reported penicillin allergy completed an allergy questionnaire. The questionnaire included age at allergy diagnosis, symptoms of allergy, and time to allergic reaction from first dose. The allergy symptoms were dichotomized into high and low risk in consultation with a pediatric allergist before questionnaire implementation. RESULTS: A total of 605 parents were approached; 500 (82.6%) completed the survey. The median (interquartile range) age of the children at diagnosis was 1 year (7 months, 2 years); 75% were diagnosed before their third birthday. Overall, 380 (76%) (95% confidence interval 72.3, 79.7) children had exclusively low-risk symptoms. The most commonly reported symptoms were rash (466, 92.8%) and itching (203, 40.6%). Of the 120 children with one or more high-risk symptom, facial swelling (50, 10%) was the most common. Overall, 354 children (71%) were diagnosed after their first exposure to penicillin. Symptom onset within 24 hours of medication administration occurred in 274 children (54.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Seventy-six percent of patients with parent-reported penicillin allergy have symptoms unlikely to be consistent with true allergy. Determination of true penicillin allergy in patients with low-risk symptoms may permit the increased use of first-line penicillin antibiotics.

Allergy Testing in Children With Low-Risk Penicillin Allergy Symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Penicillin allergy is commonly reported in the pediatric emergency department (ED). True penicillin allergy is rare, yet the diagnosis results from the denial of first-line antibiotics. We hypothesize that all children presenting to the pediatric ED with symptoms deemed to be low-risk for immunoglobulin E-mediated hypersensitivity will return negative results for true penicillin allergy. METHODS: Parents of children aged 4 to 18 years old presenting to the pediatric ED with a history of parent-reported penicillin allergy completed an allergy questionnaire. A prespecified 100 children categorized as low-risk on the basis of reported symptoms completed penicillin allergy testing by using a standard 3-tier testing process. The percent of children with negative allergy testing results was calculated with a 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Five hundred ninety-seven parents completed the questionnaire describing their child's reported allergy symptoms. Three hundred two (51%) children had low-risk symptoms and were eligible for testing. Of those, 100 children were tested for penicillin allergy. The median (interquartile range) age at testing was 9 years (5-12). The median (interquartile range) age at allergy diagnosis was 1 year (9 months-3 years). Rash (97 [97%]) and itching (63 [63%]) were the most commonly reported allergy symptoms. Overall, 100 children (100%; 95% confidence interval 96.4%-100%) were found to have negative results for penicillin allergy and had their labeled penicillin allergy removed from their medical record. CONCLUSIONS: All children categorized as low-risk by our penicillin allergy questionnaire were found to have negative results for true penicillin allergy. The utilization of this questionnaire in the pediatric ED may facilitate increased use of first-line penicillin antibiotics.

Anaphylaxis: drug allergy, insect stings, and latex.

The highest rates of anaphylaxis in humans occur in early childhood associated with food allergy. Latex allergy, pharmaceutical drugs, and stinging insect reactions are important later in childhood, with drug allergy peaking in adult populations. Knowledge about diagnosis and therapy of anaphylaxis is critical, because a large percentage of subjects are not previously known to be at risk at the time of initial reactions. This article summarizes the basic clinical knowledge of anaphylaxis in childhood.

The treatment of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a disease characterized by asthma, peripheral eosinophilia, pulmonary infiltrates, hypersensitivity to Aspergillus fumigatus and bronchiectasis. The treatment of ABPA depends on the stage of the disease, and includes following clinical symptoms, serum IgE levels, pulmonary function tests, and chest radiographs. This review covers the current treatment options for ABPA.

Nasal airway obstruction: allergy and otolaryngology perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Diagnostic test preferences and management strategies for nasal airway obstruction (NAO) may vary depending on medical specialty. OBJECTIVE: To discern current attitudes and practices of different medical specialties regarding diagnostic and management strategies for patients with NAO. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of all practicing otolaryngologists and medical allergists in Wisconsin and parts of northern Illinois (N = 268). Survey participants were asked to rank the tests they most commonly perform to differentiate causes of NAO and to rank the diagnostic tests they believed were most sensitive and specific (criterion standard) for NAO. The second portion of the survey provided 3 distinct patient scenarios, and participants were surveyed on their treatment plans. RESULTS: The survey response rate was approximately 50% for both specialties. Nasal endoscopy was the most common diagnostic test for otolaryngologists vs allergists (58% vs 2%, P < .001), and allergy testing was most commonly used first by allergists (92% vs 0%, P < .001). Nasal endoscopy was considered the criterion standard for evaluating NAO by 70% of otolaryngologists vs 29% of allergists (P < .001), although nasal endoscopy was ranked in the top 3 for both specialties without a statistically significant difference. Patient scenario responses, however, demonstrated no statistically significant differences between the specialties. CONCLUSION: Differences were demonstrated in the diagnostic workup preferences and perceptions of the criterion standard for NAO between the 2 medical specialties. Specialty bias, practitioner comfort level, and patient selection likely accounted for differences in responses. However, patient management decisions, medical or surgical, seemed to be similar between the specialties.

Latex hypersensitivity in Department of Veterans Affairs health care workers: glove use, symptoms, and sensitization.

BACKGROUND: This report of the prevalence of latex glove allergy in 3 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers was a collaboration of the VA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. OBJECTIVE: To enroll and evaluate personnel from across the entire hospital workforce for latex hypersensitivity and to determine the type and extent of latex glove use. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered that covered demographics, job category, latex glove use, and current latex glove allergic symptoms. Skin testing to aeroallergens was performed to evaluate the presence of atopy. Blood was drawn for analyses of serum antilatex IgE antibody by CAP assay. RESULTS: Of 1,959 subjects, 158 (8.1%) had latex glove-allergic symptoms, a positive latex CAP assay result, or both. In 1,003 subjects who reported latex glove use, 915 (91.4%) used nonpowdered gloves. A total of 133 subjects reported latex glove allergic symptoms, and 36 subjects had positive CAP assay results. Latex sensitization was correlated with atopy, race, and latex glove exposure. Latex symptoms were correlated with atopy, a positive CAP assay result, and latex glove exposure. Of the 133 subjects with latex glove allergic symptoms, only 11 had positive CAP assay results, giving a prevalence of confirmed latex glove allergy of 0.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms attributed to latex gloves and/or latex sensitization occurred in 8.1% of the employee population, with exposure, race, and atopy being the major risk factors. Few symptomatic individuals were sensitized to latex (0.6%). This low rate of confirmed latex glove allergy may have been related to nonpowdered glove use.