Burden of chronic kidney disease in resource-limited settings from Peru: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The silent progression of chronic kidney diseases (CKD) and its association with other chronic diseases, and high treatment costs make it a great public health concern worldwide. The population burden of CKD in Peru has yet to be fully described. METHODS: We completed a cross sectional study of CKD prevalence among 404 participants (total study population median age 54.8 years, 50.2 % male) from two sites, highly-urbanized Lima and less urbanized Tumbes, who were enrolled in the population-based CRONICAS Cohort Study of cardiopulmonary health in Peru. Factors potentially associated with the presence of CKD were explored using Poisson regression, a statistical methodology used to determine prevalence ratios. RESULTS: In total, 68 participants (16.8 %, 95 % CI 13.5-20.9 %) met criteria for CKD: 60 (14.9%) with proteinuria, four (1%) with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 , and four (1%) with both. CKD prevalence was higher in Lima (20.7 %, 95 % CI 15.8-27.1) than Tumbes (12.9 %, 95 % CI 9.0-18.5). Among participants with CKD, the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension was 19.1 % and 42.7 %, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, CKD was associated with older age, female sex, greater wealth tertile (although all wealth strata were below the poverty line), residence in Lima, and presence of diabetes and hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence rates of CKD identified in Lima and Tumbes are similar to estimates from high-income settings. These findings highlight the need to identify occult CKD and implement strategies to prevent disease progression and secondary morbidity.

How we developed a locally focused Global Health Clinical Preceptorship at Weill Cornell Medical College.

BACKGROUND: Global health educational programs within U.S. medical schools have the opportunity to link their "global" focus with local circumstances by examining the challenges underserved communities face in the United States. AIM: Students in Weill Cornell Medical College's Global Health Clinical Preceptorship (GHCP) learn history-taking and physical examination skills while gaining exposure to local health care disparities and building cultural competency. METHODS: First-year medical students in the program are placed in the office of a physician who works with underserved patient populations in New York City. Students receive an orientation session, shadow their preceptors one afternoon per week for seven weeks, complete weekly readings and assignments on topics specific to underserved populations, attend a reflection session, and write a reflection paper. RESULTS: In three years, 36% of first-year students (112 of 311) opted into the elective GHCP program. Students reported gaining a better understanding of the needs of underserved patient populations, being exposed to new languages and issues of cultural competency, and having the opportunity to work with role model clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: The GHCP is a successful example of how global health programs within medical schools can incorporate a domestic learning component into their curricula.

Vaccinations in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by immune dysfunction resulting in heightened susceptibility to infections and elevated rates of morbidity and mortality. A key strategy to mitigate infection-related complications has been immunization against common pathogens. However, the immunocompromised status of CLL patients poses challenges in eliciting an adequate humoral and cellular immune response to vaccination. Most CLL-directed therapy disproportionately impairs humoral immunity. Vaccine responsiveness also depends on the phase and type of immune response triggered by immunization. In this review, we discuss the immune dysfunction, vaccine responsiveness, and considerations for optimizing vaccine response in patients with CLL.

Campylobacter Infection-Associated Acute Pancreatitis in a Renal Transplant Recipient.

Immunocompromised individuals (patients with cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, transplant recipients) and pregnant women are at greater risk of complicated foodborne illness than the general population. Though rare, Campylobacter enteritis-associated acute pancreatitis has not been reported in an immunocompromised host to our knowledge. Herein, we describe a case of Campylobacter infection-associated pancreatitis in a renal transplant recipient. This case highlights the need for food safety education for the immunocompromised, emphasizes the role of health care providers in encouraging adherence to food safety guidelines, and stresses the need to maintain broad infectious differentials for immunocompromised patient populations, even for conditions which are not commonly associated with an infectious etiology.

Diagnosing Lemierre's Syndrome as the Cause of Multifocal Pneumonia During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

A 21-year-old male with no past medical history presented with a sore throat, cough, and shortness of breath after attending a party days earlier. He was initially treated for community-acquired pneumonia, but subsequently developed a new oxygen requirement. CT imaging of the chest showed multifocal airspace disease, concerning for COVID-19. Testing for SARS-CoV-2 was negative by RT-PCR and antibody testing. Blood cultures subsequently grew Streptococcus anginosus. A CT scan of his neck demonstrated a right peritonsillar abscess and right internal-jugular thrombus, consistent with Lemierre's syndrome. He underwent incision and drainage of the peritonsillar abscess and completed 4 weeks of IV antibiotics, which improved his symptoms. It is important to recognize that the differential diagnosis of multifocal pneumonia is broad and includes Lemierre's syndrome. The COVID-19 pandemic presents challenges with regards to anchoring bias for multifocal pneumonia.

Pseudohyperphosphatemia in a patient with incidentally identified progression of smoldering myeloma.

BACKGROUND: Pseudohyperphosphatemia is a rare laboratory finding in MM, especially in patients with smoldering myeloma (SMM) progressing to symptomatic multiple myeloma (MM). Laboratorians and clinicians should be aware of this phenomenon and take necessary actions to avoid misdiagnosis. METHODS: Specimens from a monoclonal IgG kappa SMM patient with extremely high serum phosphorus concentrations measured by the Roche phosphomolybdate assay were re-evaluated using serial dilutions and the ORTHO VITROS assay free from monoclonal gammaglobulin interference. Serum free kappa/lambda chain ratio was also assessed. RESULTS: Both serial dilutions and the ORTHO VITROS assay normalized serum phosphorus concentrations, suggesting the extremely high serum phosphorus concentrations measured by the Roche assay is due to interference from monoclonal gammaglobulin. Additionally, the patient's serum free kappa/lambda ratio was >100. Based on serum free kappa/lambda ratio, disease progression from SMM to MM was diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: Prompt and appropriate laboratory investigations ensure correct diagnosis of pseudohyperphosphatemia and help clinicians properly manage patients. To our knowledge, this patient is the first reported case of pseudohyperphosphatemia in patients with progression from SMM to MM.

The global health curriculum of Weill Cornell Medical College: how one school developed a global health program.

Since 2009, a multidisciplinary team at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) has collaborated to create a comprehensive, elective global health curriculum (GHC) for medical students. Increasing student interest sparked the development of this program, which has grown from ad hoc lectures and dispersed international electives into a comprehensive four-year elective pathway with over 100 hours of training, including three courses, two international experiences, a preceptorship with a clinician working with underserved populations in New York City, and regular lectures and seminars by visiting global health leaders. Student and administrative enthusiasm has been strong: In academic years 2009, 2010, and 2011, over half of the first-year students (173 of 311)participated in some aspect of the GHC, and 18% (55 of 311) completed all first-year program requirements.The authors cite the student-driven nature of GHC as a major factor in its success and rapid growth. Also important was the foundation previously established by WCMC global health faculty, the serendipitous timing of the GHC's development in the midst of curricular reform and review, as well as the presence of a full-time, nonclinical Global Health Fellow who served as a program coordinator. Given the enormous expansion of medical student interest in global health training throughout the United States and Canada over the past decade, the authors hope that medical schools developing similar programs will find the experience at Weill Cornell informative and helpful.