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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the rapid expansion of novel tools for digital medical education. At our university medical center, an Instagram account was developed as a tool for medical education and used for the first time as a supplement to the hematology and medical oncology teaching module of 2020/2021. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the acceptance and role of Instagram as a novel teaching format in the education of medical students in hematology and medical oncology in the German medical curriculum. METHODS: To investigate the role of Instagram in student education of hematology and medical oncology, an Instagram account was developed as a tie-in for the teaching module of 2020/21. The account was launched at the beginning of the teaching module, and 43 posts were added over the 47 days of the teaching module (at least 1 post per day). Five categories for the post content were established: (1) engagement, (2) self-awareness, (3) everyday clinical life combined with teaching aids, (4) teaching aids, and (5) scientific resources. Student interaction with the posts was measured based on overall subscription, "likes," comments, and polls. Approval to conduct this retrospective study was obtained from the local ethics commission of the University Medical Center Goettingen. RESULTS: Of 164 medical students, 119 (72.6%) subscribed to the Instagram account, showing high acceptance and interest in the use of Instagram for medical education. The 43 posts generated 325 interactions. The highest number of interactions was observed for the category of engagement (mean 15.17 interactions, SD 5.01), followed by self-awareness (mean 14 interactions, SD 7.79). With an average of 7.3 likes per post, overall interaction was relatively low. However, although the category of scientific resources garnered the fewest likes (mean 1.86, SD 1.81), 66% (27/41) of the student participants who answered the related Instagram poll question were interested in studies and reviews, suggesting that although likes aid the estimation of a general trend of interest, there are facets to interest that cannot be represented by likes. Interaction significantly differed between posting categories (P<.001, Welch analysis of variance). Comparing the first category (engagement) with categories 3 to 5 showed a significant difference (Student t test with the Welch correction; category 1 vs 3, P=.01; category 1 vs 4, P=.01; category 1 vs 5, P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: Instagram showed high acceptance among medical students participating in the hematology and oncology teaching curriculum. Students were most interested in posts on routine clinical life, self-care topics, and memory aids. More studies need to be conducted to comprehend the use of Instagram in medical education and to define the role Instagram will play in the future. Furthermore, evaluation guidelines and tools need to be developed.
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Purpose: Extrinsic factors and genetic predisposition contribute to the etiology of sarcoidosis, converging in a phenotype of altered immune response associated with multisystemic inflammatory granulomatous tissue infiltration. Immunological reconstitution after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) may represent a unique window for the pathogenesis of the disease. We describe the incidence, clinicopathological features, and HLA associations of sarcoidosis after HSCT in a single-center cohort of patients, together with data from previously published cases. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical characteristics and HLA haplotypes from allogeneic (allo) or autologous (auto) HSCT patients from January 2001 through May 2021 at the University Medicine Goettingen (UMG), and data from previously published cases. Results: A total number of 19 patients was identified. These included 4 patients from our center (3 allo HSCT and 1 auto HSCT) and 15 patients from the literature review. Thirteen patients had received an allo HSCT, and six patients had received an auto HSCT. Sarcoidosis occurred after a median interval of 20 (after allo HSCT) and 7 (after auto HSCT) months, respectively. The predominant HLA allele associated with sarcoidosis was HLA DRB1*03:01. Sarcoidosis involved the respiratory tract in 15 patients (three unknown, one without pulmonary involvement), and it was associated with graft-versus-host disease in 7 of 13 patients receiving allo HSCT. None of the donors or patients had a history of sarcoidosis before transplantation. Disease manifestations resolved with standard glucocorticoid treatment without long-term sequelae. Conclusion: Sarcoidosis may occur at low frequency during reconstitution of the immune system after HSCT. HLA allele associations reflect the associations observed in the general population, particularly with DRB1*03:01. Further insights into the interplay between Tcell reconstitution and the development of sarcoidosis could also provide novel approaches to an improved understanding of the pathogenesis in sarcoidosis.
