Ecological level analysis of primary lung tumors in dogs and cats and environmental radon activity.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies suggest residential radon exposure might increase the risk of primary lung cancer in people, but these studies are limited by subject mobility. This limitation might be overcome by evaluating the association in pets. HYPOTHESIS: Primary pulmonary neoplasia (PPN) rate is higher in dogs and cats residing in counties with a high radon exposure risk (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] zone 1) compared to zones 2 (moderate radon exposure risk) and 3 (low radon exposure risk). ANIMALS: Six hundred ninety client-owned dogs and 205 client-owned cats with PPN. METHODS: Retrospective review of medical records at 10 veterinary colleges identified dogs and cats diagnosed with PPN between 2010 and 2015. Each patient's radon exposure was determined by matching the patient's zip code with published county radon exposure risk. County level PPN rates were calculated using the average annual county cat and dog populations. The PPN counts per 100 000 dog/cat years at risk (PPN rates) were compared across radon zones for each species. RESULTS: The PPN rate ratio in counties in high radon zone (1) was approximately 2-fold higher than in counties in lower radon zones for dogs (rate ratio zone 1 to 2, 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56-4.00; rate ratio zone 1 to 3, 2.29; 95% CI, 1.46-3.59) and cats (rate ratio zone 1 to 2, 2.13; 95% CI, 0.95-4.79; zone 1 to 3, 1.81; 95% CI, 0.9-3.61). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Exposure to household radon might play a role in development of PPN in dogs and cats.

Final year physiotherapy student's reliability in chest X-ray interpretation.

BACKGROUND: Newly qualified physiotherapists may be required to interpret an unreported chest X-ray (CXR) as part of their physiotherapy assessment in "on call" situations. Their interpretation may influence the patient management strategies they adopt. There is no research published which have tested the reliability of final year physiotherapy students in CXR interpretation. METHODS: Twenty-five final year physiotherapy students were asked to view and interpret the findings of six CXRs, together with a brief vignette, typical of a single commonly encountered diagnosis. Students were also asked if they had received additional CXR training on placement or had a desire to specialize in respiratory care. RESULTS: The CXR interpretations were scored as incorrect 0, partially correct 1 (abnormality detected but not able to diagnose or missed some detail) and 2 correct. Scores for each of the six CXRs were added to give a total score (out of 12). The median score was 3 out of 12, (range 0-9). Median scores were slightly higher at 4 out of 12 in those students with additional training or a desire to specialize (range 1-7), but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.43). CONCLUSIONS: Final year physiotherapy students were not able to reliably interpret CXRs. These findings were consistent with previous published research involving medical students. Therefore on graduation before starting "on call" duties it is recommended newly qualified physiotherapists receive additional training in CXR interpretation.

Health Care Team Challenges: an international review and research agenda.

Academic institutions worldwide have been tasked with embedding interprofessional education (IPE) into the curricula of health and human service professions. There are few internationally shared examples of interprofessional (IP) learning activities reported in the literature. This report describes the formation of an international IPE research network and provides a summary of the implementation and evaluation of one such shared IPE example, the Health Care Team Challenge™ (HCTC™). We outline the format, key features and evaluation strategies of the HCTC™ IPE. An international research agenda to test cases and assess learning processes are described, and directions for dissemination and sustainability are proposed.