A novel case of central hypoventilation syndrome or just heavy breathing?

With the growing prevalence of obesity in the pediatric population, reports of its severe complications are increasing. Obesity hypoventilation syndrome is an uncommon disorder in children with altered respiratory mechanics, sleep-disordered breathing, and impaired ventilatory responses leading to persistent hypercapnia. Presentation is varied, and children may remain relatively asymptomatic until challenged with a respiratory infection, when they may present with acute respiratory failure. With increasing use of genetic testing in pediatric patients, our knowledge of potential contributors to hypoventilation syndromes is growing. Although mutations in the paired-like homeobox 2B gene are known to be causative of congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, other genes may also contribute to hypoventilation phenotypes. We report one of the youngest reported patients with obesity hypoventilation syndrome in pediatrics, with a proposed congenital predisposition for central hypoventilation derived from a deletion in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene. CITATION: McCoy J, Karp N, Brar J, Amin R, St-Laurent A. A novel case of central hypoventilation syndrome or just heavy breathing? J Clin Sleep Med. 2022;18(9):2321-2325.

Is Exam under Anesthesia Still Necessary for the Staging of Bladder Cancer in the Era of Modern Imaging?

BACKGROUND: The ability to accurately determine tumor stage in bladder cancer is critical because it impacts the management paradigm and overall prognosis. There is often discrepancy between clinical and pathologic staging. Historically, exam under anesthesia (EUA) has been recommended to assist in the staging of bladder cancer. OBJECTIVE: In this era of modern imaging technology, we sought to determine if EUA still contributes meaningfully to the local staging of bladder cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 1898 patients from 1994-2013 in our radical cystectomy database at MD Anderson Cancer Center. There were 414 patients that had complete information including EUA and whose surgery was performed by one of two surgeons and included in the final analysis. Univariate and multiple logistic regression models were generated to determine the ability of EUA, imaging, and other patient characteristics to predict pathological fat extension at the time of cystectomy. RESULTS: 38% of patients had≥pT3 disease at the time of cystectomy. 30.9% of patients had findings on EUA suggestive of T3 disease and 28.7% had radiologic findings suggestive of T3 disease. In a model including age, BMI, ethnicity, year of operation, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy among other factors, the only factors predictive of pT3 disease were EUA and imaging (p = 0.002). The combination of EUA and imaging improved the accuracy of clinical staging compared to either modality alone. CONCLUSIONS: Despite modern advances in imaging, EUA contributes meaningfully to accurate determination of local bladder cancer stage.

Development and evaluation of a crowdsourcing methodology for knowledge base construction: identifying relationships between clinical problems and medications.

OBJECTIVE: We describe a novel, crowdsourcing method for generating a knowledge base of problem-medication pairs that takes advantage of manually asserted links between medications and problems. METHODS: Through iterative review, we developed metrics to estimate the appropriateness of manually entered problem-medication links for inclusion in a knowledge base that can be used to infer previously unasserted links between problems and medications. RESULTS: Clinicians manually linked 231,223 medications (55.30% of prescribed medications) to problems within the electronic health record, generating 41,203 distinct problem-medication pairs, although not all were accurate. We developed methods to evaluate the accuracy of the pairs, and after limiting the pairs to those meeting an estimated 95% appropriateness threshold, 11,166 pairs remained. The pairs in the knowledge base accounted for 183,127 total links asserted (76.47% of all links). Retrospective application of the knowledge base linked 68,316 medications not previously linked by a clinician to an indicated problem (36.53% of unlinked medications). Expert review of the combined knowledge base, including inferred and manually linked problem-medication pairs, found a sensitivity of 65.8% and a specificity of 97.9%. CONCLUSION: Crowdsourcing is an effective, inexpensive method for generating a knowledge base of problem-medication pairs that is automatically mapped to local terminologies, up-to-date, and reflective of local prescribing practices and trends.

Surgical management of colonic inertia.

For the select small number of constipated patients that cannot be managed medically, surgical options should be considered. Increases in our knowledge of colorectal physiology and experience have fostered improvements in patient evaluation and surgical management. Currently, patients with refractory colonic inertia are offered total abdominal colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis, often with laparoscopic techniques. With proper patient selection, the results have been excellent for resolving the frequency and quality of bowel movements. However, symptoms such as bloating and abdominal pain, which may be related to irritable bowel syndrome rather than the colonic inertia, may persist.

Teaching evidence-based medicine: Impact on students' literature use and inpatient clinical documentation.

BACKGROUND: Effective teaching of evidence-based medicine (EBM) to medical students is important for lifelong self-directed learning. AIMS: We implemented a brief workshop designed to teach literature searching skills to third-year medical students. We assessed its impact on students' utilization of EBM resources during their clinical rotation and the quality of EBM integration in inpatient notes. METHODS: We developed a physician-led, hands-on workshop to introduce EBM resources to all internal medicine clerks. Pre- and post-workshop measures included student's attitudes to EBM, citations of EBM resources in their clinical notes, and quality of the EBM component of the discussion in the note. Computer log analysis recorded students' online search attempts. RESULTS: After the workshop, students reported improved comfort using EBM and increased utilization of EBM resources. EBM integration into the discussion component of the notes also showed significant improvement. Computer log analysis of students' searches demonstrated increased utilization of EBM resources following the workshop. CONCLUSIONS: We describe the successful implementation of a workshop designed to teach third-year medical students how to perform an efficient EBM literature search. We demonstrated improvements in students' confidence regarding EBM, increased utilization of EBM resources, and improved integration of EBM into inpatient notes.

Effects of clinical decision support on initial dosing and monitoring of tobramycin and amikacin.

PURPOSE: The impact of clinical decision support (CDS) on initial doses and intervals and pharmacokinetic outcomes of amikacin and tobramycin therapy was evaluated. METHODS: A complex CDS advisor to provide guidance on initial dosing and monitoring of aminoglycoside orders, using both traditional-dosing and extended-interval-dosing strategies, was integrated into a computerized prescriber-order-entry (CPOE) system and compared with a control group whose aminoglycoside orders were closely monitored by pharmacists. The primary outcome measured was an initial dose within 10% of a dose calculated to be adherent to published dose guidelines. Secondary outcomes included a guideline-adherent interval, trough and peak concentrations in goal range, and rate of nephrotoxicity. RESULTS: Of 216 patients studied, 97 were prescribed amikacin and 119 were prescribed tobramycin. The number of orders with initial doses consistent with reference standards increased from 40% in the preadvisor group to 80% in the postadvisor group (p < 0.001). Selection of the correct initial interval based on renal function increased from 63% to 87% (p < 0.001). The changes in the initial dosing and interval resulted in an increase of trough concentrations at goal (59% in the preadvisor group versus 89% in the postadvisor group, p = 0.0004). There was no significant difference in peak concentrations in the goal range or rate of nephrotoxicity. CONCLUSION: An advisor for aminoglycoside dosing and monitoring integrated into a CPOE system significantly improved selection of initial doses and intervals and resulted in an improvement in the rate of trough serum drug concentrations at goal compared with standard provider dosing.