Gut-brain pathogenesis of post-acute COVID-19 neurocognitive symptoms.

Approximately one third of non-hospitalized coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) patients report chronic symptoms after recovering from the acute stage of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Some of the most persistent and common complaints of this post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) are cognitive in nature, described subjectively as "brain fog" and also objectively measured as deficits in executive function, working memory, attention, and processing speed. The mechanisms of these chronic cognitive sequelae are currently not understood. SARS-CoV-2 inflicts damage to cerebral blood vessels and the intestinal wall by binding to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors and also by evoking production of high levels of systemic cytokines, compromising the brain's neurovascular unit, degrading the intestinal barrier, and potentially increasing the permeability of both to harmful substances. Such substances are hypothesized to be produced in the gut by pathogenic microbiota that, given the profound effects COVID-19 has on the gastrointestinal system, may fourish as a result of intestinal post-COVID-19 dysbiosis. COVID-19 may therefore create a scenario in which neurotoxic and neuroinflammatory substances readily proliferate from the gut lumen and encounter a weakened neurovascular unit, gaining access to the brain and subsequently producing cognitive deficits. Here, we review this proposed PACS pathogenesis along the gut-brain axis, while also identifying specific methodologies that are currently available to experimentally measure each individual component of the model.

Integrative Health for Women.

Integrative Medicine is a model of health care that combines both conventional and unconventional therapies that serve the whole person and focus on prevention and whole health. Women are the highest utilizers of health care and Integrative Medicine for a variety of reasons. Integrative Medicine represents a more "female energy" in the field of medicine, which is needed even more today as health care moves toward value-based care and out of high-cost and high-harm care. Integrative Medicine can be incorporated into medical practice and into health workers' lives for wellness.

Clinical Impact of a Rapid Streptococcal Antigen Test on Antibiotic Use in Adult Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Adult pharyngitis is rarely attributable to group A streptococci. Utilization of a rapid streptococcal antigen test (RADT) may improve appropriate prescribing for bacterial pharyngitis. METHODS: Clinic 1 performed RADTs with subsequent Group A DNA probe test (GADNA) from November 2014-March 2015 and November 2015-March 2016 while Clinic 2 was the control clinic, then implemented the RADT with a GADNA from November 2015-March 2016. All GADNA results were obtained for each clinic from October 2013-March 2016. RESULTS: At Clinic 1, 22.2% versus 8.5% of patients received inappropriately prescribed antibiotics for a GADNA or RADT result, respectively (p=0.048). For Clinic 2, 51.1% compared to 21.4% of patients were inappropriately prescribed antibiotic for a GADNA or RADT result, respectively (p=0.038). Overall, the total GADNA without RADT testing or RADTs with subsequent GADNA testing, 41.6% versus 11% of patients were inappropriately prescribed antibiotics, respectively (p=<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Utilizing the RADT prevented unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics in adults.

Addressing the Primary Care Shortage on a Shoestring: A Successful Track in an Internal Medicine Residency.

PROBLEM: Nationally, shortages of primary care providers are of major concern. Internal medicine programs, once the major supplier of primary care physicians, are no longer producing large numbers of primary care providers to help meet the needs of the growing patient population. APPROACH: In 2009, residents at the University of New Mexico created a resident-driven Primary Care Track (PCT) within the internal medicine residency, and after six years this track is thriving. The PCT allows residents to designate blocks of time specifically devoted to primary care training. Residents opt in to the track at the end of intern year and arrange their own schedules over large blocks of time in the last two years of training to allow for an individualized curriculum that prepares them for independent practice in primary care. OUTCOMES: Approximately 85% (11/13) of residents who have graduated from the track have gone on to practice in primary care after graduation, and the internal medicine residency program as a whole has also seen an increase in the fraction of residents pursuing primary care since the inception of this track. NEXT STEPS: The PCT is currently at maximum capacity and may be forced to turn away applicants. To expand while still maintaining the core principles of the track, the PCT will strive to find additional ways to use New Mexico's existing resources and to develop a more robust mentoring structure and didactic programs. Formalized financial, faculty, and administrative support of the program also will be needed.