Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy with Intraoperative Cholangiogram and Antegrade Biliary Stenting in Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis: A Pilot Study.

Aims: To demonstrate feasibility and efficacy of simultaneous intraoperative cholangiogram (IOC) and antegrade biliary stenting (ABS) with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) compared with preoperative biliary investigation and delayed LC in acute gallstone pancreatitis (AGP). Methods: A retrospective case-control study was performed comparing patients who had a simultaneous IOC ± ABS with LC at index admission with those who had delayed LC in the treatment of AGP. 74 patients were included in this study from January 2016 to October 2018. All patients who underwent LC for AGP were included in a prospective database with 1 year follow-up. Results: 30 (40.5%) patients underwent simultaneous IOC ± ABS with LC, 11 of these required ABS insertion. 2 (6.7%) patients also underwent magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). No patients underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). No patients were readmitted with AGP or symptomatic gallbladder. Mean length of total hospital admission was 10.1 days. 44 (59.5%) patients underwent delayed LC. Of this cohort, 7 (15.9%) patients underwent ERCP and 19 (43.2%) underwent MRCP. In total, there were 19 (43.2%) readmissions in this group with pancreatitis or symptomatic gallbladder. Mean length of total hospital admission was 13 days. Conclusions: In our pilot study we demonstrated that performing simultaneous IOC ± ABS with LC is a feasible option in the secondary care setting. Using this surgical technique, we have demonstrated a reduction in readmissions with AGP and symptomatic gallbladder while also reducing the number of CBD investigations required. Using simultaneous IOC ± ABS with LC reduced the mean total length of stay in hospital.

The Vot-ER Healthy Democracy Campaign: A National Medical Student Competition to Increase Voting Access.

PROBLEM: Voting affords citizens a direct say in the leaders and policies that affect their health. However, less than 20% of eligible U.S. citizens have been offered the chance to register to vote at a government-funded agency like a hospital or clinic that provides Medicaid or Medicare services. Medical students are well positioned to increase voting access due to their interactions with multiple actors in health care settings, including patients, visitors, colleagues, and others. APPROACH: Vot-ER, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that aims to promote civic engagement in health care settings, launched the inaugural Healthy Democracy Campaign from July 20 to October 9, 2020. As part of this national, gamification-based competition, medical student captains were recruited to lead teams of health care trainees and professionals that helped eligible adults start the voter registration and/or mail-in ballot request process before the November 2020 elections. Post competition, medical student captains were surveyed about their motivations for participating and skills and knowledge gained. OUTCOMES: In total, 128 medical student captains at 80 medical schools in 31 states and the District of Columbia formed teams that helped 15,692 adults start the voter registration and/or mail-in ballot request process. Eighty-two (64.1%) captains responded to the post competition survey, representing 56 (70.0%) of the participating schools. The top-ranked motivation for participating in the campaign was the desire to address social and racial inequities (37, 45.1%). Respondents reported gaining skills and knowledge in several aspects of civic engagement, including community organizing (67, 81.7%) and voting rights (63, 76.8%). The majority of respondents planned to incorporate voter registration into their future practice (76, 92.7%). NEXT STEPS: Future Healthy Democracy Campaigns will aim to continue closing the voting access gap and promote the long-term inclusion of hands-on civic engagement in medical education and practice.

The CABI Trial: an Unblinded Parallel Group Randomised Controlled Feasibility Trial of Long-Course Antibiotic Therapy (28 Days) Compared with Short Course (≤ 10 Days) in the Prevention of Relapse in Adults Treated for Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infection.

PURPOSE: Relapse after complicated intra-abdominal infection (cIAI) remains common after treatment. The optimal antibiotic treatment duration for cIAIs is uncertain, especially in cases where source control is not achieved. We hypothesised that in patients with cIAIs, regardless of source control intervention, there would be a lower relapse rate with long-course antibiotics (28 days) compared with short course (≤ 10 days). We piloted a trial comparing ≤ 10-day with 28-day antibiotic treatment for cIAI. METHODS: A randomised controlled unblinded feasibility trial was conducted. Eligible participants were adult patients with a cIAI that were diagnosed ≤ 6 days prior to screening. Randomisation was to long-course (28 days) or short-course (≤10 days) antibiotic therapy. Choice of antibiotics was determined by the clinical team. Participants were followed up for 90 days. Primary outcomes were willingness of participants to be randomised and feasibility of trial procedures. RESULTS: In total, 172 patients were screened, 84/172 (48.8%) were eligible, and 31/84 (36.9%) were randomised. Patients were assigned to either the short-course arm (18/31, 58.0%) or the long-course arm (13/31, 41.9%). One patient in the short-course arm withdrew after randomisation. In the short-course arm, 4/17 (23.5%) were treated for a cIAI relapse vs 0/13 (0.0%) relapses in the long-course arm. Protocol violations included deviations from protocol-assigned antibiotic duration and interruptions to antibiotic therapy. CONCLUSIONS: This feasibility study identified opportunities to increase recruitment in a full trial. This study demonstrates completion of a randomised controlled trial to further evaluate if the optimum antibiotic duration for cIAIs is feasible. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03265834.

"That's what we call the cocktail": Non-Opioid medication and supplement misuse among opioid users.

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that the practice of combining opioid use with non-opioid substances is common, though little is known about this phenomenon and how best to address it. Methods: We recruited adults in Boston, Massachusetts, with recent opioid use. We conducted semi-structured interviews to explore the practice of combining non-opioid substances with opioids and analyzed transcripts to identify themes. Results: Twenty-nine individuals completed interviews. Combining other substances with opioids was a well-known practice: "that's what we call the cocktail." Participants reported the use of clonidine, gabapentin, benzodiazepines, promethazine, amphetamine salts, quetiapine, barbiturates, cough and cold medications, as well as alcohol and candy in combination with opioids. Participants reported purchasing these substances on the street, stealing them, or getting them from a prescriber. Augmenting the opioid high was a common reason for combining substances. Importantly, participants also reported combining substances to treat psychiatric symptoms. Individuals commonly reported learning about combining substances "from people on the street" but also reported learning from the internet and television. Perceived benefits outweighed safety concerns. Participants also felt that using over-the-counter or prescription medications would be safe. Conclusions: Combining a variety of substances with opioids is common and driven by diverse motives. Clinicians caring for opioid-involved patients should consider screening for concurrent use of other substances and discussing the risks of this practice.

The hidden cost of catheter related blood stream infections in patients on parenteral nutrition.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Parenteral nutrition (PN) is a valuable and life-saving treatment for patients with intestinal failure. While its use is increasing, it has been demonstrated to be a risk factor for intravenous catheter-related blood stream infection (CRBSI) - a significant, serious and potentially fatal complication of PN use. CRBSI can have serious secondary consequences for patients, though, there is a paucity of literature describing these. The aim of this study is to audit the incidence of, and evaluate the consequences of, complications associated with CRBSI. METHODS: Medical records were examined for all parenterally fed patients diagnosed with a CRBSI from 01/01/16 to 31/12/17 in a UK tertiary referral centre for patients requiring intravenous nutritional support. Patients were identified prospectively; data relating to the infection and complications was collected retrospectively. RESULTS: 114 episodes of CRBSI were recorded in 80 patients. 57 occurred during an inpatient admission, 57 occurred in the community and resulted in admission. 21 different adverse events occurred as a result of the CRBSI. The complications identified were varied with the most common being acute kidney injury, deranged electrolytes and urinary tract infections. Other significant complications included DVT, pulmonary abscess and infective endocarditis. 35% of episodes resulted in delayed discharge and 12% required escalation to a critical care bed. The financial impact is estimated at over £800,000 per annum. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate a plethora of complications which can arise following CRBSI, which pose a significant health risk to parenterally fed patients who already have reduced physiological reserve. Moreover, these findings represent additional financial and resource burden to the health service. The adverse events resulting from CRBSIs should, therefore, be audited to improve outcomes: well-resourced specialist centres are best placed to provide this service.

Dietary Inadequacies Among US Homeless Families: An Enduring Problem.

We reviewed the literature on eating patterns, prevalent diet-related illnesses, barriers to healthy eating, and interventions to improve diet among the U.S. homeless family population. Our search returned 17 articles and one literature review. We found that families experiencing homelessness tend to have poor diets, lacking healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, but high in intake of unhealthy sugars and fats. Barriers to healthy eating included lack of access to cooking and storage resources in the shelter environment, the high cost of healthy foods, and little access to healthy eating options. Interventions to address dietary inadequacies were limited to nutrition education programs, and did not show any significant change in eating behaviors. With the recent increase in family homelessness in several states, namely in the sheltered homeless family population, we propose a need for greater research and interventions that address structural barriers to healthy eating for this underserved population.

"Feastworthy is Something That Gives Us Our Dignity Back:" Feasibility of A Delivered Prepared Meal Program for Families in Motel-Shelters.

Families experiencing homelessness struggle with food access and face a high burden of nutrition-related diseases. We assessed feasibility of Feastworthy, a prepared meal delivery program for families in motel-shelters with meals made from surplus food from local colleges. We used pre-and post-program surveys and semi-structured interviews, comparing participating families with families in a nearby shelter. During the three-month pilot, Feastworthy delivered 4,875 meals to 38 families; 33 families participated in the study (20 intervention and 13 control). Families reported that the motel-shelter worsened their diet and health, and reported increased food security and healthier diets with Feastworthy. In difference-in-differences analyses, vegetable intake trended upward by 0.6 servings/day (p=.08) among participants relative to comparison-site individuals. Changes in food security scores and out-of-pocket food expenses were no different. A delivered meal program was feasible and may provide health benefits for homeless families. Future larger-scale, longer-term studies will clarify its befits.

Edge Modes and Nonlocal Conductance in Graphene Superlattices.

We study the existence of edge modes in gapped moiré superlattices of graphene monolayer ribbons on a hexagonal boron nitride substrate. We find that the superlattice bands acquire finite Chern numbers, which lead to a valley Hall effect. The presence of dispersive edge modes is confirmed by calculations of the band structure of realistic nanoribbons using tight binding methods. These edge states are only weakly sensitive to disorder, as short-range scattering processes lead to mean free paths of the order of microns. The results explain the existence of edge currents when the chemical potential lies within the bulk superlattice gap, and offer an explanation for existing nonlocal resistivity measurements in graphene ribbons on boron nitride.