Knowledge about Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Acceptability of Testing in the 1945-1965 Birth Cohort (Baby Boomers) Presenting to a Large Urban Emergency Department: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is responsible for the most common chronic bloodborne infection in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently recommended screening all patients born between 1945-1965 (baby boomers) at least once for HCV infection. New York State has since mandated screening of baby boomers for HCV in nearly all patient care settings and encouraged it in the emergency department (ED). OBJECTIVES: This pilot study aimed to ascertain acceptability of an HCV screening test among the 1945-1965 birth cohort presenting to the ED in advance of a study investigating the prevalence of HCV infection in this birth cohort in the ED setting. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of health knowledge about HCV and government recommendations regarding HCV testing using a convenience sample of baby boomers in an ED in a large public hospital in the New York metropolitan area. Surveys were administered via a series of semistructured interviews. RESULTS: There were 81 patient participants. Fifty-two percent of patients were born outside of the United States, 69% had a high school diploma level of education or lower, and 37% were unemployed. Patients demonstrated misconceptions about HCV transmission and curability and poor knowledge about the necessity of testing in their age cohort. Knowledge that "HCV can cause the liver to stop working" was significantly associated with acceptance of testing. CONCLUSIONS: Baby boomers showed limited knowledge about the necessity of HCV screening in their age group, but testing for HCV infection in the ED was acceptable for the majority.

The American Board of Emergency Medicine Maintenance of Certification Summit.

BACKGROUND: The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) convened a summit of stakeholders in Emergency Medicine (EM) to critically review the ABEM Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program. OBJECTIVE: The newly introduced American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) 2015 MOC Standards require that the ABMS Member Boards, including ABEM, "engage in continual quality monitoring and improvement of its Program for MOC …" ABEM sought to have the EM community participate in the quality improvement process. DISCUSSION: A review of the ABMS philosophy of MOC and requirements for MOC were presented, followed by an exposition of the ABEM MOC Program. Roundtable discussions included strengths of the program and opportunities for improvement; defining, teaching, and assessing professionalism; identifying and filling competency gaps; and enhancing relevancy and adding value to the ABEM MOC Program. CONCLUSIONS: Several suggestions to improve the ABEM MOC Program were discussed. ABEM will consider these recommendations when developing its next revision of the ABEM MOC Program.

Pneumonitis and eosinophilia after in vitro fertilization treatment.

A 33-year-old woman presented to the emergency department (ED) with tachypnea, tachycardia, and hypoxia, complaining of dyspnea and paroxysms of dry cough for 2 days. The patient had undergone an unsuccessful in vitro fertilization procedure 1 month earlier and had had another embryo implantation 6 days earlier. She had been receiving intramuscular injections of estradiol and progesterone in sesame oil to support implantation. A chest radiograph demonstrated extensive bilateral pulmonary consolidation; a leukocytosis count of 19.7 x 10(9) with 20% eosinophils was noted on a CBC count. A MEDLINE search yielded a case report in infertility literature describing an eosinophilic pneumonitis with similar clinical features after injections of progesterone in sesame oil. Treatment with intravenous corticosteroids was initiated in the ED, resulting in symptom and chest radiograph result improvement within 2 days and sparing the patient further imaging and antibiotic therapy.