Recent Publications by CFE Educators

BACKGROUND

Women with chronic liver disease have lower rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as compared to men; it is unknown if there are sex-based differences in HCC recurrence postliver transplant.

METHODS

We conducted an analysis of patients who underwent liver transplant for HCC in the United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2017.

RESULTS

A total of 12 711 patients underwent liver transplant for HCC: 2909 (23%) women and 9802 (73%) men. Women had significantly lower rates of postliver transplant HCC recurrence than men (4.0% versus 5.4%, P = 0.002). A cox-regression analysis for postliver transplant HCC recurrence highlighted that even after accounting for etiology of cirrhosis, alpha-fetoprotein at liver transplant, tumor diameter, tumor pathology, and vascular invasion, female sex was associated with a 25% lower risk of postliver transplant HCC recurrence (95% confidence interval: 0.57-0.99). There were no interactions between female sex and the following variables: age, type of locoregional therapy, alpha-fetoprotein, donor sex, body mass index, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis etiology (P > 0.05 for each).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates an independent effect of sex on risk for HCC recurrence postliver transplant. Our data highlight an opportunity to better understand HCC tumor biology by investigating the drivers of this sex-based difference in HCC recurrence.

The doctor of nursing practice (DNP) essentials do not specifically include a teaching competency, yet several require teaching skills. To prepare the future nursing workforce and achieve essential competencies, DNP nurses must be prepared to teach. Despite the assumption that advance practice expertise makes them intuitive teachers, gaps exist in essential faculty development, including evidence-based teaching theory, methodology, and scholarship. In our institution, DNP students expressed interest in future academic and clinical teaching roles. To support these future educators, an innovative course series aligned with National League for Nursing recommendations was developed. Two courses were successfully implemented, with additional coursework planned.

Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) screening that only uses oxygen saturation (SpO2), measured by pulse oximetry, fails to detect an estimated 900 US newborns annually. The addition of other pulse oximetry features such as perfusion index (PIx), heart rate, pulse delay and photoplethysmography characteristics may improve detection of CCHD, especially those with systemic blood flow obstruction such as Coarctation of the Aorta (CoA). To comprehensively study the most relevant features associated with CCHD, we investigated interpretable machine learning (ML) algorithms by using Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) to identify an optimal subset of features. We then incorporated the trained ML models into the current SpO2-alone screening algorithm. Our proposed enhanced CCHD screening system, which adds the ML model, improved sensitivity by approximately 10 percentage points compared to the current standard SpO2-alone method with minimal to no impact on specificity.Clinical relevance- This establishes proof of concept for a ML algorithm that combines pulse oximetry features to improve detection of CCHD with little impact on false positive rate.

PURPOSE

Consultation is crucial for patient care and a primary responsibility of fellows. Understanding the cognitive load associated with the complex skill of consultation would enhance fellow learning. The authors aimed to determine themes describing the fellow experience during inpatient consults specifically, align these themes with Consult Cognitive Load (CCL) scores, and identify strategies to manage cognitive load to enhance fellow education and performance, and, consequently, patient care.

METHOD

The authors studied 16 fellows using mixed methods. Fellows who accepted an invitation completed an inpatient consult followed by the CCL, a measure of cognitive load during consults, and an interview. Three authors conducted a thematic analysis. Member checks and triangulation supported theme trustworthiness. Subsequently, 3 authors rated the extent and cognitive demand of each theme expressed in each transcript. The authors measured interrater reliability and used Spearman correlation to describe the association of these ratings with CCL scores. The authors examined themes to identify strategies that educators might use.

RESULTS

Analysis revealed 4 themes: "nature and scope," which conceptually aligned with intrinsic load (IL); "leveraging resources," which had elements of both IL and extraneous load (EL); "extraneous factors," which aligned with EL; and "drivers," which aligned with germane load (GL). Interrater reliability for extent and demand ratings ranged from 0.57 to 0.79. The correlation between "nature and scope" and IL was 0.37, "extraneous factors" and EL 0.71, and "drivers" and GL 0.32. "Leveraging resources" did not correlate with IL (0.06) or EL (-0.09). Potential strategies based on themes included offering level-appropriate assistance to match IL, focusing the fellow's attention to reduce EL, and providing succinct teaching to promote GL.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided deep insight into the fellow consult experience and suggested strategies for educators to guide consult learning. The theme "leveraging resources" merits further exploration.