Recent Publications by CFE Educators

INTRODUCTION

Abortion is a common and safe procedure in the United States, the regulation of which varies by state. Since 2011, hundreds of state-level abortion restrictions have been enacted by legislatures across the country. This study describes the effects of two such regulations enacted in 2011 in Arizona, (A.R.S.) 36-2153 and 36-2155, that imposed a 24-hour waiting period requiring two separate in-person clinic visits before obtaining an abortion and banned advanced practice clinicians such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives from inducing medication abortions by prescribing mifepristone.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a pre-post study to describe the effect of Arizona's scope of practice law on abortion provision by county. Using publicly available data, we compared patterns of abortion provision in 2009 and 2010 (before the laws) with 2012 and 2013. Our primary objective was to compare the proportion of abortions performed with medication by prescription of mifepristone (versus abortions performed surgically, known as aspiration abortions) before and after the laws were enacted. Our secondary objectives were to report the number of counties that lost an abortion provider and the change in the proportion of abortions performed before 14 weeks' gestation of pregnancy after the enactment of the laws.

RESULTS

After enactment of the laws, the proportion of Arizona's 15 counties with abortion clinics decreased from 33% to 13%. Over this time, the proportion of abortions performed with medication in Arizona decreased by 17.4% (95% CI, 16.6%-18.3%; p = .0002), from 47.6% to 30.2%. Similarly, the proportion of abortions performed before 14 weeks' gestation in Arizona decreased by 3.3% (95% CI, 2.8%-3.8%; p = .0002) after the enactment of these laws.

DISCUSSION

The proportion of abortions performed with medication and the proportion of abortion performed before 14 weeks' gestation in Arizona were negatively affected by the enactment of these laws. These findings are not explained by national temporal trends in abortion, because the proportion of abortions performed with medication increased and early abortions remained stable over the same time period in the United States as a whole.

CONCLUSIONS

Proponents of laws restricting the provision of abortion such as these claim to improve the safety of abortion, but they actually seem to decrease access to abortion, as defined by the number of counties with abortion providers, and subsequently lead to delays in abortion. These data should inform future policies by providing an example of how such laws affect women seeking abortion.

OBJECTIVE

The pathogenesis of dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) remains poorly defined. Prior studies on thrombophilia as a risk factor for DAVF development are limited by small sample sizes and poor generalizability.

METHODS

In this longitudinal observational study, all patients with intracranial DAVFs evaluated at the University of California, San Francisco from December 1994 through April 2014 were identified. After obtaining patient consent, 3 thrombophilic mutations, factor V Leiden (rs6025), MTHFR (rs1801133), and prothrombin G20210A, were genotyped. The authors evaluated the association of thrombophilia status (presence of any thrombophilic mutation) and clinical and angiographic characteristics using either a 2-sample t-test or Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS

A total of 116 patients with diagnosed intracranial DAVFs were included in the study. Twenty-five (22%) patients met criteria for thrombophilia. Focal neurological deficits tended to occur more frequently in the thrombophilia group (78% vs 57%, p = 0.09). Angiographic characteristics of DAVFs, including high-risk venous flow pattern, multiplicity of DAVF, and the presence of venous sinus thrombosis, did not differ significantly between the 2 groups but tended to be more common in the thrombophilic than in the nonthrombophilic group.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is one of the largest of thrombophilia and DAVF to date. The frequency of mutations associated with thrombophilia in this study was higher than that in the general population.

OBEJECTIVE

The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) on local recurrence and overall survival in patients undergoing primary resection of atypical meningioma, and to identify predictive factors to inform patient selection for adjuvant RT.

METHODS

One hundred eighty-two patients who underwent primary resection of atypical meningioma at a single institution between 1993 and 2014 were retrospectively identified. Patient, meningioma, and treatment data were extracted from the medical record and compared using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank tests, multivariate analysis (MVA) Cox proportional hazards models with relative risk (RR), and recursive partitioning analysis.

RESULTS

The median patient age and imaging follow-up were 57 years (interquartile range [IQR] 45–67 years) and 4.4 years (IQR 1.8–7.5 years), respectively. Gross-total resection (GTR) was achieved in 114 cases (63%), and 42 patients (23%) received adjuvant RT. On MVA, prognostic factors for death from any cause included GTR (RR 0.4, 95% CI 0.1–0.9, p = 0.02) and MIB1 labeling index (LI) ≤ 7% (RR 0.4, 95% CI 0.1–0.9, p = 0.04). Prognostic factors on MVA for local progression included GTR (RR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.5, p = 0.002), adjuvant RT (RR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.4, p 0.001), MIB1 LI ≤ 7% (RR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.5, p 0.001), and a remote history of prior cranial RT (RR 5.7, 95% CI 1.3–18.8, p = 0.03). After GTR, adjuvant RT (0 of 10 meningiomas recurred, p = 0.01) and MIB1 LI ≤ 7% (RR 0.1, 95% CI 0.003–0.3, p 0.001) were predictive for local progression on MVA. After GTR, 2.2% of meningiomas with MIB1 LI ≤ 7% recurred (1 of 45), compared with 38% with MIB1 LI > 7% (13 of 34; p 0.001). Recursive partitioning analysis confirmed the existence of a cohort of patients at high risk of local progression after GTR without adjuvant RT, with MIB1 LI > 7%, and evidence of brain or bone invasion. After subtotal resection, adjuvant RT (RR 0.2, 95% CI 0.04–0.7, p = 0.009) and ≤ 5 mitoses per 10 hpf (RR 0.1, 95% CI 0.03–0.4, p = 0.002) were predictive on MVA for local progression.

CONCLUSIONS

Adjuvant RT improves local control of atypical meningioma irrespective of extent of resection. Although independent validation is required, the authors’ results suggest that MIB1 LI, the number of mitoses per 10 hpf, and brain or bone invasion may be useful guides to the selection of patients who are most likely to benefit from adjuvant RT after resection of atypical meningioma.

BACKGROUND

Quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is associated with survival, but recommended guidelines are often not met, and less than half the children with an in-hospital arrest will survive to discharge. A single-center before-and-after study demonstrated that outcomes may be improved with a novel training program in which all pediatric intensive care unit staff are encouraged to participate in frequent CPR refresher training and regular, structured resuscitation debriefings focused on patient-centric physiology.

METHODS/DESIGN

This ongoing trial will assess whether a program of structured debriefings and point-of-care bedside practice that emphasizes physiologic resuscitation targets improves the rate of survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome in children receiving CPR in the intensive care unit. This study is designed as a hybrid stepped-wedge trial in which two of ten participating hospitals are randomly assigned to enroll in the intervention group and two are assigned to enroll in the control group for the duration of the trial. The remaining six hospitals enroll initially in the control group but will transition to enrolling in the intervention group at randomly assigned staggered times during the enrollment period.

DISCUSSION

To our knowledge, this is the first implementation of a hybrid stepped-wedge design. It was chosen over a traditional stepped-wedge design because the resulting improvement in statistical power reduces the required enrollment by 9 months (14%). However, this design comes with additional challenges, including logistics of implementing an intervention prior to the start of enrollment. Nevertheless, if results from the single-center pilot are confirmed in this trial, it will have a profound effect on CPR training and quality improvement initiatives.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02837497 . Registered on July 19, 2016.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effect of conservative management of high-grade renal trauma on length of hospitalization, we aim to describe characteristics of patients with high-grade renal trauma that are associated with an increased length of stay (LOS) and the effect of conservative vs surgical management on hospital LOS.

METHODS

A retrospective review of all patients who suffered unilateral high-grade renal trauma (grade 3 or higher) from September 1977 to August 2012 at San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco, CA was performed. Patients' demographic information, mechanism of injury, injury grade, data about associated injuries, hospital LOS, and management were collected. Descriptive analysis was performed using chi-square, ordered logistic regression, and linear regression analysis. Multivariable analysis was performed using a Fine-Gray model of competing risks survival analysis, adjusting for trauma type, grade, surgery, associated injury, and complications.

RESULTS

The cohort consisted of 408 patients with high-grade unilateral renal trauma of which 257 patients underwent renal exploration. The adjusted multivariable analysis revealed that trauma type, injury grades, nongenitourinary surgery, associated injuries, and complications were associated with increased hospital LOS (P .01 for all). Renal exploration compared to conservative management for high-grade renal trauma was not associated with an increased hospital LOS (P = .10).

CONCLUSION

There is no significant difference between conservative and surgical management of high-grade renal trauma in terms of hospital LOS. Conservative management of high-grade renal trauma does not impact patients' length of hospitalization.