Recent Publications by CFE Educators

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

There is a lack of primary care provider (PCP) understanding of atopic dermatitis (AD) treatments and topical steroid use. We designed an AD management algorithm for pediatric PCPs. We hypothesized that the algorithm would improve pediatric PCPs' knowledge of AD diagnosis and management.

METHODS

Pediatric primary care resident and attending physicians at three residency programs were invited to participate in an electronic AD algorithm survey that contained demographic and 19 knowledge-based questions. Participants were randomized to intervention and control groups, with the intervention group receiving a short lecture and copy of our algorithm to use in an inpatient or outpatient setting for 2 months. Changes in scores between preintervention and postintervention surveys were compared.

RESULTS

Of the 54 participants, those in the intervention group (n = 26) performed significantly better than those in the control group (n = 28) after controlling for pretest scores (β = 1.19 [95% confidence interval 0.07, 2.32], p = 0.04). The intervention group had a higher average score on the posttest knowledge questions (71% correct) than the control group (65% correct) (p = 0.06). The majority of physicians who received the algorithm agreed or strongly agreed that they liked using the algorithm.

CONCLUSION

The use of a management algorithm improved physician knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of AD and was well accepted by physicians. Use of this management algorithm may lead to better recognition and management of AD, particularly earlier recognition of and therapy for superinfection, improving treatment outcomes and quality of life for patients and families.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the incidence, etiology, and 1-year mortality of nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NIHF) and to identify risk factors for mortality in a contemporary population-based dataset.

STUDY DESIGN

The California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development maintains a database linking maternal and infant hospital discharge, readmissions, and birth and death certificate date from 1 year before to 1 year after birth. We searched the database (2005-2012) for infants with NIHF (identified by the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification code). Hazard models were used to identify risk factors for mortality in infants with NIHF; results are presented as hazard ratios (HRs, 95% CI).

RESULTS

The incidence of NIHF was 2.5 out of 10 000 among live born infants. Neonatal mortality was 35.1% (364 out of 1037) and overall mortality was 43.2% (448 out of 1037) at 1 year of age. Gestational age (GA) was predictive of mortality with a HR of 2.4 (95% CI 1.9-3.2) for preterm compared with term infants. The GA-adjusted HR for mortality was 1.3 (95% CI 1.1-1.6) for polyhydramnios and 1.5 (95% CI 1.2-2.0) for large for gestational age infants compared with appropriate for GA infants. Aneuploid infants with critical congenital heart disease had an adjusted HR of 2.3 (95% CI 1.5-3.6) compared with euploid infants without a structural birth defect.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large, population-based study, prematurity, polyhydramnios, and large for gestational age were predictors of increased mortality. Mortality is highly variable among euploid and aneuploid infants with and without structural birth defects and critical congenital heart disease.

Inpatient delirium improves with multicomponent interventions by hospital staff, though the resources needed are often limited. Risk-stratification to predict delirium is a useful first step to help triage resources, but the performance of risk-stratification as part of a functioning multicomponent pathway has not been assessed. We retrospectively studied the performance of a validated delirium prediction rule, the AWOL score, as a part of a multicomponent delirium care pathway in practice on a university hospital ward. We reviewed the hospitalizations of patients 50 years or older for evidence of delirium and extracted the AWOL score from nursing documentation (n = 347). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.83 (95% CI 0.77-0.89) for all cases and 0.73 (95% CI 0.60-0.85) when cases of prevalent delirium were removed. Involving minimal additional assessment, this nursing-based risk stratification score performed well as part of a multicomponent delirium care pathway.

Acquired angioedema due to C1-INH deficiency (C1-INH-AAE) can occur when there are acquired (not inherited) deficiencies of C1-INH. A quantitative or functional C1-INH deficiency with negative family history and low C1q is diagnostic of C1-INH-AAE. The most common conditions associated with C1-INH-AAE are autoimmunity and B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. A diagnosis of C1-INH-AAE can precede a diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disease and confers an increased risk for developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Treatment focuses on symptom control with therapies that regulate bradykinin activity (C1-INH concentrate, icatibant, ecallantide, tranexamic acid, androgens) and treatment of any underlying conditions.

BACKGROUND

Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) is associated with the presence of thyroid disease and has been proposed as a biomarker of iodine status. Few studies have examined factors related to serum Tg in populations environmentally exposed to ionizing radiation and living in regions with endemic mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency.

METHODS

We screened 10,430 individuals who were living in Ukraine and under 18 years of age at the time of the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident for thyroid disease from 2001 to 2003. We estimated the percent change (PC) in serum Tg associated with demographic factors, iodine-131 thyroid dose, and indicators of thyroid structure and function using linear regression. We also examined these relationships for individuals with and without indications of thyroid abnormality.

RESULTS

Mean and median serum Tg levels were higher among participants with abnormal thyroid structure/function. Percent change in serum Tg increased among females, smokers and with older age (p-values0.001), and Tg increased with increasing thyroid volume, and serum thyrotropin (p-values for trend0.001). We found no evidence of significant associations between iodine-131 thyroid dose and Tg. Serum Tg levels were inversely associated with iodized salt intake (PC=-7.90, 95% confidence interval: -12.08, -3.52), and over the range of urinary iodine concentration, the odds of having elevated serum Tg showed a U-shaped curve with elevated Tg at low and high urinary iodine concentrations.

CONCLUSION

Serum Tg may be a useful indicator of population iodine status and a non-specific biomarker of structural and functional thyroid abnormalities in epidemiological studies.

Perineal nodular induration (PNI), or biker's nodule, is a rare, bothersome, pseudotumour. Herein, we describe the surgical technique used to treat a healthy cyclist who developed an enlarging PNI for five years that grew into a perineal mass. The mass prevented him from cycling due to worsening discomfort and heaviness. The PNI-associated mass was successfully removed by wide surgical excision and a local advancement flap. Subsequently, the patient resumed cycling. Histopathology report demonstrated a benign lesion with abundant ropy collagen with native smooth muscle, vessels, and rare fibroblast-like spindle cells. With the increasing popularity of cycling, PNI may become more common, and health providers should be aware of this rare entity and how it can be safely removed.

Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) cause major patient harm, preventable through attention to line care best practice standards. The objective was to determine if a digital self-assessment application (CLABSI App), bundling line care best practices with social gamification and in-context microlearning, could engage nurses in CLABSI prevention. Nurses caring for children with indwelling central venous catheters in 3 high-risk units were eligible to participate. All other units served as controls. The intervention was a 12-month nonrandomized quality improvement study of CLABSI App implementation with interunit competitions. Compared to the preceding year, the intervention group (9886 line days) CLABSI rate decreased by 48% ( P = .03). Controls (7879 line days) did not change significantly. In all, 105 unique intervention group nurses completed 673 self-assessments. Competitions were associated with increased engagement as measured by self-assessments and unique participants. This model could be extended to other health care-associated infections, and more broadly to process improvement within and across health care systems.