Chang, Yu‐Hui H.

AbstractBackgroundWe aimed to determine whether patients and providers were satisfied with teledermoscopy consultation for skin lesions.MethodsFrom 2010 to 2011, patients with clinically suspicious lesions were referred for teledermoscopy by internal medicine physicians. Lesions were digitally photographed using a dermatoscope accessory lens. Images were interpreted by an on‐call dermatologist. We conducted same day surveys of providers and patients after the evaluations.ResultsThe survey response rate was 100%. Of the 20 patients surveyed, all agreed that a teledermoscopic consult was convenient and helpful. Nineteen patients (95%) strongly agreed that teledermoscopy potentially was a cost‐saving tool. All providers thought the evaluations were helpful. Ninety‐five percent of providers and patients reported satisfaction with the ease of use of this technology.ConclusionsTeledermoscopy may give primary care providers the ability to consult with dermatologists when seeing patients in remote or medically underserved areas. This can streamline the referral process and decrease the number of referrals for benign lesions.

AbstractIntroductionAnalyzing hospital naloxone use may assist in identification of areas for quality and safety improvement. Our primary objective is to quantitate the incidence of hospital naloxone use and to assess certain patient populations at risk.MethodsDuring the years 2008 to 2011, each clinical scenario where naloxone was administered on an in‐patient care ward was reviewed. The events were assessed to separate situations where naloxone rescue was effective in reversing opioid‐induced intoxication vs. others. Further analysis was conducted to stratify patient populations at greatest risk.ResultsNaloxone was administered for well‐defined opioid‐induced respiratory depression and oversedation 61% of the time, the remainder used for patient deterioration of other etiology. Surgical populations are at risk with an incidence of 3.8/1,000 hospitalized patients, and this is the greatest within 24 hours of surgery. General surgical patients represent the highest surgical patient risk at 5.5/1,000. Medical patients represent lower risk at 2.0/1,000. Patients with patient‐controlled analgesia and epidural opioid infusion are high risk at 12.1 and 13.1/1,000 patients, respectively. Many quality and safety interventions were gradually implemented in response to this data and are summarized. These include nursing and provider education, electronic medical record modification, and more stringent patient monitoring practices.ConclusionExamination of naloxone use can assist in the identification and stratification of patients at risk for opioid‐induced respiratory depression and oversedation and can serve as a driver for improvements in hospital patient safety. This information can also guide other institutions interested in similar improvements.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer. The aim of the study was to determine the morphological features of CVID-associated gastric adenocarcinoma (CAGA) and of the background gastritis. The population of gastric cancer patients with CVID of Mayo Clinic in the period 2000-2010 was studied; 6 cases of CVID (2 males, 4 females, average age 47 years, age range 26-71 years) were found in 5793 patients with gastric cancer in the study period. Each patient underwent gastric resection for which histology slides were reviewed. Chronic gastritis variables, CVID-related findings, and features of the adenocarcinoma were recorded. CAGA was of intestinal type, with high number of intratumoral lymphocytes (ITLs). Cancer was diagnosed in younger patients than in the overall population of gastric cancer. Severe atrophic metaplastic pangastritis with extensive dysplasia was present in the background in 4 cases, with features of lymphocytic gastritis in 2 cases. Features of CVID (plasma cells paucity in 4 of 6 cases, lymphoid nodules prominent in four cases) could be detected. In summary, gastric adenocarcinoma at young age with ITLs, accompanied by atrophic metaplastic pangastritis, should alert the pathologist of the possibility of CAGA. It follows that, in presence of those characteristics, the search of CVID-associated abnormalities should be undertaken in the nonneoplastic tissues.