Sun, Philip Y.

Background Despite its approval for acute ischemic stroke >25 years ago, intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) remains underused, with inequities by age, sex, race, ethnicity, and geography. Little is known about IVT rates by insurance status. Methods and Results We assessed temporal trends from 2002 to 2015 in IVT for acute ischemic stroke in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample using adjusted, survey ‐ weighted logistic regression. We calculated odds ratios for IVT for each category in 2002 to 2008 (period 1) and 2009 to 2015 (period 2). IVT use for acute ischemic stroke increased from 1.0% in 2002 to 6.8% in 2015 (adjusted annual relative ratio, 1.15). Individuals aged ≥85 years had the most pronounced increase during 2002 to 2015 (adjusted annual relative ratio, 1.18) but were less likely to receive IVT compared with 18‐ to 44‐year‐olds in period 1 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.23) and period 2 (aOR, 0.36). Women were less likely than men to receive IVT, but the disparity narrowed over time (period 1: aOR, 0.81; period 2: aOR, 0.94). Inequities in IVT resolved for Hispanic individuals in period 2 (aOR, 0.96) but not for Black individuals (period 2: aOR, 0.81). The disparity in IVT for Medicare patients, compared with privately insured patients, lessened over time (period 1: aOR, 0.59; period 2: aOR, 0.75). Patients treated in rural hospitals remained less likely to receive IVT than in urban hospitals; a more dramatic increase in urbanity widened the inequity (period 2, urban nonteaching versus rural: aOR, 2.58, period 2, urban teaching versus rural: aOR, 3.90). Conclusions IVT for acute ischemic stroke increased among adults. Despite some encouraging trends, the remaining disparities highlight the need for intensified efforts at addressing inequities.

Medical error is an important cause of patient morbidity/mortality. Disclosing medical errors to patients is an important component of safe practice. There is a growing need to assess the inherent nature of how physicians in training approach such unanticipated outcomes. With limited exposure for medical students to the idea of medical error disclosure, which is an important area of professionalism in medicine, we believe that a reflective writing exercise can be an efficient tool to objectively assess how students acknowledge and address medical errors early in their medical career. Every year, students in the 1 st year gross anatomy course are asked to respond to a scenario in which a medical student's cellular phone conversation with a friend in a public area (i.e. post office) was overheard by a family member of a cadaver donor to Mayo Medical School. Students were asked to write an apology email to the offended party (Mrs. X) as though they were the student who made the mistake. Students were given 48 hours to complete and submit the assignment. We retrospectively reviewed the medical error disclosure assignment of medical students in the first‐year gross anatomy course at Mayo Medical School between 2005 and 2015. An instrument for assessing medical error disclosure, consisting of fifteen items evaluated on Likert scale (1–5, 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest), was developed. Using this evaluation tool, we assessed the basic elements of medical error disclosure – acknowledgement of error/system failure, expression of regret, awareness of its impact, description of future behavior, and proper tone as an apology letter. Preliminary data from years 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2014 indicated the mean error disclosure scores of 3.49 ± 0.83, 3.32 ± 0.81, 3.29 ± 0.84, and 3.25 ± 0.75, respectively. The word count in those four class years were 246.9 ± 84.0, 236.3 ± 86.4, 211.2 ± 92.3, and 242.3 ± 79.1 words, respectively. The proportion of students who claimed to have spoken with his/her mother was 2 out of 42 (4.7%), 4 out of 49 (8.2%), 0 out of 48 (0%), and 20 out of 51 (39%) students, respectively. Across the four class years, there was a non‐significant but uniform trend of reduced mean error disclosure score over time, while the mean word count did not show a certain pattern. One notable trend over the class years was an increasing attribution to their mother as the person they spoke with, possibly a way to help alleviate Mrs. X's frustration by eliciting empathy. Overall, this efficient, integrated writing exercise serves as a sensitive tool to objectively gauge skills in the basic areas of medical error disclosure in a preclinical anatomy course. Support or Funding Information My sponsor is Dr. Wojciech Pawlina, the senior author of the abstract. Funding will be considered by the Department of Anatomy, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN.

Introduction: One million patients around the world have had total hip arthorplasty with 35% of them having metal-on-metal implants. Although there have been some case reports of cobalt cardiotoxicity from arthroprosthetic cobaltism resulting in dilated cardiomyopathy, incidence of cardiomyopathy and mortality in these patients is unknown. Objective: We therefore sought to determine the incidence of new onset cardiomyopathy (EF <40%) and associated mortality, in patients with metal hip arthroplasty. Methods: We retrospectively examined the records of the patients form our institutional total hip arthroplasty registry (Metal on Metal: MoM, Metal on Polyethylene: MoP, Ceramic on Ceramic: CoC and Ceramic on Polyethylne: CoP). Among 122 patients with baseline and follow up echocardiograms, cobalt and chromium levels were available in 12 patients, none of which developed incident cardiomyopathy. Results: The mean age of the population with metal group (MoM and MoP) was 53 years, predominantly males. During the follow up period of 10 years, the cumulative incidence (KM curve probabilities) of low EF <=40% in our study population was 14% in metal group as compared to 5% in non-metal group (CoC and CoP), (p value 0.51). At 15 years of follow up, among 122 patients, there were16 deaths in the metal group (81) and only 2 deaths in the non-metal group (41) (p value 0.15). Conclusions: In conclusion, although the incidence of cardiomyopathy as well as mortality is low in patients with metal hip arthroplasty and not significantly, further studies maybe needed to assess its effect on diastolic dysfunction.

Background: Worldwide, approximately one million patients have had total hip arthroplasty with 35% being cobalt and chromium Metal-on-Metal (MoM) or Metal-on-Polythelene (MoP) implants. Animal models have suggested that cobalt and chromium can affect all chambers, but there seems to be an atrial predilection. There are several case reports of metal containing hip arthroplasty causing atrial arrhythmias but the true incidence of atrial fibrillation associated with metal hip arthroplasty remains undefined. Objective: We sought to determine the incidence of atrial fibrillation in patients with metal containing hip arthroplasty. We also examined the association between serum cobalt and chromium levels and arrhythmias in this cohort and all cause mortality. Methods: We retrospectively examined the records of patients from the Mayo Clinic total hip arthroplasty registry (Metal group - Metal-on-Metal: MoM and Metal-on-Polyethylene: MoP, Non-Metal group - Ceramic-on-Ceramic: CoC and Ceramic-on-Polyethylne: CoP) to obtain demographic data, comorbidities, laboratory, ECG, and echocardiographic data. Out of a total of 1756 patients, Cobalt and Chromium levels were available in 138 patients. Results: The mean age of patients with metal containing hip replacement was 50 years and were predominantly male. During a follow up period of 10 years, the incidence of atrial fibrillation in our study population was 8% in metal group compared to 2% (p=0.11) in non-metal group. There was no association between cobalt or chromium levels with the incidence of atrial fibrillation. All-cause mortality was significantly higher in metal group versus non-metal group (p=0.005). Conclusion: The incidence of atrial fibrillation was relatively more in patients with metal versus non-metal hip arthroplasty but there was no association of serum cobalt or chromium levels with incidence of atrial fibrillation in the subset of patients. In addition, all-cause mortality was significantly higher in the metal group suggesting potential toxic effects of metal containing hip arthroplasty.

Background: Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) was approved for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) 25 yrs ago, yet few AIS patients receive it, with inequities by race/ethnicity, sex, and geography. With expanding evidence-based programs, we hypothesized increases in IVT utilization and reduction in inequities. Methods: Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), we assessed temporal trends from 2002 to 2015 in IVT for AIS (weighted N=6,694,081) by sex, race/ethnicity, age, insurance, and hospital location/teaching status strata using survey - weighted logistic regression. Covariates included socio-demographics, comorbidities, and hospital characteristics. We calculated odds ratios for IVT by each category in 2002-2008 and 2009-2015. Results: IVT for AIS increased from 1.0% in 2002 to 6.8% in 2015, with an overall adjusted annual relative ratio (AARR) of 1.15 (CI 1.14-1.16). Individuals 18-44 yrs had the highest rate of IVT in 2015. The very elderly (≥85 yrs) had the most pronounced increase in IVT (AARR 1.18, CI 1.17-1.19). The sex disparity in IVT improved, but in 2009-2015, women were still 6% less likely to receive IVT than men (Fig 1). Individuals 18-44 yrs were ~3-fold more likely to receive IVT than the very elderly. IVT inequities for black and Hispanic stroke survivors lessened, but blacks remained ~20% less likely than whites to receive IVT. Government-insured patients were ~25% less likely to receive IVT compared to privately insured. Urban AIS patients were up to 4-fold more likely to receive IVT than rural dwellers. Conclusion: From 2002 through 2015, IVT for AIS in the U.S. increased regardless of race/ethnicity, sex, and age among ≥18 yrs, with the most pronounced increase among the very elderly. Despite encouraging trends, only 1 in 15 AIS patients received IVT and persistent inequities remain for blacks, women, government-insured, and rural stroke survivors, highlighting the need for intensifying stroke literacy and preparedness and enhancing systems of care.

AbstractBackgroundPulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with autonomic modulation may be more successful than PVI alone for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation and may be signaled by changes in sinus rhythm heart rate (HR) post ablation. We sought to determine if a change in sinus rhythm HR predicted AF recurrence post PVI.MethodsPatients who underwent AF ablation from 2000 to 2011 were included if sinus rhythm was noted on ECG within 90 days pre and 7 days post ablation. Basic ECG interval and HR changes were analyzed and outcomes determined.ResultsA total of 1152 patients were identified (74.3% male, mean age 57 ± 11 years). Mean AF duration was 5.2 ± 5.3 years. Paroxysmal AF was noted in 712 (61.8%) of the patients. Mean EF was 61% ± 6%. Sinus rhythm HR was 61 ± 11 pre‐ablation and 76 ± 13 bpm post‐ablation (27% ± 24% increase, p < .001). The ability of relative HR change post‐ablation to predict AF recurrence was borderline (hazard ratio 0.65 [0.41–1.01], p = .067). With patients separated into quartiles based on the relative HR change, the upper quartile with the largest relative increase in HR had a significantly lower rate of AF recurrence compared to the lowest quartile following multi variable modeling (p = .038). There were significant changes in PR (171 ± 28 to 167 ± 30 ms) and QTc (424 ± 25 to 434 ± 29 ms) intervals (both p < .001) but these were not predictive of outcome.ConclusionRelative changes in HR post AF ablation correlates with AF recurrence. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm this relationship.

AbstractBackgroundIn patients with persistent (P‐PHPT) or recurrent (R‐PHPT) primary hyperparathyroidism, preoperative localization is important. Selective parathyroid hormone venous sampling (sPVS) is an invasive technique that can be used to regionalize and/or lateralize the source of PHPT when noninvasive imaging studies are nonlocalizing. The aim of the present study was to assess the role of sPVS in the preoperative evaluation of patients with P‐PHPT or R‐PHPT and negative, equivocal, or discordant noninvasive imaging localization.MethodsAfter IRB‐approval a retrospective review of all patients with P‐PHPT or R‐PHPT and nonlocalizing noninvasive imaging that underwent sPVS from 2000 to 2014 was performed. The location of the source of PHPT at sPVS was predicted by a parathyroid hormone (PTH) gradient and compared to the surgical, pathology, and biochemical follow‐up data as the gold standard. Sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) were calculated.ResultsOf 30 patients who underwent sPVS, 12 patients did not undergo surgical exploration due to negative or non‐localizing PTH gradient (n = 8) or opted for medical management (n = 4). Of the 18 patients who underwent surgical exploration, 17 (94 %) had a positive PTH gradient and pathologic parathyroid tissue identified at surgery. Sensitivity and PPV of sPVS were 93 and 77 %, respectively, for all surgical cases, 86 and 60.0 % for cervical cases (n = 11), and 100 and 100 % for mediastinal cases (n = 7). Sixteen patients (89 %) were surgically cured.ConclusionsIn patients with P‐PHPT or R‐PHPT and nonlocalizing imaging studies, sPVS is a sensitive test for localizing the source of PHPT when a positive PTH gradient is present.