Citations

Abstract Purpose To examine graduating medical student reports of burnout by sex, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation and explore trends within intersectional demographic groups from 2019–2021 in a national sample. Method The authors obtained medical student responses to the 2019–2021 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Graduation Questionnaires (GQs) linked to data from other AAMC sources. The dataset included year of GQ completion, responses to a modified Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (exhaustion subscale range: 0–24; disengagement subscale range: 0–15), and demographics previously shown to relate to the risk of burnout in medical students, residents, or physicians. Multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate independent associations between demographics and burnout. Results Overall response rate was 80.7%. After controlling for other factors, mean exhaustion scores were higher among Asian (parameter estimate [PE] 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21, 0.54), bisexual (PE 0.97, 95% CI 0.76, 1.17), and gay or lesbian (PE 0.55, 95% CI 0.35, 0.75) students than those who did not identify with each of those respective groups. Mean disengagement scores were lower among female (PE −0.47, 95% CI −0.52, −0.42), Hispanic (PE −0.11, 95% CI −0.22, −0.01), and White (PE −0.10, 95% CI −0.19, 0.00) students and higher among Asian (PE 0.17, 95% CI 0.07, 0.27), Black or African American (PE 0.31, 95% CI 0.18, 0.44), bisexual (PE 0.54, 95% CI 0.41, 0.66), and gay or lesbian (PE 0.23, 95% CI 0.11, 0.35) students than those who did not identify with each of those respective groups. From 2019–2021, mean exhaustion and disengagement scores were relatively stable or improved across nearly all intersectional groups. Conclusions Male, Asian, Black or African American, and sexual minority students had a higher risk of burnout, while female, Hispanic, White, and heterosexual or straight students had a lower risk of burnout.

ABSTRACT Background Virtual interviews may limit an applicant’s ability to ascertain the culture of a training program. No-stakes campus visits (NSCVs) have been offered but their value is unknown. Objective The purpose of our study was to determine factors that influence applicants’ rank lists and determine barriers to and perceptions of NSCVs and their impact on applicants’ final rank lists. Methods All interviewed applicants of graduate medical education (GME) programs who agreed to participate in the study were emailed a survey after the 2023 National Resident Matching Program Match. The survey contained sections on demographics, perspectives on factors affecting ranking decisions, and perceptions of NSCVs. Results Of 796 applicants, 183 (22.9%) who interviewed at 16 different Mayo Clinic GME programs responded to the survey. Of 131 respondents who answered whether they accepted an NSCV offer, 39 (29.8%) accepted. Of 35 respondents who answered whether they thought attending NSCVs impacted their rank, 19 (54.3%) were either uncertain or said yes. Of 34 respondents who answered whether the NSCV influenced their ranking of the program, 16 (47.1%) said their rank did not change, 12 (35.3%) said they ranked the program higher, and 5 (14.7%) said they ranked the program lower. For respondents who did not attend NSCVs, financial burden and lack of time were primary reasons. Conclusions NSCVs are perceived positively by most respondents. Many either believed they influenced their position on the program’s rank list or were unsure. Most respondents said NSCVs either improved or did not change their ranking of the program.

Objectives Describe a single institution's cochlear implant outcomes for patients with inner ear schwannomas (IES) in the setting of various tumor management strategies (observation, surgical resection, or stereotactic radiosurgery [SRS]). Study Design Single-institution retrospective review. Patients Patients diagnosed with isolated, sporadic IES who underwent cochlear implantation (CI). Interventions CI with or without IES treatment. Main Outcome Measures Speech perception outcomes, tumor status. Results Twelve patients with IES underwent CI with a median audiologic and radiologic follow-up of 12 months. Six patients underwent complete resection of the tumor at the time of CI, four underwent tumor observation, and two underwent SRS before CI. At 1 year after CI for all patients, the median consonant–nucleus–consonant (CNC) word score was 55% (interquartile range, 44–73%), and the median AzBio sentence in quiet score was 77% (interquartile range, 68–93%). Overall, those with surgical resection performed similarly to those with tumor observation (CNC 58 versus 61%; AzBio in quiet 74 versus 91%, respectively). Patients who underwent tumor resection before implantation had a wider range of speech performance outcomes compared with patients who underwent tumor observation. Two patients had SRS treatment before CI (10 months previous and same-day as CI) with CNC word scores of 6 and 40%, respectively. Conclusions Patients with IES who underwent CI demonstrated similar speech performance outcomes (CNC 56% and AzBio 82%), when compared with the general cochlear implant population. Patients who underwent either tumor observation or surgical resection performed well after CI.

BACKGROUND: Previous transcatheter valve therapy registry analyses of transcatheter mitral valve in valve (MViV) replacement of degenerated bioprosthesis reported early experience in the United States. Given recent increases in transseptal MViV volumes and introduction of the SAPIEN 3 Ultra valve, it is important to determine contemporary outcomes for patients undergoing transseptal SAPIEN 3/SAPIEN 3 Ultra MViV replacement. METHODS: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS)/American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry was used to extract data for all patients undergoing transseptal SAPIEN 3/SAPIEN 3 Ultra MViV from 2015 to September 2022. Primary efficacy outcome was 1-year all-cause mortality. Secondary end points included 30-day mortality, functional class, quality of life, and mitral valve performance. Primary safety outcomes were device success and in-hospital complications. RESULTS: A total of 4243 patients with a mean±SD STS score of 9.2±7.7 underwent transseptal MViV at 455 sites. The rate of Mitral Valve Academic Research Consortium technical (96.6%) success was high, and procedural complications were low. All-cause in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year mortality rates were 3.2%, 4.3%, and 13.4%, respectively. Significant improvements in New York Heart Association class (New York Heart Association I/II, 18% to 87%) and quality of life (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire score, 38 to 78) were noted at 1 year ( P <0.0001 for both) after MViV. Upon stratifying by STS scores, it was observed that the low-risk group (STS<4) had a significantly lower in-hospital mortality rate of 0.4%, whereas the intermediate-risk group (STS, 4–8) had an in-hospital mortality rate of 1.9%. From 2015 to 2022, the number of transseptal MViV cases/year increased significantly, whereas procedure times, length of stay, and intensive care unit hours shortened significantly. At the same time, there was a significant trend toward reduced in-hospital ( P =0.0005), 30-day ( P =0.004), and 1-year mortality rates ( P =0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter, prospective study reports excellent procedural outcomes, acceptable 1-year mortality rates, and a significant improvement in quality of life for patients undergoing transseptal MViV in the contemporary era. Patients in the low-risk and intermediate-risk STS score categories had significantly better outcomes compared with those in the high-risk category. MViV is a reasonable therapy for the majority of patients with degenerated bioprosthetic mitral valves, who are anatomical candidates.

Importance Half of all carriers of inherited cancer-predisposing variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2 are male, but the implications for their health are underrecognized compared to female individuals. Germline variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2 (also known as pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants, referred to here as BRCA1/2 PVs) are well known to significantly increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancers in female carriers, and knowledge of BRCA1/2 PVs informs established cancer screening and options for risk reduction. While risks to male carriers of BRCA1/2 PVs are less characterized, there is convincing evidence of increased risk for prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and breast cancer in males. There has also been a rapid expansion of US Food and Drug Administration–approved targeted cancer therapies, including poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, for breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancers associated with BRCA1/2 PVs. Observations This narrative review summarized the data that inform cancer risks, targeted cancer therapy options, and guidelines for early cancer detection. It also highlighted areas of emerging research and clinical trial opportunities for male BRCA1/2 PV carriers. These developments, along with the continued relevance to family cancer risk and reproductive options, have informed changes to guideline recommendations for genetic testing and strengthened the case for increased genetic testing for males. Conclusions and Relevance Despite increasing clinical actionability for male carriers of BRCA1/2 PVs, far fewer males than female individuals undergo cancer genetic testing. Oncologists, internists, and primary care clinicians should be vigilant about offering appropriate genetic testing to males. Identifying more male carriers of BRCA1/2 PVs will maximize opportunities for cancer early detection, targeted risk management, and cancer treatment for males, along with facilitating opportunities for risk reduction and prevention in their family members, thereby decreasing the burden of hereditary cancer.

Objective: The objective of this study was to measure potential associations between surgeon sex and number of days alive and at home (DAH). Background: Patients treated by female surgeons appear to have lower rates of mortality, complications, readmissions, and healthcare costs when compared with male surgeons. DAH is a validated measure, shown to better capture the patient experience of postoperative recovery. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of adults (≥18 years of age) undergoing common surgeries between January 01, 2007 and December 31, 2019 in Ontario, Canada. The outcome measures were the number of DAH within 30-, 90-, and 365-days. The data was summarized using descriptive statistics and adjusted using multivariable generalized estimating equations. Results: During the study period, 1,165,711 individuals were included, of which 61.9% (N = 721,575) were female. Those managed by a female surgeon experienced a higher mean number of DAH when compared with male surgeons at 365 days (351.7 vs. 342.1 days; P < 0.001) and at each earlier time point. This remained consistent following adjustment for covariates, with patients of female surgeons experiencing a higher number of DAH at all time points, including at 365 days (343.2 [339.5–347.1] vs. 339.4 [335.9–343.0] days). Multivariable regression modeling revealed that patients of male surgeons had a significantly lower number of DAH versus female surgeons. Conclusions: Patients of female surgeons experienced a higher number of DAH when compared with those treated by male surgeons at all time points. More time spent at home after surgery may in turn lower costs of care, resource utilization, and potentially improve quality of life. Further studies are needed to examine these findings across other care contexts.

Goal: We sought to build upon previous studies that have demonstrated how healthcare workers’ ratings of their immediate supervisor’s leadership capabilities relate to their well-being and job satisfaction. Methods: In 2022, we analyzed cross-sectional data from 1,780 physicians and 39,896 allied health professionals (collected in 2017) and 729 residents (collected in 2019), as well as longitudinal data from 1,632 physicians (collected from 2015 to 2017), to identify a psychometrically strong, broadly applicable, actionable, and low-burden approach to assessing supervisor leadership capability to support healthcare worker well-being. Principal Findings: The magnitude of association between our 1-, 2-, 3-, and 9-item leadership indexes and burnout, and between our 1-, 2-, 3-, and 9-item leadership indexes and satisfaction with the organization were similar to each other in the cross-sectional and longitudinal cohorts and across diverse groups of healthcare workers, including physicians, residents, and allied health professionals. The likelihood ratio for a high leadership score increased with an increasing score for each leadership measure. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the 1-, 2-, and 3-item measures for a high leadership score was 0.9349, 0.9672, and 0.9819, respectively. Practical Applications: A single item assessing perceptions of leadership capability efficiently provides useful information about leadership qualities of healthcare workers’ immediate supervisors. The inclusion of this item in healthcare worker surveys may be useful for evaluating interventions and galvanizing organizational action to support healthcare worker well-being.

Vitamin B12 is critical for hematopoiesis and myelination. Deficiency can cause neurologic deficits including loss of coordination and cognitive decline. However, diagnosis relies on measurement of vitamin B12 in the blood, which may not accurately reflect the concentration in the brain. Using programmable phage display, we identified an autoantibody targeting the transcobalamin receptor (CD320) in a patient with progressive tremor, ataxia, and scanning speech. Anti-CD320 impaired cellular uptake of cobalamin (B12) in vitro by depleting its target from the cell surface. Despite a normal serum concentration, B12 was nearly undetectable in her cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Immunosuppressive treatment and high-dose systemic B12 supplementation were associated with increased B12 in the CSF and clinical improvement. Optofluidic screening enabled isolation of a patient-derived monoclonal antibody that impaired B12 transport across an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Autoantibodies targeting the same epitope of CD320 were identified in seven other patients with neurologic deficits of unknown etiology, 6% of healthy controls, and 21.4% of a cohort of patients with neuropsychiatric lupus. In 132 paired serum and CSF samples, detection of anti-CD320 in the blood predicted B12 deficiency in the brain. However, these individuals did not display any hematologic signs of B12 deficiency despite systemic CD320 impairment. Using a genome-wide CRISPR screen, we found that the low-density lipoprotein receptor serves as an alternative B12 uptake pathway in hematopoietic cells. These findings dissect the tissue specificity of B12 transport and elucidate an autoimmune neurologic condition that may be amenable to immunomodulatory treatment and nutritional supplementation.