Citations

INTRODUCTION: The Pregnancy Reasonably Excluded Guide (PREG) questionnaire is based on traditional methods of excluding pregnancy including sterilization, menopause, and the World Health Organization criteria. The PREG has been validated and shows a 99-100% negative predictive value for pregnancy (Selected practice recommendations for contraceptive use, 2013: adapted from the world health organization selected practice recommendations for contraceptive use, 2nd edition. MMWR Recomm Rep 2013; 62:1‒60.). Pregnancy testing in our outpatient surgical settings varied by provider. This study compared utilization of pregnancy tests in the outpatient gynecologic surgery setting after implementation of universal PREG administration. METHODS: All women undergoing outpatient gynecologic surgery were prospectively evaluated between March and September 2016. Administration of the PREG to women 18-49, excluding those undergoing procedures related to pregnancy, was implemented in July and rates of pregnancy testing pre- and post-implementation were compared using Fisher’s exact test. RESULTS: 369 patients underwent an outpatient gynecologic procedure during the study period (excluding a two week washout period after implementation). In the pre-implementation group, 136 met inclusion criteria with 45 pregnancy tests performed (33.1%). After implementation, 80 patients met inclusion criteria and 17 pregnancy tests were performed as indicated by PREG response (21.3%), demonstrating over one third reduction in pregnancy test administration (p = 0.086). No pregnancy tests were positive and no false negative evaluations were identified. Physician and nursing staff requested continued use of the PREG after the trial. CONCLUSION: PREG administration on admission for outpatient gynecologic surgery consistently and effectively identifies patients in whom pregnancy testing improves the value of care.

Purpose To identify approaches to operationalizing the development of competence in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) milestones. Method The authors reviewed all 25 “Milestone Project” documents available on the ACGME Web site on September 11, 2013, using an iterative process to identify approaches to operationalizing the development of competence in the milestones associated with each of 601 subcompetencies. Results Fifteen approaches were identified. Ten focused on attributes and activities of the learner, such as their ability to perform different, increasingly difficult tasks (304/601; 51%), perform a task better and faster (171/601; 45%), or perform a task more consistently (123/601; 20%). Two approaches focused on context, inferring competence from performing a task in increasingly difficult situations (236/601; 29%) or an expanding scope of engagement (169/601; 28%). Two used socially defined indicators of competence such as progression from “learning” to “teaching,” “leading,” or “role modeling” (271/601; 45%). One approach focused on the supervisor’s role, inferring competence from a decreasing need for supervision or assistance (151/601; 25%). Multiple approaches were often combined within a single set of milestones (mean 3.9, SD 1.6). Conclusions Initial ACGME milestones operationalize the development of competence in many ways. These findings offer insights into how physicians understand and assess the developmental progression of competence and an opportunity to consider how different approaches may affect the validity of milestone-based assessments. The results of this analysis can inform the work of educators developing or revising milestones, interpreting milestone data, or creating assessment tools to inform milestone-based performance measures.

ABSTRACTHuman cerebral malaria (HCM) is a serious complication ofPlasmodium falciparuminfection. The most severe outcomes for patients include coma, permanent neurological deficits, and death. Recently, a large-scale magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study in humans identified brain swelling as the most prominent predictor of fatal HCM. Therefore, in this study, we sought to define the mechanism controlling brain edema through the use of the murine experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) model. Specifically, we investigated the ability of CD8 T cells to initiate brain edema during ECM. We determined that areas of blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability colocalized with a reduction of the cerebral endothelial cell tight-junction proteins claudin-5 and occludin. Furthermore, through small-animal MRI, we analyzed edema and vascular leakage. Using gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MRI, we determined that vascular permeability is not homogeneous but rather confined to specific regions of the brain. Our findings show that BBB permeability was localized within the brainstem, olfactory bulb, and lateral ventricle. Concurrently with the initiation of vascular permeability, T2-weighted MRI revealed edema and brain swelling. Importantly, ablation of the cytolytic effector molecule perforin fully protected against vascular permeability and edema. Furthermore, perforin production specifically by CD8 T cells was required to cause fatal edema during ECM. We propose that CD8 T cells initiate BBB breakdown through perforin-mediated disruption of tight junctions. In turn, leakage from the vasculature into the parenchyma causes brain swelling and edema. This results in a breakdown of homeostatic maintenance that likely contributes to ECM pathology.