Patterns in Vulvodynia Treatments and 6-Month Outcomes for Women Enrolled in the National Vulvodynia Registry—An Exploratory Prospective Study

Background

Vulvodynia is a poorly characterized condition with multiple treatment options that have been described as largely ineffective in research settings.

Peripheral Refraction With Toric Orthokeratology and Soft Toric Multifocal Contact Lenses in Myopic Astigmatic Eyes

PurposeThere has been little research on myopia management options for patients with astigmatism. This study quantified changes in peripheral refraction induced by toric orthokeratology (TOK) and soft toric multifocal (STM) contact lenses.MethodsThirty adults with refractive error of plano to −5.00 D (sphere) and −1.25 to −3.50 D (cylinder) were enrolled. Cycloplegic autorefraction was measured centrally, ±20 degrees, and ±30 degrees from the line of sight nasally (N) and temporally (T) on the retina. Measurements were made at baseline, after 10 ± 2 days of TOK wear (without lenses on eye), and after 10 ± 2 days of STM wear (with lenses on the eyes) and compared with repeated-measures analysis of variance.ResultsCompared to baseline, TOK induced a myopic shift in defocus (M) at all locations (all P < 0.01), but STM only induced a myopic shift at 20 T in both eyes and 30 N/T in the left eye (all P < 0.01). TOK resulted in more myopic defocus than STM at all locations (all P < 0.05) except 20 T in the left eye. TOK induced more J₀ astigmatism at all locations (all P < 0.02), except 20 N in the right eye; J₀ with STM was different than baseline at 20 N in both eyes and 30 N in the right eye (all P < 0.02). TOK induced more J₀ astigmatism than STM at all locations (all P < 0.01), except 20 T in the left eye. Differences in J₄₅ astigmatism, when significant, were clinically small.ConclusionsGreater amounts of peripheral myopic defocus and J₀ astigmatism were induced by TOK compared to STM, which may influence efficacy for myopia management.     

Direct measurement of the time-dependent mechanical response of HPMC and PEO compacts during swelling

Mechanical indentation is used to measure the time dependent mechanical properties of three model compact formulations during swelling in aqueous media. The formulations are based on polyethylene oxide (PEO), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and a PEO/HPMC blend. The technique is sensitive to changes in compact thickness and mechanical response and is used to characterize changes in the mechanical properties of the model compacts during the swelling process. The gel thickness and the effective elastic modulus of the gel layer are obtained from the load/displacement relationship during initial indentation. The HPMC and hybrid compacts showed significantly more swelling (110%) than the PEO compact (67%). Viscoelastic properties of the gel layer are determined throughout the swelling process by an oscillatory indentation method. Results show the complex modulus of all three compacts decreasing by approximately an order of magnitude over the course of swelling for 6h. The measurement techniques presented here can easily be extended to more complex systems.     

The transitional phase of ductus venosus reversed flow in severely premature IUGR fetuses

The guiding hypothesis for this work is that in severe intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) fetuses, the time from ductus venosus (DV) reversed flow (RF) appearance to intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) or nonreassuring fetal testing is variable. As such, there must be a transitional phase between the presence of end-diastolic forward flow (FF) and absent or reversed end-diastolic flow (A/REDF). Ductus venosus Doppler was serially studied in 19 IUGR fetuses (estimated fetal weight < 10th percentile and umbilical artery pulsatility index > 95th percentile) from diagnosis until demise or delivery occurring for nonreassuring fetal testing. Ductus venosus waveforms were assessed qualitatively: forward flow versus absent or reversed flow in diastole. Two sets of at least 30 consecutive ductus venosus waveforms were obtained at each examination. If the waveforms differed between the two sets, they were defined as alternating. Cord arterial pH and base excess (BE) were obtained at birth. In 14 cases, DVRF occurred intermittently between periods of FF during the same clinical visit. Intermittent DVRF was present from 2 to 57 days (median, 13 days) and became continuous from 1 to 23 days (median, 7 days) before the occurrence of delivery for nonreassuring fetal testing or fetal demise. One fetus had an abnormal arterial pH (< 7.0) and one had an abnormal BE (< -12). These data show that (1) there is a transitional phase in which DV alternates FF and A/RF before RF becomes persistent; (2) the time from the appearance of DVRF to delivery or IUFD is variable, and (3) not all very preterm IUGR fetuses with continuous DVRF are acidemic. Because of these findings, the decision of delivery regarding early severe IUGR fetuses should be individualized, and the DVRF Doppler information has to be integrated with other antenatal fetal parameters.     

REACT: Rapid Evaluation Assessment of Clinical Reasoning Tool

IntroductionClinical reasoning encompasses the process of data collection, synthesis, and interpretation to generate a working diagnosis and make management decisions. Situated cognition theory suggests that knowledge is relative to contextual factors, and clinical reasoning in urgent situations is framed by pressure of consequential, time-sensitive decision-making for diagnosis and management. These unique aspects of urgent clinical care may limit the effectiveness of traditional tools to assess, teach, and remediate clinical reasoning.MethodsUsing two validated frameworks, a multidisciplinary group of clinicians trained to remediate clinical reasoning and with experience in urgent clinical care encounters designed the novel Rapid Evaluation Assessment of Clinical Reasoning Tool (REACT). REACT is a behaviorally anchored assessment tool scoring five domains used to provide formative feedback to learners evaluating patients during urgent clinical situations. A pilot study was performed to assess fourth-year medical students during simulated urgent clinical scenarios. Learners were scored using REACT by a separate, multidisciplinary group of clinician educators with no additional training in the clinical reasoning process. REACT scores were analyzed for internal consistency across raters and observations.ResultsOverall internal consistency for the 41 patient simulations as measured by Cronbach’s alpha was 0.86. A weighted kappa statistic was used to assess the overall score inter-rater reliability. Moderate reliability was observed at 0.56.DiscussionTo our knowledge, REACT is the first tool designed specifically for formative assessment of a learner’s clinical reasoning performance during simulated urgent clinical situations. With evidence of reliability and content validity, this tool guides feedback to learners during high-risk urgent clinical scenarios, with the goal of reducing diagnostic and management errors to limit patient harm.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11606-022-07513-5.     

Viral co‐infections are associated with increased rates of hospitalization in those with influenza

BackgroundInfluenza causes significant morbidity and mortality in the United States. Among patients infected with influenza, the presence of bacterial co‐infection is associated with worse clinical outcomes; less is known regarding the clinical importance of viral co‐infections. The objective of this study was to determine rates of viral co‐infections in emergency department (ED) patients with confirmed influenza and association of co‐infection with disease severity.MethodsSecondary analysis of a biorepository and clinical database from a parent study where rapid influenza testing was implemented in four U.S. academic EDs, during the 2014–2015 influenza season. Patients were systematically tested for influenza virus using a validated clinical decision guideline. Demographic and clinical data were extracted from medical records; nasopharyngeal specimens from influenza‐positive patients were tested for viral co‐infections (ePlex, Genmark Diagnostics). Patterns of viral co‐infections were evaluated using chi‐square analysis. The association of viral co‐infection with hospital admission was assessed using univariate and multivariate regression.ResultsThe overall influenza A/B positivity rate was 18.1% (1071/5919). Of the 999 samples with ePlex results, the prevalence of viral co‐infections was 7.9% (79/999). The most common viral co‐infection was rhinovirus/enterovirus (RhV/EV), at 3.9% (39/999). The odds of hospital admission (OR 2.33, 95% CI: 1.01–5.34) increased significantly for those with viral co‐infections (other than RhV/EV) versus those with influenza A infection only.ConclusionPresence of viral co‐infection (other than RhV/EV) in ED influenza A/B positive patients was independently associated with increased risk of hospital admission. Further research is needed to determine clinical utility of ED multiplex testing.     

Spatial expression of IKK-alpha is associated with a differential mutational landscape and survival in primary colorectal cancer

Background To understand the relationship between key non-canonical NF-κB kinase IKK-alpha(α), tumour mutational profile and survival in primary colorectal cancer.Methods Immunohistochemical expression of IKKα was assessed in a cohort of 1030 patients who had undergone surgery for colorectal cancer using immunohistochemistry. Mutational tumour profile was examined using a customised gene panel. Immunofluorescence was used to identify the cellular location of punctate IKKα expression.Results Two patterns of IKKα expression were observed; firstly, in the tumour cell cytoplasm and secondly as discrete ‘punctate’ areas in a juxtanuclear position. Although cytoplasmic expression of IKKα was not associated with survival, high ‘punctate’ IKKα expression was associated with significantly reduced cancer-specific survival on multivariate analysis. High punctate expression of IKKα was associated with mutations in KRAS and PDGFRA. Dual immunofluorescence suggested punctate IKKα expression was co-located with the Golgi apparatus.Conclusions These results suggest the spatial expression of IKKα is a potential biomarker in colorectal cancer. This is associated with a differential mutational profile highlighting possible distinct signalling roles for IKKα in the context of colorectal cancer as well as potential implications for future treatment strategies using IKKα inhibitors.Subject terms: Prognostic markers, Colorectal cancer