Development of a Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Curriculum for Breaking Bad News

Introduction

Physician communication impacts patient outcomes. However, communication skills, especially around difficult conversations, remain suboptimal, and there is no clear way to determine the validity of entrustment decisions. The aims of this study were to 1) describe the development of a simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) curriculum for breaking bad news (BBN) conversation skills and 2) set a defensible minimum passing standard (MPS) to ensure uniform skill acquisition among learners.

Stage line diagram: An age‐conditional reference diagram for tracking development

This paper presents a method for calculating stage line diagrams, a novel type of reference diagram useful for tracking developmental processes over time. Potential fields of applications include: dentistry (tooth eruption), oncology (tumor grading, cancer staging), virology (HIV infection and disease staging), psychology (stages of cognitive development), human development (pubertal stages) and chronic diseases (stages of dementia). Transition probabilities between successive stages are modeled as smoothly varying functions of age. Age‐conditional references are calculated from the modeled probabilities by the mid‐P value. It is possible to eliminate the influence of age by calculating standard deviation scores (SDS). The method is applied to the empirical data to produce reference charts on secondary sexual maturation. The mean of the empirical SDS in the reference population is close to zero, whereas the variance depends on age. The stage line diagram provides quick insight into both status (in SDS) and tempo (in SDS/year) of development of an individual child. Other measures (e.g. height SDS, body mass index SDS) from the same child can be added to the chart. Diagrams for sexual maturation are available as a web application at http://vps.stefvanbuuren.nl/puberty . The stage line diagram expresses status and tempo of discrete changes on a continuous scale. Wider application of these measures scores opens up new analytic possibilities. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Immunoglobulin mimicry by Hepatitis C Virus envelope protein E2

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) establishes persistent infection in the majority of infected individuals. The currently accepted hypothesis of immune evasion by antigenic variation in hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) of glycoprotein E2 does not however, explain the lack of subsequent immune recognition. Here, we show that the N-terminal region of E2 is antigenically and structurally similar to human immunoglobulin (Ig) variable domains. E2 is recognized by anti-human IgG antibodies and also possesses common amino acid (aa) sequence features of the conserved v-gene framework regions of human Ig light chains in particular but also heavy chains and T cell receptors. Using a position specific scoring system, the degree of similarity of HVR1 to Ig types correlated with immune escape and persistence in humans and experimentally infected chimpanzees. We propose a unique role for threshold levels of Ig molecular mimicry in HCV biology that not only advances our concept of viral immune escape and persistent infection but also provides insight into host-dependent disease patterns.     

Immunological markers of childhood fevers in an area of intense and perennial malaria transmission.

In order to describe presumed paediatric malaria on a cell-immunological basis, the soluble receptors of IL-2 (sIL-2R) and tumour necrosis factor (sTNF-R55 and sTNF-R75) were quantified in highly exposed young Tanzanian children. Sera were obtained from 66 acute and 72 reported febrile patients during health post consultations and follow-ups and from 68 community controls. Levels of sIL-2R, sTNF-R55 and sTNF-R75 were significantly elevated during fever attacks, especially in very young children. Soluble TNF-R75 levels were most stable and those of sTNF-R55 least. Levels of sTNF-R55 were related to the magnitude of fever and thus appeared to reflect attack severity. Levels of sTNF-R75 were highly significantly associated with parasite density, indicating that this response is malaria-specific. The present study indicates that sTNF-R75 levels could become a useful immunological tool in malaria intervention studies, as they reflect changes in malaria-specific immune responses. Future studies should validate this potential in different endemic settings.     

医疗卫生机构气候韧性和环境可持续评价工具研究进展

目的 气候变化给医疗卫生机构带来诸多不确定性威胁,医疗卫生机构亟需提高自身的气候韧性并采取积极的应对措施,如何系统评价医疗卫生机构应对气候变化的能力成为应对气候变化挑战的工作重点。方法 使用范围综述筛选医疗卫生机构气候韧性和环境可持续评价工具相关文献和最新进展,并对密切相关的文献采用引文检索拓展研究范围。结果 借鉴国际经验已开发出适用于我国的《绿色医院建筑评价标准》,但对于医疗卫生机构气候韧性的指南和要求仍在探索中。国际上已经发展了三套较完整的工具包和指南,并已探索性开展了实地应用,包括加拿大的医疗卫生机构气候变化韧性工具包、美国的可持续和气候韧性医疗卫生机构工具包,以及世界卫生组织的气候韧性和环境可持续性的医疗卫生机构指南。结论 医疗卫生机构气候韧性和环境可持续能力评价工具构建是开展脆弱性评估和干预的基础,应积极借鉴国外相关经验开发适宜我国的评价工具,以增强机构和人员应对气候变化的能力。     

Dietary Aspects to Incorporate in the Creation of a Mobile Image-Based Dietary Assessment Tool to Manage and Improve Diabetes

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in United States. Dietary intake and behaviors are essential components of diabetes management. Growing evidence suggests dietary components beyond carbohydrates may critically impact glycemic control. Assessment tools on mobile platforms have the ability to capture multiple aspects of dietary behavior in real-time throughout the day to inform and improve diabetes management and insulin dosing. The objective of this narrative review was to summarize evidence related to dietary behaviors and composition to inform a mobile image-based dietary assessment tool for managing glycemic control of both diabetes types (type 1 and type 2 diabetes). This review investigated the following topics amongst those with diabetes: (1) the role of time of eating occasion on indicators of glycemic control; and (2) the role of macronutrient composition of meals on indicators of glycemic control. A search for articles published after 2000 was completed in PubMed with the following sets of keywords “diabetes/diabetes management/diabetes prevention/diabetes risk”, “dietary behavior/eating patterns/temporal/meal timing/meal frequency”, and “macronutrient composition/glycemic index”. Results showed eating behaviors and meal macronutrient composition may affect glycemic control. Specifically, breakfast skipping, late eating and frequent meal consumption might be associated with poor glycemic control while macronutrient composition and order of the meal could also affect glycemic control. These factors should be considered in designing a dietary assessment tool, which may optimize diabetes management to reduce the burden of this disease.     

Is ‘Omega Sign’ anatomical endoscopic enucleation of the prostate technique reproducible?

We aimed to evaluate the learning curve of the surgically standardised ‘Omega Sign’ anatomical endoscopic enucleation (AEEP) of the prostate surgery technique for junior surgeons. This study is a retrospective comparison of cases that underwent AEEP by a mentor surgeon and three junior surgeons who have completed their learning curve. A video-based laser enucleation of the prostate assessment tool (LEAT) composed of 8 steps of the technique was used to assess a senior surgeon and junior surgeons’ surgical compatibility and consistency. The surgeon who defined Omega Sign technique was determined as group 1, and cases by three junior surgeons were identified as group 2. The end points were to assess the reproducibility and repeatability and operative post-operative outcomes of the technique. 55 patients’ videos were rated by five experienced endourologists. There was no significant difference in LEAT scores between the groups among all steps. The most symmetry was found in the 1st and 3rd steps. Inter-rater consistency was also high for each step, with no statistically significant difference between the evaluators. The standardised anatomical ‘Omega Sign’ technique is reproducible for the junior surgeons. The operative steps can be performed with high consistency, and the functional and perioperative outcomes are comparable with the senior surgeon.     

痴呆恐惧量表的汉化及信效度检验

目的汉化痴呆恐惧量表,并在社区老年人中检验其信效度。方法根据Brislin翻译原则翻译痴呆恐惧量表,通过专家咨询和预试验进行文化调适,采用便利抽样法选取230名社区老年人进行问卷调查,检验中文版量表的信度和效度。结果中文版痴呆恐惧量表包含认知、社会和躯体3个维度,涉及痴呆症的体验与认识(7个条目)、担心家庭负担(4个条目)、羞耻感(3个条目)和躯体反应(4个条目)4个因子共18个条目。量表内容效度指数为0.934,各条目内容效度指数为0.857~1.000;探索性因子分析共提取4个公因子,累积方差贡献率为77.464%;总量表Cronbach′sα系数为0.893,重测信度为0.854。结论中文版痴呆恐惧量表在社区老年人中应用信效度较好,可用于老年人痴呆恐惧的识别和评估。     

FRAX评估类风湿关节炎患者骨折风险及相关临床危险因素的研究

目的运用FRAX探究中国RA患者骨折风险及相关临床危险因素。方法纳入52例RA、47例p SS以及41例体检健康者分别为RA组、p SS组、对照组,RA组患者检测ACPA、RF、ESR、CRP并计算DAS28-ESR、HAQ-DI,所有纳入者以双能X线吸收测定法测定骨密度并通过FRAX官方网站预估10年骨折风险。所有统计分析采用SPSS统计软件。结果 FRAX相关骨折危险因素包括身高、吸烟、饮酒、既往骨折、父母骨折,在3组间差异未见统计学意义。RA组糖皮质激素累积服用天数高于p SS组(P0.05)。通过FRAX无论是否结合骨密度评估,RA组主要骨质疏松性骨折风险及髋关节骨折风险均较对照组高(P0.01),主要骨质疏松性骨折风险亦较p SS组高(P0.05或P0.01)。通过FRAX结合骨密度评估,从年龄、糖皮质激素、绝经方面分析,RA组主要骨质疏松性骨折及髋关节骨折风险均较对照组高(P0.05或P0.01)。通过FRAX结合BMD评估RA组10年主要骨质疏松性骨折风险发生率分为低危、中危、高危组,ACPA、RF、ESR、CRP、DAS28-ESR、HAQ-DI在三组中均值呈上升趋势,差异均有统计学意义(P0.01)。结论 RA患者骨折风险评估可结合FRAX与骨密度;长期、大量服用糖皮质激素以及高龄、绝经后女性RA患者更应重视骨折风险评估;有效控制RA疾病活动度、改善关节功能情况有助于骨质疏松性骨折的预防。