Assessing readiness: the impact of an experiential learning entrustable professional activity-based residency preparatory course.

As medical schools move to integrate the Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency (EPAs) into curricula and address the transition from student to resident, residency preparatory courses have become more prevalent. The authors developed an experiential learning EPA-based capstone course for assessment to determine impact on learner self-assessed ratings of readiness for residency and acquisition of medical knowledge. All fourth-year students from the classes of 2018-2020 completed a required course in the spring for assessment of multiple EPAs, including managing core complaints, performing basic procedures, obtaining informed consent, and providing patient handoffs. Learners selected between three specialty-based parallel tracks - adult medicine, surgery, or pediatrics. Students completed a retrospective pre-post questionnaire to provide self-assessed ratings of residency preparedness and comfort in performing EPAs. Finally, the authors studied the impact of the course on knowledge acquisition by comparing student performance in the adult medicine track on multiple choice pre- and post-tests. Four hundred and eighty-one students were eligible for the study and 452 (94%) completed the questionnaire. For all three tracks, there was a statistically significant change in learner self-assessed ratings of preparedness for residency from pre- to post-course (moderately or very prepared: adult medicine 61.4% to 88.6% [p-value < 0.001]; surgery 56.8% to 81.1% [p-value < 0.001]; pediatrics 32.6% to 83.7% [p-value 0.02]). A similar change was noted in all tracks in learner self-assessed ratings of comfort from pre- to post-course for all studied EPAs. Of the 203 students who participated in the adult medicine track from 2019-2020, 200 (99%) completed both the pre- and post-test knowledge assessments. The mean performance improved from 65.0% to 77.5% (p-value < 0.001). An experiential capstone course for the assessment of EPAs can be effective to improve learner self-assessed ratings of readiness for residency training and acquisition of medical knowledge.

Outpatient hospitalist-run procedure service bridges the gap in oncology care.

Hospitalist-run procedure teams enable expedited care in the inpatient setting. However, wait times for outpatient interventional radiology (IR) are long at our institution. Our study thus aims to compare the safety and wait times between procedural teams and IR placement of outpatient temporary hemodialysis catheters (THDC) for patients undergoing Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy apheresis. A retrospective chart review was conducted on all patients receiving outpatient THDC for CAR-T therapy from August 2019 until November 2022. During our study period, only 7 of the central lines were placed by IR, while 75 were placed by the procedure service. The average wait time from CAR-T consenting to procedure was 8.9 days for the procedure service and 14.7 days for IR. The 30 day minor complication rate was low - 2.7% in the procedure group, and 0% in the IR group. No major complications were noted in either group.

Panhypopituitarism as the first sign of paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis in a patient with cured testicular cancer: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis is a rare neurologic syndrome that affects patients with cancer and commonly presents with symptoms of personality changes, visual disturbances, seizures, vertigo, and memory loss. It has an immune-mediated pathophysiology and is associated with antibodies directed against both the tumor and limbic structures in the nervous system. Here, we report a case of paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis with an unusual presentation with initial symptoms of panhypopituitarism. CASE PRESENTATION: A 28-year-old Caucasian man with history of testicular cancer in remission for almost 2 years was admitted to our hospital for altered mental status, syncope, vertical gaze palsy, ataxia, and tremor. Three months prior to admission, he began to have initial symptoms of fatigue, weight gain, and hypogonadism. A few weeks before admission, he also developed worsening neurological symptoms that led him to present to the hospital. While hospitalized, he had an episode of syncope. Evaluation of his syncope revealed that he was hypovolemic due to polyuria, concerning for diabetes insipidus. While the patient did not meet criteria for diabetes insipidus, further endocrine laboratory testing to evaluate his central hormonal axes revealed panhypopituitarism. He also underwent a neurologic work-up with brain magnetic resonance imaging and lumbar puncture, with results consistent with encephalitis. He received high-dose steroids, plasmapheresis, and intravenous immunoglobulin, which did not significantly improve his physical examination or mental status. Extensive testing did not show any recurrence of his testicular cancer. Paraneoplastic antibodies were also ordered, with anti-Ma2 antibodies eventually returning positive, consistent with anti-Ma2 paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis. CONCLUSION: Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis is often a difficult diagnosis due to its variable presentation and timeline of presentation, leading to delays in both diagnosis and treatment. While paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis usually presents with neurological symptoms, it may also present with panhypopituitarism. A high index of suspicion is warranted for paraneoplastic syndromes in patients with history of malignancy, even if the malignancy is in remission.