Social Vulnerability and Appendicitis: Single-Institution Study in a High Insurance State.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple factors signifying higher social vulnerability, including lower socioeconomic status and minority race, have been associated with presentation with complicated appendicitis (CA). In this study, we compared the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) of our population by appendicitis severity (uncomplicated appendicitis [UA] versus CA). We hypothesized that SVI would be similar between patients with UA and CA presenting to our institution, a safety-net hospital in a state with high healthcare insurance coverage. METHODS: We included all patients at our hospital aged 18 y and older who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis between 2012 and 2016. SVI values were determined based on the 2010 census data using ArcMap software. We used nonparametric univariate statistics to compare the SVI of patients with CA versus UA and multivariable regression to model the likelihood of operative CA. RESULTS: A total of 997 patients met inclusion criteria, of which 177 had CA. The median composite SVI score for patients with CA was lower than for patients with UA (80% versus 83%, P = 0.004). UA was associated with higher socioeconomic (83% versus 80%, P = 0.007), household/disability (68% versus 55%, P = 0.037), and minority/language SVI scores (91% versus 89%, P = 0.037). On multivariable analysis controlling for age, sex, ethnicity, insurance status, relevant comorbidities, and chronicity of symptoms, there was an inverse association between SVI and the likelihood of CA (odds ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.4-0.87, P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: In the setting of high healthcare insurance and a medical center experienced in caring for vulnerable populations, patients presenting with UA have a higher composite SVI, and thus greater social vulnerability, than patients presenting with CA.

Burnout, Professional Fulfillment, Intention to Leave, and Sleep-Related Impairment Among Faculty Radiologists in the United States: An Epidemiologic Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of burnout in faculty radiologists in the United States and to explore the relationship between burnout and professional fulfillment (PF), intention to leave (ITL), and sleep-related impairment by gender. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted through a voluntary anonymous, electronic survey of radiologists at 11 academic medical institutions participating in the Physician Wellness Academic Consortium between January 2017 and September 2018. Faculty radiologists who completed the survey were included in the study. The survey contained the validated professional fulfillment index and National Institute of Health Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System sleep-related impairment scale. Demographics of participants only included gender to protect anonymity. Sample t tests and χ2 exact tests were used for analysis with significance level set at P < .05. RESULTS: In all, 456 faculty radiologists (171 women) answered the survey. The overall prevalence of burnout was 37.4%, PF was 35.6%, ITL was 33.3%, and sleep-related impairment was 45.3%. Burnout was higher in female versus male respondents (44% versus 31%, P < .05), and PF and ITL were lower (30% versus 42%, P < .05, 26% versus 38%, P < .05, respectively). When faculty were stratified into burned out versus not burned out, PF was significantly lower in those with burnout (12% versus 52%, P < .05), and ITL and sleep-related impairment was higher (51% versus 24%, P < .05 and 75% versus 30%, P < .05, respectively). DISCUSSION: Higher burnout was associated with reports of greater ITL and sleep-related impairment and lower PF. Female radiologists experience more burnout but less ITL than their male counterparts.

Patient-Level Factors Influencing Palliative Care Consultation at a Safety-Net Urban Hospital.

The influence of patient-level factors on palliative and hospice care is unclear. We conducted a retrospective review of 2321 patients aged ≥18 that died within 6 months of admission to our institution between 2012 and 2017. Patients were included for analysis if their chart was complete, their length of stay was ≥48 hours, and if based on their diagnoses, they would have benefited from palliative care consultation (PCC). Bayesian regression with a weakly informative prior was used to find the odds ratio (OR) and 99% credible interval (CrI) of receiving PCC based on race/ethnicity, education, language, insurance status, and income. 730 patients fit our inclusion criteria and 30% (n = 211) received PCC. The OR of receiving PCC was 1.26 (99% CrI, 0.73-2.12) for Blacks, 0.81 (99% CrI, 0.31-1.86) for Hispanics, and 0.69 (99% CrI, 0.19-2.46) for other minorities. Less than high school education was associated with greater odds of PCC (OR 2.28, 99% CrI, 1.09-4.93) compared to no schooling. Compared to English speakers, non-English speakers had higher odds of receiving PCC when cared for by medical services (OR 3.01 [99% CrI, 1.44-5.32]) but lower odds of PCC when cared for by surgical services (0.22 [99% CrI, <0.01-3.42]). Insurance status and income were not associated with differences in PCC. At our institution, we found no evidence of racial/ethnic, insurance, or income status affecting PCC while primary language spoken and educational status did. Further investigation is warranted to examine the system and provider-level factors influencing PCC's low utilization by medical and surgical specialties.

Differential Utilization of Palliative Care Consultation Between Medical and Surgical Services.

There is a paucity of data regarding the utilization of palliative care consultation (PCC) in surgical specialties. We conducted a retrospective review of 2321 adult patients (age ≥18) who died within 6 months of admission to Boston Medical Center from 2012 to 2017. Patients were included for analysis if their length of stay was more than 48 hours and if, based on their diagnoses as determined by literature review and expert consensus, they would have benefited from PCC. Bayesian regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 99% credible intervals (CrI) of receiving PCC adjusted for age, sex, race, insurance status, median income, and comorbidity status. Among the 739 patients who fit the inclusion criteria, only 30% (n = 222) received PCC even though 664 (90%) and 75 (10%) of these patients were identified as warranting PCC on medical and surgical services, respectively. Of the 222 patients who received PCC, 214 (96%) were cared for by medical services and 8 (4%) were cared for by surgical services. Patients cared for primarily by surgical were significantly less likely to receive PCC than primary patients of medical service providers (OR, 0.19, 99% CrI, 0.056-0.48). At our institution, many surgical patients appropriate for PCC are unable to benefit from this service due to low consultation numbers. Further investigation is warranted to examine if this phenomenon is observed at other institutions, elucidate the reasons for this disparity, and develop interventions to increase the appropriate use of PCC throughout all medical specialties.

Nanoscale Bupivacaine Formulations To Enhance the Duration and Safety of Intravenous Regional Anesthesia.

Intravenous regional anesthesia (IVRA; Bier block) is commonly used to anesthetize an extremity for surgery. Limitations of the procedure include pain from the required tourniquet, the toxicity that can occur from systemic release of local anesthetics, and the lack of postoperative pain relief. We hypothesized that the nanoencapsulation of the local anesthetic would prolong local anesthesia and enhance safety. Here, we developed an ∼15 nm micellar bupivacaine formulation (M-Bup) and tested it in a rat tail vein IVRA model, in which active agents were restricted in the tail by a tourniquet for 15 min. After tourniquet removal, M-Bup provided local anesthesia for 4.5 h, which was two times longer than that from a larger dose of free bupivacaine. Approximately 100 nm liposomal bupivacaine (L-Bup) with the same drug dose as M-Bup did not cause anesthesia. Blood levels of bupivacaine after tourniquet removal were lower in animals receiving M-Bup than L-Bup or free bupivacaine, demonstrating enhanced safety. Tissue reaction to M-Bup was benign.

Regulation of autophagy, NF-κB signaling, and cell viability by miR-124 in KRAS mutant mesenchymal-like NSCLC cells.

KRAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may be classified into epithelial or mesenchymal subtypes. Despite having the same "driver" mutation, mesenchymal NSCLCs are less responsive than are epithelial NSCLCs to inhibition of the RAS pathway. Identifying alternative networks that promote survival specifically in mesenchymal NSCLC may lead to more effective treatments for this subtype. Through their numerous targets in cellular signaling pathways, noncoding microRNAs (miRNAs) often function as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. In particular, some miRNAs regulate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We derived an EMT-related miRNA signature by profiling the abundance of miRNAs in a panel of epithelial (KE) or mesenchymal (KM) KRAS mutant NSCLC cell lines. This signature revealed a number of suppressed miRNAs in KM cell lines, including members of the miR-200 family, which can suppress tumor progression by inhibiting EMT. Reconstituting KM cells with one of these miRNAs, miR-124, disrupted autophagy and decreased cell survival by reducing the abundance of p62, which is both an adaptor for selective autophagy and a regulator of the transcription factor nuclear factor κB (NF-κB). Suppression of p62 by miR-124 correlated with reduced abundance of the autophagy activator beclin 1 (BECN1), the ubiquitin ligase TRAF6, and the NF-κB subunit RELA/p65. The abundance of miR-124 inversely correlated with the expression of BECN1 and TRAF6 in patient NSCLC samples. These findings reveal how the loss of miR-124 promotes cell survival networks in the aggressive mesenchymal subtype of KRAS mutant NSCLC, which might lead to improved subtype-selective therapeutic strategies for patients.

Implementation of a collaborative care management program with buprenorphine in primary care: a comparison between opioid-dependent patients and patients with chronic pain using opioids nonmedically.

OBJECTIVE: To implement a collaborative care management program with buprenorphine in a primary care clinic. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: A busy urban academic primary care clinic affiliated with a tertiary care hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Opioid-dependent patients or patients with chronic pain using opioids nonmedically were recruited for the study. A total of 45 participants enrolled. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were treated with buprenorphine and managed by a supervising psychiatrist, pharmacist care manager, and health coaches. The care manager conducted buprenorphine inductions and all follow-up visits. Health coaches offered telephonic support. The psychiatrist supervised both the care manager and health coaches. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcomes were treatment retention at 6 months, and change in the proportion of aberrant toxicology results and opioid craving scores from baseline to 6 months. After data collection, clinical outcomes were compared between opioid-dependent patients and patients with chronic pain using opioids nonmedically. Overall, 55.0 percent of participants (25/45) remained in treatment at 6 months. Primary care physicians (PCPs)' attitudes about opioid dependence treatment were surveyed at baseline and at 18 months. RESULTS: Forty-three patients (95.6 percent) accepted treatment and 25 (55.0 percent) remained in treatment at 6 months. The proportion of aberrant urine toxicology results decreased significantly from baseline to 6 months (p < 0.01). Craving scores significantly decreased from baseline to 6 months (p < 0.01). Opioid-dependent patients, as opposed to patients with chronic pain using opioids nonmedically, were significantly more likely to complete 6 months of treatment (p < 0.05). PCPs' confidence in treating opioid dependence in primary care increased significantly from baseline to 18 months postimplementation (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Collaborative care management for opioid dependence with buprenorphine may be feasible in a primary care clinic. More research is needed to understand the role of buprenorphine in managing patients with chronic pain using opioids nonmedically.

Model studies on the stability of folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid degradation during thermal treatment in combination with high hydrostatic pressure.

Stability of folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid in phosphate buffer (0.2 M; pH 7) toward thermal (above 65 degrees C) and combined high pressure (up to 800 MPa)/thermal (20 up to 65 degrees C) treatments was studied on a kinetic basis. Residual folate concentration after thermal and high pressure/thermal treatments was measured using reverse phase liquid chromatography. The degradation of both folates followed first-order reaction kinetics. At ambient pressure, the estimated Arrhenius activation energy (E(a)) values of folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid thermal degradation were 51.66 and 79.98 kJ mol(-1), respectively. It was noticed that the stability of folic acid toward thermal and combined high pressure thermal treatments was much higher than 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid. High-pressure treatments at room temperature or higher (up to 60 degrees C) had no or little effect on folic acid. In the whole P/T area studied, the rate constant of 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid degradation was enhanced by increasing pressure, and a remarkable synergistic effect of pressure and temperature on 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid degradation occurred at temperatures above 40 degrees C. A model to describe the combined pressure and temperature effect on the 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid degradation rate constant is presented.