Developing a communication-skills training curriculum for resident-physicians to enhance patient outcomes at an academic medical centre: an ongoing mixed-methods study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Effective physician-patient communication is directly linked to enhanced patient safety, improved healthcare quality and health outcomes. Numerous studies have been done to implement and reinforce communication skills as core competencies to be acquired during residency training for providing culturally competent care. Pakistan has an ethnically diverse culture with people from varying diasporas. Hence there is a need to develop a curriculum that teaches cultural competency to residents. Thus, the aim of this study is (1) the identification of existing problems of communication skills among residents across various specialties, and (2) to strategise a communication skills curriculum by organising a conference of experts based on the Delphi method/estimate-talk-estimate method. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study is divided into two phases. The first phase will employ a mixed-methods approach whereby the perceptions of attendings, residents, fellows, nurses, medical students and patients about resident-patient communication will be assessed via validated surveys, focused group discussions and in-depth interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data will be analysed using Stata and NVivo, respectively. The second phase is the development of a communication skills curriculum for residents based on results from phase one and a Delphi consensus involving medical education experts. Both phases will be conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has received ethical approval from the Ethical Review Committee at the Aga Khan University (2021-6041-17126). All participants will be mandated to provide informed consent and their confidentiality will be maintained by using de-identifiers and limiting access of the data to the research team only. The findings from this study will be presented in the form of original research papers.

Endoscopic Endonasal Repair of Recurrent Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak With Adipofascial Anterolateral Thigh Free Flap: Case Report and Review of Literature.

Background. Cerebrospinal fluid leaks are the most common complication of endoscopic endonasal skull base tumor resection. The workhorse nasoseptal flap or other vascularized intranasal flaps may not be a viable option in patients who have previously undergone surgery or local radiation; in these cases, pericranial flaps may also be unavailable. Free flap reconstruction in patients undergoing endoscopic resection is challenging because of limited exposure. The transmaxillary approach has recently been reported for free flap reconstruction of these defects. This report describes a patient with a pituitary tumor who underwent craniotomy and resection of a pituitary mass via an endoscopic endonasal approach. Postoperatively, the patient developed a high flow cerebrospinal fluid leak that did not resolve with lumbar drain and attempts at endoscopic revision of nasoseptal flap. An adipofascial anterolateral thigh free flap was harvested, based on the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral vessels. An upper gingivobuccal sulcus incision was used to access the maxilla. Openings were created in the anterior and medial maxillary sinus to create a passage to the sphenoid sinus. The flap was inset into the defect via this transmaxillary channel. The pedicle was tunneled subcutaneously through the cheek to recipient facial vessels. The procedure resulted in complete resolution of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea and pneumocephalus. Imaging at 18 months showed the flap in good position. This report describes the technique in detail along with a review of the current literature.

Choice of therapeutic anti-seizure medication in patients with brain tumour.

Seizures are common in patients with brain tumours, even though prophylactic anti-seizure treatment for all patients with brain tumours is not recommended. Newer anti-epileptic drugs have shown benefits that outweigh the side effects of treatment and can also be given in combination with traditional anti-epileptic drugs. The authors have reviewed the literature on the various combinations of anti-epileptics in patients with seizures and brain tumours.

Prognostic value of 1p/19q chromosomal codeletion in patients with oligodendroglioma.

Oligodendrogliomas are common intra-axial primary brain tumours, and carry special significance due to several key features, which when present provide better prognosis compared to other intra-axial tumours. One of these features is presence of 1p/19q chromosomal codeletion that seems to not only be a marker of better prognosis but also signifies better response to chemotherapy. Herein the authors review the literature for evidence of the prognostic value of 1p/19q codeletion in OD.