Pregnancy Curriculum: Advocating for a Healthier Pregnancy in General Surgery Residency.

INTRODUCTION: With an increasing number of women entering surgical careers, pregnancy amongst surgical residents is anecdotally rising. There is no single resource to inform expectant surgical residents of potential occupational risks, or to help them optimize workplace safety during and after pregnancy. The aim of this initiative is to provide surgical residents with an overview of residency occupational risks applicable to maternal-fetal health, propose systemic and situational modifications, and to empower pregnant residents to better plan and advocate for a healthy pregnancy. METHODS: Surgery department staff were invited to contribute to the pregnancy curriculum at the authors' institution. Feedback was received from attending physicians and surgical residents (N = 12), as well as all female residents having experienced in-training pregnancy or early child-rearing from 2017 to 2022 (N = 6). After identifying workplace hazard and compiling staff feedback, the authors developed a set of recommendations for the protection of pregnant and early-parenting female trainees. RESULTS: Five areas of process improvements were identified for the protection of pregnant residents: culture, ergonomics, exposure, maternal & fetal care, and fourth trimester support. Specific recommendations ranged from widespread institutional support emphasizing psychological safety and zero-retaliation policies, to healthcare-related hazard exposure protections, as well as tangible postpartum and lactation support. Out of this initiative came the pregnancy curriculum. CONCLUSION: Widespread and decisive institutional support is paramount to cultural shifts surrounding in-training pregnancy. The guidelines proposed in this project are intended to be enforced by surgical residency leadership with the precise goal of removing the cultural burden from the expectant resident. Only the resident herself can thereafter chose to adopt or decline the protective measures. Through our recommendations, we hope to offer a foundation upon which individual residents and program leaders can build tailored, pregnancy-specific interventions, with the ultimate goal of improving the antenatal outcomes of our trainees and their growing families without compromising surgical training.

Are We Overtreating Patients With T1a HER2+ Breast Cancer? An Analysis of the National Cancer Database.

INTRODUCTION: The potential benefit of systemic therapy in patients with T1a HER2+ cancers is not well understood, and no consensus guidelines exist. We sought to investigate practice patterns of chemotherapy use in this population. METHODS: From the National Cancer Database (2013-2018), we identified female patients with HER2+ cancers staged as cT1aN0 or pT1aN0 and stratified by receipt of chemotherapy. Using univariate and multivariable analyses we assessed the clinicopathologic features associated with the receipt of chemotherapy. We also compared rates of overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Of 5176 women with cT1aN0 HER2+ cancers, 88 (2%) received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Younger age and hormone-receptor (HR) negative tumors were factors independently associated with receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (all P < .001). Of 11,688 women with pT1aN0 HER2+ cancers, 5,588 (48%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. Rates of use increased over the analysis period from 39% in 2013 to 53% in 2018 (P < .001). Factors independently associated with receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy included younger age, having a poorly differentiated tumor, exhibiting lymphovascular invasion, undergoing adjuvant radiation (all P < .001). There were no differences in OS when comparing those who did and did not receive chemotherapy in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The use of chemotherapy in patients with HER2+ T1a cancers is increasing over time and is, as expected, more common among patients with unfavorable clinicopathologic features. Since no prognostic algorithm currently exists, more prospective data is needed to understand which of these patients may derive benefit from systemic therapy and which may safely avoid the morbidity of chemotherapy.

Tension pneumoperitoneum following upper endoscopy.

Perforation of the digestive tract is a rare complication of endoscopy. Massive accumulation of air within the peritoneum resulting in the abdominal compartment syndrome is much less common with <20 cases reported. In this report we present a case of jejunal perforation during an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy that resulted in tension physiology with mesenteric ischemia, severe acidosis, renal failure, coagulopathy and massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage. The patient had a sudden onset of shock as soon as her abdomen was decompressed, indicating that she possibly developed a reperfusion injury. She did not respond to resuscitative efforts and ultimately died.

Type 2 diabetes is associated with failure of non-operative treatment for sternoclavicular joint infection.

BACKGROUND: A standardized treatment algorithm for sternoclavicular joint infection management is lacking in the literature. While major risk factors for sternoclavicular joint infection, including immunosuppression, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, indwelling catheters, and intravenous drug use have been identified, clear association with treatment outcome has not been established. As our safety net hospital treats a patient population with high incidence of intravenous drug use, we sought to identify risk factors associated with failure of non-operative management of sternoclavicular joint infection. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study, reviewing charts of patients diagnosed with sternoclavicular joint infection between January 2001 and December 2017 to collect demographic information as well as clinical risk factors and treatment patterns. A chi-square test was performed to determine any association between clinical variables and management, as well as relation to treatment outcome. RESULTS: The study cohort consisted of 35 patients with diagnosis of sternoclavicular joint infection and complete follow-up. Intravenous drug use was prevalent, seen in 45.6% (16/35) of subjects, though there was no association with failure of non-operative management (P=0.50). Operative management was the initial treatment for 25.7% (9/35) of subjects and was associated with abscess on presentation (P=0.03). Failure of non-operative management was seen in 26.9% (7/26). Type 2 diabetes was associated with failed initial non-operative management, present in 42.9% (3/7) of patients (P=0.03) experiencing failure. CONCLUSIONS: This study constitutes the largest series of sternoclavicular joint infection with intravenous drug use. While intravenous drug use was not associated with failure of non-operative management, we observed that type 2 diabetes is associated with failure of non-operative management and could be considered in determining management of sternoclavicular joint infection patients.

Initial report on young cardiothoracic surgeons' first job: From searching to securing and the gaps in between.

OBJECTIVE: Recent industry studies have projected a deficit in cardiothoracic surgeons by 2030. Little is known about the difficulties of the job search process after cardiothoracic training. The purpose of this study is to explore the current practices of the first job hunt and contract negotiation for young cardiothoracic surgeons, and to identify the gaps in resources available to applicants. METHODS: In October 2017, a 56-question survey was e-mailed to recent (2013-2017) board-certified cardiothoracic surgeons in the United States inquiring about their experience securing their first cardiothoracic job. The survey was administered via REDCap, and responses were accepted over 3 months. RESULTS: The response rate was 12.8% (61/475). The majority of cardiothoracic program graduates (86.9%) interviewed for jobs between October and March of their final cardiothoracic training year, and 79.7% of contracts were signed before completing training. Sixty-four percent of respondents negotiated their first contract. The most influential factor in job selection was partner mentorship. Average starting pretax salary for respondents was $375,588 (±$107,265). More than half of respondents reported needing more resources and support for the identification (59%) and comparison (54.1%) of job opportunities, contract negotiation (70.5%), and salary guidelines navigation (77%). CONCLUSIONS: Little guidance exists to support the search and securing of young cardiothoracic surgeons' first employment. Resources, whether institutional or organizational, are sparse and difficult to tailor to individual needs. Given the potential ramification of early career decisions, focused support is needed to remediate the lack of preparation available to the newest generations of cardiothoracic surgeons.

Bronchoscopy Simulation Training as a Tool in Medical School Education.

BACKGROUND: Procedural simulation training is rare at the medical school level and little is known about its usefulness in improving anatomic understanding and procedural confidence in students. Our aim is to assess the impact of bronchoscopy simulation training on bronchial anatomy knowledge and technical skills in medical students. METHODS: Medical students were recruited by email, consented, and asked to fill out a survey regarding their baseline experience. Two thoracic surgeons measured their knowledge of bronchoscopy on a virtual reality bronchoscopy simulator using the Bronchoscopy Skills and Tasks Assessment Tool (BSTAT), a validated 65-point checklist (46 for anatomy, 19 for simulation). Students performed four self-directed training sessions of 15 minutes per week. A posttraining survey and BSTAT were completed afterward. Differences between pretraining and posttraining scores were analyzed with paired Student's t tests and random intercept linear regression models accounting for baseline BSTAT score, total training time, and training year. RESULTS: The study was completed by 47 medical students with a mean training time of 81.5 ± 26.8 minutes. Mean total BSTAT score increased significantly from 12.3 ± 5.9 to 48.0 ± 12.9 (p < 0.0001); mean scores for bronchial anatomy increased from 0.1 ± 0.9 to 31.1 ± 12.3 (p < 0.0001); and bronchoscopy navigational skills increased from 12.1 ± 5.7 to 17.4 ± 2.5 (p < 0.0001). Total training time and frequency of training did not have a significant impact on level of improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Self-driven bronchoscopy simulation training in medical students led to improvements in bronchial anatomy knowledge and bronchoscopy skills. Further investigation is under way to determine the impact of bronchoscopy simulation training on future specialty interest and long-term skills retention.

Caprini Risk Model Decreases Venous Thromboembolism Rates in Thoracic Surgery Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Extended postoperative chemoprophylaxis is effective in reducing venous thromboembolism (VTE) among general surgical patients. We hypothesized that implementation of the Caprini risk assessment model (RAM) would reduce VTE rates among patients undergoing lung and esophageal cancer surgery. METHODS: The Caprini RAM, consisting of patient risk stratification and extended postoperative chemoprophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin, was implemented on the thoracic surgery service at Boston Medical Center in July 2014. Patients undergoing lung and esophageal cancer resections were enrolled in the postintervention group beginning in July 2014. Provider and patient adherence to treatment protocol was audited. Venous thromboembolism and adverse bleeding events were monitored for 60 days postoperatively. A preintervention control group including esophagectomy and lung cancer resection patients (January 2005 to June 2013) was used for VTE rate comparison. Exclusion criteria included chronic anticoagulation and presence of filters. RESULTS: There were 302 lung and esophageal cancer resection patients in the preintervention cohort, and 64 thoracic cancer resections in the postintervention group. The overall VTE rates for preintervention and postintervention cohorts were 7.3% (22 of 302) and 3.1% (2 of 64), respectively (p = 0.28). Provider adherence to Caprini RAM score assignment was 100%, whereas patient adherence to treatment was 97.4%. There were no adverse bleeding events. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates a trend toward decreased symptomatic VTE after Caprini RAM implementation, as demonstrated among high-risk cancer patients. The absence of bleeding complications and high provider and patient adherence to VTE RAM support the safety and feasibility of a VTE prevention protocol in thoracic surgery patients.