Differences in Physician Burnout by Specialty: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of physician burnout increased notably during the COVID-19 pandemic, but whether measures of burnout differed based on physician specialty is unknown. The authors sought to determine the prevalence of burnout, worklife conflict, and intention to quit among physicians from different specialties. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional online survey of physicians working at 2 urban hospitals in Vancouver, Canada, from August to October 2021. Responses were categorized by specialty (including surgical and nonsurgical), and data about whether physicians provided frontline patient care during COVID-19 were also included. Physician burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Responses were categorized by specialty (including surgical and nonsurgical), and data about whether physicians provided frontline patient care during COVID-19 were also included. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 42% (209/498). The overall prevalence of burnout was 69%. Burnout was not significantly different by specialty or between frontline COVID-19 specialties compared with other specialties. Physicians in surgical specialties were more likely to report work-life conflict than those in nonsurgical specialties (p = 0.012). Differences in intention to quit among specialties were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, physician burnout was high across physicians, without significant differences between specialties, highlighting the need to support all physicians.

The Neurostimulation Appropriateness Consensus Committee (NACC)®: Recommendations for the Mitigation of Complications of Neurostimulation.

INTRODUCTION: The International Neuromodulation Society convened a multispecialty group of physicians based on expertise and international representation to establish evidence-based guidance on the mitigation of neuromodulation complications. This Neurostimulation Appropriateness Consensus Committee (NACC)® project intends to update evidence-based guidance and offer expert opinion that will improve efficacy and safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Authors were chosen on the basis of their clinical expertise, familiarity with the peer-reviewed literature, research productivity, and contributions to the neuromodulation literature. Section leaders supervised literature searches of MEDLINE, BioMed Central, Current Contents Connect, Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed from 2017 (when NACC last published guidelines) to October 2023. Identified studies were graded using the United States Preventive Services Task Force criteria for evidence and certainty of net benefit. Recommendations are based on the strength of evidence or consensus when evidence was scant. RESULTS: The NACC examined the published literature and established evidence- and consensus-based recommendations to guide best practices. Additional guidance will occur as new evidence is developed in future iterations of this process. CONCLUSIONS: The NACC recommends best practices regarding the mitigation of complications associated with neurostimulation to improve safety and efficacy. The evidence- and consensus-based recommendations should be used as a guide to assist decision-making when clinically appropriate.

Quality of meta-analyses of non-opioid, pharmacological, perioperative interventions for chronic postsurgical pain: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: In an attempt to aggregate observations from clinical trials, several meta-analyses have been published examining the effectiveness of systemic, non-opioid, pharmacological interventions to reduce the incidence of chronic postsurgical pain. OBJECTIVE: To inform the design and reporting of future studies, the purpose of our study was to examine the quality of these meta-analyses. EVIDENCE REVIEW: We conducted an electronic literature search in Embase, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Published meta-analyses, from the years 2010 to 2020, examining the effect of perioperative, systemic, non-opioid pharmacological treatments on the incidence of chronic postsurgical pain in adult patients were identified. Data extraction focused on methodological details. Meta-analysis quality was assessed using the A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR 2) critical appraisal tool. FINDINGS: Our search yielded 17 published studies conducting 58 meta-analyses for gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin), ketamine, lidocaine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and mexiletine. According to AMSTAR 2, 88.2% of studies (or 15/17) were low or critically low in quality. The most common critical element missing was an analysis of publication bias. Trends indicated an improvement in quality over time and association with journal impact factor. CONCLUSIONS: With few individual trials adequately powered to detect treatment effects, meta-analyses play a crucial role in informing the perioperative management of chronic postsurgical pain. In light of this inherent value and despite a number of attempts, high-quality meta-analyses are still needed. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021230941.

Detection of reduced interhemispheric cortical communication during task execution in multiple sclerosis patients using functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) impairs brain activity through demyelination and loss of axons. Increased brain activity is accompanied by increases in microvascular hemoglobin oxygen saturation (oxygenation) and total hemoglobin, which can be measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Due to the potentially reduced size and integrity of the white matter tracts within the corpus callosum, it may be expected that MS patients have reduced functional communication between the left and right sides of the brain; this could potentially be an indicator of disease progression. To assess interhemispheric communication in MS, we used fNIRS during a unilateral motor task and the resting state. The magnitude of the change in hemoglobin parameters in the motor cortex was significantly reduced in MS patients during the motor task relative to healthy control subjects. There was also a significant decrease in interhemispheric communication between the motor cortices (expressed as coherence) in MS patients compared to controls during the motor task, but not during the resting state. fNIRS assessment of interhemispheric coherence during task execution may be a useful marker in disorders with white matter damage or axonal loss, including MS.