Problematic communications during 2016 fellowship recruitment in internal medicine.

Some internal medicine residency program directors have expressed concerns that their third-year residents may have been subjected to inappropriate communication during the 2016 fellowship recruitment season. The authors sought to study applicants' interpersonal communication experiences with fellowship programs. Many respondents indicated that they had been asked questions that would constitute violations of the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Communications Code of Conduct agreement, including how they plan to rank specific programs. Moreover, female respondents were more likely to have been asked questions during interview experiences about other programs to which they applied, and about their family plans. Post-interview communication policies were not made clear to most applicants. These results suggest ongoing challenges for the internal medicine community to improve communication with applicants and uniform compliance with the NRMP communications code of conduct during the fellowship recruitment process.

Seasonal Variation of Rectal Foreign Bodies: Data from Nationwide Inpatient Sample.

BACKGROUND: Seasonality is noted in various aspects of human behavior and functioning which have led to an increasing interest in their seasonality in the recent years. AIMS: We aimed to examine the seasonal variation in the incidence of rectal foreign bodies in the US using a large inpatient database. METHODS: We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database to identify patients aged ≥18 years admitted with a primary diagnosis of the rectal foreign body from 2009 to 2011. We used the Edward's recognition and estimation of cyclic trend method to study the seasonal variation of the incidence of rectal foreign body and Z-test to compare the seasonal incidences. RESULTS: A total of 3359 hospitalizations with primary diagnosis of the rectal foreign body were reported from 2009 to 2011. The peak incidence of rectal foreign bodies was seen in October (peak/low ratio 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-1.32). CONCLUSION: Data on seasonal variation of rectal foreign bodies are extremely limited. Further studies would be required to verify whether our findings of a higher incidence in the fall season are reflective of acute changes in the length of the days, climate, sleep-wake cycle, or decreased sexual intercourse at this time of the year. High suspicion at this time of the year may help promptly diagnose and avoid unnecessary investigations.

Upper Airway Hematoma Secondary to Warfarin Therapy: A Systematic Review of Reported Cases.

Upper airway hematoma (UAH) is a rare but life-threatening complication of oral anticoagulants requiring early recognition. However, no consensus exists regarding the best approach to treatment. We therefore, sought to systematically review the published literature on UAH to elaborate its demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment, complications, and outcomes. A systematic electronic search of PubMed and EMBASE for case reports, case series, and related articles of UAH related to warfarin published from inception (November 1950) to March 2015 was carried out. Categorical variables were expressed as percentage and continuous variables as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. All cases were reported to have UAH as a complication of anticoagulation therapy with warfarin. Demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment, complications and outcomes of UAH were studied. Thirty-eight cases of UAH were identified from 34 reports in the literature. No gender preponderance (male = 52.78%) was seen and the average age of presentation was 60.11 ± 12.50 years. Dysphagia, sore throat, and neck swelling were the most common symptoms and the mean international normalized ratio (INR)at presentation was 8.07 ± 4.04. Most cases had sublingual hematoma (66.57%) followed by retropharyngeal hematoma (27.03%). Of the cases, 48.65% were managed conservatively while the rest underwent either cricothyrotomy or intubation with the time to resolution being 7.69 ± 5.44 days. UAH is a rare butpotentially serious complication of warfarin therapy. It is more common in the elderly population with supratherapeutic INR; inciting events were present in many cases. Overall, it has a good prognosis with significant morbidity present only if concomitant respiratory compromise is present. Reversal of anticoagulation with low threshold for artificial airway placement in the event of airway compromise leads to a favorable outcome in most cases.

Taking it to the next level: lumbar radiculopathy from thoracic nerve schwannoma.

Compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve and its branches, the common fibular and tibial nerves, causes sciatica which is a common syndrome characterized most often by radiating pain from the lower back down the legs and also manifesting as sensory and motor deficits. Sciatica is a common presentation of lumbosacral disc prolapse and degenerative disease of the lumbar spine in ambulatory settings. Schwannomas rarely cause sciatica; hence, it is seldom considered in evaluation of a patient with radiculopathy. Our patient presented with lumbar radiculopathy, mild degenerative changes on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, and failed conservative treatment. Myelopathy was confirmed with electromyogram (EMG). Thoracolumbar spine MRI revealed the schwannoma in the thoracic region. He recovered neurologic function after tumor excision. This case highlights the diagnostic challenge that may arise in evaluating a patient with lumbar radiculopathy, negative lumbosacral spine imaging, and failure of conservative therapy.

Serial nosocomial transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria from patient to nurse to patient.

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial transmission of malaria is a rare phenomenon in the United States. OBJECTIVE: To describe the probable transmission of Plasmodium falciparum malaria from a patient to a healthcare worker and then from the healthcare worker to another patient. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Two community hospitals in Massachusetts. INTERVENTION: Routine medical and supportive care. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical and laboratory evaluation. RESULTS: A nurse developed falciparum malaria after a needlestick injury from a patient with documented falciparum malaria. Three days prior to her diagnosis, she cared for another patient, who subsequently developed falciparum malaria. That patient's parasite isolate genetically matched the nurse's isolate by two independent DNA fingerprinting techniques. CONCLUSION: After extensive evaluation, we believe that a nurse who had acquired falciparum malaria via needlestick subsequently transmitted malaria to another patient via a break in standard precautions. The implications of this mechanism of transmission are discussed.