Enhanced skills training in family medicine maternity care: Cross-sectional study of graduates' experiences.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the experiences of participants in Canadian family medicine maternity care enhanced skills programs: their current practice situation with respect to maternity care; the reasons they pursued enhanced maternity care training; and their perceptions of competencies attained during the program. DESIGN: Cross-sectional questionnaire. SETTING: Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Graduates of family medicine enhanced skills programs in maternity care in Canada between 2004 and 2014. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants' current engagement in intrapartum care; reasons for participating in the enhanced skills programs; interest in obstetrics at different points in training; and development of maternity care competencies during both core residency and the enhanced skills program. RESULTS: Eighty-seven graduates (response rate of 44%) participated. At an average of 5 years in practice, 77% of enhanced skills graduates were providing intrapartum care. Sixty-nine percent of respondents took the enhanced skills program because they did not feel ready to practise obstetrics without supervision. More than half (55%) of respondents had intended to include obstetrics in their future practices when they were in medical school. By the end of residency, 99% intended to practise obstetrics; however, this percentage decreased to 87% by the end of fellowship. There was a statistically significant increase in graduates' perceptions of various maternity care competencies (eg, vacuum-assisted birth, perineal repair) following enhanced skills training. Eighty-two percent of respondents indicated that the ability to access enhanced skills training supported their decision to provide obstetrics care. CONCLUSION: This is the first evaluation of graduates of enhanced skills programs in maternity care in Canada. Enhanced skills programs appear to support the education of family medicine maternity care providers; however, these programs might be compensating for residents' lack of confidence in providing maternity care independently rather than providing truly enhanced skills. This study also confirms that some medical students and family medicine residents change their minds in the direction of wanting to provide full-scope maternity care during the course of their education.

Poor recognition of risk factors for hepatitis B by physicians prescribing immunosuppressive therapy: a call for universal rather than risk-based screening.

BACKGROUND: Reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) during immunosuppressive therapy (IST) can lead to severe and even fatal hepatitis but can be largely prevented with prophylactic antiviral therapy. Screening for HBV prior to starting IST is recommended. Both risk-based and universal screening have been recommended by different societies. For effective risk-based screening, physicians must be aware of risk factors for chronic HBV infection. METHODS: The HBV screening practices prior to starting IST of rheumatologists, medical and hematological oncologists were evaluated by survey and chart review. Country of origin, the primary risk factor for HBV exposure, was determined in all patients. RESULTS: Of 140 rheumatology, 79 medical oncology and 53 hematology patients reviewed, 81%, 11% and 81% were deemed to be at high risk of HBV reactivation by their physicians respectively, however only 27%, 6% and 62% (p<0.0001) were actually screened for HBV prior to starting IST. For patients from HBV-endemic regions, more hematology patients (53%) were correctly identified by their physicians as being at high risk of reactivation than rheumatology patients (2.4%, p=0.0001) or medical oncology patients (15%, p=0.009). However actual screening rates were not increased in patients from endemic regions. A total of 81 patients were screened for HBsAg; 2 were positive. Of the 33 patients screened for anti-HBc, 10 (30%) were positive. CONCLUSIONS: Hematologists, rheumatologists and medical oncologists had low rates of screening for HBV prior to prescribing IST, largely due to poor identification of those at risk for infection. Risk-based screening strategies are unlikely to be effective and should be replaced by universal screening.

Incidence, predictors and significance of severe toxicity in patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated Hodgkin lymphoma.

The incidence of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is rising among individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Standard treatment regimens include vinblastine, which is known to cause neurotoxicity (NT) and is metabolized by cytochrome 3A4 (CYP3A4). This is inhibited by protease inhibitors (PIs), possibly increasing vinblastine exposure. There is little information on how interactions affect clinical outcome. A retrospective review of 32 patients with HIV-HL receiving chemotherapy with curative intent was performed to identify the frequency and risk factors for NT, hematologic toxicity (HT) and lung toxicity (LT). Treatment was: ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine) in 90%, MOPP/ABV (mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone/doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine) in 10% and HAART (highly active anti-retroviral therapy) in 63%. Seventeen potential risk factors and 18 individual anti-retroviral (ARV) agents were examined, and only ritonavir or lopinavir use was found to have a significant association with toxicity. Grade 3-4 NT occurred in five patients, grade 3-4 HT in 17, infectious complications in 10 and bleomycin LT in three. Ritonavir and lopinavir use was associated with grade 3-4 NT (p = 0.03 and p = 0.01, respectively), and ritonavir with any HT (p = 0.04). Patients with HIV-HL experienced an increased incidence of NT and possibly HT. The use of ritonavir or lopinavir was associated with NT, suggesting a clinically significant interaction with vinblastine. Prospective pharmacokinetic studies to devise a rational dosing strategy for vinblastine in patients receiving ritonavir/lopinavir are warranted.