Rapid cycle deliberate practice improves resident performance during ELBW resuscitation.

BACKGROUND: Neonatal Resuscitation is a required competency for pediatric and family medicine residency programs. Simulation-based training can be used to supplement clinical experience. Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice (RCDP) has been validated as an effective education model and is gaining favor over traditional simulation models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a simulation-based rapid cycle deliberate practice (RCDP) intervention on extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infant resuscitation. METHODS: Pediatric and family practice residents were randomized to control and intervention groups and participated in pre- and post-NICU rotation simulations. The intervention group received one RCDP session. Simulations were scored by blinded video review for overall performance, positive pressure ventilation (PPV), endotracheal intubation and behavioral skills. Surveys assessed confidence in ELBW resuscitation. RESULTS: Forty-one residents participated in the study. The RCDP group performed better than the control group at post-rotation evaluation for overall resuscitation performance (65% vs 87%, p = 0.004), administering PPV (63% vs 88%, p = 0.006), and validated behavior skills (1.4 vs 2.0, p = 0.019). Residents in the RCDP group reported greater confidence with ELBW resuscitation. CONCLUSION: An educational intervention using RCDP was associated with improved resident performance and confidence in ELBW resuscitation. RCDP should be considered for NRP and ELBW resuscitation training.

Total colectomy versus limited colonic resection for acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding.

BACKGROUND: Acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (ALGB) of the colon can be problematic to diagnose. The purpose of this study was to review our experience with ALGBs and to determine any differences between limited colon resection (LCR) and total/subtotal colon resection (TCR). METHODS: A retrospective study located 77 patients with ALGB, who required 2 or more units of packed red blood cells prior to surgery, and who were taken to the operating room from 1987 to 1997. RESULTS: Fifty LCRs and 27 TCRs were performed during this 10-year period. Recurrent bleeding was significantly more common in the LCR group than in the TCR group (18% versus 4%). Morbidity and mortality were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: Owing to the misconception of a higher morbidity with TCR, it has been considered a "last resort" instead of a more expeditious therapy with similar morbidities and mortalities. TCR should be considered more often in the management of these patients.

Pulsatile portal vein flow: a sign of tricuspid regurgitation on duplex Doppler sonography.

Sonography and duplex Doppler frequently fail to identify a cause for right upper quadrant pain, liver dysfunction, or ascites. The aim of our study was to describe and analyze the pulsatile portal venous waveform in which minimum velocity dropped to or below zero on duplex Doppler sonography and to investigate its possible association with tricuspid regurgitation, one of the causes of liver dysfunction. We correlated the findings in 15 patients in whom this duplex Doppler waveform was seen with the findings on Doppler echocardiography (n = 14) or ultrafast CT (n = 1). All patients had biochemical liver abnormalities or sudden onset of ascites, rapid weight gain, increased abdominal girth, and hepatomegaly. They were referred for sonography to rule out liver metastases, biliary disease, portal vein thrombosis, or Budd-Chiari syndrome. All examinations were done with a 3-MHz phased-array sector transducer with duplex Doppler capability. Seventeen volunteers with no known liver or heart disease served as a control group. We correlated maximum and minimum flow velocities on the portal venous Doppler waveform with the portal vein diameters of the study and control groups. Thirteen patients were later proved to have tricuspid regurgitation, one patient had an aortic-right atrial fistula owing to rupture of an aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva, and one patient was proved to be normal. In none of the 17 control subjects was this pulsatile portal venous waveform seen. Our study shows that detection of a pulsatile portal venous waveform on duplex Doppler sonography in patients with liver dysfunction should raise the possibility of tricuspid regurgitation.

Doppler sonography: a noninvasive method for evaluation of hepatic venocclusive disease.

Hepatic venocclusive disease is a serious complication associated with chemotherapy and radiation used in bone marrow transplantation patients. In the past, liver biopsy has been the only reliable means of diagnosing venocclusive disease. Biopsy in such patients may be dangerous or impossible because of severe coagulopathies. The purpose of our study was to evaluate duplex Doppler sonography in diagnosing hepatic venocclusive disease. We measured the blood velocity and flow in the portal vein, hepatic vein, and inferior vena cava of six patients who were histologically proved to have developed hepatic venocclusive disease after bone marrow transplantation. There were three men and three women with a mean age of 32 years (range, 21-44 years). Examination with Doppler sonography suggested the diagnosis a mean of 41 days (range, 11-62 days) after transplantation. In three patients, the diagnosis was suggested by reversed or "to and fro" flow in the portal vein. In the other three patients, the diagnosis was suggested by a decreased flow in the portal vein. One of these patients with decreased flow had subclinical hepatic venocclusive disease. In this patient, it was not the absolute level of flow but the decrease from a baseline established before ablative therapy that suggested the diagnosis. The amplitude of pulsatility in the hepatic veins appeared to decrease with the onset of venocclusive disease. In the hepatic veins and inferior vena cava, flow toward the heart was maintained. Our findings suggest that duplex Doppler sonography may be useful in detection of hepatic venocclusive disease. We speculate that, with wider experience, Doppler sonographic detection of decreased or reversed flow in the portal vein, in the proper clinical setting, may provide a noninvasive means of reliably diagnosing hepatic venocclusive disease in patients too ill to undergo liver biopsy.

MR diagnosis of penile thrombosis.

Radiographic evaluation of the penis is difficult and essentially limited to invasive studies. We report cases of idiopathic and iatrogenic corpora cavernosa thromboses diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging.