Evaluating the Quality of Written Feedback Within Entrustable Professional Activities in an Internal Medicine Cohort.

Background: Whether written comments in entrustable professional activities (EPAs) translate into high-quality feedback remains uncertain. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the quality of EPA feedback completed by faculty and senior residents. Methods: Using retrospective descriptive analysis, we assessed the quality of feedback from all EPAs for 34 first-year internal medicine residents from July 2019 to May 2020 at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. We assessed feedback quality on 4 domains: timeliness, task orientation, actionability, and polarity. Four independent reviewers were blinded to names of evaluators and learners and were randomized to assess each EPA for the 4 domains. Statistical analyses were completed using R 3.6.3. Chi-square or Fisher's exact test and Cochran-Armitage test for trend were used to compare the quality of feedback provided by faculty versus student assessors, and to compare the effect of timely versus not timely feedback on task orientation, actionability, and polarity. Results: A total of 2471 EPAs were initiated by junior residents. Eighty percent (n=1981) of these were completed, of which 61% (n=1213) were completed by senior residents. Interrater reliability was almost perfect for timeliness (κ=0.99), moderate for task orientation (κ=0.74), strong for actionability (κ=0.81), and moderate for polarity (κ=0.62). Of completed EPAs, 47% (n=926) were timely, 85% (n=1697) were task oriented, 83% (n=1649) consisted of reinforcing feedback, 4% (n=79) contained mixed feedback, and 12% (n=240) had neutral feedback. Thirty percent (n=595) were semi- or very actionable. Conclusions: The written feedback in the EPAs was task oriented but was neither timely nor actionable. The majority of EPAs were completed by senior residents rather than faculty.

Inter-Rater Reliability of the Retrospectively Assigned Clinical Frailty Scale Score in a Geriatric Outreach Population.

BACKGROUND: Frailty, a common clinical syndrome in older adults associated with increased risk of poor health outcomes, has been retrospectively calculated in previous publications; however, the reliability of retrospectively assigned frailty scores has not been established. The aim of this study was to see if frailty scores, based on chart review data, agreed with clinician-determined scores based on a comprehensive geriatric assessment. METHODS: Per standard practice, all patients seen by one nurse clinician (JW) from the Southwestern Ontario Regional Geriatric Program, a tertiary care-based outreach service, between August 15, 2013 and December 31, 2015 received a comprehensive geriatric assessment which included the assignment of an interview-based Clinical Frailty Scale score (CFS-I). Subsequently, a medical student researcher (JD), blinded to the CFS-I, assigned each consenting patient a frailty score based on chart review data (CFS-C). The inter-rater reliability of the CFS-I and CFS-C was then determined. RESULTS: Of the 41 consented patients, 39 had both a CFS-I and CFSC score. The median CFS score was 6, indicating patients were moderately frail and required assistance for some basic activities of daily living. Cohen's kappa coefficient was 0.64, indicating substantial agreement. CONCLUSION: CFS scores can be reliably assigned retrospectively, thereby strengthening the utility of this measure.

Vitamin status and cognitive function in a long-term care population.

BACKGROUND: Ageing can be associated with poor dietary intake, reduced nutrient absorption, and less efficient utilization of nutrients. Loss of memory and related cognitive function are also common among older persons. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of inadequate vitamin status among long-term care patients and determine if an association exists between vitamin status and each of three variables; cognitive function, vitamin supplementation, and medications which alter gastric acid levels. METHODS: Seventy-five patients in a long-term care hospital in Guelph, Ontario were recruited to a cross-sectional study. 47 were female and the mean age was 80.7 (+/-11.5) years, ranging from 48 to 100 years. Blood was used to measure levels of vitamins B12 (cobalamin), B6 (pyridoxal-5'-phosphate/PLP), erythrocyte folate, vitamin B3 (niacin) and homocysteine (Hcy). The Standardized Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE) was administered to measure cognitive function. A list of medications and vitamin supplementation for each patient was provided by the pharmacy. RESULTS: The prevalence of low vitamin (B12, B6, erythrocyte folate, niacin) or high metabolite (homocysteine) levels among 75 patients were as follows: B12 <148 pmol/L in 5/75 (6.7%); B12 between 148 and 221 pmol/L in 26/75 (34.7%); B6 13.3 micromol/L in 31/75 (41.3%). There was no significant difference among residents grouped into marked (n = 44), mild (n = 14), or normal (n = 9) cognitive function when evaluating the effect of vitamin status. There were no significant differences in mean B12 and homocysteine levels between users and non-users of drug therapy (Losec, Zantac, or Axid). Compared to vitamin supplement non-users, supplemented residents had significantly higher mean B12 (p < 0.0001) and erythrocyte folate (p < 0.05) concentrations and significantly lower mean homocysteine (p < 0.01) levels; 229.1 versus 423.6 pmol/L for B12, 882.9 versus 1043.6 nmol/L for erythrocyte folate and 14.4 versus 12.0 micromol/L for homocysteine. CONCLUSION: Given the prevalence data on vitamin status in this sample population, the possible benefits of vitamin supplementation should be considered in clinical intervention studies using these populations of elderly.