Relationship between academic achievement and COMLEX-USA Level 1 performance: a multisite study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of performance on the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX-USA) Level 1 with academic performance at colleges accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). Eighteen (95%) of 19 AOA-accredited colleges and 2146 students (91% of those taking the June 1999 examination) met criteria and participated. Students were classified by school representatives on the basis of academic performance in the first 2 years of the curriculum. The relationships of Level 1 performance with assigned classifications and grade point averages (GPAs) were studied. Of students classified in the highest 20% academically, the Level 1 pass rate was 100%, with a mean score of 599. Of students classified in the lowest 5%, the pass rate was 63.5%, with a mean of 416.3. For 16 schools that provided GPAs, the within-school correlations between Level 1 scores and GPAs ranged from r = 0.76 to r = 0.85, with a mean correlation of r = 0.79. School representatives were also asked to indicate, for each student, whether they expected the student to pass the examination. Pass rate for students in the "sure pass" category was 98.9%; "borderline," 82.5%; and "concerns," 61.5%. Academic performance in the first 2 years of osteopathic medical school was strongly associated with performance on COMPLEX-USA Level 1. The national pass rate for this examination was similar to those in previous years, and it remains unclear why school representatives overpredicted the number of failures. Further research is needed.

Incidence of hepatitis C in patients with chronic elevations of aminotransferases.

BACKGROUND: We undertook a study to determine the incidence of hepatitis C in patients with persistent elevations of aminotransferases, either alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of medical records at the Family Practice Center from 1992 to 1993. Patients in whom aminotransferase levels were elevated 1.5 times normal for at least 6 months were eligible for the study. Sixty patients met our eligibility criteria. Patients were tested for hepatitis B and C and other possible causes of elevated aminotransferase levels. RESULTS: Of these 60 patients, 35 (58 percent) tested positive for hepatitis C virus by first-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA-I); 30 had positive results confirmed by second-generation recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA-II). The other 5 patients were lost to follow-up, and their status was not confirmed. Of the 30 patients with a positive RIBA-II, 14 had liver biopsies showing chronic persistent hepatitis or chronic active hepatitis, both consistent with hepatitis C infection. Of the 60 patients, 2 (3 percent) had hepatitis B. None had active hepatitis B coexisting with hepatitis C. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show a much greater incidence of hepatitis C (50 percent) in our patients with chronic elevations of aminotransferase levels compared with data reported from previous studies.

Science versus nonscience undergraduate studies for medical school: a study of nine classes.

The undergraduate grade-point average, scores on the Medical College Admission Tests and Parts I and II of the examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners, medical school grades, and membership in Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society, were compared for four categories of undergraduate majors to determine whether nonscience preparation was a handicap for medical training. Data for nine complete classes at one medical school were used. The results indicated that nonscience students performed as well as or better than traditional science trained students on almost all performance measures. Implications for medical school admissions policies are discussed.