Factors Associated With Interest in Engaging in Psychological Interventions for Pain Management.

OBJECTIVE: Engagement in evidence-based psychological interventions for pain management is low. Identifying characteristics associated with interest in interventions can inform approaches to increase uptake and engagement. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with interest in psychological interventions among persons with chronic noncancer pain receiving prescription opioids. METHODS: Participants with chronic noncancer pain and a new 30 to 90 day opioid prescription were recruited from 2 health systems. Participants (N=845) completed measures regarding pain, opioid use, psychiatric symptoms, emotional support, and interest in psychological interventions for pain management. RESULTS: There were 245 (29.0%) participants who reported high interest in psychological interventions for pain management. In bivariate analyses, variables associated with interest included younger age, female gender, greater pain severity, greater pain interference, greater number of pain sites, lower emotional support, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (P\u3c0.05). In a multivariate model, greater pain severity (OR=1.17; CI: 1.04-1.32), depression (OR=2.10; CI: 1.39-3.16), PTSD (OR=1.85; CI: 1.19-2.95), and lower emotional support (OR=0.69; CI: 0.5-0.97) remained statistically significant. DISCUSSION: The rate of interest in psychological interventions for pain management was low, which may indicate that patients initiating opioid treatment of chronic noncancer pain have low interest in psychological interventions. Greater pain severity and psychiatric distress were related to interest, and patients with these characteristics may especially benefit from psychological interventions. Providers may want to refer to psychological interventions before or when opioids are initiated. Additional work is needed to determine whether this would reduce long-term opioid use

Cannabis use following bariatric surgery is associated with anxiety and maladaptive eating.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data regarding the association of cannabis use with outcomes after bariatric surgery. As such, it is challenging to know how to counsel patients using cannabis. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine whether postsurgical cannabis use was associated with psychiatric symptoms and maladaptive eating among individuals up to 4 years after bariatric surgery. SETTING: Single health system. METHODS: All patients who underwent bariatric surgery over a 4-year period were invited to participate. Participants (N = 765) completed questionnaires online regarding postsurgical cannabis use, psychiatric symptoms, and maladaptive eating. RESULTS: Any cannabis use after bariatric surgery was associated with increased likelihood of having elevated symptoms of anxiety (odds ratio [OR] = 1.88, P = .003; 37.8% versus 24.4%), increased likelihood of grazing behaviors (OR = 1.77, P = .01; 71.2% versus 58.2%), and higher scores for eating in response to depression (P = .01; 12.13 versus 10.75). Weekly cannabis use was associated with loss of control eating (OR = 1.81, P = .04; 37.2% versus 24.7%), binge eating (OR = 2.16, P = .03; 20.0% versus 10.4%), and night eating behaviors (OR = 2.11, P = .01; 40.0% versus 24.0%). Cannabis use was not associated with depression (P \u3e .05). CONCLUSIONS: Cannabis use after bariatric surgery was associated with anxiety symptoms and engaging in maladaptive eating behaviors. Frequent cannabis use (i.e., ≥1 per week) was associated with additional types of maladaptive eating. Clinicians involved in presurgical and postsurgical care may want to counsel patients currently using cannabis, especially those who are engaging in frequent use

Real world validation of an adjunctive gene expression-profiling assay for melanoma diagnosis and correlation with clinical outcomes at an academic center

A commercially available diagnostic gene expression profiling (GEP) assay (MyPath™) reportedly has high sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing nevi from melanoma based on manufacturer-conducted studies. However, data regarding the performance of this GEP assay in routine clinical practice are lacking. The purpose of this study was to better assess the real-world performance of GEP in a large academic practice. Retrospective review of GEP scores were compared with final histomorphologic interpretation on a wide spectrum of melanocytic lesions demonstrating some degree of atypia. In a sample of 369 lesions, the sensitivity (76.1%) and specificity (83.9%) of the GEP test as compared with final dermatopathologist-rendered diagnosis in our dataset was appreciably lower than that reported in the prior manufacturer-conducted validation studies. Limitations of this study were that it was a single-center study, its retrospective nature, nonblinded nature of GEP test result, concordance of only two pathologists, and limited follow-up time.The sensitivity and specificity of a commercially available GEP diagnostic assay for melanoma may be lower in routine clinical practice, where melanocytic lesions typically exhibit some degree of histomorphologic atypia. Reported cost effectiveness of GEP testing is questionable if all ambiguous lesions that undergo such testing are re-excised in clinical practice

Comparative Outcomes of Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis Plus Systemic Anticoagulation Versus Systemic Anticoagulation Alone in the Management of Intermediate-Risk Pulmonary Embolism in a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

There are limited and conflicting data on the initial management of intermediate-risk (or submassive) pulmonary embolism (PE). This study sought to compare the outcomes of catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) in combination with systemic anticoagulation (SA) to SA alone. A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, and the Cochrane databases from inception to March 1, 2023 for studies comparing the outcomes of CDT + SA versus SA alone in intermediate-risk PE. The outcomes were in-hospital, 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year mortality; bleeding; blood transfusion; right ventricular recovery; and length of stay. Random-effects models was used to calculate the pooled incidence and risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). A total of 15 (2 randomized and 13 observational) studies with 10,549 (2,310 CDT + SA and 8,239 SA alone) patients were included. Compared with SA, CDT + SA was associated with significantly lower in-hospital mortality (RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.56, p \u3c0.001), 30-day mortality (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.67, p = 0.002), 90-day mortality (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.67, p = 0.002), and 1-year mortality (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.97, p = 0.04). There were no significant differences between the 2 cohorts in the rates of major bleeding (RR 1.39, 95% CI 0.72 to 2.68, p = 0.56), minor bleeding (RR 1.83, 95% CI 0.97 to 3.46, p = 0.06), and blood transfusion (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.10 to 1.15, p = 0.08). In conclusion, CDT + SA is associated with significantly lower short-term and long-term all-cause mortality, without any differences in major/minor bleeding, in patients with intermediate-risk PE

Measuring deliberate reflection in residents: validation and psychometric properties of a measurement tool

PURPOSE: Reflective capacity is the ability to understand critical analysis of knowledge and experience to achieve deeper meaning. In medicine, there is little provision for post-graduate medical education to teach deliberate reflection. The feasibility, scoring characteristics, reliability, validation, and adaptability of a modified previously validated instrument was examined for its usefulness assessing reflective capacity in residents as a step toward developing interventions for improvement. METHODS: Third-year residents and fellows from four anesthesia training programs were administered a slightly modified version of the Reflection Evaluation for Learners\u27 Enhanced Competencies Tool (REFLECT) in a prospective, observational study at the end of the 2019 academic year. Six written vignettes of imperfect anesthesia situations were created. Subjects recorded their perspectives on two randomly assigned vignettes. Responses were scored using a 5-element rubric; average scores were analyzed for psychometric properties. An independent self-report assessment method, the Cognitive Behavior Survey: Residency Level (rCBS) was used to examine construct validity. Internal consistency (ICR, Cronbach\u27s alpha) and interrater reliability (weighted kappa) were examined. Pearson correlations were used between the two measures of reflective capacity. RESULTS: 46/136 invited subjects completed 2/6 randomly assigned vignettes. Interrater agreement was high (k = 0.85). The overall average REFLECT score was 1.8 (1-4 scale) with good distribution across the range of scores. ICR for both the REFLECT score (mean 1.8, sd 0.5; α = 0.92) and the reflection scale of the rCBS (mean 4.5, sd 1.1; α = 0.94) were excellent. There was a significant correlation between REFLECT score and the rCBS reflection scale (r = .44, p \u3c 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates feasibility, reliability, and sufficiently robust psychometric properties of a modified REFLECT rubric to assess graduate medical trainees\u27 reflective capacity and established construct/convergent validity to an independent measure. The instrument has the potential to assess the effectiveness of interventions intended to improve reflective capacity

The effect of marijuana use on short-term outcomes with bariatric surgery

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing marijuana use nationwide, there are limited data on implications of marijuana use on bariatric surgery outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We investigated associations between marijuana use and bariatric surgery outcomes. SETTING: Multicenter statewide study utilizing data from the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative, a payor-funded consortium including over 40 hospitals and 80 surgeons performing bariatric surgery statewide. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative clinical registry on patients who underwent a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass between June 2019 and June 2020. Patients were surveyed at baseline and annually on medication use, depression symptoms, and substance use. Regression analysis was performed to compare 30-day and 1-year outcomes between marijuana users and nonusers. RESULTS: Of 6879 patients, 574 reported baseline marijuana use and 139 reported use at baseline and 1 year. Marijuana users were more likely to be current smokers (14% versus 8%, P \u3c .0001), screen positive for alcohol use disorder (20.0% versus 8.4%, P \u3c .0001), and score higher on the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (6.1 versus 3.0, P \u3c .0001). There were no statistically significant differences in 30-day outcomes or co-morbidity remission at 1 year. Marijuana users had higher adjusted total mean weight loss (47.6 versus 38.1 kg, P \u3c .0001) and body mass index reduction (17 versus 14 kg/m(2), P \u3c .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Marijuana use is not associated with worse 30-day outcomes or 1-year weight loss outcomes and should not be a barrier to bariatric surgery. However, marijuana use is associated with higher rates of smoking, substance use, and depression. These patients may benefit from additional mental health and substance abuse counseling

The Hip Center Rule Can be Used to Decide if Measured Pelvic Incidence is Accurate

STUDY DESIGN: Simulation study. OBJECTIVE: Pelvic incidence (PI) should be considered during surgical planning. The ideal patient position with both hip centers perfectly aligned for a lateral radiograph is rarely obtained. It has been suggested that a radiograph with axial and coronal rotation up to 20° is acceptable to obtain a measured PI within 6 degrees of the actual PI. We seek to: (1) evaluate the effect of variations in PI and patient malpositioning on measured vs true PI, and (2) determine whether the presence of one hip center within the bony acetabular rim of the contralateral hip can serve as a simple clinical decision rule on the accuracy of measured PI. METHODS: Published anthropometric three-dimensional pelvic landmark coordinates were used in this study. Radiographic projections were generated using linear algebra for combinations of axial and coronal rotation from -20° to +20°. True and measured PIs were compared. RESULTS: Rotation to 20° cannot be uniformly accepted as decision rule. Pelvises with higher PIs are more sensitive to malpositioning with greater PI deviation with smaller amounts of rotation. Diagnostic performance of the hip center rule demonstrated a sensitivity of 25.58% and a specificity of 100.00%. CONCLUSIONS: Rather than assessing the quality of radiographs for PI measurement by magnitude of malpositioning, we recommend clinicians use the hip center rule. As long as at least one hip center is contained within the bony acetabular rim of the contralateral hip, there is high confidence that measured PI will be within 6° of true PI

Outcomes of precision prostatectomy procedure for localized prostate cancer, and stepby-step technique of single port transvesical precision prostatectomy

Introduction & Objectives: Whole-gland treatment via radical prostatectomy or radiation is the mainstay of treatment for high-volume, low risk patients with prostate cancer (PCa), however it is associated with urinary and sexual side effects. Precision prostatectomy is a surgical technique that involves removal of \u3e90% of prostatic tissue, while also preserving functional recovery. The single port da Vinci robotic platform allows for a transvesical approach to the prostate gland. We describe a case of single port transvesical precision prostatectomy and report outcomes of patients who have received multiport precision prostatectomy at our institution. Materials & Methods: A 72-year-old patient with prior appendectomy and umbilical and hernia repair on active surveillance for unilateral left Grade Group 2 PCa elected to undergo surgery due to rising PSA. The following surgical steps are described: (1) transvesical access and robot docking, (2) anterograde bladder neck dissection, (3) standard dissection and nerve sparing on radical side, (4) development of precision plane, (5) apical dissection, (6) urethral transection, (7) posterior reconstruction, and (8) urethrovesical anastomosis. Oncological and functional outcomes of 88 patients with localized PCa undergoing multiport precision prostatectomy are reported. Results: The patient underwent an uncomplicated single port transvesical precision prostatectomy. He was discharged on post op day (POD) 1 and passed trial of void on POD 8. He was fully continent by 4 weeks post foley removal. The patient has not yet tried sexual activity postoperatively due to life events. 11-month follow-up shows a stable PSA of 0.7. All 88 patients undergoing multiport precision prostatectomy were alive and metastasis free at a median follow up of 25 months. At 36 months, 82 (93)% of patients were free from clinically significant residual PCa, 80 (91)% had not undergone additional treatment, and 100% were alive and free of metastatic disease. Two patients had biochemical failure according to Phoenix criteria, and 25 (22%) using the more stringent AUA post-RP criterion. However, detectable PSA was due to prostate cancer in only 10 patients as detected on biopsy of the remnant. Six (5%) patients underwent removal of the remnant; all six were free from biochemical failure after remnant removal at median follow-up of 10.2 months. At 12 months, 80 (91)% of patients were pad free, and 79 (90)% of the preoperatively potent patients had a SHIM score of 17 or more. Conclusions: Precision prostatectomy offers excellent postoperative functional results while minimizing PCa undertreatment. Single port transvesical precision prostatectomy is feasible and safe in select patients. Close patient follow-up and investigation into long-term oncological outcomes are necessary

Three-year outcomes for transcatheter repair in patients with mitral regurgitation from the CLASP study

BACKGROUND: Mitral valve transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) is an effective option for treatment of mitral regurgitation (MR). We previously reported favorable 2-year outcomes for the PASCAL transcatheter valve repair system. OBJECTIVES: We report 3-year outcomes from the multinational, prospective, single-arm CLASP study with analysis by functional MR (FMR) and degenerative MR (DMR). METHODS: Patients with core-lab determined MR ≥ 3+ were deemed candidates for M-TEER by the local heart team. Major adverse events were assessed by an independent clinical events committee to 1 year and by sites thereafter. Echocardiographic outcomes were evaluated by the core laboratory to 3 years. RESULTS: The study enrolled 124 patients, 69% FMR; 31% DMR (60% NYHA class III-IVa, 100% MR ≥ 3+). The 3-year Kaplan-Meier estimate for survival was 75% (66% FMR; 92% DMR) and freedom from heart failure hospitalization (HFH) was 73% (64% FMR; 91% DMR), with 85% reduction in annualized HFH rate (81% FMR; 96% DMR) (p \u3c 0.001). MR ≤ 2+ was achieved and maintained in 93% of patients (93% FMR; 94% DMR) and MR ≤ 1+ in 70% of patients (71% FMR; 67% DMR) (p \u3c 0.001). The mean left ventricular end-diastolic volume (181 mL at baseline) decreased progressively by 28 mL [p \u3c 0.001]. NYHA class I/II was achieved in 89% of patients (p \u3c 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The 3-year results from the CLASP study demonstrated favorable and durable outcomes with the PASCAL transcatheter valve repair system in patients with clinically significant MR. These results add to the growing body of evidence establishing the PASCAL system as a valuable therapy for patients with significant symptomatic MR

Intraoperative Parathyroid Hormone Monitoring In Normohormonal Primary Hyperparathyroidism: How Low Do You Go?

OBJECTIVE: The primary goal of this study was to determine in patients with normohormonal primary hyperparathyroidism (NHHPT) what percent reduction in post-excision intraoperative parathyroid hormone (IOPTH) from baseline would yield a rate of cure comparable to that in patients with classical primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent parathyroidectomy between July 2013 and February 2020. Demographic data, preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative metrics were collected. Patients with NHHPT were compared to those with classical PHPT. Subgroup analyses were performed. RESULTS: Of the 496 patients included in the study, 66 (13.3%) were of the normohormonal variant based on preoperative intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and 28 (5.6%) based on baseline IOPTH levels. The cure rates in the two normohormonal groups were not significantly different from their classical counterparts (98.4% and 100.0% vs. 97.1%, p = 1.000). The median percent decline in post-excision IOPTH from baseline that achieved cure in the normohormonal groups were 82.6% and 80.4% compared to their respective controls at 87.3%, p = 0.011 and p = 0.001. Although the rate of multiglandular disease was higher in one of the normohormonal variant groups, this difference was due to a higher rate of double adenomas, not four-gland hyperplasia. CONCLUSION: Patients with NHHPT undergoing parathyroidectomy can expect cure rates similar to that in patients with classical PHPT. The results of this study indicate that achieving an 80% drop or more in IOPTH levels predicts a high likelihood of cure. This is true irrespective of whether the patient is deemed normohormonal based on preoperative or intraoperative testing. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3 Laryngoscope, 2023