Evaluation of a web-based portal to improve resident education by neonatology fellows

Background: Integration of web-based educational tools into medical training has been shown to increase accessibility of resources and optimize teaching. We developed a web-based educational portal (WBEP) to support teaching of pediatric residents about newborn medicine by neonatology fellows. Objectives: 1) To compare residents’ attitudes about their fellow-led education in the NICU pre- and post-WBEP; including assessment of factors that impact their education and usefulness of teaching tools. 2) To compare fellow utilization of various teaching modalities pre- and post-WBEP. Design/methods We queried residents about their attitudes regarding fellow-led education efforts and various teaching modalities in the NICU and logistics potentially impacting effectiveness. Based on these data, we introduced the WBEP – a repository of teaching tools (e.g., mock code cases, board review questions, journal articles, case-based discussion scenarios) for use by fellows to supplement didactic sessions in a faculty-based curriculum. We surveyed residents about the effectiveness of fellow teaching pre- and post-WBEP implementation and the type of fellow-led teaching modalities that were used. Results: After analysis of survey responses, we identified that residents cited fellow level of interest as the most important factor impacting their education. Post-implementation, residents described greater utilization of various teaching modalities by fellows, including an increase in use of mock codes (14% to 76%, p<0.0001) and journal articles (33% to 59%, p=0.02). Conclusions: A web-based resource that supplements traditional curricula led to greater utilization of various teaching modalities by fellows and may encourage fellow involvement in resident teaching

BRAF V600E-Positive Multisite Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis in a Preterm Neonate

Hemorrhagic pustules with a “blueberry muffin” appearance accompanied by respiratory failure in a neonate present a challenging differential diagnosis that includes infections and neoplasms. We present a case of multiorgan, multisite Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), positive for the oncogenic BRAF V600E mutation, in a preterm neonate. Infants with LCH pose a diagnostic challenge due to their heterogeneous presentations. This case is unusual in that the newborn presented with severe multiorgan involvement. Due to the rare incidence, wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, and high mortality rate, clinicians must maintain a high index of suspicion for LCH

Evaluation of a web-based portal to improve resident education by neonatology fellows

Background: Integration of web-based educational tools into medical training has been shown to increase accessibility of resources and optimize teaching. We developed a web-based educational portal (WBEP) to support teaching of pediatric residents about newborn medicine by neonatology fellows. Objectives: 1) To compare residents’ attitudes about their fellow-led education in the NICU pre- and post-WBEP; including assessment of factors that impact their education and usefulness of teaching tools. 2) To compare fellow utilization of various teaching modalities pre- and post-WBEP. Design/methods: We queried residents about their attitudes regarding fellow-led education efforts and various teaching modalities in the NICU and logistics potentially impacting effectiveness. Based on these data, we introduced the WBEP – a repository of teaching tools (e.g., mock code cases, board review questions, journal articles, case-based discussion scenarios) for use by fellows to supplement didactic sessions in a faculty-based curriculum. We surveyed residents about the effectiveness of fellow teaching pre- and post-WBEP implementation and the type of fellow-led teaching modalities that were used. Results: After analysis of survey responses, we identified that residents cited fellow level of interest as the most important factor impacting their education. Post-implementation, residents described greater utilization of various teaching modalities by fellows, including an increase in use of mock codes (14% to 76%, p<0.0001) and journal articles (33% to 59%, p=0.02). Conclusions: A web-based resource that supplements traditional curricula led to greater utilization of various teaching modalities by fellows and may encourage fellow involvement in resident teaching

Context-Aware Influential Nodes Tracking in Online Social Networks

Influence Maximization (IM) is a problem of detecting a small set of highly influential users in a social network. Application areas of IM include the spread of news, viral marketing, and the outbreak of diseases. In most of the existing IM approaches, the nodes\u27 structural information has been considered for computing their influence spread ability. The users\u27 interest, their interaction behavior, popularity, and location sharing information are being neglected. Although many existing works have considered a few of these measures; however, they do not consider them collectively and face challenges in time efficiency and suitable seed node accuracy. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes Context-Aware Influential Nodes Tracking (CINT) algorithm, which uses users\u27 interest, popularity, location information to compute the topic-based diffusion ability of the network, find the topic-wise influential seeds and finally, evaluate the spread of influence for a given message/product. We propose a Contextaware Independent Cascade (CIC) model and a Topic-aware Influence sub-Graph (TIG) model to make our framework efficient and effective. Experimental results on six real-world networks show that the proposed model performs better in terms of effective influence spread as compared to the considered existing state-of-the-art influence maximization algorithms

Atrial Thrombus in a Neonate: A Diagnostic Challenge

Abstract Introduction Left atrial thrombus is a rare finding in a neonate. In the previous literature, atrial thrombi have been associated with catheter placement or congenital heart disease in a preterm infant. Case We report the case of a full-term neonate with no known risk factors found to have a left atrial thrombus. The neonate was born at 38 weeks' gestation to a 31-year-old female via cesarean section who was sent to the normal nursery. On postnatal day 5, the infant was noted to have low-to-medium level of oxygen saturations (∼90%) and was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit with an echocardiogram completed on postnatal day 6 demonstrating a mobile, pedunculated mass attached to the left atrial septum with an appearance concerning for atrial myxoma. The infant underwent surgical resection on postnatal day 8 and pathology revealed the mass to be a left atrial thrombus. Discussion The rare finding of an atrial thrombus in a neonate has previously been associated with central venous catheter placement or congenital heart disease. This case is unusual in that the patient had neither condition. Although echocardiogram findings appeared more consistent with atrial myxoma, final pathology revealed a left atrial thrombus. Additionally, hypercoagulability work-up for this neonate was largely negative. This report underscores the importance of identification, search for etiology, and prompt therapy to prevent potential catastrophic outcomes

The impact of race and ethnicity on mortality and healthcare utilization in alcoholic hepatitis: a cross-sectional study

Background: Alcoholic Hepatitis (AH) is major source of alcohol-related mortality and health care expenditures in the United States. There is insufficient information regarding the role of race and ethnicity on healthcare utilization and outcomes for patients with AH. We aimed to determine whether there are racial/ethnic differences in resource utilization and inpatient mortality in patients hospitalized with AH. Methods: We analyzed data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), years 2008–2011. We calculated demographic, clinical, and healthcare utilization characteristics by race. We then performed logistic regression and generalized linear modeling with gamma distribution (log link), respectively, to determine predictors of inpatient morality and total hospital costs (THC). Results: We identified 11,304 AH patients from 2008 to 2011. Mean age was 47.0 years, and 62.1 % were male, 61.9 % were white, 9.8 % were black, and 9.7 % were Hispanic. Mean LOS was 6.3 days and significantly longer in whites (6.5 d) than both blacks (5.4 d) and Hispanics (5.9 d). In adjusted models, inpatient mortality was lower for blacks than for whites (adj. OR = 0.50; 95 % CI = 0.32–0.78). THC was significantly higher for Hispanics than whites (fold increase = 1.25; 95 % CI = 1.01–1.49). Conclusions: We identified differences in healthcare utilization and mortality by race/ethnicity. THC was significantly higher among Hispanics than for whites and blacks. We also demonstrated lower inpatient mortality in blacks compared to whites. These variations may implicate racial and ethnic differences in access to care, quality of care, severity of AH on presentation, or other factors. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12876-016-0544-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

The impact of race and ethnicity on mortality and healthcare utilization in alcoholic hepatitis: a cross-sectional study.

BackgroundAlcoholic Hepatitis (AH) is major source of alcohol-related mortality and health care expenditures in the United States. There is insufficient information regarding the role of race and ethnicity on healthcare utilization and outcomes for patients with AH. We aimed to determine whether there are racial/ethnic differences in resource utilization and inpatient mortality in patients hospitalized with AH.MethodsWe analyzed data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), years 2008-2011. We calculated demographic, clinical, and healthcare utilization characteristics by race. We then performed logistic regression and generalized linear modeling with gamma distribution (log link), respectively, to determine predictors of inpatient morality and total hospital costs (THC).ResultsWe identified 11,304 AH patients from 2008 to 2011. Mean age was 47.0&nbsp;years, and 62.1&nbsp;% were male, 61.9&nbsp;% were white, 9.8&nbsp;% were black, and 9.7&nbsp;% were Hispanic. Mean LOS was 6.3&nbsp;days and significantly longer in whites (6.5 d) than both blacks (5.4 d) and Hispanics (5.9 d). In adjusted models, inpatient mortality was lower for blacks than for whites (adj. OR = 0.50; 95&nbsp;% CI = 0.32-0.78). THC was significantly higher for Hispanics than whites (fold increase = 1.25; 95&nbsp;% CI = 1.01-1.49).ConclusionsWe identified differences in healthcare utilization and mortality by race/ethnicity. THC was significantly higher among Hispanics than for whites and blacks. We also demonstrated lower inpatient mortality in blacks compared to whites. These variations may implicate racial and ethnic differences in access to care, quality of care, severity of AH on presentation, or other factors

Designing a Mobile Health Solution to Facilitate the Transition from NICU to Home: A Qualitative Study

There is limited information about caregiver and provider perspectives regarding the design of a mobile health solution to facilitate the transition from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to home. Focus groups were conducted with English- or Spanish-speaking families enrolled in an urban high-risk infant follow-up clinic and with their care providers. We generated salient themes using an inductive thematic analysis. Twenty-two participants completed the study. Among caregivers, the infant&rsquo;s median gestational age (IQR) was 29 (23, 34) weeks and 63% were Hispanic. Among the providers, 55% had practiced for more than 10 years and 18% were bilingual. Key stakeholder (family and provider) priorities for designing a mobile health solution were organized into eight domains, i.e., implementation ideas around user interface and timing, providing path planning and information, increasing support, improving engagement with providers and services, mitigating barriers to care after discharge and strengthening parenting role and confidence. The results from this study suggest that families and healthcare providers prioritize path planning, information and support as the pillars for designing an effective NICU-to-home transition mobile health application. Implications for product development include family empowerment, being a credible source of information and creating a resource for caregiver support and mental health

Uncertainty and the NICU Experience: A Qualitative Evaluation of Family and Provider Perspectives

There is limited information regarding caregiver and provider perspectives on uncertainty across the continuum of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experience. Open-ended semi-structured interviews were conducted with providers and English- and Spanish-speaking caregivers of infants with a history of admission to a quaternary safety-net NICU. Major themes were generated using inductive–deductive thematic analysis. Seventy-six individuals participated in the study: 47 caregivers and 29 providers. The median gestational age of the infants was 29 weeks and 85% were classified as having chronic complex disease per the Pediatric Medical Complexity Algorithm. Most providers were neonatologists (37%) and nurses (27%) and more than half had over ten years of experience. A conceptual model of caregiver uncertainty was developed and key domains included drivers of uncertainty and its impact, and factors influencing coping and adaptation. Our analysis found a positive association between caregiver information gathering, clinical continuity, support systems, maternal mental health supports, and witnessing a child’s progress and the development of adjustment to chronic uncertainty. These results suggest key areas for intervention that can promote parental adaptation to the uncertainty inherent in the NICU experience