Variability in Exposure to Subspecialty Rotations During Orthopaedic Residency: A Website-based Review of Orthopaedic Residency Programs.

IntroductionThe variability in exposure to various subspecialty rotations during orthopaedic residency across the United States has not been well studied.MethodsData regarding program size, resident's sex, department leadership, university-based status of the program, outsourcing of subspecialty rotation, and geographic location were collected from websites of 151 US allopathic orthopaedic residency programs. The relationship of these factors with the time allotted for various clinical rotations was analyzed.ResultsThe number of residents in a program correlated positively with time allocated for elective rotations (r = 0.57, P = 0.0003). Residents in programs where the program director was a general orthopaedic surgeon spent more time on general orthopaedic rotations (22 versus 9.9 months, P = 0.001). Programs where the program director or chairman was an orthopaedic oncologist spent more time on oncology rotations ([3.8 versus 3 months, P = 0.01] and [3.5 versus 2.7 months, P = 0.01], respectively). Residents in community programs spent more time on adult reconstruction than university-based programs (6.6 versus 5.5 months, P = 0.014). Based on multiple linear regression analysis, time allotted for adult reconstruction (t = 2.29, P = 0.02) and elective rotations (t = 2.43, P = 0.017) was positively associated with the number of residents in the program.ConclusionsSubstantial variability exists in the time allocated to various clinical rotations during orthopaedic residency. The effect of this variability on clinical competence, trainees' career choices, and quality of patient care needs further study

African-specific improvement of a polygenic hazard score for age at diagnosis of prostate cancer

Polygenic hazard score (PHS) models are associated with age at diagnosis of prostate cancer. Our model developed in Europeans (PHS46) showed reduced performance in men with African genetic ancestry. We used a cross-validated search to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that might improve performance in this population. Anonymized genotypic data were obtained from the PRACTICAL consortium for 6253 men with African genetic ancestry. Ten iterations of a 10-fold cross-validation search were conducted to select SNPs that would be included in the final PHS46+African model. The coefficients of PHS46+African were estimated in a Cox proportional hazards framework using age at diagnosis as the dependent variable and PHS46, and selected SNPs as predictors. The performance of PHS46 and PHS46+African was compared using the same cross-validated approach. Three SNPs (rs76229939, rs74421890 and rs5013678) were selected for inclusion in PHS46+African. All three SNPs are located on chromosome 8q24. PHS46+African showed substantial improvements in all performance metrics measured, including a 75% increase in the relative hazard of those in the upper 20% compared to the bottom 20% (2.47-4.34) and a 20% reduction in the relative hazard of those in the bottom 20% compared to the middle 40% (0.65-0.53). In conclusion, we identified three SNPs that substantially improved the association of PHS46 with age at diagnosis of prostate cancer in men with African genetic ancestry to levels comparable to Europeans

Epidemiology of basal-like breast cancer

Risk factors for the newly identified “intrinsic” breast cancer subtypes (luminal A, luminal B, basal-like and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive/estrogen receptor-negative) were determined in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study, a population-based, case–control study of African-American and white women. Immunohistochemical markers were used to subtype 1,424 cases of invasive and in situ breast cancer, and case subtypes were compared to 2,022 controls. Luminal A, the most common subtype, exhibited risk factors typically reported for breast cancer in previous studies, including inverse associations for increased parity and younger age at first full-term pregnancy. Basal-like cases exhibited several associations that were opposite to those observed for luminal A, including increased risk for parity and younger age at first term full-term pregnancy. Longer duration breastfeeding, increasing number of children breastfed, and increasing number of months breastfeeding per child were each associated with reduced risk of basal-like breast cancer, but not luminal A. Women with multiple live births who did not breastfeed and women who used medications to suppress lactation were at increased risk of basal-like, but not luminal A, breast cancer. Elevated waist-hip ratio was associated with increased risk of luminal A in postmenopausal women, and increased risk of basal-like breast cancer in pre- and postmenopausal women. The prevalence of basal-like breast cancer was highest among premenopausal African-American women, who also showed the highest prevalence of basal-like risk factors. Among younger African-American women, we estimate that up to 68% of basal-like breast cancer could be prevented by promoting breastfeeding and reducing abdominal adiposity

Variability in the Duration of Designated Pediatric Orthopaedic Rotations Among US Residency Programs.

ObjectiveOur goal was to assess the variability in the assigned duration of pediatric orthopaedic rotation among US allopathic orthopaedic residency programs to see how pediatrics is incorporated into surgical education.MethodsUsing publicly available information for US allopathic orthopaedic residency programs in 2019, we retrospectively collected data on the assigned duration of pediatric orthopaedic rotation and variables such as number and sex of residents, number of orthopaedic faculty, university- versus community-based programs, outsourcing residents to unaffiliated hospital for pediatric exposure, specialty of program leadership, and presence of pediatric orthopaedic fellowship in the home program.ResultsOne hundred thirty-eight of the 146 (95%) eligible allopathic orthopaedic residency programs provided sufficient information. The average time assigned to a pediatric rotation during residency was 6 months (range: 2 to 11 months). Overall, 43/146 (29%) programs outsourced their pediatric training to another institution. A correlation was noted between the length of pediatric rotation and percentage of pediatric orthopaedic faculty (P = 0.0007, r = 0.3).ConclusionsThe impact of the variability in the duration of duration of pediatric orthopaedic rotation on the clinical knowledge and skills acquired by the resident during training needs further study

Risk factors for failure of temporary hemiepiphysiodesis in Blount disease: a systematic review.

There is limited information regarding the use of temporary hemiepiphysiodesis for Blount disease. We performed a systematic review of patients treated for Blount disease using either extraperiosteal staples or plates to identify characteristics affecting clinical outcome, including the need for unplanned procedures. A total of 53 patients (63 bone segments) underwent temporary hemiepiphysiodesis at a mean age of 8.8 years (1.8-14.7 years). Overall, 32/63 (51%) segments achieved neutral mechanical axis and 31/63 (49%) underwent unplanned subsequent procedures, with or without a subsequent osteotomy. On the basis of the available heterogeneous data, neither age at index surgery nor the type of implant correlated with the need for unplanned additional surgeries

Variability in Exposure to Subspecialty Rotations During Orthopaedic Residency: A Website-based Review of Orthopaedic Residency Programs.

INTRODUCTION: The variability in exposure to various subspecialty rotations during orthopaedic residency across the United States has not been well studied. METHODS: Data regarding program size, residents sex, department leadership, university-based status of the program, outsourcing of subspecialty rotation, and geographic location were collected from websites of 151 US allopathic orthopaedic residency programs. The relationship of these factors with the time allotted for various clinical rotations was analyzed. RESULTS: The number of residents in a program correlated positively with time allocated for elective rotations (r = 0.57, P = 0.0003). Residents in programs where the program director was a general orthopaedic surgeon spent more time on general orthopaedic rotations (22 versus 9.9 months, P = 0.001). Programs where the program director or chairman was an orthopaedic oncologist spent more time on oncology rotations ([3.8 versus 3 months, P = 0.01] and [3.5 versus 2.7 months, P = 0.01], respectively). Residents in community programs spent more time on adult reconstruction than university-based programs (6.6 versus 5.5 months, P = 0.014). Based on multiple linear regression analysis, time allotted for adult reconstruction (t = 2.29, P = 0.02) and elective rotations (t = 2.43, P = 0.017) was positively associated with the number of residents in the program. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial variability exists in the time allocated to various clinical rotations during orthopaedic residency. The effect of this variability on clinical competence, trainees career choices, and quality of patient care needs further study