Who Is at Risk for Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer?

Modern medical decision making, whether preventive, diagnostic, or therapeutic, emphasizes the risk stratification of patients, and is heavily informed and influenced by evidence-based guidelines. Such guidelines for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening were first published in 1997,1 and subsequently by multiple professional organizations. Although there have been disagreements regarding choice of screening modality, the start age of 50 years for most average-risk individuals (with the notable exception of African Americans) has been mostly unchallenged

Digital Orthopaedics: A Glimpse Into the Future in the Midst of a Pandemic.

BackgroundThe response to COVID-19 catalyzed the adoption and integration of digital health tools into the health care delivery model for musculoskeletal patients. The change, suspension, or relaxation of Medicare and federal guidelines enabled the rapid implementation of these technologies. The expansion of payment models for virtual care facilitated its rapid adoption. The authors aim to provide several examples of digital health solutions utilized to manage orthopedic patients during the pandemic and discuss what features of these technologies are likely to continue to provide value to patients and clinicians following its resolution.ConclusionThe widespread adoption of new technologies enabling providers to care for patients remotely has the potential to permanently change the expectations of all stakeholders about the way care is provided in orthopedics. The new era of Digital Orthopaedics will see a gradual and nondisruptive integration of technologies that support the patient's journey through the successful management of their musculoskeletal disease

Patients’ Willingness to Share Limited Endoscopic Resources: A Brief Report on the Results of a Large Regional Survey

Background: In some health care systems, patients face long wait times for screening colonoscopy. We sought to assess whether patients at low risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) would be willing to delay their own colonoscopy so higher-risk peers could undergo colonoscopy sooner. Methods: We surveyed 1054 Veterans regarding their attitudes toward repeat colonoscopy and risk-based prioritization. We used multivariable regression to identify patient factors associated with willingness to delay screening for a higher-risk peer. Results: Despite a physician recommendation to stop screening, 29% of respondents reported being "not at all likely" to stop. However, 94% reported that they would be willing to delay their own colonoscopy for a higher-risk peer. Greater trust in physician and greater health literacy were positively associated with willingness to wait, while greater perceived threat of CRC and Black or Latino race/ethnicity were negatively associated with willingness to wait. Conclusion: Despite high enthusiasm for repeat screening, patients were willing to delay their own colonoscopy for higher-risk peers. Appealing to altruism could be effective when utilizing scarce resources

AGA Institute Quality Measure Development for the Management of Gastric Intestinal Metaplasia with Helicobacter pylori

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with more than 1 million incident cases diagnosed globally. 1 Non-cardia intestinal-type gastric cancer, the most common subtype of gastric cancer, develops through the Correa cascade in which chronic inflammation of normal gastric mucosa leads to atrophic gastritis, followed by gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM), dysplasia, and ultimately gastric cancer. 2 GIM has an estimated prevalence of 4.8% in the United States based on an analysis of gastric biopsies from a large pathology database, but higher rates of GIM have been reported in certain racial and ethnic groups (14.8% in Asian Americans, 18.2% in Native Americans, 25.5% in African Americans, and 29.5% in Hispanic Americans). 3 ,4 Additional risk factors for GIM include tobacco use, autoimmune gastritis, and living or immigrating from an endemic area. The annual risk of progression from GIM to non-cardia intestinal-type gastric cancer is 0.16%, and factors such as persistent Helicobacter pylori infection, family history, anatomic extent and location of GIM, and histologic subtypes may confer increased risk of progression to gastric cancer. 5 Studies of U.S. endoscopists show variation in the management of patients with GIM, including use and interval for endoscopic surveillance, prompting the development of guidelines for the management of GIM