U.S. medical resident familiarity with national tuberculosis guidelines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ability of medical residents training at U.S. urban medical centers to diagnose and manage tuberculosis cases has important public health implications. We assessed medical resident knowledge about tuberculosis diagnosis and early management based on American Thoracic Society guidelines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A 20-question tuberculosis knowledge survey was administered to 131 medical residents during a single routinely scheduled teaching conference at four different urban medical centers in Baltimore and Philadelphia. Survey questions were divided into 5 different subject categories. Data was collected pertaining to institution, year of residency training, and self-reported number of patients managed for tuberculosis within the previous year. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to detect differences in median percent of questions answered correctly based on these variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median percent of survey questions answered correctly for all participating residents was 55%. Medical resident knowledge about tuberculosis did not improve with increasing post-graduate year of training or greater number of patients managed for tuberculosis within the previous year. Common areas of knowledge deficiency included the diagnosis and management of latent tuberculosis infection (median percent correct, 40.7%), as well as the interpretation of negative acid-fast sputum smear samples.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Many medical residents lack adequate knowledge of recommended guidelines for the management of tuberculosis. Since experience during training influences future practice pattterns, education of medical residents on guidelines for detection and early management of tuberculosis may be important for future improvements in national tuberculosis control strategies.</p

Addition of Nitazoxanide to PEG-IFN and Ribavirin to Improve HCV Treatment Response in HIV-1 and HCV Genotype 1 Coinfected Persons Naïve to HCV Therapy: Results of the ACTG A5269 Trial

BackgroundWe hypothesized that nitazoxanide (NTZ) added to pegylated interferon alfa-2a (PEG-IFN) and weight-based ribavirin (WBR) would improve hepatitis C virus (HCV) virologic responses in HCV treatment-naïve HIV-1/HCV genotype 1 coinfected persons.MethodsProspective, single-arm study in which subjects received 4-week lead-in (NTZ 500 mg twice daily) followed by 48 weeks of NTZ, PEG-IFN, and WBR. We compared the HCV virologic responses of these subjects to historical controls from the completed ACTG study A5178 who received PEG-IFN and WBR and had similar subject characteristics. Primary endpoints were early virologic response and complete early virologic response (EVR and cEVR).ResultsAmong 67 subjects (78% male; 48% Black; median age, 50 years), EVR was achieved in 65.7% (90% CI, 55.0%-75.3%), cEVR in 38.8% (28.8%-49.6%). and SVR in 32.8% (23.4%-43.5%). EVR was higher with NTZ (51.4% in A5178; P = .03), but the sustained virologic response (SVR) proportion was similar (27.3% in A5178; P = .24). In contrast to A5178, SVR was similar across IL28B genotypes. Overall, NTZ was safe and well-tolerated.ConclusionWhereas EVR proportion improved significantly in this pilot study, the addition of NTZ to PEG-IFN/WBR did not significantly improve SVR compared to historical controls. NTZ may be associated with an attenuation of the effect of IL28B on HCV treatment response

Developing an Assessment Framework for Essential Internal Medicine Subspecialty Topics

Assessing residents by direct observation is the preferred assessment method for infrequently encountered subspecialty topics, but this is logistically challenging. We developed an assessment framework for internal medicine (IM) residents in subspecialty topics, using tuberculosis diagnosis for proof of concept. We used a 4-step process at 8 academic medical centers that entailed (1) creating a 10-item knowledge assessment tool; (2) pilot testing on a sample of 129 IM residents and infectious disease fellow volunteers to evaluate validity evidence; (3) implementing the final tool among 886 resident volunteers; and (4) assessing outcomes via retrospective chart review. Outcomes included tool score, item performance, and rates of obtaining recommended diagnostics. Following tool development, 10 infectious disease experts provided content validity. Pilot testing showed higher mean scores for fellows compared with residents (7 [SD = 1.8] versus 3.8 [SD = 1.7], respectively,  < .001) and a satisfactory Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (0.72). Implementation of the tool revealed a 14-minute (SD = 2.0) mean completion time, 61% (541 of 886) response rate, 4.4 (SD = 1.6) mean score, and ≤ 57% correct response rate for 9 of 10 items. On chart review (n = 343), the rate of obtaining each recommended test was ≤ 43% (113 of 261), except for chest x-rays (96%, 328 of 343). Our assessment framework revealed knowledge and practice gaps in tuberculosis diagnosis in IM residents. Adopting this approach may help ensure assessment is not limited to frequently encountered topics

Internal Medicine Residents’ Knowledge and Practice of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Diagnosis

Abstract Background Internal medicine physicians are often the first providers to encounter patients with a new diagnosis of tuberculosis. Given the public health risks of missed tuberculosis cases, assessing internal medicine residents’ ability to diagnose tuberculosis is important. Methods Internal medicine resident knowledge and practice patterns in pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis at 7 academic hospitals were assessed utilizing (a) a 10-item validated pulmonary tuberculosis diagnosis assessment tool and (b) a retrospective chart review of 343 patients who underwent a pulmonary tuberculosis evaluation while admitted to a resident-staffed internal medicine or infectious disease service. Our primary outcomes were the mean score and percentage of correct responses per assessment tool question, and the percentage of patients who had Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–recommended tuberculosis diagnostic tests obtained. Results Of the 886 residents who received the assessment, 541 responded, yielding a response rate of 61%. The mean score on the assessment tool (SD) was 4.4 (1.6), and the correct response rate was 57% (311/541) or less on 9 of 10 questions. On chart review, each recommended test was obtained for ≤43% (148/343) of patients, other than chest x-ray (328/343; 96%). A nucleic acid amplification test was obtained for 18% (62/343) of patients, whereas 24% (83/343) had only 1 respiratory sample obtained. Twenty patients were diagnosed with tuberculosis. Conclusions Significant knowledge and practice gaps exist in internal medicine residents’ abilities to diagnose tuberculosis. As residents represent the future providers who will be evaluating patients with possible tuberculosis, such deficiencies must be addressed