Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Epidemiologic Profile And Treatment Analysis Of Cervicalgia In Patients With Migraine Vs. Tension-Type Headaches From A Multicenter Electronic Medical Record Database (Trinetx), Ethan J. Le, Victor S. Wang, Md, Hsiangkuo Yuan, Md, Phd

Alpha Omega Alpha Research Symposium Posters

BACKGROUND

• Cervicalgia, or chronic neck pain, remains an understudied and undertreated comorbid condition in patients with headache disorders that benefits from both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment profiles.

• Cervicogenic headaches present a significant global healthcare burden, with estimates projecting up to 4.1% of the global population and 20% of headache complaints are attributed to cervicalgia (Fernandez et al. 2020).

• What is the global demographic, treatment, and migraine preventive profile of cervicalgia in patients with either concurrent migraine (CM) or tension-type (CT) headaches?

Neuroimaging Protocol In Patients Presenting With Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage, Kevin Hines, Md, Nikolaos Mouchtouris, Md, Karim Hafazalla, Jacob M. Mazza, Phillip Phan, Giuliana Labella, Muhammad Athar, Md, Adam Flanders, Md, Pascal Jabbour, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Introduction

While lacking evidence based recommendations, most institutions must evaluate spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages (sICH) for hematoma expansion (HE). If unrecognized, it can be a devastating complication. However, because of the lack of general recommendations for serial imaging, many hospitals, including Thomas Jefferson, have arbitrarily instituted 6 hour an 24 hour stability head CT’s to evaluate for HE.

In our project, we examine the impact of this imaging protocol on the safety and quality of patient care and provide revised recommendations for imaging in sICH at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience.

Lack Of Utility And Excess Cost Of Routine Perioperative Hematologic Testing In Patients Undergoing Elective Neurosurgical Procedures Of The Spine, Lucas Philipp, Md, Mph, Catriona Harrop, Md, David Wyler, Md, James Harrop, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Objective

To prospectively conduct a "mock trial" among 100% (minimum n=200) of elective neurosurgery spine patients to estimate the total projected cost, savings, risk, and feasibility of a redefined/restricted lab testing protocol over the next 12 months

Improving Ed Door To Puncture Times For Endovascular Thrombectomy In Acute Ischemic Stroke, Richard F. Schmidt, Md, Nabeel Herial, Md, Robin D'Ambrosio, Bsn, Erin Simko, Bsn, Fred Rincon, Md, Maria Aini, Md, Pascal Jabbour, Md, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, Md, M. Reid Gooch, Md, Robert H. Rosenwasswer, Md, Robin Dharia, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Objectives

• Optimize the management of patients presenting to TJUH with AIS who are candidates for ET.
• Enable continued process improvement through improved data collection methods and identification of new process metrics.

Improving Postoperative Handoffs In The Neuro-Intensive Care Unit, Richard F. Schmidt, Md, Andrew Mendelson, Md, Sonia Gill, Md, Nicole Hollup, Crnp, Matthew Vibbert, Md, Coleen Vernick, Md, Giuliana Labella, Msn, Marie Wilson, Msn, Caitlin Harley, Msn, Maryanne Mccarrin, Msn, Jack Jallo, Md, Rebecca Jaffe, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Introduction

• Transitions of care represent a major source of medical errors, patient morbidity/mortality, and increased healthcare waste.
• 2018 CLER report indicated largely unfavorable responses toward handoffs and care transitions for perioperative services and neurointensive care.
• Use of the IPASS handoff tool is associated with up to 30% reduction in adverse events and 23% reduction in medical errors.
• Implementation of IPASS for postoperative handoffs in the SICU resulted in improved organization, safety, and communication.

Creation Of An Institutional Toolkit For Evaluation Of Multidisciplinary Handoffs, Richard F. Schmidt, Md, Courtney Devin, Md, Nicholas Tarangelo, Md, Andrew Mendelson, Md, Bracken Babula, Md, Rebecca Jaffe, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Objectives

1. Create a method for analyzing different handoffs in a variety of clinical settings and scenarios at TJUH.
2. Develop a set of standardized survey tools using existing validated language to quantify the perceptions, quality, and needs for different patient care transitions.
3. Use results from these tools to cater focused handoff improvement interventions for specific patient care settings.

Spinal Cord Injury Activation Alert: Revisiting And Revamping Protocols, Ritam Ghosh, Md, Ralph Marino, Md, Michael Wolf, Md, James S. Harrop, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Objective

Our objective was to look at the current protocol for spinal cord injury activation alerts and to highlight deficiencies in the system. Currently, any physician at Jefferson can call this alert, which often leads to a misuse of resources and wrongful identification of true spinal cord injury.

In order to refine the protocol, we believe that the Cord System should be used for the following guidelines:

1. Identify patients w Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
2. Identify patients for SCI research trials
3. Identify patients who require surgery

Developing A Neurosurgical Spine Post-Operative Note Template On Epic For Improved Multi-Disciplinary Care, Omaditya Khanna, Md, Geoffrey P. Stricsek, Md, Giuliana Labella, Rn, James Harrop, Md, Jesse Edwards, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Introduction

The care of neurosurgical spine patients often involves a multi-disciplinary team, including neurosurgery residents, hospitalists, nursing staff, and physical/occupational therapists.

Oftentimes, post-op spine patients are on a non-neurosurgical service (hospitalist, MICU/SICU, medicine), who are provided with scant sign out on the procedure(s) performed.

The treatment team(s) that are helping manage patient care post-operatively are often unaware of the procedure performed, and what are the salient clinical signs/symptoms, radiographic findings, and laboratory values that need to be closely monitored

Atrx Mutation In Pineal Parenchymal Tumor Of Intermediate Differentiation, Michelle Nagurney, Md, Christopher Farrell, Md, Zi-Xuan Wang, Phd, Mark T. Curtis, Md

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Posters

Objectives

Based on our identification of an ATRX mutation in a PPTID of a 22 year old female, we analyzed the frequency of ATRX loss in pineal parenchymal tumors using ATRX immunohistochemical staining.

Prevention And Screening Of Vte In Sci Patients At Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Erika Dillard, Md, Phd, Yusef Mosley, Md, Joshua Marks, Md, Christina Jacovides, Md, Geoffrey Ouma, Md, James Harrop, Md

Department of Neurosurgery Posters

Currently no protocol exists for thromboprophylaxis (TPx) and screening in SCI patients at TJUH. As such, often patients are either not started on TPx or are started on an inappropriate regimen depending on admitting team preference. In addition, patients often receive an admission DUS then weekly thereafter as a screening mechanism for DVT even if asymptomatic.

Our goal is to determine the effectiveness of our current method for initiating pharmacological TPx as well as efficacy and cost of our current screening method compared to national guidelines by addressing these questions:

• What is the occurrence of VTE in SCI patients at …

Implementation Of Attending-Supervised Ipass Handoff In The Neuro-Icu, Laura Cifrese, Md, Sonia Gill, Md, Megan Margiotta, Md, Muhammad Athar, Md, Rodney Bell, Md, Sara Hefton, Md, Fred Rincon, Md, Msc, Mbe, Syed Shah, Md, Mba, Jacqueline Urtecho, Md, Matthew Vibbert, Md, David Wyler, Md, Amandeep Dolla, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Background

• Duty hour restrictions, cross coverage, and the growing number of mid-level practitioners has led to an increased number of handoffs across medical specialties
• These handoffs are well-known points of communication breakdown which can lead to patient safety issues
• Factors contributing to an effective handoff include standardization of communication, appropriate training and supervision, ample time, a quiet environment, and a supportive culture
• We hypothesize that attending supervision of handoffs is feasible and can improve practitioner perception of transitions of care

Establishing Cost-Effective Management Of Postoperative Urinary Retention After Spine Surgery, Nikolaos Mouchtouris, Md, Catriona Harrop, Md, Edward Kloniecke, Md, Victoria English, Crnp, David Wyler, Md, Kamini Patel, Rn, Mba, Ashwini Sharan, Md, James Harrop, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Goal

Our goal is to develop evidence-based guidelines that:

1. streamline the order/timing of interventions in patients who develop PUR after spine surgery
2. identify those at high-risk of long-term urinary retention that require further workup
3. minimize the rate of PUR –goal is to reduce to 3.5% in FY 2019
4. and determine the cost savings from our intervention when applied to all surgeries

Process Improvement For Endovascular Thrombectomy In Patients Presenting With Acute Ischemic Stroke, Richard F. Schmidt, Md, Michael J. Lang, Md, Robin Dharia, Md, Fred Rincon, Md, Thomas Zdanowski, Rn, Msn, Robin D'Ambrosio, Rn, Msn, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, Md, M. Reid Gooch, Md, Pascal Jabbour, Md, Nabeel Herial, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Aims

1. Critically evaluate the existing stroke activation and ET protocols for compliance with new 2018 metrics and guidelines.
2. Review DTP times under the existing protocol to assess for potential inefficiencies or gaps in care delivery, specifically addressing differences between processes at JHN compared to ED/Gibbon.
3. Make changes to the existing stroke alert protocol to better reflect current guidelines, streamline care, and ultimately improve process metrics (DTP times).
4. Establish a system for recursive continuous analysis of AIS patients to identify protocol gaps, inefficiencies and areas for further intervention.

Improving Medical And Endovascular Management For Acute Ischemic Stroke Through Multidisciplinary Education And Simulation, Richard F. Schmidt, Md, Megan Margiotta, Md, Elan Miller, Md, Robin D'Ambrosio, Bsn, Scrn, Robin Dharia, Md, Maria Aini, Md, Diana Tzeng, Md, Fred Rincon, Md, Pascal Jabbour, Md, Nabeel Herial, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Primary goals:

1. Reduce door to treatment times (both DTN and DTP) to meet and exceed existing guidelines metrics.
2. Educate residents about acute stroke management, including national guidelines and new institutional protocols to improve efficiency during stroke alerts.

Rare Case Of Diffuse Spinal Arachnoiditis Following A Complicated Vertebral Artery Dissection, Elias Atallah, Md, Sophia Dang, Sage Rahm, Nohra Chalouhi, Md, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris Md, Robert H. Rosenwasswer Md, Pascal Jabbour Md

Department of Neurosurgery Posters

Spinal arachnoiditis (SA) is an extremely rare and delayed complication of intracranial subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). SA is an inflammatory process leading to chronic fibrosis of the spinal cord. Possible pathophysiology is a two-staged disease of initial inflammatory reaction secondary to SAH, followed by a “free interval phase” prior to delayed adhesive phase (i.e. SA). The clinical course can be complicated and is the cause of major morbidity.

Reorganization Of Thalamic Intrinsic Connectivity Following Anterior Temporal Lobectomy, Xiaosong He, Chaitanya Ganne, Michael R. Sperling, Ashwini Sharan, Joseph I. Tracy

Department of Neurosurgery Posters

The thalamus has played a crucial role in determining surgical outcome following anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (He, et al., 2017). Before successfully quantifying the impact of the thalamus on ATL outcomes, this structure’s own intrinsic connectivity must be understood. Accordingly, we characterize thalamic intrinsic connectivity through resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) longitudinally, exploring its change pre- to post-surgery.

Comparison Of Stroke Cohorts Cared For By Two Different Specialties In A Practice-Based Tele-Stroke Population, Elias Atallah, Kimon Bekelis, Hassan Saad, Ayan Kumar, Justin Turpin, Randa Barsoom, Sophia Dang, Jonathan Li, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, David Hasan, Maureen Deprince, Giuliana Labella, Robert H. Rosenwasswer, Pascal Jabbour

Department of Neurosurgery Posters

Conclusion

• Telemedicine is allowing for more patients suffering from AIS to receive care by dedicated stroke physicians including neurovascular surgeons.
• Our study does not find any difference in outcome between neurologists, who have traditionally managed stroke care, and neurosurgeons.
• Although ischemic stroke is a matter of multidisciplinary management, these surgeons are appropriately knowledgeable to prescribing IVrt-PA and concurrently performing MT in a highly-specialized stroke unit.

Non-Psychotropic Cannabinoid Based Therapy Modulates Nociceptive Signaling Molecules, Microglia, And Pain Behavior In A Model Of Post-Concussion Headache, Jarred M. Stratton, Lan Cheng, Ashley L. Tyburski, Jessica Perino, Melanie B. Elliott

Department of Neurosurgery Posters

Background & Objectives

Headache is a common symptom of post-concussion syndrome which may persist in a substantial portion of patients contributing to a poor quality of life and disability. There is a pressing need to develop novel treatments for post-traumatic headache as current treatments have a number of side effects, are contraindicated or lack efficacy. The Elliott laboratory first established models of post-traumatic headache demonstrating sensitization of trigeminal neurons in rodent models of post-traumatic headache using well-known nociceptive and behavioral markers in the pain and migraine fields^1-3. Traumatic brain injury in mice increases expression of calcitonin gene related …

The (R)- Isomer Of Isometheptene Decreases Trigeminal Sensitivity In A Rat Model Of Primary Headache, Jessica Perino, Ms, Nathan T. Fried, Phd, Michael L. Oshinsky, Phd, Bruce Daugherty, Phd, Mba, Seth Lederman, Md, Melanie B Elliott, Phd

Department of Neurosurgery Posters

Introduction

Isometheptene is thought to be the active ingredient of the commonly known headache medication, Midrin. Previously, we found only the (R) enantiomer to be effective in alleviating headache behavior in two models of headache compared to the (S) enantiomer.

Experiments using electrical and mechanical stimulation of the dura in animals with no history of head pain have been used to elucidate the mechanisms of the trigeminovascular system at the level of the trigeminal ganglion, trigeminal nucleus caudalis, periaqueductal gray, and the thalamus. The limitation of these acute models is that electrical and mechanical stimulation of the dural blood vessels …

Rare Case Of Metastatic Pituitary Disease, Anitha Somasundaram, Md, Kevin D. Judy, Md, Kevin Furlong, Do

Department of Neurosurgery Posters

Background:

Metastatic involvement of the pituitary gland is extremely rare. We present a case of metastatic pituitary disease with panhypopituitarism and diabetes insipidus.

Ictal Asystole In A Patient With Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (Pres) And Seizures: A Case Report, Joanna Suski, Md, Reginald T. Ho, Md, Maromi Nei, Md

Department of Neurology Posters

BACKGROUND

• Ictal asystole is rare, seen in less than 1% of patients with epilepsy, and typically seen in patients with temporal or frontal lobe seizures, rarely in occipital lobe seizures, and has never been described in a patient with PRES .
• PRES is a clinical-radiologic diagnosis in which there is a breakdown of the blood brain barrier caused by abrupt changes of blood pressure, or cytokines causing endothelial damage and this creates brain edema.
• The typical neurological symptoms of PRES include encephalopathy (50-80%), seizure (60-75%), headache (50%), and visual disturbance (35%).
• Brain imaging in PRES usually reveals vasogenic edema in …