Digital Commons Network^™

Economic Factors Affecting Patients Who Use Safety Net Clinics And Food Insecurity In Rio Grande Valley, Michael Machiorlatti, Cliff Clark, Deepu George

Research Colloquium

Food insecurity (FI) is a pervasive problem. It is linked to education and parental SES. The burden is not distributed equally. Younger and older groups are at greater risk along with those who identify with marginalized groups. The purpose of this study was examine how self-reported social determinants are associated with FI in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

The study was conducted at safety net clinics (14) in the RGV from April 1, 2021, to Dec 1, 2021. A common instrument was developed used across the clinics. Goals were to identify what social determinants of health are clients of each …

Autologous Biovesicles Targeted Against Tumor’S Fibrotic Milieu For Management Of Pdac Patients, Sheema Khan

Research Colloquium

Background: One of the major challenges in pancreatic cancer treatment is the management of PDAC following tumor relapse. Relapse may be locoregional and/or metastatic and is highly resistant and impermeable due to a fibrotic stromal tumor microenvironment. Due to highly complex histo-architecture and suboptimal drug accumulation, pancreatic tumors do not respond well to the conventional therapeutic modalities. The application of extracellular vehicles (Evs) is increasing in the field of medicine due to their inherent characteristics as biological cargo vehicles. Therefore, this study investigates the utilization of autologous EVs derived from stromal cells of patient’s matched adjacent normal tissues (NAF-EVs) for …

Interprofessional Learners Lead A Public Health Campaign Addressing Covid-19 Disparities In A Hispanic Community: Lessons Learned And Recommendations, Sabrina R. Orta, Chelsea Chang, Daniela Santos Cantu, Luis R. Torres-Hostos, Giuiseppe Allan Fonseca

Research Colloquium

Purpose:Addressing health disparities through community-engagement and interdisciplinary partnerships is increasingly critical. We designed a learner-led, interdisciplinary, public health campaign for a largely Hispanic community, with the goals of building interdisciplinary leadership skills, engaging learners to address COVID-19 inequities, and disseminating insights learned.

Description: Faculty and students from University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Schools of Medicine and Social Work partnered with RGV community leaders to pilot an interprofessional education program. A 12-member learner team composed of medical students, resident physicians, and social work students was selected from an applicant pool. Learners embarked in interactive didactic sessions to improve their …

Dementia And Stroke Risk Associated With Brain Artery Luminal Diameters, Jesus D. Melgarejo

Research Colloquium

Importance: It is unclear whether brain artery diameters measured on conventional T2-weighted brain MRI images relate to dementia and stroke outcomes across distinct populations.

We aimed this study to evaluate the association of T2-weighted brain artery luminal diameters with dementia and stroke in three distinct population‑based studies.

Methods: Three longitudinal population-based studies with 8420 adults >40 years old (Northern Manhattan Study [NOMAS] from the United States, and the Rotterdam Study [RS], from the Netherlands, and Three-City, from France) with brain MRI scans obtained between 1999 and 2015. The median follow-up time for clinical events ranged between 7 and 12.5 years. …

Gathering And Using Demographic Data For The Rio Grande Valley, Jennifer Cahn, Aniella N. Perez

Research Colloquium

Background: “Statistics are people with the tears wiped away.” Dr. Irving J. Selikoff Statistics, as the quote above suggests, often seem very removed from the lived experience of individuals, particularly in regard to their health concerns. Yet used well, demographic statistics can paint a clear, objective picture of the population being studied, significantly strengthening the validity of research as well as justifying requests for resources such as grant funding.

Method: As a tool for UTRGV researchers, research administrative staff in the School of Medicine have created a demographic table of key data on basic population characteristics including economics, education and …

Novel Strategy To Make Kras Targeted Therapies More Effective For Pdac Treatment, Ana Martinez Bulnes, Melissa Elizondo, Juan Tueme, Aisha Sharif, Orlando Garcia, Poornima Devi Shaji, Swathi Holla, Nirnoy Dan, Anupam Dhasmana, Shabnam Malik, Murali M. Yallapu, Stephen W. Behrman, Subhash C. Chauhan, Sheema Khan

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients exhibit extremely poor prognosis. KRAS mutation on codon-12 is present in 70–95% of PDAC cases and it drives PDAC growth and progression. Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is present in both PDAC and stromal cells, being involved in tumor microenvironment, immune cell activation and metastasis. Therefore, this study discusses the efficiency of combined inhibition of mutated KRAS^G12D and Gal-1 inhibition to effectively suppress PDAC growth and progression. For this we have delivered KRAS^G12D inhibiting siRNA (siKRAS^G12D) using a superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) and a galectin inhibitor.

Methods: SPION nano-formulation was used to …

Patient Navigation Services In The Rio Grande Valley: Impacts On Clinicians, Students, And Patients, Sabrina R. Orta, Saba Suleman, Samuel Alvarez, Miguel Garza, Ruayda Bouls, John Ronnau, Shawn P. Saladin, Aracely Ramirez

Research Colloquium

Purpose: Health professions students of the UTRGV AHEC Scholars Program sought to improve coordination of care and reduce barriers to care recommendations for patients of the UTHealthRGV AHEC clinics. We enacted a student-run multidisciplinary health care system navigation intervention, to address health disparities experienced by residents of colonias in the RGV.

Description: Health professions students voluntarily signed up to become “health care system navigators” (HCSNs) as part of a community-engagement activity sponsored by the AHEC Scholars Program. Students received informal training from AHEC staff in the use of the clinic EMR related to identifying patient contact information, documenting …

Pain Control, Cost Efficacy, And Patient Satisfaction Associated With Outpatient Total Ankle Arthroplasty, Myung-Jin Cha, Jennifer Adams

Research Colloquium

Introduction: There has been a drastic increase in the number of total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) procedures within the past twenty years. The trend for outpatient surgery is growing in the field of orthopaedics, and protocols now are well established for hip or knee arthroplasty. In this paper we review the recent developments in anesthesia for total ankle arthroplasty.

Methods: A comprehensive review of the current literature on the use of anesthesia in the context of outpatient total ankle arthroplasty was conducted. Search terms for PubMed included: Total ankle replacement surgery, TAA anesthesia, outpatient TAA, inpatient TAA.

Results: Preliminary results included …

A Case Of Lead-Induced Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation And Right-Sided Heart Failure, Elizabeth Akpan-Smart, Shyama Appareddy, Duc Khiem Ng, Michaela Q. Iglesia, Ayman Khaddam, Henry Kwang, Eduardo Flores

Research Colloquium

Background: Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is a complication that can occur during defibrillator implantation procedures, particularly when the leads are placed in the right ventricle. TR is caused when the tricuspid valve does not close properly, causing blood to backflow to the right atrium during systole resulting in heart failure. The exact causes of TR after lead placement are not completely understood, but it is thought to be related to entrapment, impingement, perforation and adhesion of pacemaker leads. TR that develops from lead implantation has been associated with increased hospitalizations and decreased long-term survival. Our patient’s TR was multifactorial and …

It Is Not Pcp; It Is Cyclophosphamide Induced Toxicity, Mery Bartl, Yilen Karen Ng-Wong, Blesset Alexander, Josenny L. Rodriguez-Paez, Jose G. Gomez Casanovas, Christine Loftis, Andres Suarez Parraga

Research Colloquium

Background: Cyclophosphamide (CYC) is an immunosuppressive medication used to treat life threatening complications of various rheumatic diseases like vasculitis and systemic lupus erythematosus. 1% of patients on this medication develop pneumonitis. When considering CYC induced lung toxicity, other etiologies such as opportunistic infections and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage should be ruled out.

Case presentation: The patient is an 83-year-old woman with a past medical history of microscopic polyangiitis, and hypothyroidism who presented with progressive dyspnea at rest, exacerbated on exertion, associated with orthopnea. The patient was admitted due to acute on chronic hypoxemic respiratory failure with multifactorial etiology and heart failure …

Surgical Technique For Glenoid Bone Defect In Revision Shoulder Arthroplasty: Distal Clavicle Excision And Grafting For 1-Stage Reverse Total Shoulder Prosthesis, Ryan Bialaszewski, Ross Chapel, Frank Gerold

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) has expanded its indications and use in North America since the early 1990s. Because of this, the prevalence of revision reverse total shoulder arthroplasty cases has continued to rise. On occasion, the need for revision of RSA can be due to and is complicated by glenoid bone loss defects, making this one of the most challenging cases for arthroplasty surgeons to perform. Historically, iliac crest or tibial grafts are most commonly used for these defects, although this comes with the disadvantage of requiring two surgical sites to be prepped and draped. The purpose of this …

A Case Of A Thick Heart: Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, Johanne Chaglasian, Pooja Patel

Research Colloquium

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a genetic disorder characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy unexplained by secondary causes and a nondilated left ventricle with preserved or increased ejection fraction. Prevalence has been estimated at 0.16% to 0.29% in the general adult population. In the United States alone, there are fewer than 100 deaths per year due to HOCM at a rate of 1:220,000 athletes. We report newly diagnosed Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy.

Case Presentation: 40-year-old gentleman with past medical history of CVA with residual left sided weakness, polysubstance abuse presented to the emergency department with the chief complaint of shortness of breath and …

A Boneless Chicken At Eg Junction., Mery Bartl, Blesset Alexander, Jose G. Gomez Casanovas, Alcibiades Fleires, Roque Mifuji

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Esophageal food impaction (EFI) is the third most common non-biliary emergency in gastroenterology with an annual incidence rate of 13 episodes per 100,000 person-years and 1,500 deaths per year. An underlying esophageal cause is commonly found, with structural abnormalities being the most common, and dysmotility disorders and malignancy less frequently. When a patient presents with EFI, removal of the food bolus within 24 hours is indicated, however more urgent removal if acute symptoms are present. The following is a patient that presented for acute food impaction at EG Junction.

Case presentation: A 64-year-old gentleman with past medical history of …

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Associated With Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 Infection - A Case Report, Mays Abdulazeez, Andreina Prado, Juan Rodriguez, Changho Yi, Rani Rabah, Yuri Cuellar De La Cruz, Jose Cano, Heidi Pareja

Research Colloquium

Background: Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) refers to acute and subclinical infection of the upper genital tract in females encompassing uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. The involvement of the neighboring pelvic organs often accompanies this disease, resulting in endometritis, salpingitis, oophoritis, peritonitis, perihepatitis, and tubo-ovarian abscess. Most PID cases, 85% are caused by sexually transmitted or bacterial vaginosis-associated pathogens. The remaining 15% are associated with enteric or respiratory pathogens that have colonized the lower genital tract. The etiologic differences among these processes have significant implications for treatment and prevention.

Case presentation: A 21-year-old female G6-P5-A1 presented to the ED with lower …

Patent Foramen Ovale, Deep Venous Thrombosis And Stroke; A Paradoxical Embolism In An 80-Year-Old Male, Jose Rivera, Elio Garcia Sosa, Josenny Rodriguez Paez, Francisco Gonzalez, Daniela Hernandez

Research Colloquium

Background: A patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a congenital cardiac malformation describing a shunt in between the atrial walls. The overall incidence of a PFO is around 27.3% with a progressive decrease to 25.4% in the 4^th and 8^th decades. Once it has been established that a patient with an ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) has a PFO and other sources of the stroke have been ruled out, it is imperative to consider deep vein thrombosis (DVT) as the source of a paradoxical embolus.

Case Presentation: 80-year-old gentleman with a history of right internal carotid occlusion of 80-90% …

Necrotizing Pneumonia From Mdr S.Pneumoniae In A Young Patient: A Case Report, Sonya R. Montes, Jose Gerardo Gomez Casanovas, Laura Rincon-Rueda, Mery Bartl, Alcibiades Fleires

Research Colloquium

Background Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of hospitalizations, and due to its diverse disease presentation, determining appropriate level of treatment is essential. CAP can lead to different complications, including necrotizing pneumonia. Due to its high morbidity and mortality rates, necrotizing pneumonia is critical to rapidly identify and treat accordingly. Therefore, we present a case of a young patient who presented with necrotizing pneumonia after failing CAP outpatient therapy.

Case Presentation A 42-year-old Hispanic lady with past medical history of hypertension and hyperlipidemia presented to the emergency department with 6-day history of right upper quadrant pain, associated with fever, …

A Unique Case Of Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Presenting With Cranial Nerve Palsy, Hari Movva, Hari Das, Giri Movva, Cesar A. Peralta, Jose Campo Maldonado

Research Colloquium

• Diffuse large B cell lymphoma is the most common lymphoma responsible for 25 to 30% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas.1-4

• It commonly manifests as splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, enlarged lymph nodes and B symptoms such as fever, night sweats and weight loss. Approximately 50% of patients have extra nodal involvement; most commonly of the stomach, GI tract, and skin. 1-4

• Overall incidence in the United States is approximately 7 cases per 100,000 per year and accounts for roughly 25% of all NHL cases worldwide. 1-4

• We present a case of a 59-year-old female with

Ischemic Steal Syndrome In A Hemodialysis Patient, Hari Movva, Giri Movva, Hari Das, Cesar A. Peralta, Jose Campo Maldonado

Research Colloquium

•Steal Syndrome is a phenomenon seen in patients with retrograde flow in an ipsilateral vertebral artery due to stenosis or occlusion of the subclavian artery. 1-3 •It commonly manifests asymptomatically in most patients but can be found incidentally when there is a blood pressure difference or through upper extremity symptoms such as pain and ischemia or through neurological symptoms. 1-3 •Overall Incidence is currently unknown but most literature reports prevalence of 0.6% to 6.4%. 1-3 •We present a 45-year-old male with newly diagnosed Steal Syndrome who presented with a small blister on left ring finger, pain and bluish-black skin discoloration.

Gradual Onset Of Paralysis In A Soccer Athlete: Challenges In Diagnosis In The Patient With A Socioeconomic Condition, Changho Yi, Evan Perez, Jose Cano

Research Colloquium

Background Cauda equina syndrome is a rare but serious condition from compressing the roots of the cauda equina in the lower lumbar spinal canal that accompany one of the following: Bladder and/or bowel dysfunction, reduced sensation in the saddle area, sexual dysfunction with possible neurological deficit in the lower limb. MRI findings are needed for confirmation. If it is not diagnosed early and treated properly, there can be disastrous outcomes such as permanent dysfunction in bowel, bladder, and sexual functions. Commonly it presented acute symptoms, but it is possible in gradual onset like in this case.

Case presentation The patient …

Opioid Dependence Induced By Hydromorphone Use In The Acute Care Hospital Setting., Changho Yi, Justin Faye, Jose Cano

Research Colloquium

Background and objectives: Opioids have been used broadly for pain control in patients with intense pain in the hospital setting. Hydromorphone is one of the semisynthetic opioids with high potency that is occasionally chosen for better pain control when non-opioids and natural opioids fail to control pain¹. And sometimes it is preferred in patients with hemodialysis because of the pharmacokinetics of hydromorphone which elimination is achieved easily by dialysis². It is unknown whether its potential for abuse is higher than other opioids^3,4. However, the authors experienced three cases of opioid dependence induced by using …

Ascending Colon Cancer Presenting As A Recurrent Abdominal Abscess In A Hispanic Woman, Baron S. Ekeledo, Ernesto Garza, Sandeep Samuel, Nicole Grigg-Gutierrez, Fatimah Bello

Research Colloquium

Introduction/Background There are multiple case reports on abdominal wall infiltration by colonic cancerous cells in conjunction with secondary infection appearing as abdominal abscesses. However, there are only few cases reported in literature for which a recurrent abdominal abscess is the initial presentation of an ascending colon cancer.

Case Report We present an 87-year-old Hispanic woman with history of recurrent RUQ abdominal abscess, constipation, melena and hematochezia who presented to the ED with continued discharge status post I&D of RUQ abscess. The patient was a poor historian, and no other complaints were elicited. CT abdomen/pelvis with contrast showed persistent colonic gastric …

Severe Covid-19 Infection Complicated With Bilateral Pneumothorax And Cardiac Arrest, Alfarooq Alshaikhli, Francisco J. Cabral-Amador, Joseph Caporusso, Eric Sanchez

Research Colloquium

Background: Severe cases of COVID-19 are often associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome resulting in hypoxic respiratory failure; however, it is crucial to consider other differential diagnoses in patient’s presenting with worsening hypoxia, including severe pneumothorax given the barotrauma associated in some patients.

Case presentation: Our team presents a case of a 62-year-old man with a history of kidney transplant on immunosuppressive therapy, hypertension, stroke with residual contracted right upper extremity who presented with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The patient was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he was intubated and sedated, ventilator settings were tuned according to acute …

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (Mrsa) Nasal Screening As A Tool For Antibiotic Stewardship Program, Alexandria N. Gonzalez, Myung-Jin Cha, Oryana Otero, Jose Campo Maldonado

Research Colloquium

Background Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal screening is a tool which may aid in avoiding unnecessary empiric MRSA therapy for community acquired pneumonia (CAP), healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP) and other infections in the inpatient setting. Appropriate antibiotic therapy is vital in minimizing hospital stay, avoidance of multi-drug resistance, and patient mortality. The objective of this project was to evaluate the use of MRSA nasal screening and understand its use which will ultimately help inform the implementation of quality improvement interventions to improve antibiotic usage at an acute care hospital in our region.

Methods From 409 inpatient visits for patients who had …

Terbinafine Induced Liver Injury Is Rare. We Report A Case Of Terbinafine Induced Hepatitis-Cholestatic Injury., Denis X. Gutierrez, Jian Garcia Cruz

Research Colloquium

Abstract Drug induced liver injury (DILI) is a cause of significant morbidity; timely diagnosis is important and requires a high index of suspicion. Terbinafine induced liver injury is rare. We report a case of Terbinafine induced hepatitis-cholestatic injury. The patient had a prolonged recovery phase lasting three months after discontinuation of drug.

Background A 44-year-old Gentleman presented to the hospital with history of pruritus and progressive jaundice. He had been taking Terbinafine 250 mg once a day for onychomycosis for a total duration of 7 weeks after which he developed jaundice, pruritus, and dark urine. He had no history of …

Disparities In Available Surgeons And Specialty Physicians Providing Endocrine-Related Health Care Coverage To Populations In South Texas And The Rio Grande Valley., Valentine S. Alia, Ed Wong Alvarado, Henry Reinhart

Research Colloquium

Background: The Rio Grande Valley and South Texas is home to some of the most medically underserved populations in the nation, with gaps in health care ranging from low rates of adequately insured individuals, to the amount of primary and specialty healthcare services available [1]. Populations living in these areas near the Texas-Mexico border have some of the highest incidence of metabolic and endocrine-related disease in the U.S., while paradoxically having a large deficit in endocrine-specialists available to meet the medical and surgical needs of the community [1,2,3].

Methods: We analyzed data from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis …

Bone Health Matters: A Closer Look At Osteoporosis Within The Rio Grande Valley, Ryan Bialaszewski, Philippe J. Dentino, John Ronnau

Research Colloquium

Background: Osteoporosis is a condition characterized by decreased bone mass and decreased bone quality, leading to increased bone fragility and risk of fractures. The number of fractures due to osteoporosis is projected to increase to over 3 million by the year 2025 and cost $25.3 billion annually. It ranks highly among diseases that cause patients to become bedridden with serious complications and reduced quality of life. Additionally, osteoporosis disproportionately affects Hispanics, which comprise most of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) population. We hypothesize individuals residing in the Rio Grande Valley have higher rates of Osteoporosis and lower rates of Osteoporosis …

The Covid-19 Impact On Physician Wellness In The Rio Grande Valley, Lauren A. Herrera, Ruth Escalera, Ericka Vazquez, Victoria Jacobsen

Research Colloquium

Background: Current research on physician burnout is not only scarce when looking at rural communities, but it is further limited when evaluating its prevalence in physicians caring for the medically underserved. This study aims to determine the rate of physician burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify effective coping interventions in an underserved mixed rural–urban region along the Texas–Mexico border.

Methods: We conducted a regional study in a small sample of US physicians from various specialties using a structured questionnaire. Participants were contacted using listed work emails within the UTHealth Rio Grande Valley system over a five week period …

Let’S Eat Healthy: Piloting A Brief Interactive Nutrition Session For High School Students – Role Of A Physician, Michaela Q. Ramirez Iglesia, Chelsea Chang

Research Colloquium

Background: 26.2% of Hispanic American children are obese, while 19.7% of children in the United States are obese. We developed and delivered a 30-minute interactive nutrition session for high school students including a nutrition knowledge assessment in the predominantly Hispanic region of South Texas, the Rio Grande Valley.

Methods: We designed the curriculum to teach high school students about the health impacts of sugar-sweetened beverages, the importance of eating whole foods, and tools for making healthy choices. We presented “Let’s Eat Healthy” to 70 high school students as part of a day-long interprofessional conference by University of Texas Rio Grande …

Utilization Of Palliative Care Service In Patients With Liver Cirrhosis In An Underserved Area, 2015-2019, Ismael Polo Perez, Dailis S. Corria Cedeno, Hari Movva, Hari Das, Giri Movva

Research Colloquium

Palliative care is a service with a very wide vision and potent tool. Palliative care applies early in the course of terminal illness in conjunction with therapies intended to prolong life; it is not limited to end-of-life care. Patients with liver cirrhosis only have one healing treatment, a liver transplant, but the limitation in the number of organ donors and eligibility criteria reduces the number of transplants. The MELD-Na score provides validated mortality prognostic for the next 90 days in patients with liver cirrhosis. This study aimed to determine if palliative care services are underutilized and could be more evident …

Takatsubo Cardiomyopathy In A Hispanic Female With Covid-19 Infection., Percy M. Thomas, Jose Rivera, Josenny Rodriguez-Paez, Arup Ganguly

Research Colloquium

Background: Takatsubo (tako- octopus, tsubo- a pot) Cardiomyopathy (TTS) colloquially known as broken heart syndrome is a left or right (in 1/3^rd patients) ventricular motion abnormality that extends even beyond the coronary artery supply areas, with non-obstructive coronaries. Most commonly due to emotional or physical stressors and in some cases in hospitalized patients (2). The Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a total death toll of 1.1 million in the United States of America so far, with cardiovascular complications such as heart failure (7.7%) and ischemic heart disease (10.9%) being significant contributors(1). TTS prevalence in the general population is …