Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Weighing The Risks And Benefits Of Radiation Exposure And Diagnostic X-Rays In Children, Leah Costello

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

The number of X-rays, specifically CT scans, performed on patients in the United States is increasing exponentially every year. Children are at most risk for long term damage from this increase in radiation exposure. This study explores how much risk children are being exposed to and how we can, as practitioners, make informed decisions about when or when not to order CT scans. The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners the information needed to help patients decide if the long-term risks of cancer from medical radiation outweigh the potential benefit of diagnostic or therapeutic radiation. The review of …

Continuous Subglottic Suctioning Of Intubated Patients In The Icu, Dan Deutsch

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common complication in mechanically ventilated patients. It causes substantial morbidity and mortality, as well as substantial cost to the patients and healthcare systems. One of the major risk factors identified for risk of VAP is the aspiration of secretions from the oropharynx. One intervention aimed at decreasing the incidence of secretion aspiration is an endotracheal tube (ETT) that can be hooked up to suction, providing continuous subglottic suctioning. The purpose of this paper was to explore the use of continuous subglottic suctioning and its effects on the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Review of literature …

Comparing Fecal Microbiota Transplant (Fmt) To Vancomycin: In Treatment Of Recurrent Clostridium Difficile Infections (Cdi), Christopher Seil

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

• Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the main cause of antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis.

• CDI has tripled over the last ten years due to the increased use of broad spectrum antibiotics. CDI has become increasingly difficult to manage with traditional therapies such as metronidazole and vancomycin due to mutations in the pathogen, resulting in resistant organisms.

• The purpose of this review was to determine if fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is more effective in treating and curing CDIs than traditional vancomycin therapy.

• The hypothesis was that FMT will have better treatment outcomes than traditional vancomycin therapy.

• The findings …

Lyme Disease Outcomes With Immediate, Short Duration Antibiotic Use Versus Delayed, Longer Duration Use, Lori A. Steinley

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

Lyme disease is the fastest growing vector-borne disease in the United States, according to the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). The guidelines for diagnosis provided by the IDSA include evidence of erythema migrans rash with validation of a positive two-tier serology testing. With no established treatment standards, decreased sensitivity of testing and inconsistency of observing the rash, practitioners following the guidelines may delay treatment of antibiotics. This delay could cause progression of severity of symptoms.

The purpose of this study is to compare implementation and duration time of antibiotics and establish the treatment protocol for best clinical outcomes for …

Celiac Disease: Advances In Diagnostic Testing?, Alicia A. Hanson

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

• Celiac disease (CD) is a gluten-sensitivity enteropathy that occurs in genetically susceptible individuals upon ingestion of gluten and resolves when gluten is withdrawn from one’s diet.

• Serological markers play a major role in the diagnosis of celiac disease, however a small intestinal biopsy is currently the gold standard in symptomatic individuals.

• The purpose of this study was to determine if serological testing alone is sufficient to confirm the diagnosis of CD and therefore eliminate the need for a biopsy.

• The review of literature explored studies that compared small intestinal biopsy with different serological testing in males …

Effectiveness Of Treatments For Low Back Pain, Angela K. Salveson

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

Low back pain with or without radiculopathy symptoms is increasingly becoming a common complaint for patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the most effective treatment for patients experiencing low back pain with or without radiculopathy symptoms with the goal of pain reduction/elimination and positive long term results. The review of literature explores studies that discuss treatment options of surgical intervention or conventional treatment such as physical therapy. This information supplies health care providers with the tools to educate patients on treatment options and possible outcomes in hopes to offer the best treatment for the individual. Results show …

Comparing The Long Term Use Of H2 Antagonists (H2ras) And Proton Pump Inhibitors (Ppis) And The Incidence Of Colitis, Reiner Kremer

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Posters

• Commonly used medications for GERD may affect the colonic mucosa

• H2 antagonists (H2RAs) ranitidine, cimetidine famotidine reduce acid secretion by 60 to 70%.

• Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) omeprazole, pantoprazole, lansoprazole, esomeprazole and rabeprazole reduce acid secretion by inhibiting the H+ (proton) secreting pump, reducing hydrochloric acid by 80 to 95%.

• Diarrhea is one of the most commonly reported adverse events.

• H2RAs and PPIs have the physiological and functional potential to interfere with gastrointestinal physiology by altering intestinal pH.

• Microcytic colitis causing chronic diarrhea and colonic inflammation is a significant complication risk after the > 4-8 …