Internal Medicine Commons^™

Prevalence Of Tp-53/Rb-1 Co-Mutation In Large Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma, Hoda Saghaeiannejad Esfahani, Cory M. Vela, Aman Chauhan

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Introduction: Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) is a rare and highly aggressive high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasm, which can arise from anywhere in the body. Due to its rarity there is a lacuna in our understanding of LCNEC’s molecular biology. In 2016, Rekhtman and colleagues presented one of the largest molecular sequencing series of pulmonary LCNEC. They differentiated genomic profiles of LCNEC into two major subsets: small cell lung cancer (SCLC)-like, characterized by TP53 + RB1 co-mutation/loss, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)-like, characterized by the lack of co-altered TP53 + RB1. This finding is of significance because at present ...

Luspatercept Diminishes The Need For Red Blood Cell Replacement In Transfusion-Dependent Β-Thalassemia Patients, Joudeh B. Freij

Clinical Research in Practice: The Journal of Team Hippocrates

A clinical decision report appraising:

Cappellini MD, Viprakasit V, Taher AT, et al. A phase 3 trial of luspatercept in patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(13):1219-1231. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1910182

for a patient with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.

Acuity Level Of Care As A Predictor Of Case Fatality And Prolonged Hospital Stay In Patients With Covid-19: A Hospital-Based Observational Follow-Up Study From Pakistan, Aysha Almas, Zain Mushtaq, Jette Moller

Section of Internal Medicine

Objectives: To determine if there is an association between acuity level of care (ALC), case fatality and length of stay in patients admitted to hospital due to COVID-19.
Design: A hospital-based observational follow-up study.
Setting: Internal Medicine Service of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan, from 26 February 2020 to 30 June 2020.
Participants: Adult patients with confirmed COVID-19, aged ≥18 years.
Methods: ALC was categorised into low, intermediate and high level and patients were triaged using the standard emergency severity illness score. All patients were followed until the end of hospital admission for the outcome of case fatality and ...

Preventing Iatrogenic Pneumothorax “Just-In-Time”, Jason Ho, Md, Ammar Saati, Md, Ryan Commins, Md, Justin Henneman, Md, Frances Mae West, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

• In 2020 a high incidence of iatrogenic pneumothorax was noticed at TJUH after internal jugular central line insertion - Accepted rate is 0.1%
• With long periods of time between ICU rotations, residents suffer from significant procedural skill decay
• The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it an increase in the number of central lines placed
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a lack of large group training opportunities due to social distancing constraints

By December 31st 2021, our intervention will improve rates of iatrogenic pneumothorax after US-guided internal jugular central line insertion by 50% of baseline, as measured by chart review ...

Improving Rates Of Nephrology Referral For Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease In Resident Clinic, Akanksha Arya, Md, Rabia Iqbal, Md, Rahed Mohammed, Md, Neveda Murugesan, Md, Jillian Zavodnick, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

• According to the KDIGO (Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes), evaluation by a nephrologist is recommended for patients with CKD stage 4 or higher (corresponding to a GFR of 30 or lower).
• Studies have shown that patients who are not referred to a nephrologist or referred later suffer from increased complications of renal disease, accelerated progression to ESRD, and have an increased overall mortality rate.
• At Jefferson Hospital Ambulatory Practice (JHAP), we noted decreased rates of nephrology follow-up in our patients with chronic kidney disease stage 4 and 5.
• We identified that the most prevalent reason for the decreased referral rates ...

Improving Colon Cancer Screening Rates In An Ambulatory Resident Clinic, Ashima Oza, Md, Tina Boortalary, Md, Elizabeth Chin, Md, Tudor Sturzoiu, Md, John Wallis, Md, Sonia Bharel, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

In the US, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. According to the 2018 CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, 68.8% of US adults between 50 and 75 were up to date on colorectal screening (CRCS) across all screening modalities. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, screening has dropped even further and is still 50% below pre-pandemic levels. At Jefferson, our CRCS rate is below the national average at 55.4%. Given the importance of regular screening for CRC prevention, this is clearly inadequate. There are several barriers to completing an invasive screening modality ...

The “Ok” Guideline: Implementing An Electronic Electrolyte Repletion Guideline For Improving Rates Of Oral Potassium And Magnesium Delivery, Joshua M. Riley, Jeffrey M. Riggio, Md, Alan A. Kubey, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

Nearly 500,000 doses of potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) are given at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) each year. More than 80% of these doses are given intravenously.

Guidelines that encourage both intravenous and oral (PO) repletion options increase rates of PO dosing and more successfully attain goal levels than standard care.

Our goal was to increase the percent of K and Mg doses delivered by oral route to >50% of total doses distributed at TJUH within one year of implementation of an Epic-based electronic order set.

Improving Advanced Care Planning Discussion And Documentation, Justin Robbins, Md, Bharaniabirami Rajaram, Md, Patrick Kukulich, Md, Danielle Verghese, Md, Dianna Cheney-Peters, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

Our goal is to improve ACP discussion and documentation in patients above the age of 65 in our Jefferson Hospital Ambulatory Practice (JHAP) resident clinic. By instituting procedural changes within the EMR and the clinic, as well as improving provider education, we hope that residents can carry out a comprehensive and streamlined discussion regarding advanced care planning. We will institute these changes over the next 3 months, and we predict that there will be an increase in ACP discussion and uploading of appropriate documentation to 50% and 25%, respectively.

Improving Time To Defibrillation At Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Sairamya Bodempudi, Md, Lisa Wus, Dnp, Rn, Crnp, Pccn-Cmc, Juergen Kloo, Md, Patrick Zeniecki, Ma, Frances Mae West, Md, Yair Lev, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2020-)

Aims for Improvement

• Increase in timely defibrillation by 30% over 1 year
• Decrease in the amount of Vfib/VTach cardiac arrests that are not defibrillated to <1% within a 1 year time frame

Sepsis In Two Hospitals In Rwanda: A Retrospective Cohort Study Of Presentation, Management, Outcomes, And Predictors Of Mortality., Dennis A Hopkinson, Jean Paul Mvukiyehe, Sudha P Jayaraman, Aamer A Syed, Myles Dworkin, Willy Mucyo, Thierry Cyuzuzo, Anne Tuyizere, Christian Mukwesi, Gaston Nyirigira, Paulin R Banguti, Elisabeth D Riviello

Student Papers & Posters

PURPOSE: Few studies have assessed the presentation, management, and outcomes of sepsis in low-income countries (LICs). We sought to characterize these aspects of sepsis and to assess mortality predictors in sepsis in two referral hospitals in Rwanda.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study in two public academic referral hospitals in Rwanda. Data was abstracted from paper medical records of adult patients who met our criteria for sepsis.

RESULTS: Of the 181 subjects who met eligibility criteria, 111 (61.3%) met our criteria for sepsis without shock and 70 (38.7%) met our criteria for septic shock. Thirty-five ...

Get America Talking: Implementing Advanced Care Planning In Primary Care, Sasha Recht

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Advanced Care Planning (ACP) is an essential part of providing adequate care in the primary care setting. Discussing end of life with patients can be a tedious and uncomfortable conversation for many providers, however, its continued avoidance contributes to the stigma of end of life care and may also result in significant healthcare cost expenditure with the use of unwanted invasive treatments. All providers should engage in consistent advanced care planning in order to improve patient and provider communication, improve patient satisfaction, increase advanced directives on file, reduce the stigma of the topic, and improve quality of life.

Anal Cancer Screening At Truman Health Services, Peter D. Tran, Harshdeep Babbar

Quality Improvement/Patient Safety Symposium

Anal Papanicoloau Screening at Truman Clinic

Anal cancer is a squamous cell cancer associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), the same virus that is associated with cervical cancer. Although vaccination against HPV has been shown to be effective in reducing overall rates of infection, the number of new anal cancer cases has been rising for many years. In HIV-infected men and women, the incidence is even higher of anal cancer than in the general population. Current rates in an HIV-infected MSM population have been estimated to be as high as 70-144 per 100,000, with some studies of HIV-infected individuals showing ...

A Metabolomic Endotype Of Bioenergetic Dysfunction Predicts Mortality In Critically Ill Patients With Acute Respiratory Failure, Raymond J. Langley, Marie E. Migaud, Lori Flores, J. Will Thompson, Elizabeth A. Kean, Murphy M. Mostellar, Matthew Mowry, Patrick Luckett, Lina D. Purcell, James Lovato, Sheetal Gandotra, Ryan Benton, D. Clark Files, Kevin S. Harrod, Mark N. Gillespie, Peter E. Morris

Internal Medicine Faculty Publications

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) requiring mechanical ventilation, a complicating factor in sepsis and other disorders, is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Despite its severity and prevalence, treatment options are limited. In light of accumulating evidence that mitochondrial abnormalities are common in ARF, here we applied broad spectrum quantitative and semiquantitative metabolomic analyses of serum from ARF patients to detect bioenergetic dysfunction and determine its association with survival. Plasma samples from surviving and non-surviving patients (N = 15/group) were taken at day 1 and day 3 after admission to the medical intensive care unit and, in survivors, at hospital discharge ...

Cardiovascular Complications Of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Impact Of Risk Factors And Therapeutic Efficacy--A Tertiary Centre Experience In An Appalachian State, Elise Danielle Mcveigh, Amna Batool, Arnold J. Stromberg, Ahmed K. Abdel-Latif, Nayef Mohammed Kazzaz

Statistics Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular complications became a notable cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with lupus as therapeutic advancements became more efficient at managing other complications. The Appalachian community in Kentucky has a higher prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, predisposing them to cardiovascular events. Namely, the mean body mass index of the members of the Kentucky Appalachian community was reported at 33 kg/m² and 94.3% of male members of this community use tobacco. We sought to identify risk factors that predispose patients with lupus to cardiovascular morbidities and examine the effect of immunomodulatory drugs.

METHODS: We identified ...

Predictors Of Iron Consumption For At Least 90 Days During Pregnancy: Findings From National Demographic Health Survey, Pakistan (2017-2018), Sumera Aziz Ali, Savera Aziz Ali, Shama Razzaq, Nayab Khowaja, Sarah Gutkind, Fazal Ur Rehman, Nadir Suhail

Section of Internal Medicine

Background: Iron supplementation is considered an imperative strategy for anemia prevention and control during pregnancy in Pakistan. Although there is some evidence on the predictors of iron deficiency anemia among Pakistani women, there is a very limited understanding of factors associated with iron consumption among Pakistani pregnant women. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the predictors of iron consumption for at least ≥90 days during pregnancy in Pakistan.
Methods: We analyzed dataset from the nationally representative Pakistan Demographic Health Survey 2017-2018. The primary outcome of the current study was the consumption of iron supplementation for ≥90 days during the pregnancy ...

Esophageal Necrosis As An Unexpected Complication Of Diabetic Ketoacidosis, Hayden Smith, Tricia James

Providence Portland Medical Center Internal Medicine 2021

No abstract provided.

Navigating Uncertainty In A Critically Ill Patient, Brandon Tempte, Amy Dechet

Providence Portland Medical Center Internal Medicine 2021

Introduction Aspergillus spores are routinely inhaled.Innate immune defenses prevent fungal growth and disease in immunocompetent individuals.However, immunocompromised patients are at risk of developing invasive aspergillosis. Diagnosis of invasive aspergillus is often difficult as biopsy is not always feasible and relies on the interpretation of non-invasive testing. Early recognition and initiation of therapy is paramount as the mortality rate is high.

Case Presentation Patient is a 59 year oldfemale with a history of alcohol abuse admitted with acute encephalopathy and new onset seizure. History: -Initially presented 3 weeks earlier for jaundice, found to have acute alcoholic hepatitis, started and ...

A Case Of Vaccine-Preventable Back Pain, Gerald Hutfles, Tricia James

Providence Portland Medical Center Internal Medicine 2021

The Case 55-year-old male with minimal medical history who presented multiple times over 9 months with progressive and severe gluteal & back pain, ultimately found to be from anal cancer.

HPV - The Bad, Insidious Bug

What is it? •Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a double-stranded DNA virus of the Papillomaviridaefamily. Its lifecycle is tied to epithelial tissue. Why do we care? •HPV is associated with warts (including condyloma acuminatum) and cancer •Approximately 45,000 HPV-associated cancers occur in the US each year •7,083 -anal cancer •12,143 -cervical cancer •19,975 -oropharyngeal cancer What About Anal Cancer? •Affects ~1.6/100 ...

Double The Battle: Two Cases Of Irreversible Endocrinopathies In Patients Already Fighting Metastatic Cancer., Olesya Petrenko, Nicholas L Stucky

Providence Portland Medical Center Internal Medicine 2021

INTRODUCTION: Emergence of cancer immunotherapy has instigated a new era in field of oncology and revolutionized treatment of cancer. In 2011, Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICI) gained approval for treatment of advanced solid and hematological malignancies and have had remarkable results. Since being released, new cases of irreversible endocrine adverse events are increasingly becoming reported and leave patients with a new life-long diagnosis after battling metastatic cancer.

Discussion • 6 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs) approved: •CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4) inhibitor Ipilimumab •PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) inhibitors nivolumab, pembrolizumab •PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1) inhibitors atezolizumab, avelumab, durvalumab •T-cell ...

The Peculiar Case Of Purulent Pericarditis, Laura Bennetts, Meera Jain

Providence Portland Medical Center Internal Medicine 2021

Introduction

Purulent pericarditis is a localized purulent infection in the pericardial space •Before the era of antibiotics, purulent pericarditis was related to complications of pneumococcal pneumonia. Now more frequently associated with thoracic surgeries, immunocompromised hosts and nosocomial blood infections.1 •This case is an unusual presentation of acute methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) purulent pericarditis with a course complicated by cardiac tamponade, opiate withdrawal, and a right ventricle (RV) laceration.

Case Presentation

History of Present Illness •Patient is a 30-year-old M active intravenous drug use (IDU) with a recent history of MRSA bacteremia, endocarditis, parasternal abscess s/p I&D, and ...