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Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a safe and accurate diagnostic procedure used for investigating mediastinal pathologies. It is usually performed using an oral approach. The nasal route has been proposed but not extensively investigated. With the aim to report the use of linear EBUS through the nasal route and compare its accuracy and safety with the oral one, we conducted a retrospective analysis of the subjects who underwent an EBUS-TBNA procedure at our center. From January 2020 to December 2021, 464 subjects underwent an EBUS-TBNA, and in 417 patients, EBUS was performed through the nose or mouth. Nasal insertion of the EBUS bronchoscope was performed in 58.5% of the patients. No difference between the two insertion routes was observed in terms of location or number of stations sampled per subject. Procedure complications were mild and similar between the two groups (10.2% for the nasal group vs. 9.8% for the oral group). Minor epistaxis occurred in five subjects in the nasal group. Comparing the two groups, the rates of adequate specimens were similar (95.1% vs. 94.8%), as were the proportions of diagnostic specimens (84% vs. 82%). In conclusion, the nasal route for EBUS-TBNA is a valid alternative to the oral one.

The lung is a frequent site of secondary malignancies. Melanoma is a malignant tumor originating from melanocytes, that accounts for the majority of death related to skin cancers. In advanced stages, it can also present with intrathoracic metastasis, particularly in the lungs, but infrequent intrathoracic manifestations are possible. A retrospective analysis of the cases referred to the pulmonary endoscopy unit of the hospital of Reggio Emilia in the last 10 years (since December 2012) was carried out, discovering 17 cases of melanoma metastasis with thoracic localizations, either with or without a diagnosis of primary melanoma. Four repetitive patterns of clinical-radiological presentation have been identified and described through the same number of paradigmatic clinical cases: nodal involvement (35%), lung mass(es) (41%), diffuse pulmonary involvement (12%), and pleural involvement (12%). These different presentations imply the use of different diagnostic techniques, with an overall high diagnostic yield (87.5%). Finally, a brief analysis of survival based on the pattern of presentation has been performed, finding no statistically significant differences between the four groups at metastasis diagnosis ( p -value = 0.06, median survival of respectively 54, 8, 9, and 26 months from metastasis diagnosis), while there is a significant difference considering patients with lung involvement versus nodal/pleural involvement ( p = 0.01).

People with mental illnesses (MI) receive suboptimal care for medical comorbidities and their high risk for readmission may be addressed by adequate medication management and follow-up care. We examined the association between MI, medication changes, and post-discharge outpatient visits with 30-day readmission in 40,048 Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure or pneumonia. Beneficiaries with MI were more likely to be readmitted than those without MI (14 vs. 11%). Probability of readmission was 13 and 12% when medications were dropped or added, respectively, versus 11% when no change was made. Probability of readmission also increased with outpatient visits.

Objectives: 1. A quality performance improvement (QI) project to implement an electronic screening and monitoring tool to record components of the metabolic syndrome (e-MSD) during clinic visits by persons with serious mental illness (SMI). 2. To encourage psychiatrists to use this tool in their documentation., Methods: Working with the information technology staff, five psychiatrists developed, tested, revised and embedded the e-MSD tool into the medication management document within the electronic health record. A continuing medical education program on metabolic syndrome was developed and released to psychiatrists and mental health clinicians. Psychiatrist offices at one clinic were equipped with weighing scales, sphygmomanometers, waist circumference tapes, and a QI project was initiated., Results: At one month, 9 to 12% of the anthropometric measures (height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure) were recorded in 974 unique patient encounters, and one year later the numbers moved upward from 15 to 41%. Toward the end of Year 1, a Patient Care Associate was hired to measure the anthropometric measures and, one year later, the documented rates increased to 75-80%. Laboratory recordings (glucose and lipids) remained ≤8% throughout the first year, but moved upward to 25% in Year 2., Discussion: Notwithstanding significant administrative and technical support for this QI project, changing clinician practice to screen, monitor and document metabolic indices in persons with SMI in the ambulatory setting changed significantly after the hiring of a Patient Care Associate. Efforts to obtain laboratory measures in real time remain a challenge. Next steps include interventions to promote weight loss and smoking cessation in SMI patients, and effective communication with their primary care doctors.

Objectives: Psychiatric education for non-psychiatric residents varies between training programs, and may affect resident comfort with psychiatric topics. This study's goals were to identify non-psychiatric residents' comfort with psychiatric topics and to test the effectiveness of a video intervention., Methods: Residents in various departments were given a survey. They were asked to rank their comfort level with multiple psychiatric topics, answer questions about medical decision making capacity (MDMC), watch a 15-min video about MDMC, and answer a post-test section., Results: In total, 91 Internal Medicine, General Surgery, and Obstetrics and Gynecology residents responded to the study. Of the 91 residents, 55 completed the pre- and post-test assessments. There was no significant difference in correct responses. Residents' comfort levels were assessed, and a significant improvement in comfort level with MDMC was found., Conclusions: This study highlights potential opportunities for psychiatric education, and suggests brief video interventions can increase resident physicians' comfort with a psychiatric topic.

Objectives1. A quality performance improvement (QI) project to implement an electronic screening and monitoring tool to record components of the metabolic syndrome (e-MSD) during clinic visits by persons with serious mental illness (SMI). 2. To encourage psychiatrists to use this tool in their documentation.MethodsWorking with the information technology staff; five psychiatrists developed, tested, revised and embedded the e-MSD tool into the medication management document within the electronic health record. A continuing medical education program on metabolic syndrome was developed, and released to psychiatrists and mental health clinicians. Psychiatrist offices at one clinic were equipped with weighing scales, sphygmomanometers, waist circumference tapes and a QI project was initiated.ResultsAt one month, 9 to 12% of the anthropometric measures (height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure) were recorded in 974 unique patient encounters, and 1 year later the numbers moved upwards - 15 to 41%. Towards the end of Year 1, a patient care associate was hired to measure the anthropometric measures, and one year later, the documented rates increased to 75-80%. Laboratory recordings (glucose and lipids) remained ≤ 8% throughout the first year, but moved upwards to 25% in Year 2.DiscussionNotwithstanding significant administrative and technical support for this QI project, changing clinician practice to screen, monitor and document metabolic indices in persons with SMI in the ambulatory setting changed significantly after the hiring of a patient care associate. Efforts to obtain laboratory measures in real-time remain a challenge. Next steps include interventions to promote weight loss and smoking cessation in SMI patients, and effective communication with their primary care doctors.

Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is linked to significant morbidity and mortality. OSA has received more attention recently, but the literature on OSA is scant in patients with severe mental illness (SMI). This project was undertaken to improve clinician knowledge and screening of OSA in persons with SMI., Method: One hundred SMI patients attending a primary care clinic were screened for symptoms and risk factors associated with OSA. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale was used to assess daytime sleepiness, and the STOP-Bang score was used to classify those at high risk for OSA., Results: Sixty-nine percent of patients were found to be at high risk for OSA. Sixteen percent had a previously confirmed diagnosis of OSA. Most patients reported that OSA was never discussed with them, and 71% of those at high risk were willing to be referred for a sleep evaluation., Conclusions: Patients with SMI are at high risk for OSA, and screening for OSA appears to be inadequate. This screening can be done easily, seems acceptable to patients and may prove very beneficial as OSA diagnosis and treatment can improve mental and physical health outcomes in SMI patients., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: Interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy for mood disorders. The goal of this quality improvement initiative was to demonstrate feasibility of implementing IPSRT across the continuum of outpatient and inpatient care within an academic medical center., Methods: A multidisciplinary work group was convened to implement IPSRT in outpatient (N=48), inpatient (N=602), and intensive outpatient (N=68) programs of an academic medical center. Quality improvement performance markers (including symptoms and group attendance rates) were collected., Results: Institutional preference for group treatments required adaptation of IPSRT from an individual to group psychotherapy format. Iterative problem solving and protocol development resulted in models of group IPSRT appropriate for each level of care. Performance outcome markers were favorable, indicating feasibility of implementation., Conclusions: At a single, multisite, urban, academic medical center, IPSRT proved a feasible evidence-based psychotherapy for implementation across levels of care in routine practice.

Depressed people perform poorly on cognitive tasks. It is unclear whether these deficits are due to decreased devotion of task-related resources or to increased attention to non-task-related information. In the present study, we examined the degree to which depressed and healthy adults displayed pupillary motility that varied at the frequency of presented stimuli on a cognitive task, which we interpreted as task-related processing, and at other frequencies, which we interpreted as reflecting intrinsic processing. Depressed participants made more consecutive errors than did controls. More pupillary motility at other frequencies was associated with poorer performance, whereas more pupillary motility at the frequency of presented stimuli was associated with better performance. Depressed participants had more pupillary motility at other frequencies, which partially mediated observed deficits in cognitive performance. These findings support the hypothesis that allocating cognitive resources to intrinsic processing contributes to observed cognitive deficits in depression.