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The introduction of the hospitalist co-management model represents an opportunity to improve care by changing the system as it applies to a small group of patients. Eighty-six consecutive patients with multiple comorbidities were selectively enrolled in an academic medical center hospitalist-orthopedic surgery co-management patient care program. Patients were stratified by all patient refined diagnosis-related groups, severity of illness, and risk of mortality. Hospital length of stay, cost of care, in-hospital mortality, complications, and intensive care unit admissions were compared with a retrospectively constructed control group of 54 patients undergoing similar surgery during the period immediately preceding initiation of the program. The University HealthSystem Consortium observed-to-expected ratio for hospital length of stay was 0.693 compared to 0.862 for the control group. The severity of illness and risk of mortality scores represented a relatively higher risk stratification in the study group. While the overall observed-to-expected cost of care remained virtually unchanged, the positive impact of the study model revealed an increased positive effect on the more severely affected severity of illness and risk of mortality patients. The results of this study suggest that a proactive, cooperative, co-management model for the perioperative management of high-risk patients undergoing complex surgery can improve the quality and efficiency metrics associated with the delivery of service to patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissemination of a medical education innovation, such as mastery learning, from a setting where it has been used successfully to a new and different medical education environment is not easy. This article describes the uneven yet successful dissemination of a simulation-based mastery learning (SBML) curriculum on central venous catheter (CVC) insertion for internal medicine and emergency medicine residents across medical education settings. The dissemination program was grounded in implementation science principles. The article begins by describing implementation science which addresses the mechanisms of medical education and health care delivery. The authors then present a mastery learning case study in two phases: (1) the development, implementation, and evaluation of the SBML CVC curriculum at a tertiary care academic medical center; and (2) the dissemination of the SBML CVC curriculum to an academic community hospital setting. Contextual information about the drivers and barriers that affected the SBML CVC curriculum dissemination is presented. This work demonstrates that dissemination of mastery learning curricula, like all other medical education innovations, will fail without active educational leadership, personal contacts, dedication, hard work, rigorous measurement, and attention to implementation science principles. The article concludes by presenting a set of lessons learned about disseminating an SBML CVC curriculum across different medical education settings.

Craniopharyngiomas are histologically and cytologically benign epithelial tumors of the central nervous system that may be locally aggressive and tend to recur after excision. Malignant change in craniopharyngiomas is extremely rare; we found only 4 such reports in the literature. In this report, we describe a case of squamous cell carcinoma arising in a previously benign craniopharyngioma in a 42-year-old woman. The patient was diagnosed with craniopharyngioma in 1982; during the subsequent 15 years she experienced 7 tumor recurrences, for which surgical resections and 3 courses of radiotherapy were performed. In 1998, the tumor recurred with involvement of the nasal cavity and sphenoid and ethmoid sinuses. Histologic evaluation revealed foci of typical adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma associated with a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. The transition of typical craniopharyngioma to squamous cell carcinoma was well demonstrated, suggesting that carcinoma arose from the underlying craniopharyngioma. Radiation may have been a contributing factor to carcinogenesis in this case.

Purpose: To describe a case of orbital Wegener granulomatosis without systemic disease., Method: Case report., Results: A 69-year-old patient with bilateral inflammatory lacrimal gland masses underwent multiple biopsies that showed a nonspecific lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate consistent with orbital pseudotumor. After unsuccessful treatment with systemic corticosteroids and radiation, severe orbital disease rapidly progressed and the patient underwent unilateral enucleation. The enucleated specimen showed multifocal vasculitis, tissue necrosis, and granulomas consistent with Wegener granulomatosis (WG). Elevated antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody titers supported the diagnosis of WG. The patient did not have any extraocular signs of WG and continues to be disease-free systemically., Conclusion: The authors believe this is the first report of bilateral lacrimal gland masses presenting as a localized form of WG in the total absence of systemic disease.

Glucagon-producing neuroendocrine tumors typically present with a characteristic constellation of symptoms including necrolytic migratory erythema, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, weight loss, anemia, glossitis, and an increased thrombotic tendency. Most glucagonomas are solid and arise in the body or tail of the pancreas. We report two cases of cystic glucagonoma, one found incidentally in an asymptomatic patient and one in a patient with weight loss and diabetes but no rash. In the first patient, distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy were curative, whereas the second patient continued to exhibit elevated serum glucagon levels and symptoms of glucose intolerance in the absence of demonstrable metastases. Cystic glucagonoma is a unique variant of classic glucagonoma and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cystic pancreatic neoplasms.

A 24-yr-old female presented with a giant gastric ulcer and anemia. She suffered from a transient infantile malabsorption syndrome with eosinophilia. The diagnosis of eosinophilic gastroenteritis associated with the gastric ulcer was made by endoscopic biopsy. Ulcer healing was refractory to medical therapy and partial gastrectomy was performed. Histologic examination revealed transmural eosinophilic infiltrates with mast cell infiltrates in the gastric wall. This case illustrates (1) an extremely rare presentation of eosinophilic gastroenteritis--giant, refractory, gastric ulcer; (2) a potential pathogenic role for mast cells in this syndrome; and (3) the chronic and relapsing nature of the syndrome.