Professional Societies Research Articles

Orthopaedic Research Consortiums: A Review of Scope, Sex and Racial Representation.

Introduction The creation of research groups and consortiums has become more common in all medical and surgical specialities.The purpose of this investigation was to assess and describe collaborative research groups and consortiums within orthopaedic surgery.In addition, we aimed to define the demographics of the research consortium members with particular attention to female and minority members. Methods Journals with a musculoskeletal/orthopaedic focus and a few medical journalswere selected to identify articles published by research groups and consortiums.Articles published from 2020 to 2022 were manually reviewed.Bibliographic information, author informationand level of evidence (LOE) were recorded.For identified consortium members, sex and race were defined in a binary manner. Results A total of 92 research consortiums were identified.A list of members was identified for 77 groups (83.7%), totalling 2,260 researchers. The remaining group members were not able to be identified due to the lack of information in the included publications,research group websites or after communicating with the corresponding author for respective articles.Most researchers were male (n=1,748, 77.3%) and white (n=1,694, 75%). Orthopaedic surgeons comprised 1,613 (71.4%) identified researchers. The most common fellowship training for orthopaedic surgeons was paediatrics (n=370, 16.4%), trauma (n=266, 11.8%)and sports medicine (n=229, 10.1%).The consortiums published 261 articles: women were lead (first) authors in 23% and senior (last) authors in 11.1%. Non-white researchers were lead authors in 24.5% (n=64) and senior authors in 17.2% (n=45). The most common level of evidence was level 3, accounting for 45.6% (n=119) of all publications. Level 1 evidence accounted for 12.6% (n=33) of published articles. Discussion Representation of women in orthopaedic research consortiums exceeds their representation in almost every orthopaedic professional society. There is less publicly available data to compare the involvement of under-represented minorities (URMs) in research consortiums to general practice. Further investigations should analyse possible avenues in which gender and racial disparity could be improved within orthopaedic surgery research.

Need for a Cardiogenic Shock Team Collaborative-Promoting a Team-Based Model of Care to Improve Outcomes and Identify Best Practices.

Cardiogenic shock continues to carry a high mortality rate despite contemporary care, with no breakthrough therapies shown to improve survival over the past few decades. It is a time-sensitive condition that commonly results in cardiovascular complications and multisystem organ failure, necessitating multidisciplinary expertise. Managing patients with cardiogenic shock remains challenging even in well-resourced settings, and an important subgroup of patients may require cardiac replacement therapy. As a result, the idea of leveraging the collective cognitive and procedural proficiencies of multiple providers in a collaborative, team-based approach to care (the "shock team") has been advocated by professional societies and implemented at select high-volume clinical centers. A slowly maturing evidence base has suggested that cardiogenic shock teams may improve patient outcomes. Although several registries exist that are beginning to inform care, particularly around therapeutic strategies of pharmacologic and mechanical circulatory support, none of these are currently focused on the shock team approach, multispecialty partnership, education, or process improvement. We propose the creation of a Cardiogenic Shock Team Collaborative-akin to the successful Pulmonary Embolism Response Team Consortium-with a goal to promote sharing of care protocols, education of stakeholders, and discovery of how process and performance may influence patient outcomes, quality, resource consumption, and costs of care.

Clinical Applications, Challenges, and Recommendations for Artificial Intelligence in Musculoskeletal and Soft-Tissue Ultrasound: AJR Expert Panel Narrative Review.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in clinical practice for musculoskeletal imaging tasks, such as disease diagnosis and image reconstruction. AI applications in musculoskeletal imaging have focused primarily on radiography, CT, and MRI. Although musculoskeletal ultrasound stands to benefit from AI in similar ways, such applications have been relatively underdeveloped. In comparison with other modalities, ultrasound has unique advantages and disadvantages that must be considered in AI algorithm development and clinical translation. Challenges in developing AI for musculoskeletal ultrasound involve both clinical aspects of image acquisition and practical limitations in image processing and annotation. Solutions from other radiology subspecialties (e.g., crowdsourced annotations coordinated by professional societies), along with use cases (most commonly rotator cuff tendon tears and palpable soft-tissue masses), can be applied to musculoskeletal ultrasound to help develop AI. To facilitate creation of high-quality imaging datasets for AI model development, technologists and radiologists should focus on increasing uniformity in musculoskeletal ultrasound performance and increasing annotations of images for specific anatomic regions. This Expert Panel Narrative Review summarizes available evidence regarding AI's potential utility in musculoskeletal ultrasound and challenges facing its development. Recommendations for future AI advancement and clinical translation in musculoskeletal ultrasound are discussed.

The Interplay Between Spectrometer Development and Professional Spectroscopic Societies.

The post-World War II availability of commercial spectrometers spurred the development of professional spectroscopic societies: The Infrared and Raman Discussion Group in the UK, the Coblentz Society, and the Society for Applied Spectroscopy in the USA. There was a desire to ensure that customers understood the instrumentation and techniques, became part of a community, and had access to the latest subject matter knowledge. With the advent of low-cost routine instruments, and portable instruments in the field, professional societies have a distinct role to play in education and training, especially as libraries deaccession (withdraw) even comparatively recent books on practical spectroscopy.

Building capacity for ATLS trauma education: role of nurse practitioners and physician assistants

ObjectivesAdvanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) focuses on care of injured patients in the first hour of resuscitation. Expanded demand for courses has led to a concurrent need for new instructors....

Attitudes toward the American Cancer Society's 2020 cervical cancer screening guidelines: A qualitative study of a national sample of US clinicians.

The 2020 American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines are the most recent national guidelines for cervical cancer screening. These guidelines propose two major changes from current practice: initiating screening at age 25 years and using primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing. Adoption of guidelines often occurs slowly, and therefore understanding clinician attitudes is important to facilitate practice change. Interviews with a national sample of clinicians who perform cervical cancer screening in a variety of settings explored attitudes toward the two major changes from the 2020 ACS cervical cancer screening guidelines. Clinicians participated in 30- to 60-min interviews exploring their attitudes toward various aspects of cervical cancer screening. Qualitative analysis was performed. Seventy clinicians participated from across the United States. Few respondents were initiating screening at age 25 years, and none were using primary HPV testing. However, over half would be willing to adopt these practices if supported by scientific evidence and recommended by professional medical organizations. Barriers to adoption included the lack of endorsement by professional societies, lack of laboratory availability and insurance coverage, limited autonomy within large health care systems, and concerns related to missed disease. Few clinicians have adopted screening initiation or primary HPV testing, as recommended by the 2020 ACS guidelines, but over half were open to adopting these changes. Implementation may be facilitated via professional organization endorsement, clinician education, and laboratory, health care system, and insurance support. In 2020, the American Cancer Society (ACS) released updated guidelines for cervical cancer screening. The main changes to current practices were to initiate screening at age 25 years instead of age 21 years and to screen using primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing rather than cytology alone or in combination with HPV testing. We performed in-depth interviews with 70 obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, and internal medicine physicians and advanced practice providers about their attitudes toward these guidelines. Few clinicians are following the 2020 ACS guidelines, but over half were open to changing practice if the changes were supported by evidence and recommended by professional medicalorganizations. Barriers to adoption included the lack of endorsement by professional medical organizations, logistical issues, and concerns about missed disease.

Radiology advocacy: Promoting collaboration between trainees and professional societies

From mammographic screening guidelines to resident work hour regulations, public policy affects every aspect of the practice of radiology and ultimately determines how radiological care is delivered to patients. Shaping public policy through advocacy is therefore critical to ensure patient access to equitable, high-quality radiological care. In advocacy, individual practicing radiologists and radiology trainees can increase the scope of their influence by collaborating with professional radiology societies. When radiology trainees participate in organized radiology advocacy, they learn about regulatory and legislative issues that will affect their careers, and they learn how to effect policy change. Radiology societies in turn benefit from trainee involvement, as engaging trainees early in their careers leads to more robust future participation and leadership. To encourage trainee involvement, radiology societies can engage individual residency programs and medical student radiology interest groups, invest in trainee-focused events, and maximize the number of positions of responsibility open to trainees. To circumvent the barriers to participation that many trainees face, radiology societies can make meeting proceedings free and available through virtual mediums. Through active collaboration, trainees and professional societies can help assure a bright future for radiologists and patients in need of radiological care.

Six Country Vignettes: Strengthening Radiotherapy and Theranostics

BackgroundFor cancer patient populations worldwide, the synchronous scale-up of diagnostics and treatments yields meaningful gains in survival and quality of life. Among advanced cancer therapies, radiotherapy (RT) and theranostics are key to achieving practical, high-quality, and personalized precision medicine - targeting disease manifestations of individual patients and broad populations, alike. Aiming to learn from one another across different world regions, the six country vignettes presented here depict both challenges and victories in de novo establishment or improvement of RT and theranostics infrastructure. MethodsThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) convened global RT and theranostics experts from diverse world regions and contexts to identify relevant challenges and report progress in their own six countries: Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Jordan, Mongolia, and South Africa. These accounts are collated, compared, and contrasted herein. ResultsCommon challenges persist which could be more strategically assessed and addressed. A quantifiable discrepancy entails personnel. The estimated radiation oncologists (ROs), nuclear medicine physicians (NMPs), and medical physicists (MPs for RT and nuclear medicine) per million inhabitants in the six collective countries respectively range between 2.69–38.00 ROs, 1.00–26.00 NMPs, and 0.30–3.45 MPs (Table 1), reflecting country-to-country inequities which largely match World Bank country-income stratifications. ConclusionEstablished goals for RT and nuclear medicine advancement worldwide have proven elusive. The pace of progress could be hastened by enhanced approaches such as more sustainably phased implementation; better multinational networking to share lessons learned; routine quality and safety audits; as well as capacity building employing innovative, resource-sparing, cutting-edge technologic approaches.Bodies such as ministries of health, professional societies, and the IAEA shall serve critical roles in convening and coordinating more innovative RT and theranostics translational research, including expanding nuanced global database metrics to inform, reach, and potentiate milestones most meaningfully. Policy SummaryAligned with WHO 25×25 NCDs target; WHA70.12 and WHA76.5 resolutions.

Plastic Surgery or Facial Plastic Surgery: Can the Public Tell the Difference?

Background: Social media and online advertising are increasingly used by plastic surgeons (PSs) to educate patients and obtain referrals, but it remains unclear whether the general public can distinguish the difference in training and accreditation among medical professionals advertising online. Our study elucidates the public’s expectations regarding the distinction between plastic surgery and facial plastic surgery. Methods: A survey was distributed via MTurk, an Amazon surveying service, to collect information about demographics and assumptions that would be made solely based on the terminology “facial PS” (FPS) and “PS.” Participants were restricted to those residing in the United States. Results: A total of 253 responses were collected. Based on the term FPS, respondents on average moderately to strongly agreed that they would expect an FPS to have completed a plastic and reconstructive surgery residency program (mean = 1.81; scale from 1= strongly agree to 5= strongly disagree) and would feel moderately to strongly misled if they visited an FPS for a consultation and later learned that the provider did not complete a plastic and reconstructive surgery residency (mean = 3.62; scale from 1 = not misled at all to 5 = extremely misled). Conclusions: Despite increasing advocacy by professional societies and the member societies of the American Board of Medical Specialties, this study demonstrated that the lay public is unaware of factually different training and certification pathways given similarity in nomenclature. This study was notably not designed to draw conclusions or imply superiority of one specialty, certifying board, or training model over the other.

Los últimos avances en prostatectomía robótica: ¿cómo lo hacemos en Cataluña, España?

Introduction and objectiveRobotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) seems to improve functional outcomes, however there is not a consensus of a standard procedure. The aim of this study was to identify the RALP “state of art” in Catalonia, Spain. Material and methodsThis was a cross-sectional survey-based study conducted among urologists across Catalonia. The survey was distributed through online platforms and the professional urology society. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata software, v. 20. ResultsFifty-nine urologists completed the survey, revealing RALP as the most commonly used technique (79.7%). Most urologist (70%) create the pneumoperitoneum using a controlled incision with direct access and 78.3% use the AirSeal® technology. The intraperitoneal approach is performed in more than 90% of cases. Endopelvic fascia preservation is not routinely performed. A percentage of 34.5 of the survey not perform the dorsal vein complex suture. All preserves the bladder neck when oncologically safe. Nerve-vascular bundles bleeding control is performed using standard coagulation or suturing. Thirty-four percent performed posterior reconstruction. Only use hemostatic devices when evident bleeding and 70% does not routinely left a drainage. Multivariable analysis showed that center volume had a significant independent association with dorsal venous complex suturing (OR 0.073, 95% CI 0.07-0.826), nerve-vascular bundles suturing hemostasis (OR 11.67, 95% CI 1.07-127.60) and endopelvic fascia preservation (OR 13.64, 95% CI 1.087-201.27), but there was no correlation with time the bladder catheter or days hospitalized. ConclusionsThe study provides an overview of the state of RALP in Catalonia, Spain, showing significant variability and reflecting a commitment to advancing surgical technology and patient care.

Global Equity in Clinical Trials: An ASCO Policy Statement.

ASCO is a global professional society representing more than 50,000 physicians, other health care professionals, and advocates in over 100 countries specializing in cancer treatment, diagnosis, prevention, and advocacy. ASCO strives, through research, education, and promotion of the highest quality of patient care, to create a world where cancer is prevented or cured, and every survivor is healthy. In this pursuit, health equity remains the guiding institutional principle that applies to all its activities across the cancer care continuum. This ASCO policy statement emphasizes the urgent need for global equity in clinical trials, aiming to enhance access and representation in cancer research as it not only improves cancer outcomes but also upholds principles of fairness and justice in health care.

GLP-1 receptor agonists and atherosclerosis protection: the vascular endothelium takes center stage.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is a chronic condition that often copresents with type 2 diabetes and obesity. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are incretin mimetics endorsed by major professional societies for improving glycemic status and reducing atherosclerotic risk in people living with type 2 diabetes. Although the cardioprotective efficacy of GLP-1RAs and their relationship with traditional risk factors are well established, there is a paucity of publications that have summarized the potentially direct mechanisms through which GLP-1RAs mitigate atherosclerosis. This review aims to narrow this gap by providing comprehensive and in-depth mechanistic insight into the antiatherosclerotic properties of GLP-1RAs demonstrated across large outcome trials. Herein, we describe the landmark cardiovascular outcome trials that triggered widespread excitement around GLP-1RAs as a modern class of cardioprotective agents, followed by a summary of the origins of GLP-1RAs and their mechanisms of action. The effects of GLP-1RAs at each major pathophysiological milestone of atherosclerosis, as observed across clinical trials, animal models, and cell culture studies, are described in detail. Specifically, this review provides recent preclinical and clinical evidence that suggest GLP-1RAs preserve vessel health in part by preventing endothelial dysfunction, achieved primarily through the promotion of angiogenesis and inhibition of oxidative stress. These protective effects are in addition to the broad range of atherosclerotic processes GLP-1RAs target downstream of endothelial dysfunction, which include systemic inflammation, monocyte recruitment, proinflammatory macrophage and foam cell formation, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, and plaque development.

IDF23-0569 Role of medical professional societies in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic in Jordan

IDF23-0569 Role of medical professional societies in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic in Jordan

Nutritional care is a human right: incorporating principles into clinical practice

The landmark Vienna Declaration (VD), initiated by the international human rights working group (IHRWG) and endorsed by more than 75 professional societies acknowledged that nutritional care is a human right alongside the right to food and the right to health. In a series of position papers the IHRWG have elaborated on the commitments required for translating human rights and ethical principles into clinical practice.1-3 The ultimate objective of the VD is to ensure all patients have a right to be screened and diagnosed for disease related malnutrition (DRM) then to receive evidence based artificially administered nutrition and hydration (AANH) administered by an interdisciplinary team of experts to positively impact clinical outcomes and survival. Unfortunately, nutritional care in hospitals and post discharge is frequently below standard and is not part of the patient's holistic care.2 Reasons include; inadequate education of healthcare professionals (HCPs), lack of malnutrition awareness, no reimbursement for nutrition treatments, or absence of public health policy.2,4

Race and sex diversity in Canadian academic surgical societies.

It is vital for national professional surgical societies to embrace diversity, inclusion, and equity. This study examines race and sex diversity in two Canadian surgical societies. Websites of the Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons (CSCS) and the Canadian Association of General Surgeons (CAGS) and previous programs of their annual meetings were reviewed. Leadership positions, conference speakers, and award winners were categorized by race and sex. White males made up the largest category of Cardiac Surgery meeting speakers (73/142 [51%]), CAGS committee members (89/198 [45%]), CAGS past presidents (38/43 [88%]), and General Surgery meeting speakers (841/1472 [57%]). Of the 17 members that made up the CSCS board of directors and officers, 8 were White males (47%), 5 were BIPOC males (29%), 3 were White females (18%), and 1 was a BIPOC female (6%). Of the 42 members of the CAGS board of directors and advisory committee, 16 were White males (38%), 5 were BIPOC males (12%), 17 were White females (40%), and 4 were BIPOC females (10%). BIPOC individuals and females are underrepresented in both societies compared to White males. However, in CAGS, improvements in representation can be seen in recent years. It is important that both of these organizations continue to embrace diversity.

Verification of the analytical performance of the serum CA 125 assay on the Abbott Alinity ci®: Experience of the biochemistry laboratory of the Mohammed VI university hospital of Oujda

The aim of our work was to evaluate the analytical performance of CA 125 determination by a two-step immunoassay using microparticle chemiluminescence immunoassay (CMIA) technology, in accordance with the Scope A criteria of the guide of the verification/validation of medical biology methods. We evaluated the repeatability and the intermediate precision of the CA 125 assay.The results obtained are very satisfactory for the three levels (low, medium and high), both for intermediate fidelity, with coefficients of variation (CV) of 2.68%, 1.62% and 2.11% respectively, and for repeatability, with coefficients of variation of CV1 = 2.17%, CV2 = 2.04%, and CV3 = 1.38% respectively. The results obtained made it possible to verify the method's performance and compare it with the analytical objectives set in order to meet the regulatory and normative requirements set by the supplier and learned societies. The achieved results facilitated the verification of the method's performance and its comparison with the analytical objectives established, aligning with regulatory and normative requirements outlined by the supplier and relevant professional learned societies.

Restoration, Revitalization or Liquidation: Strategies of Attitude to Cultural Heritage

The article focuses on the main problems and socio-cultural and political challenges related to the attitude of the professional community, state bodies and society as a whole to cultural and artistic monuments. The issues of restoration/revitalization/reconstruction or elimination of cultural heritage were largely actualized as a result of the direct military invasion of the Russian invaders on the territory of Ukraine in order to destroy the country, Ukrainian self-identification and us as a separate, independent nation. The paper provides examples of complex discussion aspects in relation to artefacts of architecture and art of different political eras, different ideological orientation, practical significance, material value and the degree of destruction / preservation in the context of the transformation of society's attitude to them and the prospects for future post-war reconstruction.

Gynecomastia Surgery Patient Education: An Information Quality Assessment of YouTube Videos.

YouTube is a platform for many topics, including plastic surgery. Previous studies have shown poor educational value in YouTube videos of plastic surgery procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality and accuracy of YouTube videos concerning gynecomastia surgery (GS). The phrases "gynecomastia surgery" (GS) and "man boobs surgery" (MB) were queried on YouTube. The first 50 videos for each search term were examined. The videos were rated using our novel Gynecomastia Surgery Specific Score to measure gynecomastia-specific information, the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) to measure understandability and actionability, and the Global Quality Scale to measure general quality. The most common upload source was a board-certified plastic surgeon (35%), and content category was surgery techniques and consultations (51%). Average scores for the Global Quality Scale (x̄ = 2.25), Gynecomastia Surgery Specific Score (x̄ = 3.50), and PEMAT Actionability (x̄ = 44.8%) were low, whereas PEMAT Understandability (x̄ = 77.4%) was moderate to high. There was no difference in all scoring modalities between the GS and MB groups. Internationally uploaded MB videos tended to originate from Asian countries, whereas GS videos tended to originate from non-US Western countries. Patient uploaders had higher PEMAT Actionability scores than plastic surgeon uploaders. The quality and amount of gynecomastia-specific information in GS videos on YouTube are low and contain few practical, take-home points for patients. However, understandability is adequate. Plastic surgeons and professional societies should strive to create high-quality medical media on platforms such as YouTube.

Faith and facts: Exploring the intersection of religion and science among anatomy educators.

The intersection of religion and science often elicits polarizing views among scientists, though approximately half of American scientists identify as religious. Mounting evidence also supports the role of spirituality in comprehensive patient care. The purpose of this study was to explore the religiosity of faculty who teach in the anatomical sciences at U.S. colleges and universities. Surveys were administered to anatomists through two professional societies. Two-thirds (64.9%, 74/114) of respondents identified as religious, 26.3% (30/114) as atheist, and 8.8% (10/114) as agnostic. Most respondents (64.9%, 74/114) disagreed with the statement, "There is no place for religion and science to intersect." Approximately one in three respondents expressed concern that sharing/disclosing their religious beliefs would negatively affect the perceptions of colleagues (32.5%, 37/114) and students (28.9%, 33/114) toward them. Faculty at faith-based institutions were more open to disclosing their beliefs (p = 0.045), and highly religious individuals were more concerned (p = 0.001). Fewer than one-fifth of respondents 17.5% (20/114) personally experienced mistreatment or discrimination within academic settings due to their religious beliefs. Most respondents held politically liberal-leaning views (71.0%, 76/107). Highly religious individuals were more likely to be politically conservative (p < 0.001). Overall, this study demonstrates that the number of anatomists who identify as religious may be higher than that of other biological disciplines and that mistreatment due to religious views remains a challenge for some in the profession. Continued dialogue regarding the role of religion in professional identity expression may be an important step in mitigating religion-focused mistreatment and discrimination in academic settings.

Fracture sonography - Literature review and current recommendations.

Over the course of more than two years, an expert group of 9 professional societies has created the S2e guidelines for fracture sonography. This publication summarizes the key points regarding the individual indications. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from 2000 to March 2021 with evaluation of the literature lists. Randomized controlled clinical trials, observational clinical trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews were included. Guidelines, conferences, reviews, case reports, and expert opinions were excluded. Evidence was graded using the SIGN grading system 1999-2012, and the SIGN tables were then presented to the expert group. These were used to develop specific recommendations for the use of fracture sonography. All recommendations were discussed in detail and finally unanimously agreed upon. Of the 520 primary literature sources found, 182 sources (146 clinical studies and 36 meta-analyses and systematic reviews) were evaluated after screening and content assessment. 21 indications that allow reasonable application of fracture sonography were identified. Ultrasound is a sensible, easy-to-use diagnostic method that is feasible for a large number of indications.