Amy E. Morris

Bronchiectasis in Alaska Native children: Causes and clinical courses†

Although bronchiectasis has become a rare condition in U.S. children, it is still commonly diagnosed in Alaska Native children in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. The prevalence of bronchiectasis has not decreased in persons born during the 1980s as compared with those born in the 1940s. We reviewed case histories of 46 children with bronchiectasis.

Role of Toll-like receptor 5 in the innate immune response to acute P. aeruginosa pneumonia

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading cause of hospital-acquired pneumonia and an important pathogen in patients with chronic lung disease, such as cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis. The contribution of Toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) to the innate immune response to this organism is incompletely understood. We exposed wild-type and TLR5-deficient (Tlr5(-/-)) mice to aerosolized P. aeruginosa at low and high inocula and assessed bacterial clearance, lung inflammation, and cytokine production 4 and 24 h after infection. Bacterial clearance was impaired in Tlr5(-/-) mice after low-inoculum, but not high-inoculum, infection. Early bronchoalveolar accumulation of neutrophils was reduced in Tlr5(-/-) mice after low- and high-dose infection. Cytokine responses, including markedly impaired monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 production 4 h after low- and high-inoculum challenge, were selectively altered in Tlr5(-/-) mice. In contrast, there was no impairment of bacterial clearance, neutrophil recruitment, or monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 production in Tlr5(-/-) mice after infection with a nonflagellated isotypic strain of P. aeruginosa. Thus TLR5-mediated recognition of flagellin is involved in activating pulmonary defenses against P. aeruginosa and contributes to antibacterial resistance in a manner that is partially inoculum dependent. These data are the first to demonstrate a unique role for TLR5 in the innate immune response to P. aeruginosa lung infection.

A comparison of Google Glass and traditional video vantage points for bedside procedural skill assessment.

BACKGROUND This pilot study assessed the feasibility of using first person (1P) video recording with Google Glass (GG) to assess procedural skills, as compared with traditional third person (3P) video. We hypothesized that raters reviewing 1P videos would visualize more procedural steps with greater inter-rater reliability than 3P rating vantages. METHODS Seven subjects performed simulated internal jugular catheter insertions. Procedures were recorded by both Google Glass and an observers head-mounted camera. Videos were assessed by 3 expert raters using a task-specific checklist (CL) and both an additive- and summative-global rating scale (GRS). Mean scores were compared by t-tests. Inter-rater reliabilities were calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS The 1P vantage was associated with a significantly higher mean CL score than the 3P vantage (7.9 vs 6.9, P = .02). Mean GRS scores were not significantly different. Mean inter-rater reliabilities for the CL, additive-GRS, and summative-GRS were similar between vantages. CONCLUSIONS 1P vantage recordings may improve visualization of tasks for behaviorally anchored instruments (eg, CLs), whereas maintaining similar global ratings and inter-rater reliability when compared with conventional 3P vantage recordings.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound: Seeing the Future

Practitioners other than radiologists and certified sonographers are increasingly using ultrasound at the bedside to facilitate immediate patient management from both procedural and diagnostic standpoints. This editorial provides a brief overview of the use of point-of-care ultrasound in clinical practice, its potential to improve patient care, and some of the unanswered questions surrounding issues of training, scope of practice, and quality assurance.

Bronchiectasis in Alaska Native children: Causes and clinical coursesThis article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

Although bronchiectasis has become a rare condition in U.S. children, it is still commonly diagnosed in Alaska Native children in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. The prevalence of bronchiectasis has not decreased in persons born during the 1980s as compared with those born in the 1940s. We reviewed case histories of 46 children with bronchiectasis. We observed that recurrent pneumonia was the major preceding medical condition in 85% of patients. There was an association between the lobes affected by pneumonia and the lobes affected by bronchiectasis. Eight (17%) patients had surgical resection of involved lobes. We conclude that the continued high prevalence of bronchiectasis appears to be related to extremely high rates of infant and childhood pneumonia. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2000;29:182-187. Published 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

CHEST: Home of the Clinician-Educator

Many hands can build a house; it takes trust to make that house a home. Trust has two main components: credibility (worthiness based on preparation and past performance) and empathy (the ability to understand and share another persons values). CHEST has maintained its credibility and empathy as the global leader in clinical pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medical education. It follows that the leader in chest clinical education would also be the home of the clinician-educator. You are that educator.

How to Teach Procedures

In this chapter, we describe a modifiable six-step approach for teaching both simple and complex procedural skills, while providing detailed recommendations for ensuring patient safety and creating a meaningful learning environment. We discuss how to approach different learner styles, provide practical teaching techniques for bedside teaching, and give performance-enhancing feedback.

Bedside Ultrasound for Assessing Patients in Shock

Patients in shock require rapid assessment and intervention, often before laboratory studies have returned or complete radiographic studies can be obtained. In such situations, clinician-performed diagnostic ultrasound provides a useful adjunct to the traditional clinical tools of history and physical examination. This review describes multiple easily acquired ultrasound examinations to be performed at the bedside by the primary clinician to provide new windows into the underlying etiology of a shock state.