Mayo Clinic proceedings
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Mayo Clinic proceedings · Mar 2021
Multicenter StudyOutcomes of COVID-19 With the Mayo Clinic Model of Care and Research.
To report the Mayo Clinic experience with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related to patient outcomes. ⋯ Mayo Clinic outcomes of patients with COVID-19 infection in the ICU, hospital, and community compare favorably with those reported nationally. This likely reflects the impact of interprofessional multidisciplinary team evaluation, effective leveraging of clinical trials and available treatments, deployment of remote monitoring tools, and maintenance of adequate operating capacity to not require surge adjustments. These best practices can help guide other health care systems with the continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Mayo Clinic proceedings · Mar 2021
ReviewEvidence-Based Strategies for Clinical Organizations to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy.
The success of vaccination programs is contingent upon irrefutable scientific safety data combined with high rates of public acceptance and population coverage. Vaccine hesitancy, characterized by lack of confidence in vaccination and/or complacency about vaccination that may lead to delay or refusal of vaccination despite the availability of services, threatens to undermine the success of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination programs. The rapid pace of vaccine development, misinformation in popular and social media, the polarized sociopolitical environment, and the inherent complexities of large-scale vaccination efforts may undermine vaccination confidence and increase complacency about COVID-19 vaccination. ⋯ Recent survey research evaluating public attitudes in the United States toward the COVID-19 vaccine reveals substantial vaccine hesitancy. Building upon efforts at the policy and community level to ensure population access to COVID-19 vaccination, a strong health care system response is critical to address vaccine hesitancy. Drawing on the evidence base in social, behavioral, communication, and implementation science, we review, summarize, and encourage use of interpersonal, individual-level, and organizational interventions within clinical organizations to address this critical gap and improve population adoption of COVID-19 vaccination.
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Mayo Clinic proceedings · Mar 2021
Review Practice GuidelineMy Treatment Approach to Multiple System Atrophy.
Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder primarily characterized by autonomic failure plus parkinsonism or cerebellar ataxia. The diagnosis may be challenging and is usually made at a tertiary care center. The long-term management issues are equally challenging and frequently require collaboration with the patient's local care providers. ⋯ Patients are often best served by management of their chronic and evolving complex problems with a team approach involving their primary care providers and subspecialists. Treatment guidelines typically list myriad therapeutic options without clarifying the most efficacious and simplest treatment strategies. Herein, we provide a guideline based on what has worked in our MSA clinic, a clinic designed to provide care throughout the disease course with subspecialty integration with the goal of empowering a partnership with the patient's home primary care providers.
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Mayo Clinic proceedings · Mar 2021
ReviewPhysician Distress and Burnout: The Neurobiological Perspective.
Physician burnout and other forms of occupational distress are a significant problem in modern medicine, especially during the coronavirus disease pandemic, yet few doctors are familiar with the neurobiology that contributes to these problems. Burnout has been linked to changes that reduce a physician's sense of control over their own practice, undermine connections with patients and colleagues, interfere with work-life integration, and result in uncontrolled stress. Brain research has revealed that uncontrollable stress, but not controllable stress, impairs the functioning of the prefrontal cortex, a recently evolved brain region that provides top-down regulation over thought, action, and emotion. ⋯ Reduced prefrontal cortex self-regulation may explain several challenges associated with burnout in physicians, including reduced motivation, unprofessional behavior, and suboptimal communication with patients. Understanding this neurobiology may help physicians have a more informed perspective to help relieve or prevent symptoms of burnout and may help administrative leaders to optimize the work environment to create more effective organizations. Efforts to restore a sense of control to physicians may be particularly helpful.
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Penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) is a rare cancer, with approximately 2000 new cases in the United States and 35,000 globally every year. Multiple risk factors are involved in PSCC, but most importantly, the high-risk human papillomavirus infection is thought to be present in approximately 50% of cases. Penile squamous cell carcinoma presents as localized or locally advanced disease. ⋯ These patients have dismal outcomes with salvage chemotherapy, highlighting the major unmet need to expand our knowledge of the disease's biology and develop clinical trials that use novel systemic agents. This narrative review synthesizes relevant publications retrieved from PubMed. Our aim is to discuss current approaches in the management of PSCC, summarize ongoing efforts to improve care, and identify future areas for enhancing our understanding of the disease.