SummaryBackground:Mycobacterium abscessus is a member of the Rapidly Growing Mycobacterium (RGM). The incidence of Mycobacterium abscessus infections has steadily been increasing over the last decade. We report the case of an epidural abscess caused by Mycobacterium abscessus. RGM’s have infrequently been reported as spinal infections and we found no prior cases reporting M. abscessus as the definitive etiologic agent of an epidural abscess.Case Report:A 50 year old female presented with significant back pain and was found to have an epidural abscess by magnetic resonance imaging. The abscess was drained via needle. Initial cultures were negative for bacterial pathogens, and the patient was discharged to a skilled nursing facility for empiric antibiotic treatment. Eventually the culture grew Mycobacterium abscessus. The patient had unfortunately left the nursing facility and was lost to follow up.Conclusions:Mycobacterium abscessus is an increasingly recognized pathogen with particular risk factors that physicians should be aware of. Central nervous system infections are rare, but do occur. Treatment is difficult, though multiple antibiotic regimens have been reported successful. Surgical debridement is often needed.
ProblemRequirements for experiential education in quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) in graduate medical education (GME) have recently expanded. Major challenges to meeting these requirements include a lack of faculty with the needed expertise, paucity of standardized curricular models allowing for skill demonstration, and inconsistent access to data for iterative improvement.
Background The ability of health professions faculty to design, teach, evaluate, and improve relevant curricula is vital for teaching improvement science (IS) skills to trainees. Objective We launched a Foundational Improvement Science Curriculum (FISC) to build faculty competence in IS teaching and scholarship, and to develop, expand, and standardize IS curricula across one institution. Methods FISC consisted of 9 full or half-day sessions over 10 months in 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 academic years. Each session required pre-work, including readings, Institute for Healthcare Improvement Open School modules, and personal improvement projects. Sessions included brief didactics, group activities, planning, and feedback on curriculum development. An evaluation strategy was employed, including pre- and post-program self-assessment, competency mapping, evaluations of didactics and overall program, and participant satisfaction. Results Forty individuals from 23 academic programs voluntarily completed FISC, representing 20% of graduate medical education (GME) programs and 50% of primary GME programs in addition to undergraduate medical education (UME) and nursing programs. Median self-assessed competency scores (mid versus final score; scale 1–9, 9 high; P < .05 for all comparisons) improved over the course for all competencies for knowledge (3 versus 7), application (2 versus 7), curriculum design (2 versus 7), and scholarship (2 versus 5). Eighteen new or revised IS curricula were developed across GME, UME, and nursing programs. Conclusions FISC offers a feasible model to enhance and support faculty development in IS and IS curriculum design.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.