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Although most patients reported good or excellent oral health, adolescents reported a poorer OHRQoL than younger patients.

The Open Payments database reports payments made to physicians by industry. Given the potential for financial conflicts of interest relating to patient outcomes, further scrutiny of these data is valuable. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze physician-industry relationships by specialty type, payment type, geospatial trend, and longitudinal trend between 2014–2018. We conducted an observational, retrospective data analysis of payments from the Open Payments database for licensed United States physicians listed in the National Plan & Provider Enumeration System (NPPES). Datasets from 2013–2018 were joined using the Python programming language. Aggregation and sub-setting by characteristics of interest was done in R to calculate means and frequencies of reported general physician payments from industry across different specialties, locations, timeframes, and payment types. Normalization was applied for numbers of physicians or payments. Geospatial statistical hot spot analysis was conducted in ArcGIS. 51.73 million payment records were analyzed. In total, 50,047,930 payments were issued to 771,113 allopathic or osteopathic physicians, representing $8,702,631,264 transferred from industry to physicians over the five-year period between 2014 and 2018. The mean payment amount was $179, with a standard deviation of $12,685. Variability in physicians’ financial relationships with industry were apparent across specialties, regions, time, and payment type. A limited match rate between records in the NPPES and Open Payments databases may have resulted in selection bias of trends related to physician characteristics. Further research is necessary, particularly in the context of changing industry payment trends and public perceptions of the appropriateness of these relationships.

To date, no case studies specifically describing a curved kyphoplasty needle becoming lodged in the vertebral body with the inability to be withdrawn have been reported. We describe a case involving a single level balloon kyphoplasty with a curved coaxial needle during which the cement delivery device could not be removed after cavity filling. In this case, a board-certified interventional pain management specialist was performing balloon kyphoplasty for an L2 osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. The tools utilized in this procedure included flexible curved instruments designed to traverse the vertebral body and achieve uniform cement distribution through a unipedicular approach. Cannulation and cavity formation were completed without issue. Upon conclusion of cement filling, the curved cement delivery device was unable to be removed. After several attempts to remove the needle and consultation with both the device company and local spine surgeons, it was agreed that the device should be cut at the level of entry into the pedicle and left as a retained foreign object. The involved area was surgically exposed, the retained instrument was cut flush to the pedicle, and the free portion was removed without further complication. The patient followed up in clinic several months later without evidence of neurologic complications. Considerations when using a curved kyphoplasty device and a method of resolution when faced with the inability to remove such an instrument are discussed.

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Achieving health equity in the United States requires improved diversity and inclusion within the ranks of medicine itself. Radiology remains one of the least diverse specialties in medicine, ranking 17th in female and 20th in underrepresented minority in medicine (UIM) representation among the 20 largest residency training programs in the United States in 2010 [1,2]. Moreover, the percentage of women in radiology residency has failed to improve in recent years, remaining stagnant at 26% over the 10 years from 2008 to 2018.Because mentorship has been identified as a critical factor influencing medical student career selection, the failure to address the needs of female, UIM, and international medical graduates (IMG) students represents a key recruitment barrier for our specialty [3,4]. Although there are many successful examples of local mentorship programs, many of these programs are limited by small numbers of female, UIM, or IMG mentors.The purpose of our study was to evaluate mentorship preferences among female, UIM, and IMG radiology-interested mentees. This was done by using a mentorship program that was primarily virtual, using electronic platforms for communication, eliminating geographic barriers to mentorship, and aggregating a diverse network of mentors and mentees from around the country.