Advocate Christ Medical Center (ACMC) is a 788-bed teaching hospital located in Oak Lawn, Illinois a suburb of Chicago Founded in 1960, Advocate Christ Medical Center is a part of Advocate Aurora Health. In the most recent year with available data, the hospital had 40,517 admissions, 3,738 deliveries, 102,279 ED visits, 334,958 outpatient visits, and 24,745 surgeries. The emergency room includes a level 1 trauma center. The hospital operates a primary stroke center and a pulmonary rehabilitation center. ACMC operates a number of residency training and fellowship programs for newly graduated physicians, pharmacists and podiatrists. Each year, more than 400 residents, 600 medical students, and 800 nursing students train at the hospital. In 2016, ACMC opened a new eight story patient tower.
This survey study characterizes gender-based disparities in perceived treatment and reported experiences among surgical trainees in Africa.
Introduction: In 2024 the United States experienced a rare co-emergence of two periodical cicada broods (XIII and XIX), along with annual cicadas. Although not inherently dangerous, cicadas have been linked to allergic reactions and unintentional injuries. The public health impact of this extraordinary event is poorly understood. In this study we aimed to characterize emergency department (ED) and urgent care (UC) visits associated with the 2024 cicada emergence. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review across ED and UC sites in a large healthcare system in the Midwest and Southeast that coincides with the ranges of the periodical cicada broods, from April 1–July 31, 2024. Electronic health records were searched for “cicada” and common variants. Two emergency physicians in each region reviewed identified records. Data extracted included demographics, diagnoses, visit characteristics, diagnostics, treatments, and outcomes. Results: Of 1,304,743 total visits, 68 mentioned “cicada” or a variant; 42 were confirmed as cicada related. Patient ages ranged from 7 weeks to 87 years of age (median 38 years). Trauma was the most common cicada-related presentation (33), followed by falls (21), blunt trauma (6), vehicular/bicycle accidents (3), and other mechanisms. Additional cases involved allergic reactions (3), environmental exposure (2), and neurologic symptoms (2). Imaging was common: 57% had radiographs and 43% computed tomography. Seven patients sustained fractures; one required laceration repair, and six were admitted. Conclusion: While the overall health system impact was limited, cicada-related visits revealed important patterns of injury. Findings support the need for public education and preparedness during future mass insect events.
Anthracyclines remain central to the treatment of many malignancies, yet their use is limited by the risk of anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy (AIC), a complication associated with substantial long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The occurrence of cardiotoxicity during cancer treatment may adversely affect both treatment success rates and patient survival, especially when dose reduction or premature discontinuation of anthracycline therapy is necessitated, leading to treatment discontinuity, reduced therapeutic efficacy, and overall reduced quality of life. While anthracyclines improve cancer outcomes, the resulting cardiac damage may lead to heart failure, disability, repeated hospitalizations, and premature death, with the long-term cardiovascular complications often becoming a greater determinant of survival than the original cancer itself. Growing understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying anthracycline cardiotoxicity has improved the recognition of patients at increased risk and clarified the progressive nature of this condition, which typically evolves from subclinical myocardial injury to left ventricular dysfunction and, if unrecognized, overt heart failure. Risk stratification has traditionally relied on cardiac imaging and circulating biomarkers. Although some current surveillance methods for cardiotoxicity monitoring detect myocardial damage at subclinical and partially or fully reversible stages, many traditional methods are relatively late markers and detect myocardial damage usually after it reaches a stage where treatment becomes unable to reverse the damage. The limitations of left ventricular ejection fraction as a sole monitoring parameter have prompted increasing use of more sensitive imaging markers and biochemical indicators of early myocardial injury. This review conducts a medical evaluation of AIC to study triggers, patient manifestations, and risk factors that develop during treatment. It evaluates present diagnostic methods, including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and cardiac biomarkers, and investigates new methods that enable healthcare practitioners to detect diseases at their initial stages through artificial intelligence (AI)-based analytical tools, wearable technologies, and remote patient monitoring systems. Finally, we consider future directions aimed at earlier identification and personalized prevention of anthracycline-related cardiac dysfunction.
