Early exposure to surgical subspecialties is often limited in undergraduate medical education, particularly in ophthalmology. In response to this unmet need, three medical students at Aga Khan University established a student-led Ophthalmology Interest Group (OIG) in 2022. We present a descriptive program report of the group’s initiative. The group aimed to facilitate mentorship, early skills development, and career exploration through academic, clinical, and community activities. OIG adopted a three-tier leadership structure with faculty and alumni support while maintaining a student-driven approach. Between 2022 and 2024, the group expanded from 9 to 18 leadership positions, conducted 29 events, and recorded 311 cumulative attendances. Annual participation over these three years increased from 41 to 140 attendances, and the number of students pursuing ophthalmology away rotations increased from 1 to 6. Our experience suggests that a low direct-cost, student-led interest group can provide a practical framework for organizing early exposure opportunities and structured activities in ophthalmology. This model may be relevant to other institutions seeking to support student involvement in surgical subspecialties. This report describes the development, structure, activities, descriptive growth indicators, and lessons learned from the OIG.
This erratum corrects the surname and academic degree of the second author of “A Scoping Review on the Utility of Ultrasound to Visualize Bursae in Anatomical Dissection Courses”. “Adib Zendehdel, MD” should read “Adib Zendedel, PhD”. The author affiliation and authorship order are unchanged. This correction does not affect the scientific content, results, or conclusions of the original article. Original article DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2024.2406.
Background Prior work identified substance use disorder (SUD) as the only psychiatric comorbidity independently associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) readmission risk after heart failure (HF) hospitalization. This study aims to characterize the clinical profile of HF patients with co-occurring SUD; identify the CV diagnoses associated with the greatest risk of readmission; and compare short- and long-term readmission patterns. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the 2016-2022 Nationwide Readmissions Database and included adults hospitalized for HF with and without SUD. The primary outcomes were the CV diagnoses associated with the greatest risk of readmission at 30 days and 1 year. A secondary, substance-specific analysis stratifying SUD into individual substance categories was performed to assess their associations with myocardial infarction (MI) readmission. Results Among 31,886,859 HF hospitalizations, acute MI conferred the greatest SUD-associated risk of CV readmission at both 30 days (aHR 1.16) and 1 year (aHR 1.14). Cannabis (aHR 1.21 at 30 days; 1.22 at 1 year) and other stimulant use, including amphetamine or methamphetamine (aHR 1.26 at 30 days; 1.27 at 1 year) yielded the highest sustained MI readmission risk. Cocaine emerged as an additional risk factor at 1 year (aHR 1.17). p<.001 for all. Conclusion Acute MI is the most clinically consequential CV readmission diagnosis among HF patients with SUD. The excess risk is driven primarily by cannabis and stimulant use, with cocaine contributing longer-term risk. These findings highlight the need for integrated CV and addiction-focused care pathways to reduce preventable ischemic events in this high-risk population.
Background: Diabetes remains a major public health challenge in the United States, and structural food environments may contribute to geographic differences in diabetes burden. However, national county-level evidence comparing alternative Retail Food Environment Indices (RFEI) in relation to both diabetes prevalence and incidence remains limited. we examined the association between these counties in the United States. Methods: This ecological cross-sectional study used county-level data from the 2021 CDC Diabetes Surveillance System and the USDA Food Environment Atlas. A total of 2,951 U.S. counties with complete data were included. Primary exposures were the RFEI and expanded variants (RFEI1 and RFEI2), which quantify the relative balance of less healthy and healthier food outlet categories. Primary outcomes were age-adjusted diabetes prevalence and diabetes incidence. Pearson correlation coefficients and multivariable linear regression models assessed associations after adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and food-access covariates. Model diagnostics and sensitivity analyses were performed. Results: Higher RFEI values were weakly correlated with diabetes prevalence (r = 0.18) and incidence (r = 0.17). Similar positive correlations were observed for RFEI1 and RFEI2. In adjusted models, RFEI remained significantly associated with diabetes prevalence (β = 0.01, 95% CI 0.00-0.02, p = .004) and diabetes incidence (β = 0.07, 95% CI 0.04-0.09, p < .001). Although statistically significant, associations were modest. Conclusion: Poorer county-level retail food environments were statistically associated with higher diabetes prevalence and incidence. However, the effect sizes were small, and the findings should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating county-level associations rather than evidence of individual-level risk or causality.
Background: Tonsillitis is an acute inflammation of the tonsils, frequently observed in children and adolescents. It presents with symptoms such as sore throat, fever, cervical lymphadenopathy, and tonsillar exudates, caused by viral pathogens (e.g., rhinovirus, adenovirus, influenza) and bacteria, notably group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus pyogenes. Objective: To identify and evaluate the risk factors associated with tonsillitis in patients aged 4 to 18 years admitted to tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar during 2023–2024. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted at the tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar: Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) in patients aged 4 to 18 years during 2023–2024, including 52 cases (patients diagnosed with tonsillitis) and 99 controls (patients without tonsillitis), using a 1:2 ratio. Participants were selected through convenience sampling, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. IRB/ERC approval was not required as participation was fully voluntary, with implied consent through completion of anonymous questionnaires. Results: The study found that frequent consumption of spicy and sour foods, exposure to polluted environments, and a history of recurrent throat infections were significantly associated with an increased risk of developing tonsillitis. These results align with findings from previous studies conducted in regions with similar environmental and dietary patterns. Conclusion: This concludes that environmental factors, dietary habits, and a history of throat infections are major contributors to tonsillitis among children and adolescents. Focusing on pollution control, improved hygiene, and dietary awareness are recommended to reduce the burden of tonsillitis in the region.
