Dina Sheira
MD Student with Scholarly Concentration in Clinical Research, expected graduation Spring 2025
MBA, expected graduation 2025
All Publications
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The Federal Trade Commission Investigation of Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers.
American heart journal
2024
Abstract
The role of Pharmaceutical Business Managers remains a mystery to most physicians, and to most policy makers. Many of the business practices of a Pharmaceutical Business Manager are confidential and are beyond the purview of policy researchers. A recent Federal Trade Commission report raises many important questions about the role of these entities in the market. We review what the Federal Trade Commission found during their investigation and why physicians should be concerned.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ahj.2024.11.009
View details for PubMedID 39586350
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Thoracic and Lumbar Spine Injury: Evidence-Based Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes.
The American surgeon
2023: 31348231216479
Abstract
Traumatic thoracolumbar spine injuries are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Targeted for non-spine specialist trauma surgeons, this systematic scoping review aimed to examine literature for up-to-date evidence on presentation, management, and outcomes of thoracolumbar spine injuries in adult trauma patients.This review was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. We searched four bibliographic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Eligible studies included experimental, observational, and evidence-synthesis articles evaluating patients with thoracic, lumbar, or thoracolumbar spine injury, published in English between January 1, 2010 and January 31, 2021. Studies which focused on animals, cadavers, cohorts with N <30, and pediatric cohorts (age <18 years old), as well as case studies, abstracts, and commentaries were excluded.A total of 2501 studies were screened, of which 326 unique studies were fully text reviewed and twelve aspects of injury management were identified and discussed: injury patterns, determination of injury status and imaging options, considerations in management, and patient quality of life. We found: (1) imaging is a necessary diagnostic tool, (2) no consensus exists for preferred injury characterization scoring systems, (3) operative management should be considered for unstable fractures, decompression, and deformity, and (4) certain patients experience significant burden following injury.In this systematic scoping review, we present the most up-to-date information regarding the management of traumatic thoracolumbar spine injuries. This allows non-specialist trauma surgeons to become more familiar with thoracolumbar spine injuries in trauma patients and provides a framework for their management.
View details for DOI 10.1177/00031348231216479
View details for PubMedID 37983195
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ACCESS TO SUBSPECIALTY FOLLOW-UP FOR PATIENTS HOSPITALIZED WITH ALCOHOL-ASSOCIATED LIVER DISEASE
WILEY. 2022: S957
View details for Web of Science ID 000870796603074
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Effect of Seasonality on Variation Among Patients Presenting With Rib Fractures in the United States.
The American surgeon
2022: 31348221102609
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A prior single-site study from the Midwest exploring seasonality of traumatic rib fractures found injuries are more common during summer months and lower in winter months. There have been no modern studies evaluating seasonality of these common injuries nationally. Our aim was to describe temporal and spatial distribution of rib fractures in the United States. We hypothesized presentations for traumatic rib fractures follow a seasonal pattern, with greater frequency of rib fractures in the summer and lower levels in the winter.METHODS: We obtained hospital emergency department (ED) encounter data from Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018. We used ICD-10 codes to identify all patients with diagnostic codes specific to rib fractures. To examine seasonal patterns, we constructed negative binomial regression models using seasons as covariates to predict incidence of rib fracture encounters across regions.RESULTS: Of 15,439,004 trauma-related ED encounters in 2018, 384431 (2%) encounters included a diagnosis of rib fracture(s). The percentage of ED trauma encounters with rib fractures was similar across the 4 regions. Rib fractures were more common in the summer in the Midwest, South, and West as compared to winter [22% (95% CI = 10-34%, P = .007), 12% (95% CI = 5-20%, P = 0.02), and 11% (95% CI = 5-17%, P = .008), respectively].DISCUSSION: Our hypothesis was generally supported by our evaluation of NEDS. However, while seasonal variation in rib fractures does appear to exist in the Midwest, South, and West, this variation is not ubiquitous across the United States.
View details for DOI 10.1177/00031348221102609
View details for PubMedID 35574592
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The Need to Routinely Convert Emergency Cricothyroidotomy to Tracheostomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Journal of the American College of Surgeons
2022; 234 (5): 947-952
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Traditional surgical teaching advocates converting emergency cricothyroidotomies to tracheostomies to mitigate the risk of subglottic stenosis. A conversion procedure that may risk losing a tenuous airway should have clear benefits over risks. We aimed to evaluate the necessity of routine cricothyroidotomy to tracheostomy conversion by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of contemporary literature.STUDY DESIGN: We performed a systematic review of experimental and observational studies (published between January 1, 2008, and March 1, 2021) reporting hospital outcomes of adults aged ≥18 years who underwent emergency cricothyroidotomies or tracheostomies. We followed PRISMA guidelines and assessed quality of data using GRADE methodology. Meta-analysis pooled incidence of procedure-specific complications (bleeding, subglottic stenosis, and others) using Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation and sensitivity analysis addressed survival bias.RESULTS: A total of 18 studies including 1246 patients were analyzed. Incidence of bleeding (5 [1 to 11]% vs 3 [1 to 7]%), subglottic stenosis (0 [0 to 3]% vs 0 [0 to 0]%) and other complications (12 [8 to 16]% vs 13 [5 to 23]%) were similar among patients undergoing emergency cricothyroidotomy or tracheostomy. Sensitivity analysis evaluating the incidence of complications among only survivors found similar results. Only one study reported complications attributable to cricothyroidotomy to tracheostomy conversion.CONCLUSIONS: Subglottic stenosis, the main harm conversion seeks to avoid, appears to be a rare complication after cricothyroidotomy. We did not find evidence supporting routine need to convert cricothyroidotomies to tracheostomies; for many patients, conversion is unlikely to rectify complications attributable to emergency cricothyroidotomy. However, our findings cannot be generalized to patients who require prolonged or permanent airway cannulation. Providers should consider performing cricothyroidotomy to tracheostomy selectively when the benefits clearly outweigh the risks of disrupting a secured airway.
View details for DOI 10.1097/XCS.0000000000000114
View details for PubMedID 35426409
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Prospective study of long-term quality-of-life after rib fractures.
Surgery
1800
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Long-term quality-of-life after rib fractures remains understudied. We aimed to evaluate quality-of-life of patients who had rib fractures 1 year after discharge. We hypothesized that patients with rib fractures, even as an isolated injury, have suboptimal long-term quality-of-life.METHODS: We prospectively enrolled adults admitted to our level 1 trauma center with acute rib fractures. Primary outcome was quality-of-life at 1 year after discharge, characterized using the revised trauma-specific quality-of-life questionnaire and a supplemental survey. Secondary analysis evaluated association between baseline frailty (measured using the Rib Fracture Frailty Index) and quality-of-life. Patients with low versus moderate frailty risk underwent full matching and linear mixed model analysis.RESULTS: We enrolled 139 patients, among whom 72 (52%) completed 1-year surveys. Patients reported excellent emotional well-being (median [interquartile range]: 4.8 [3.7-5.0]) and functional engagement (median [interquartile range]: 5.0 [4.3-5.0]) but poor physical well-being and recovery (median [interquartile range]: 3.2 [2.8-3.6]). Nearly 40% of patients reported some degree of rib pain, and 29% had not returned to preinjury working capacity. Patients with and without isolated rib fractures reported similar median revised trauma-specific quality-of-life scores. We did not find statistically significant association between low versus moderate frailty and any quality-of-life domain, but no patients in our cohort had high frailty risk and our study was underpowered to detect this association.CONCLUSION: Rib fractures are associated with suboptimal quality-of-life 1 year after discharge, even after isolated injury. Our sample size was limited, but our findings highlight persistent long-term consequences of rib fractures despite advances in inpatient management. Patients should be counseled on the potential for prolonged convalescence.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.surg.2021.11.026
View details for PubMedID 34969527
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Transarterial Embolization for the Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review of Indications, Safety, and Efficacy.
ACR open rheumatology
2021
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of transcatheter arterial "embolization" (TAE) in the treatment of chronic "musculoskeletal pain" refractory to standard therapy.METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for original research articles evaluating TAE in patients with musculoskeletal conditions from database inception to January 21, 2020. Search terms employed were as follows: "embolization", "pain", "knee osteoarthritis", joint replacement, epicondylitis, tenderness, inflammation, WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index), microspheres, Embozene, geniculate artery, neovascularity, transcatheter, embolic, imipenem/cilastatin sodium, angiogenesis, and "musculoskeletal". Studies involving particle "embolization" for painful musculoskeletal conditions were included. Studies of TAE for hemarthrosis or malignancy-related "musculoskeletal pain" were excluded.RESULTS: The primary search yielded 1,099 sources; 7 articles and 4 abstracts were included for data extraction. All were cohorts or case series, with low risk of bias and moderate to poor level of evidence. Heterogeneity between studies was high, precluding meta-analysis. The reviewed studies reported the safety and efficacy of TAE for the treatment of "knee osteoarthritis"; adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder; tendinopathy/enthesopathy of the knee, shoulder, elbow, and ankle; and cervical myalgia. All TAEs were reported as technically successful without major complications or subsequent serious adverse events, including no reported osteonecrosis, cutaneous ulceration, limb ischemia, cartilage degeneration, or myotendinous injury. TAE significantly reduced pain and improved function for all of the treated conditions, with durable response up to 24 months post procedure.CONCLUSION: TAE appears to be a safe and effective treatment for some types of chronic refractory "musculoskeletal pain". Randomized placebo-controlled studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
View details for DOI 10.1002/acr2.11383
View details for PubMedID 34842365
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Evaluation of a Patient-Reported Frailty Tool in Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
The Journal of rheumatology
2021
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Frailty is associated with mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but how best to measure frailty is unclear. We aimed to compare two frailty metrics, the self-reported FRAIL scale (FS) and the Fried phenotype (FP), in SLE to evaluate differences between frail and nonfrail women and whether frailty is associated with self-reported disability.METHODS: Adult women <70 years old with validated SLE and mild/moderate disease enrolled in this cross-sectional study between August 2018 and October 2019. Correlation and agreement between the FS and the FP were determined. Differences in sociodemographic and disease characteristics, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and biomarkers between frail and non-frail participants were evaluated, as well as association of frailty with Valued Life Activities disability.RESULTS: Of 67 participants, 27% and 18% were frail according to the FS and the FP, respectively. Correlation (r=0.51; p<0.0001) and agreement (k=0.4627; p=0.0004) between the FS and the FP were significant. Frail women had greater disease damage, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and interleukin 6 and worse PROMs according to both frailty definitions. Both frailty measures were associated with self-reported disability after adjustment for age, comorbidity, and disease activity and damage; this relationship was attenuated for the FP.CONCLUSION: Frailty prevalence was high in this cohort of women with SLE using both frailty definitions, suggesting that frailty may be accelerated in women with SLE, particularly when based exclusively on self-report. Frailty remained associated with self-reported disability in adjusted analyses. The FS may be an informative point-of-care tool to identify frail women with SLE.
View details for DOI 10.3899/jrheum.201466
View details for PubMedID 34470795