Sumit Bhargava

All Publications

• Decoding the Reference Letter: Strategies to Reduce Unintentional Gender Bias in Letters of Recommendation. MedEdPORTAL : the journal of teaching and learning resources Mieso, B. R., Barnett, J. F., Otero, T. M., Berquist, S. W., Perez, F. D., Han, P., Bhargava, S., Atasuntseva, A., Yemane, L. 2024; 20: 11419

  Abstract

  There is a growing body of literature on gender bias in letters of recommendation (LORs) in academic medicine and the negative effect of bias on promotion and career advancement. Thus, increasing knowledge about gender bias and developing skills to mitigate it is important for advancing gender equity in medicine. This workshop aims to provide participants with knowledge about linguistic bias (focused on gender), how to recognize it, and strategies to apply to mitigate it when writing LORs.We developed an interactive 60-minute workshop for faculty and graduate medical education program directors consisting of didactics, reflection exercises, and group activities. We used a postworkshop survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the workshop. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze Likert-scale questions and a thematic content analysis for open-ended prompts.We presented the workshop four times (two local and two national conferences) with one in-person and one virtual format for each. There were 50 participants who completed a postworkshop survey out of 74 total participants (68% response rate). Ninety-nine percent of participants felt the workshop met its educational objectives, and 100% felt it was a valuable use of their time. Major themes described for intended behavior change included utilization of the gender bias calculator, mindful use and balance of agentic versus communal traits, closer attention to letter length, and dissemination of this knowledge to colleagues.This workshop was an effective method for helping participants recognize gender bias when writing LORs and learn strategies to mitigate it.

  View details for DOI 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11419

  View details for PubMedID 38974126

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11224141

• Photoplethysmography (PPG)-new applications for an old technology: a sleep technology review. Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Ryals, S., Chiang, A., Schutte-Rodin, S., Chandrakantan, A., Verma, N., Holfinger, S., Abbasi-Feinberg, F., Bandyopadhyay, A., Baron, K., Bhargava, S., He, K., Kern, J., Miller, J., Patel, R., Ratnasoma, D., Deak, M. C. 2022

  Abstract

  Education is integral to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) mission. The AASM Emerging Technology Committee (ETC) identified an important and evolving piece of technology that is present in many of the consumer and clinical technologies that we review on the AASM #SleepTechnology (https://aasm.org/consumer-clinical-sleep-technology/) resource - photoplethysmography (PPG). As more patients with sleep tracking devices ask clinicians to view their data, it is important for sleep providers to have a general understanding of the technology, its sensors, how it works, targeted users, evidence for the claimed uses, and its strengths and weaknesses. The focus in this review is PPG - a sensor type used in the familiar pulse oximeter that is being developed for additional utilities and data outputs in both consumer and clinical sleep technologies.

  View details for DOI 10.5664/jcsm.10300

  View details for PubMedID 36123954

• Nocturnal hypoventilation as a respiratory complication of acute flaccid myelitis. The Journal of pediatrics Aziz-Bose, R., Bhargava, S., Buu, M., Bove, R., van Haren, K. 2022

  Abstract

  Detailed accounts of long-term respiratory complications among children with acute flaccid myelitis have not been systematically reported. We describe respiratory complications and outcomes in a single-center cohort of 19 children with acute flaccid myelitis. Significantly, 3 of the 19 children had a prolonged course of nocturnal hypoventilation that required intervention.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jpeds.2022.05.032

  View details for PubMedID 35605645

• Use of Polysomnography and CPAP in Children Who Received Adenotonsillectomy, US 2004 to 2018. The Laryngoscope Qian, Z. J., Howard, J. M., Cohen, S. M., Jin, M. C., Bhargava, S., Cheng, A. G., Valdez, T. A. 2022

  Abstract

  OBJECTIVES: 1) To determine the prevalence polysomnogram (PSG) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy use in children who received adenotonsillectomy (AT) for sleep symptoms. 2) To identify health care disparities in these regards.STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective database analysis.METHODS: This study used data from Optum (Health Services Innovation Company) to identify 92,490 children who received AT for sleep symptoms between 2004 and 2018. Prevalence of preoperative PSG and postoperative PSG and CPAP were described. Clinical and demographic characteristics were compared between children who had preoperative PSG and those who did not. Characteristics of children with trisomy 21 (T21) were compared to assess PSG and CPAP use in a high-risk cohort. Predictive modeling was used to identify patient characteristics associated with postoperative PSG and CPAP use.RESULTS: Preoperative PSG was obtained in 5.5% of children overall and 33.2% of children with T21. Male sex, obesity, other medical comorbidities, non-White race/ethnicity, and higher parent education were associated with preoperative PSG. Fewer than 3% of children received postoperative PSGs and approximately 3% went on to receive CPAP therapy postoperatively. Multiple logistic regression showed that age at surgery, male sex, obesity, other medical comorbidities, non-White race/ethnicity, and higher parent education were associated with postoperative PSG and CPAP use.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study described the prevalence pre-AT PSG use and post-AT PSG and CPAP use for persistent symptoms and identified sleep health care disparities in these regards. These results show that increased, equitable access to PSG is needed in children, particularly in the workup and treatment persistent symptoms after AT.LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 2022.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/lary.30103

  View details for PubMedID 35285524

• Evaluating consumer and clinical sleep technologies: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine update. Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Schutte-Rodin, S., Deak, M., Khosla, S., Goldstein, C. A., Yurcheshen, M., Chiang, A., Gault, D., Kern, J., O'Hearn, D., Ryals, S., Verma, N., Kirsch, D. B., Baron, K., Holfinger, S., Miller, J., Patel, R., Bhargava, S., Ramar, K. 2021

  View details for DOI 10.5664/jcsm.9580

  View details for PubMedID 34314344

• Continued Presence of Period Limb Movements During REM Sleep in Patients With Chronic Static Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS). Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Santoro, J. D., Frankovich, J., Bhargava, S. 2018; 14 (7): 1187–92

  Abstract

  STUDY OBJECTIVES: A major component of pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) is disruption of sleep. These disturbances have been reported in the acute phase of diagnosis but it is unknown if these sleep disruptions persist, especially in patients with chronic static symptoms. This retrospective chart review sought to review polysomnography (PSG) tests of patients in whom PANS has been clinically diagnosed in order to assess sleep architecture, periodic limb movements, and presence of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep without atonia (RSWA) after a chronic static course of symptoms, which were refractory to immunomodulatory interventions.METHODS: Patients were retrospectively identified through the PANS clinic at our institution and had to have fully completed a PSG study and be younger than 18 years. PSG with video were reviewed and scored based on established criteria.RESULTS: We identified 9 patients who met inclusion criteria. The median time from presentation to PSG was 4 years. This study identified PSG-measured periodic limb movement index (PLMI) > 5 events/h in REM sleep in 7 of 9 patients. Two patients with elevated PLMI also demonstrated RSWA, although neither fit a clinical diagnosis of REM sleep behavior disorder. This cohort also demonstrated increased onset of REM sleep (median 134 minutes), insomnia (median total sleep time of 389 minutes), and decreased sleep efficiency (77%).CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies continued sleep disturbances in patients with refractory PANS symptoms several years after diagnosis and treatment. Continued sleep disturbances after presentation and treatment in patients with chronic static PANS may be a contributing factor in prolonged symptomatology of this disease process.

  View details for DOI 10.5664/jcsm.7222

  View details for PubMedID 29991427

• Sleep medicine: pediatric polysomnography revisited CURRENT OPINION IN PEDIATRICS Cornfield, D. N., Bhargava, S. 2015; 27 (3): 325-328

  Abstract

  Sleep medicine is an increasingly well subscribed component of pediatric medicine. While knowledge has increased significantly in the past five decades, whether the most widely used tool to assess sleep-disordered breathing possesses demonstrable clinical utility remains unknown. The absence of certainty surrounding the impact of polysomnography (PSG) testing on clinical outcomes, superimposed on the cost and inconvenience of PSG testing, prompts a call to reassess the current normative stance toward PSG testing.The present study argues for the use of the following: endpoints that have known clinical significance; readily available data provided by parents; and data derived from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial to determine the merits of PSG testing in the context of obstructive sleep apnea.By rationalizing the use PSG testing, cost, inconvenience, and parental anxiety can be decreased without compromising care.

  View details for DOI 10.1097/MOP.0000000000000219

  View details for Web of Science ID 000354214800010

  View details for PubMedID 25944311

• Pulmonary nocardiosis in an immunocompetent patient with cystic fibrosis. Case reports in pulmonology Schoen, L., Santoro, J. D., Milla, C., Bhargava, S. 2015; 2015: 984171-?

  Abstract

  Nocardia spp. are bacteria of low virulence that cause infection classically in immunocompromised hosts with the lungs as the primary site of infection in the majority of cases. Patients with cystic fibrosis have pulmonary disease characterized by frequent and progressive bacterial infections. Reports of Nocardia spp. isolation in CF are rare in the literature and may represent colonization or active infection, the significance and optimal treatment of which are unknown. We report the second case to date of Nocardia transvalensis pulmonary infection in an immunocompetent patient with CF and the first in a child under the age of eighteen.

  View details for DOI 10.1155/2015/984171

  View details for PubMedID 25960909

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4414227