Rocky Vista University

Community-Based Participatory Research for Critical Health Interventions for the Quichua People in Bolivar, Ecuador

The health needs of rural Ecuadorians are often addressed through foreign aid and short-term medical missions. While these efforts provide temporary relief for rural populations struggling to access government-mandated universal healthcare, they fail to address underlying systemi...

Xylazine Usage and Awareness Among People Who Use Drugs in Denver, Colorado

<b>Background</b>: Xylazine, also known as “tranq,” is an alpha-2 agonist with various effects including central nervous system depression, analgesia, and vasoconstriction. Since xylazine is a non-opioid, its effects are not reversible with ,bnaloxone, complicating overdose treat...

Balancing Optimism and Empathy: Lessons from a Granddaughter and Future Physician

We are fortunate to have a close-knit family, spending every holiday in the same living room, going on annual summer vacations, or camping together. My grandparents had four children and many grandchildren, so we always had big gatherings at their house growing up. Earlier this y...

A Case Study: Vitiligo Regression Secondary to the Onset of Puberty

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder characterized by hypopigmented patches on various parts of the body. This study explores the spontaneous re-pigmentation of vitiligo in a white female from the age of 10 to 22. At age 10, the patient developed a hypopigmented patch on her right...

Eosinophilic Esophagitis as the Only Clinical Symptom in a Pediatric Patient: A Case Report

Eosinophilic esophagitis is defined as the presentation of greater than or equal to 15 eosinophils per high-power field on light microscopy after a biopsy. It is a TH2 antigen-mediated response. 1 Typical patient presentation of symptoms is dysphagia, emesis, abdominal pain, regu...

The Medicine is Born

The agony of labor ends! A golden hour to begin Little can she comprehend the situation she is in Fleeting thoughts of joy and peace melt into doubt, anxiety Her babe is snuggled up at least, sleeping in satiety

Regenerative Medicine in Orthopedics: Evaluating PRP, MSC Therapies, BPC-157, TB-4/TB-500, CJC-1295, Retatrutide, and Osteostatin as Complements to Conventional Care: A Narrative Review

Musculoskeletal disorders affect billions of individuals globally and are a leading cause of disability and healthcare expenditure. Regenerative medicine has emerged as a potential therapy, aiming to enhance tissue repair, improve functional outcomes, and delay the need for surgi...

AI Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting in Neuro-Oncology: A Narrative Review of Diagnostic Performance and Clinical Readiness

Magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) is a quantitative magnetic resonance imaging technique that generates tissue signals that vary based on chemical, physical, and biological properties called “fingerprints.” MRF enables simultaneous estimation of multiple tissue properties,...

The Female Pelvis

I’ve always been drawn to portraiture, specifically the challenge of capturing structure, expression, and identity in a single frame. For years, I focused on faces to better understand people. But since starting medical school, I’ve shifted my focus inward. Medical illustration h...

Investigating a Standardized Protocol for Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Preliminary Single-Blinded Study

Primary dysmenorrhea, characterized by painful uterine contractions during menstruation which affects a large proportion of individuals. Current standard of care is management with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). While effective, NSAIDs carry risks with prolonged...

Elbow Plica: A Case of Advanced Progression

<b>Introduction</b>: Symptomatic elbow plica is a considerably rare condition with an etiology and prevalence not completely understood. Misinterpretation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as normal findings resulted in the progression of symptoms. In this case report, we obser...

My studies of the human form: Figures I-IIIb

My first study of the human form was as an undergraduate studio art major. I searched for a path where I could blend the anatomical sciences with the arts. This led to a concentration on the human figure, which involved over 100 hours of drawing, painting, and sculpting from a li...

Right Lower Quadrant

I’ve always been drawn to portraiture, specifically the challenge of capturing structure, expression, and identity in a single frame. For years, I focused on faces to better understand people. But since starting medical school, I’ve shifted my focus inward. Medical illustration h...

Early-Life Stress as a Determinant of Type 2 Diabetes Risk: A Narrative Review

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains a major public health concern in the United States, with rising prevalence and a large population at risk for disease progression. Although T2DM is traditionally associated with adult lifestyle factors such as obesity, diet, and physical in...

Food Insecurity and Vision Loss: A Call for Integrated Preventive Care

The ophthalmic exam revealed proliferative diabetic retinopathy, but the diagnosis alone didn’t capture the depth of Mrs. A.’s story. A 58-year-old woman with longstanding diabetes who had never received a retinal screening. She learned about the free eye clinic through a friend...

A Hospital Bed in My Living Room

There is a hospital bed in my living room. I hate it, yet all it carries is love. Everyday it grows taller as I seem to shrink. I sit beside it, trying to hold on, trying to make light, casting away the shadows that are so eagerly waiting to strike.

Cowboy Medicine

I grew up where boots met dirt, When the roosters crowed it was time to work. Until one day there was no porchlight, Just crickets chirping in the still of night.

Laryngospasm in Pediatric Anesthesia with Intravenous versus Inhalation Anesthetic Induction

This review explores the occurrence of laryngospasm following intravenous (IV) administration of propofol versus inhalation induction with sevoflurane in pediatric anesthesia. A structured literature search was conducted using PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL to identify rel...

Pediatric Hemifacial Spasm: A Narrative Review and Call to Action

<b>Background</b>: Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a chronic hyperkinetic facial nerve disorder characterized by involuntary, unilateral facial muscle contractions. While well-described in adults, where neurovascular compression of the facial nerve root exit zone predominates, pediatri...

The Human Hand Behind the Algorithm: Ethical Perspectives on AI in Clinical Practice

The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into clinical practice represents a pivotal shift in healthcare delivery. AI promises greater efficiency, diagnostic support, and precision, yet its adoption raises ethical concerns related to autonomy, equity, transparency, and t...