UC San Diego Health System

Disparities in late-stage cancer diagnosis across a multi-site academic health system

Abstract Background Disparities in cancer stage at diagnosis persist despite the availability of screening for several common cancers. We evaluated demographic, clinical, insurance, and neighborhood-level factors associated with late-stage diagnosis in a multisite academic health...

Development and Validation of a Coronary Artery Calcium Volume and Density Score

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring is a useful tool for coronary heart disease (CHD) risk prediction. The current standard method, the Agatston score, weights plaque area upward by density. However, higher density is inversely associated with CHD. We aimed to devel...

Improving neuropathological reconstruction fidelity via AI slice imputation

Neuropathological analyses benefit from spatially precise volumetric reconstructions that enhance anatomical delineation and improve morphometric accuracy. Prior work has shown the feasibility of reconstructing 3D brain volumes from 2D dissection photographs. However, these outpu...

Why Metrics Matter in Thyroid Eye Disease

Importance Advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology of thyroid eye disease (TED) provide an opportunity to use novel, targeted therapeutic agents. However, our capacity to assess the efficacy and indications for the new agents is potentially limited by the clinical me...

Characterizing Time Toxicity in Lung Cancer Clinical Trials: Development and Application of a Novel Time Burden Metric

PURPOSE Participation in clinical trials imposes additional time commitments beyond routine care; however, trial-associated time toxicity (TT) remains underinvestigated and poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to develop a scalable, procedure-based metric to quanti...

Can a public information campaign increase trust in American elections?

Confidence in the conduct and results of American elections has declined and polarized along party lines in recent years. Can a nonpartisan public information campaign featuring election officials enhance trust in elections when delivered to skeptical voters during a contentious...

Activation of IL-17+ ILC subsets in IL-18R-deficient mice during fungal allergen exposure

Abstract Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are critical players during type 2 inflammation present in most forms of asthma. ILC2s are tissue-resident cells that produce cytokines IL-5 and IL-13 critical to eosinophilic airway inflammation, mucus production, remodeling, and hy...

PDA Stenting with Versus Without Pre-Procedural 3D Reconstruction: Impact on Radiation Exposure and Procedural Outcomes

Abstract Background Managing patients with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and complex anatomical features, such as tortuosity and branching anomalies, remains a challenge in interventional cardiology. Recent advances in three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and quantitative analy...

Cannabis and Wound Healing: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence and Applications to Facial Plastic Surgery

Cannabis use has increased substantially in the United States, driven by broader legalization, decriminalization, and expanding medical and recreational availability. For facial plastic surgeons, the clinical implications remain difficult to define because “cannabis use” encompas...

The hematology workforce in the United States: past, present, and strategies for the future

From 2017-2021, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) completed the largest study ever conducted of the hematology workforce in the United States (US). The study highlighted a deficit in the classical hematology (CH) workforce: despite very high CH clinical volumes encountered...

Implementation of clinical grading committees in internal medicine sub-internships: implications for assessment accuracy and standardization

The Internal Medicine clerkship has faced challenges in ensuring fair and accurate grades, with past studies examining areas including unconscious bias, inter-rater reliability, and variability. To address these issues, the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine recommends the u...

Opioid-induced respiratory depression or oversedation risk assessment in hospitalized patients with cancer receiving palliative care

Purpose The Oversedation Risk Criteria (ORC) is a prediction model that estimates prescription opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) or oversedation risk in hospitalized patients. The study objectives were to estimate OIRD/oversedation risk via the ORC and to determine the...