Browsing by Author "Walsh, Catharine M."

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    Celiac disease in North America: What is the current practice of pediatric gastroenterology providers?
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2024-05-27) Singh, Arunjot; Silvester, Jocelyn; Turner, Justine; Absah, Imad; Sparks, Brandon A.; Walsh, Catharine M.; Bracken, Julia M.; Stanisz, Joanna; Hajjat, Temara; Badalyan, Vahe; Chugh, Ankur; Hoffenberg, Edward J.; Dowhaniuk, Jenna K.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Objectives: While guidelines exist for the diagnosis and management of pediatric celiac disease (CeD), current practices in North America are not well-described. This study aimed to explore current practice patterns to identify gaps and direct future clinical, training and research initiatives. Methods: A 23-item survey designed by the Celiac Disease Special Interest Group was distributed electronically to its members. Questions explored four themes: (1) screening and diagnosis pre and post the coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic, (2) treatment and monitoring, (3) family screening and transition of care, and (4) CeD focused training. Results: The survey response rate was 10.8% (278/2552). Most respondents were from the United States (89.9%, n = 250) and Canada (8.6%, n = 24). While endoscopy remained the gold standard, serology-based diagnosis was accepted by 47.5% (132/278). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 37.4% of providers changed their diagnostic practice. Barriers to care included: lack of insurance coverage for dietitians, wait times, and lack of CeD focused training. During fellowship 69.1% (192/278) reported no focused CeD training. Conclusion: Survey results revealed practice variation regarding the diagnosis and management of CeD in North America including a substantial proportion accepting non-biopsy, serology-based diagnosis, which increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Variations in screening, diagnosis, interval surveillance, and family screening were also identified. Dedicated CeD education in pediatric gastroenterology fellowship may be an opportunity for standardizing practice and advancing research. Future North American guidelines should take current care patterns into consideration and develop new initiatives to improve care of children with CeD.
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    Development and initial validation of an instrument for video-based assessment of technical skill in ERCP
    (Elsevier, 2021) Elmunzer, B. Joseph; Walsh, Catharine M.; Guiton, Gretchen; Serrano, Jose; Chak, Amitabh; Edmundowicz, Steven; Kwon, Richard S.; Mullady, Daniel; Papachristou, Georgios I.; Elta, Grace; Baron, Todd H.; Yachimski, Patrick; Fogel, Evan L.; Draganov, Peter V.; Taylor, Jason R.; Scheiman, James; Singh, Vikesh K.; Varadarajulu, Shyam; Willingham, Field F.; Cote, Gregory A.; Cotton, Peter B.; Simon, Violette; Spitzer, Rebecca; Keswani, Rajesh; Wani, Sachin; SVI study group; U.S. Cooperative for Outcomes Research in Endoscopy; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background and aims: The accurate measurement of technical skill in ERCP is essential for endoscopic training, quality assurance, and coaching of this procedure. Hypothesizing that technical skill can be measured by analysis of ERCP videos, we aimed to develop and validate a video-based ERCP skill assessment tool. Methods: Based on review of procedural videos, the task of ERCP was deconstructed into its basic components by an expert panel that developed an initial version of the Bethesda ERCP Skill Assessment Tool (BESAT). Subsequently, 2 modified Delphi panels and 3 validation exercises were conducted with the goal of iteratively refining the tool. Fully crossed generalizability studies investigated the contributions of assessors, ERCP performance, and technical elements to reliability. Results: Twenty-nine technical elements were initially generated from task deconstruction. Ultimately, after iterative refinement, the tool comprised 6 technical elements and 11 subelements. The developmental process achieved consistent improvements in the performance characteristics of the tool with every iteration. For the most recent version of the tool, BESAT-v4, the generalizability coefficient (a reliability index) was .67. Most variance in BESAT scores (43.55%) was attributed to differences in endoscopists' skill, indicating that the tool can reliably differentiate between endoscopists based on video analysis. Conclusions: Video-based assessment of ERCP skill appears to be feasible with a novel instrument that demonstrates favorable validity evidence. Future steps include determining whether the tool can discriminate between endoscopists of varying experience levels and predict important outcomes in clinical practice.