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This Week in JAMA
JAMA. 2000;283:841.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDICAL SCHOOL SESQUICENTENNIAL ISSUE
Edited by Helene M. Cole, MD, and Howard Markel, MD, PhD
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The original 1850 building of the University of Michigan Medical School on the university campus in Ann Arbor, which housed several lecture rooms, faculty offices, a chemistry laboratory, and a room for human anatomical dissections.
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Screening Frequency for Diabetic Retinopathy
Retinal screening for diabetic eye disease every second or third year may achieve a similar benefit as annual screening in most patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Using characteristics of individuals older than 40 years with type 2 diabetes in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Vijan and colleagues created a Markov model to estimate the cost-effectiveness of various screening intervals for detection of diabetic retinopathy. Predicted time spent blind according to different screening intervals (every year, every third year, every fifth year) varied with age and level of glycemic control, with high-risk patients gaining an average of 21 days of sight with annual screening compared with every third year and low-risk patients gaining 3 days of sight. Estimated cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained was $107,510 for annual screening compared with every other year and $49,760 for screening every other year compared with every third year.
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Presentation and Outcomes of Acute Aortic Dissection
In this descriptive analysis of the presentation, management, and outcomes of 464 patients with acute aortic dissection enrolled in the International Registry of Acute Aortic Dissection beginning January 1, 1996, Hagan and colleagues conclude that despite recent diagnostic and therapeutic advances, in-hospital mortality remains high and continued improvement in diagnosis and management is needed. The most common presenting symptom of acute aortic dissection was sudden onset of severe sharp pain and classic physical findings of aortic regurgitation and pulse deficit were often absent. Initial chest film was normal in 12.4% of patients and 31.3% had a normal electrocardiogram. Overall in-hospital mortality was 27.4%. Among patients with type A dissection, mortality was 26% in those managed surgically and 58% in those who did not receive surgery. Mortality among patients with type B dissection treated with surgery was 31.4% and 10.7% among those treated medically.
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Extracorporeal Life Support Program at U of M
The extracorporeal life support (ECLS) program at the University of Michigan (U of M) was established in 1980. Reporting on a series of 1000 consecutive patients between 1980 and 1998, Bartlett and coauthors describe changes in the type of cases managed with ECLS over time and patient characteristics and outcomes, and discuss the development and application of ECLS technology.
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Family-Physician Conflicts About End-of-Life Care
Conflicts between families and physicians often beset decisions to limit treatment at the end of life. Goold and coauthors describe 3 categories of factors that contribute to family-physician conflicts regarding life-sustaining treatment—family features, physician features, and organizational and social features—and present a model based on differential diagnosis to identify underlying causes of disagreement.
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University of Michigan Medical School, 1850-2000
Markel traces the history of the University of Michigan Medical School from the time of its proposal to the board of regents of the university in 1847 to the present.
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ERISA and Physician Autonomy
Jacobson and Pomfret discuss how the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), by preempting state regulation of managed care organizations (MCOs), protects MCOs from medical liability lawsuits, influences clinical decision making, and erodes physician autonomy.
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Contempo Updates
Emergency use of magnetic resonance imaging for evaluation of acute central nervous system conditions.
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Medical News & Perspectives
Fine-tuning a programmable patient simulator, innovations in pediatric cardiac surgery, and a possible first treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy are part of the research agenda at the University of Michigan Medical School.
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U of M Medical School Shapes Its Future
The University of Michigan (U of M) Medical School responds to the financial stress facing academic medical centers with creative organizational changes, cost control measures, and renewed commitment to education, research, and patient-centered health care.
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JAMA Patient Page
For your patients: Preventive eye care.
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