山本 祐

BACKGROUND: The general medicine in-training examination (GM-ITE) assesses physicians' clinical knowledge. This study expanded on findings from a previous pilot study to assess the relationship between general medicine in-training examination (GM-ITE) scores and the diagnostic skills of resident physicians in Japan by employing an innovative clinical simulation video (CSV-IE). METHODS: This multicenter cross-sectional study included 4,677 resident physicians who took the GMITE between January 17 and 30, 2023. Participants watched the CSV-IE, depicting an emergency room scenario, and provided a diagnosis. The CSV-IE depicts an emergency case and provides a diagnosis. Discrimination indices were used to assess the CSV-IE's effectiveness across clinical competence domains, and multilevel logistic regression was used to analyze physician- and hospital-level factors associated with correct diagnoses. RESULTS: Correct diagnoses were provided by 470 participants (10.0%). The CSV-IE demonstrated high discriminatory power across all assessed domains, including basic clinical knowledge (DI = 0.44), symptomatology and clinical reasoning (DI = 0.31), physical examination and clinical procedure (DI = 0.35), and knowledge about the disease (DI = 0.25), supporting its utility as an effective assessment tool. In the multivariable analysis, factors associated with a higher likelihood of providing a correct CSV-IE diagnosis included a higher annual number of emergency outpatients (adjusted odds ratio: 1.025; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.003-1.047; P = .0230) and being in a higher postgraduate year (adjusted odds ratio: 1.387; 95% CI: 1.104-1.742; P = .005). Conversely, resident physicians at university hospitals were less likely to provide a correct CSV-IE response (adjusted odds ratio: 0.624; 95% CI: 0.435-0.896; P = .0107). CONCLUSIONS: CSV-IE modules may provide an integrative and realistic evaluation of clinical competence, addressing limitations of traditional MCQ-based assessments by offering contextualized, real-world scenarios that require dynamic decision-making and diagnostic reasoning.

BACKGROUND: As healthcare professional trainees, resident physicians are expected to help with COVID-19 care in various ways. Many resident physicians worldwide have cared for COVID-19 patients despite the increased risk of burnout. However, few studies have examined the experience with COVID-19 care among resident physicians and its effects on competency achievement regarding clinical basics and COVID-19 patient care. METHOD: This nationwide, cross-sectional Japanese study used a clinical training environment questionnaire for resident physicians (PGY-1 and - 2) in 593 teaching hospitals during the General Medicine In-Training Examination in January 2021. The General Medicine In-Training Examination questions comprised four categories (medical interviews and professionalism; symptomatology and clinical reasoning; physical examination and clinical procedures; and disease knowledge) and a COVID-19-related question. We examined the COVID-19 care experience and its relationship with the General Medicine In-Training Examination score, adjusting for resident and hospital variables. RESULTS: Of the 6,049 resident physicians, 2,841 (47.0%) had no experience caring for patients with COVID-19 during 2020. Total and categorical General Medicine In-Training Examination scores were not different irrespective of the experience with COVID-19 patient care. For the COVID-19-related question, residents with experience in COVID-19 care showed a significant increase in correct response by 2.6% (95% confidence interval, 0.3-4.9%; p = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS: The resident physicians' COVID-19 care experience was associated with better achievement of COVID-19-related competency without reducing clinical basics. However, approximately half of the residents missed the critical experience of caring for patients during this unparalleled pandemic in Japan.

Hydroxycarbamide, an antimetabolic agent used to treat myeloproliferative disorders, causes side effects, including myelosuppression, skin ulcers, and oral mucositis. Gastrointestinal ulcers are uncommon, and esophageal ulcers have not been previously reported. We present the case of a 74-year-old woman who developed esophageal and ileal ulcers after hydroxycarbamide treatment. Our case and previous reports suggest that hydroxycarbamide can cause ulcers throughout the gastrointestinal tract, which can improve rapidly after discontinuing medication. When new signs and symptoms occur, drug-induced etiologies should be considered as a potential cause. Timely diagnostic treatment with discontinuation of medication is crucial in such cases.