Pulmonology CME

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) occurs at an estimated rate of five to ten per 1,000 hospital admissions and is the most common cause of hospital-acquired infection in the United States. It is defined as pneumonia that develops at least 48 hours after hospital admission and did not appear to be incubating at the time of admission. A significant subset of HAP that occurs most frequently in intensive care units (ICUs) is ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), which is defined as pneumonia that occurs more than 48 to 72 hours after tracheal intubation and is thought to affect approximately 10 to 20% of patients who receive mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours. Altered mechanical defenses, such as impaired ciliary motion and mucus secretion, increase the susceptibility for acquiring pneumonia in intubated patients, with over 90% of pneumonia episodes that develop in ICUs occurring in patients who are intubated or mechanically ventilated.

Target Audience:
HCPs including: pulmonologists, infectious disease specialists, and intensivists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists specializing in infectious disease or critical care; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or clinically encounter patients with HAP or VAP.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), characterized by misfolded and lower function of the serine protease inhibitor alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), is a genetic disorder resulting in the degradation of lung structures. Reduced levels of AAT result in overactivity of neutrophil elastase, which destroys connectivetissue within the lung and causes degradation of alveoli, reduced pulmonary elastic recoil, and airflow. Breakdown of the alveoli eventually manifest as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), and otherassociated complications include liver disease, which occurs in about ten percent of patients with AATD.The most common cause of death in patients with severe AATD is respiratory failure, which accounts for45 to 72% of deaths.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: pulmonologists and primary care physicians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists who practice in pulmonology and internal medicine; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with AATD.

There are many topics covered on the site including:
• Basics of Sleep Center Management
• Clinical and Business Trends
• Intermediate Sleep Center Management
• Interpreting Sleep Studies
• Sleep Disorders in Pediatrics

Target Audience:
sleep medicine specialists, trainees in sleep medicine and all physicians with an interest in improving recognition and treatment of sleep disorders.

The “Conferences” section includes programs in 16 specialties, developed by a panel of academic clinicians from 15 U.S. medical schools. eCME games are interactive quizzes.

Target Audiences: Physicians focusing on Family Medicine or Internal Medicine

Some popular articles and quizzes include:
• Gene-environment interactions in asthma and allergic diseases
• Allergy to B-lactam antibiotics
• Molecular mechanisms of mucocutaneous immunity against Candida and Staphylococcus species
• Cutaneous drug reactions
• IL-13 in asthma and allergic disease: Asthma phenotypes and targeted therapies
• Evaluation and management of a patient with chronic pruritus
• Human versus mouse eosinophils

Target Audience: Physicians focusing on Allergy, Chest Medicine

CME activities of special interest to pulmonary medicine specialists. Medscape contains a variety of educational formats:

CONFERENCE COVERAGE – Reports of advances presented at major medical conferences; typically includes several tracks with news stories, expert interviews, and in-depth topic overviews.

CLINICAL UPDATE – Comprehensive original review article on scientific advances in a clinical topic.

FAST TRACK CLINICAL UPDATE – Narrowly focused original review article on scientific advances in a clinical topic.

CME-LIVE – Real-time online events with streaming video, synchronized visuals, and interactive questions and answers; archived for 1 year.

CLINICAL BRIEFS – Daily reports of major current medical research articles; 0.25 credits each

JOURNAL CME – Articles selected from a wide selection of peer-reviewed journals.

SPECIAL REPORT CME – Topic-based monthly email newsletter distributed to Medscape’s professional member database by specialty.

INTERACTIVE PATIENT CASES – Original CME activity presented to the physician in an interactive, clinical case-based format.

CME CIRCLE – Multimedia content certified by other accredited professional education providers, typically from live symposia or monographs, and then posted on Medscape and archived for one year.

Target Audience: Physicians specializing in Pulmonary Medicine.

The Cleveland Clinic Ultrasound Workshop focuses on developing foundational diagnostic and procedural skills that can be quickly applied to clinical practice. Physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners across multiple specialties will benefit from lectures and demonstrations from more than twenty expert educators. This activity will provide a greater understanding of ultrasound as an imaging and interventional tool. As such, the lessons learned should have a direct impact on patient care. Worth 9.5 AMA PRA Category I Credits™, with ANCC and AAPA accreditation provided as well!

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a relatively rare, aggressive cancer that most commonly affects the pleural space (81%) in cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), followed by the peritoneum (9%). Over 80% of MPM patients and 33% of patients with peritoneal MM have a documented prior exposure to asbestos or related minerals. It is thought that the inhaled asbestos fibers interact with mesothelial and inflammatory cells, leading to repeatedly prolonged cell cycles and direct DNA damage. There are three distinct histologic subtypes of MPM, but determining subtypes requires expert assessment and suitable biopsies that are not always available, which may lead to delays in the start of treatment.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: Medical oncologists and pulmonologists; physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists specializing in oncology; and other clinicians who are involved in providing diagnostic and therapeutic services for patients with malignant mesothelioma.