Discoveries & Impact

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a key treatment for severe aortic stenosis, carries a concerning stroke rate of 2-3%, largely due to embolic debris. In the SafePass 2 study, Yale researchers evaluated the novel Emboliner device, which was designed to protect both cerebral and bodily vasculature from such debris.

Global health collaborations, typically designed to address specific public health needs in low-resource settings, can be significantly affected by hierarchical power imbalances between participants. This can lead to participants from low-resource settings having a decreased opportunity to fully engage in decision-making and can allow for outcomes more likely to favor higher-resource groups. Investigators from Yale School of Medicine and the University of Liberia’s College of Health Services sought to better characterize the experiences of collaborators involved in global health work in the setting of post-war, post-Ebola Liberia.

The gender gap in promotion in academic medicine has been well documented, which can ultimately lead to negative consequences not only for women faculty but for trainees and patients as well. Yale researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis that examined gender disparities in promotion to full professorship, in particular, considering factors such as scholarly production, grant funding, and leadership positions.

Medical students often face challenges transitioning from classroom to clerkships due to limited preparation materials. A group of researchers from Yale introduced a student-led Internal Medicine clerkship orientation bootcamp and accompanying survival guide, and assessed its efficacy in improving student confidence prior to clerkships.

Acute pancreatitis is a severe inflammatory disorder of the pancreas, spanning the spectrum of mild discomfort to life-threatening illness. Researchers from Yale have written a comprehensive review of novel therapies for acute pancreatitis, their role based on the cause of the disease, and their risk/benefit profile.

A recent collaborative study conducted by Yale researchers sought to apply these methods towards developing a framework for measuring equitable readmissions to the hospital, and to identify hospitals that have equitable rates of readmission.

Unplanned hospitalizations for patients with advanced cancer often trigger discussions about care goals and transitions to hospice. Late referrals to hospice, particularly near the end of life, have been associated with reduced quality of life and increased healthcare costs. A new research study published in Cancer investigates the impact of oncology hospitalists on the timing of hospice transitions for patients with advanced cancers.

Severe hypertension (sHTN), affecting about 10% of hospitalized patients, lacks clear treatment guidelines, potentially leading to unnecessary antihypertensive medication use and adverse outcomes. A recent study from researchers and physicians at Yale aimed to identify factors associated with spontaneous blood pressure (BP) reduction, which could inform future management decisions and prevent harm from aggressive BP treatment.

In a study of older adults (75+ years) undergoing a heart procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for stable heart disease, researchers examined how complexity of the procedure impacted patient outcomes.