Grand Rounds: Mel Scheinman, MD
2016-09-22 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | NC
Speaker: Mel Scheinman, MD, Professor of Medicine, Walter H. Shorenstein Endowed Chair in Cardiology, University of California
Topic: “ECG Signs Denoting Risk for Sudden Death”

Medicine Grand Rounds: David J. Weber, Matthew Collins and Helen M. Lazear "Zika Virus Infection"
2016-09-22 12:00 - 13:00
Researchers at UNC School of Medicine and UNC Hospitals are leading the charge in Zika research with more than 10 groups currently studying Zika – its transmission, its epidemiology and its associated neurological and birth defects, including microcephaly.
Dr. David Weber is a member of UNC Hospitals’ Zika Response Working Group, keeping clinic directors informed of Zika virus updates, providing UNC Health Care personnel and patients with pre- and post-travel counseling and evaluations, and developing a diagnostic testing algorithm. Weber’s research focuses on hospital-acquired infections, especially antibiotic-resistant pathogens and outbreak investigations.
Dr. Matthew Collins and his colleagues are trying to develop improved serodiagnostics to precisely define Zika virus exposure in those living in or traveling to endemic areas. Collins is also working with collaborators in UNC departments of obstetrics and gynecology, epidemiology, and family medicine, as well as colleagues in Leόn, Nicaragua, to define the epidemiology of Zika virus as it emerges in Nicaragua.
The Lazear lab is investigating the protective role of skin-specific antiviral effects of IFN-λ and is also identifying host factors that restrict vertebrate-specific flavivirus infection in mosquito cells. Dr. Helen Lazear’s lab also has developed a novel mouse model for studying Zika virus pathogenesis.

Medicine Grand Rounds, Alex Duncan "Inflammasomes in Infection and Inflammatory Disease: What Can Go Wrong with Host Defense"
2016-09-29 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Duncan is an infectious diseases specialist and physician scientist. He runs a laboratory focused on understanding the role of the human immune system both in protecting us from infection but also in understanding how host immunity is exploited by pathogens to promote infections. His lab studies host immune response to N. gonorrhoeae and S. aureus, which are both recognized by the CDC as top public health threats in emerging antimicrobial resistance. Dr. Duncan will share why walking into his lab to analyze new data never gets old and how bench side research leads to better patient care.

Grand Rounds: Olivia Gilbert, MD
2016-10-03 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Olivia Gilbert, MD. Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology Fellow, University of North Carolina.Topic: “Evolution of the LVAD”

McAllister Heart Institute Seminar Series: Frank Conlon, Ph.D
2016-10-04 11:00 - 12:00
Speaker: Frank Conlon, Ph.D, Professor, Biology—UNC
Topic: “Proteomic Based Approaches to Cardiac Development and Disease”

Medicine Grand Rounds, Samantha Meltzer-Brody & Amy Weil "An Institutional Program to Increase Physician Engagement"
2016-10-06 12:00 - 13:00
Awareness, Assessment and Treatment of Burnout

Medicine is facing an era of rapid and continuous change in nearly every way. The profession of medicine also is approaching an epidemic of physician burnout — a complex and systemic issue that is receiving increased attention from both within and outside the field of healthcare. Novel and systemic approaches are needed that directly address the drivers of physician burnout and add wellness as a critical metric to the collective performance of healthcare institutions.
Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody, associate professor of psychiatry, will explain the new UNC School of Medicine initiative that adopts the Quadruple aim. She also will detail the specific components of this comprehensive, institution-wide program that seeks to increase physician engagement and application to the Department of Internal Medicine.
As national conversations about physician burnout continue to grow louder, Meltzer-Brody knows there’s not a simple solution to the problem. “Addressing physician burnout requires a dialogue that is both bottom-up and top-down,” said Meltzer-Brody. “This takes an all-hands-on-deck effort.”
Building Resilience: Current and Future Wellness Programming, Emerging Directions for Structural Change
Amy Weil is Co-Leader of the UNC Wellness Committee, and Co-Advisor of the Larry J. Keith Advising Colleges. Her presentation will introduce a new wellness program. “When you enter the medical field, whether as a student or a resident, you’re often optimistic about the profession,” says Weil. “But external forces too often cause that optimism to deteriorate. The forces in our health care system today threaten to prevent us from having the kind of relationships with patients that allow us to feel fulfilled as physicians. Humanities, in combination with things like mindfulness and other activities that foster well-being, can help us remain present when we’re with our patients and prevent those outside pressures from intruding on these relationships. They can inoculate physicians against burnout and help them sustain longer and happier careers.”

Medicine Grand Rounds, John B. Buse "Type 2 Diabetes Care: Struggle, Progress and the Future"
2016-10-13 12:00 - 13:00
Type 2 diabetes is a major and growing contributor to poor health outcomes globally. Clinical science has conclusively demonstrated that glycemic control reduces the risk of microvascular complications – eye, kidney and nerve disease. For cardiovascular disease, blood pressure and lipid management, smoking cessation and antiplatelet therapies are effective in reducing risk. However, great controversy regarding the utility of glycemic management to reduce cardiovascular disease has persisted. Further, treatment with insulin – the mainstay of late diabetes care – has been associated with increasing concerns about hypoglycemia and its impact on health outcomes and quality of care. Dr. Buse will review major trials published over the last 18 months that have revolutionized the landscape of type 2 diabetes care and suggest a new path forward to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with the diabetes epidemic.
Dr. Buse’s practice combines clinical care, research and education. He has received international recognition for innovative efforts at prevention of type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and their complications. He practices patient-centered care focusing on developing treatment programs in collaboration with patients that meet their needs and expectations. He works with teams of investigators in diabetes clinical trials, comparative effectiveness research and translation of basic science research towards clinical application. Current projects focus in novel treatments including development of glucose-responsive insulin, cardiovascular safety and efficacy of diabetes drugs and developing the evidence-base for treatment guidelines of the future in diabetes care.
Dr. Buse is Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Director of the NC Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute, Director of the Diabetes Center and is the Executive Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He has clinical practices at the UNC Highgate Specialty Center in Durham, NC and the Salem Center in Winston-Salem, NC. He enjoys lecturing about diabetes.

Grand Rounds: J. Kevin Harrison, MD
2016-10-17 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: J. Kevin Harrison, MD, Professor of Medicine, Structural Heart Specialist, Duke UniversityTopic: “TAVR for Intermediate and Low Risk Aortic Stenosis Patients”

Medicine Grand Rounds, Roger S. Blumenthal "The ABC's of ASCVD Prevention"
2016-10-20 12:00 - 13:00
Roger S. Blumenthal, Director of Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease, specializes in treating adults who are at higher risk for future cardiovascular events because of 1) a history of prior cardiovascular or peripheral arterial disease or 2) the presence of multiple coronary risk factors. Dr. Blumenthal’s principal clinical and research interests involve the optimal management of ischemic heart disease, noninvasive detection of coronary atherosclerosis, and the development of new strategies to optimize the management of cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Dr. Blumenthal is the Director of Preventive Cardiology at Johns Hopkins. He is a member of the official national spokesperson panel for the American Heart Association and was also chairman for four years of the American College of Cardiology Committee for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
An experienced writer, Dr. Blumenthal is on the editorial board of The American Heart Journal, Clinical Cardiology and is the Preventive Cardiology/Coronary Heart Disease section editor of Cardiology Today.

2016 North Carolina Cardiovascular Update
2016-10-21 12:30 - 2016-10-22 12:00
Featuring The 15th Annual Ernest and Hazel Craige Lecture
KEYNOTE SPEAKER Roger S. Blumenthal, MDDirector, Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Centerfor the Prevention of Heart DiseaseThe Kenneth Jay Pollin Professor of CardiologyJohns Hopkins Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology

PROGRAM DIRECTORS

George A. (Rick) Stouffer, III, MDChief, Division of CardiologyHenry A. Foscue Distinguished Professor of MedicineMedical Center Physician in Chief, UNC Heart & Vascular Service Line

Eugene H. Chung, MDAssociate Professor of Medicine, UNC School of Medicine
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Register for this event

Medicine Grand Rounds, Brian C. Jensen "Cardio-Oncology: What? Why? Who?"
2016-10-27 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Jensen is a physician-scientist with a clinical and investigative focus on heart failure. He has clinical certification in Advanced Heart Failure/Transplantation and spends three months of the year as an attending physician on the UNC Heart Failure/Transplant/LVAD inpatient service. He also staffs the UNC Cardio-oncology clinic with a particular interest in optimizing cardiovascular health in patients with cancer. His laboratory uses mouse and cell culture models to study cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and the molecular response to myocardial injury.
Dr. Jensen’s research interests include heart failure, cardiac hypertrophy myocardial biology, adrenergic receptor biology, and chemotherapeutic cardiotoxicity. His clinical interests include advanced heart failure, transplant, and LVAD.

McAllister Heart Institute Seminar Series: Anne Eichmann, Ph.D
2016-10-31 11:00 - 12:00
Speaker: Anne Eichmann, Ph.D, Ensign Professor of Medicine, Yale University

Grand Rounds: Jonathan Rich MD
2016-10-31 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Jonathan D. Rich, MD. Professor of Medicine-Cardiology, Northwestern University.Topic: “Clinical Experience with HVAD Patient Management: Waveforms, BP and ASA.”

Medicine Grand Rounds, Richard W. Light "Pleural Disease Update 2016"
2016-11-03 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Light is presently Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Light is best known for his research on pleural disease. He developed Light’s criteria for the separation of transudates and exudates in 1972. Subsequently, he has published many papers concerning the pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of pleural disease. Dr. Light is the editor of 12 books; the two most famous are the single authored monograph Pleural Diseases–now in its fifth edition–and The Textbook of Pleural Disease which he edits in conjunction with Dr. YC Gary Lee. Dr. Light has now been an author on more than 350 articles and has spoken in 43 countries.
In this lecture, Dr. Light will discuss the separation of transudates and exudates. He also will outline the usual tests that he recommends be obtained when a thoracentesis is performed. He will talk about the options available to diagnose a pleural effusion when no diagnosis is apparent after the initial thoracentesis. Lastly, he will describe the treatment of parapneumonic effusions and malignant pleural effusions.
His expertise includes the use of transforming growth factor beta to produce a pleural effusion, studies of the characteristics of pleural fluid with different diseases, development of a model of empyema in the rat, and the relationship between pulmonary hypertension and the presence of pleural effusions.

Medicine Grand Rounds, Morbidity & Mortality, "Perioperative Delirium"
2016-11-10 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Andrew Greganti will present a clinical case of a patient who developed perioperative delirium that “unmasked” an underlying dementia. The case reminds caregivers that elderly patients who are at risk for cognitive decline can rapidly deteriorate after the stress of surgery and hospitalization.
Dr. Lindsay Wilson is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine with a special interest in delirium as it presents in older patients. She sees clinic patients at the UNC Geriatric Specialty Clinic, The Cedars Retirement Community, and Galloway Ridge, where she is the Associate Medical Director. She will offer her insights into the case and will identify ways to improve the care of patients who are at risk of developing delirium.
Dr. Greganti specializes in the care of elderly patients and the differential diagnosis of complex disease processes. He is Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine with primary responsibility for grand rounds.

Medicine Grand Rounds, Drs. Rick Stouffer and Alan Hinderliter, "Renal Denervation in the Treatment of Hypertension"
2016-11-17 12:00 - 13:00
Drs. Rick Stouffer and Alan Hinderliter will discuss renal denervation at the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds

Medicine Grand Rounds, Alan Hinderliter and Rick Stouffer "Renal Denervation in the Treatment of Hypertension"
2016-11-17 12:00 - 13:00
Drs. Hinderliter and Stouffer will discuss treatments for resistant hypertension with a focus on renal denervation, a novel device-based therapy. This minimally invasive procedure employs a catheter that emits a radio frequency (RF) energy across multiple electrodes. The RF energy is delivered to a renal artery via standard femoral artery access. A series of 1-minute ablations are delivered along each renal artery to disrupt the nerves. This procedure does not involve a permanent implant.
Dr. Hinderliter’s principal clinical interests are hypertension and echocardiography. He is a hypertension specialist and sees patients with high blood pressure that is difficult to control in the multidisciplinary UNC Hypertension Clinic. Dr. Hinderliter serves as the director of the UNC Hospitals echocardiography laboratory and provides imaging support to the structural heart disease program. He also works closely with the kidney transplant program in evaluating risk of cardiovascular events in patients who are considering a transplant. His research has focused on the effects of exercise, diet, and weight loss on high blood pressure, and on novel therapies for resistant hypertension.
Dr. Stouffer is an active clinician with a focus on smooth muscle cell growth regulation. He also has an interest in new treatments for hypertension, with his work being cited in multiple medical publications. His study on survival rates for in-hospital heart attacks was recently featured in The Wall Street Journal. With a strong research emphasis on advanced interventional cardiology treatments and procedures, Dr. Stouffer also studies coronary and peripheral interventions. He has also focused additional research on hemodynamics, valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, renal artery stenosis, acute coronary syndromes, and stents.

Grand Rounds: John Douglas, MD
2016-11-28 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: John S. Douglas, MD, Professor of Medicine, Director of Interventional Cardiology, Emory University.Topic: “Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Current Therapeutic Options.”

McAllister Heart Institute Seminar Series: Lawrence L. Rudel, Ph.D
2016-11-29 11:00 - 12:00
Speaker: Lawrence L. Rudel, Ph.D, Professor, Internal Medicine, Wake Forest University
Topic: “Decreasing cholesterol ester secretion via SOAT2 inhibition limits atherosclerosis: A target for treatment of CHD”

Medicine Grand Rounds, Claire M. Doerschuk "Pneumonia: Homeland Security in the Lungs!"
2016-12-01 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Doerschuk’s Grand Rounds will focus on host defense in the lungs, particularly how the lungs defend themselves against common stimuli such as bacterial pathogens and tobacco smoke. Airway epithelial cells, lung macrophages and neutrophils contribute to host defense. These cells and the processes they regulate synergize to result in an integrated response. This response can go awry in many ways, which often inform us about important mechanisms. Therapeutic interventions hold potential at many steps in this response.
Dr. Doerschuk’s research addresses host defense mechanisms in the lungs, particularly the inflammatory and innate immune processes that are important in the pathogenesis and course of bacterial pneumonia, acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome, and cigarette-smoke induced lung disease. Basic and translational studies address the mechanisms of host defense during pneumonia that focus on leukocyte recruitment, edema, and lung injury. These studies investigate pathogens that cause community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonias occurring in immunocompromised patients with cancer. Although these processes are important in all inflammatory lung diseases, her work particularly addresses pneumonia and the acute respiratory distress syndrome using in vivo, translational, cell biological, immunological, and molecular approaches. Her ultimate goal is to use this knowledge to develop therapies that enhance the inflammatory response when it is beneficial to the host and dampen this response when it is harmful.

McAllister Heart Institute Seminar Series: Domenick Prosdocimo, Ph.D
2016-12-06 11:00 - 12:00
Speaker: Domenick Prosdocimo, Ph.D, Instructor of Medicine,Case Western Reserve University
Topic: “Kruppel-like factor 15 regulates cardiac lipid metabolism”

Medicine Grand Rounds, Marco Patti "Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: From Heartburn to Lung Fibrosis and Beyond"
2016-12-08 12:00 - 13:00
This lecture will focus on the relationship between GERD and respiratory disorders–in particular, the possible cause and effect relationship between GERD and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Dr. Patti will review the possible role of GERD in rejection after lung transplantation. Strategies for addressing these problems will be presented.
Marco G. Patti, MD, is an internationally known surgeon with extensive expertise in the surgical treatment of esophageal diseases. He is one of the few surgeons in the United States who focus entirely on the surgical treatment of esophageal disease, specializing in treatment of swallowing disorders, acid reflux and esophageal cancer.
Patti is an authority on the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques to treat esophageal conditions. Performed through very small incisions with the use of specialized instruments and miniature cameras, this approach can lead to a quicker and more comfortable recovery, a shorter hospital stay and minimal scarring. “Because some of these disorders are so common, many people tend to live with the discomfort rather than seek treatment,” said Patti. “So when they finally come to us, they already have fairly advanced disease.”
Gastroesophageal reflux disease, known as GERD, affects an estimated two to three percent of adults. In patients with GERD, a muscle that separates the esophagus from the stomach does not close properly. This allows stomach contents to leak back, or reflux, into the esophagus and irritate it. Although GERD can usually be treated with lifestyle and diet changes combined with medication, chronic reflux can cause serious complications. Repeated exposure to stomach acid can damage the esophagus and cause bleeding or ulcers. Scar tissue can narrow the esophagus and impair swallowing. Some patients with chronic GERD develop Barrett’s esophagus, in which some of the lining of the esophagus is replaced by tissue similar to that in the intestine. This condition, which affects about 700,000 adults in the United States, can progress to esophageal cancer, which is often fatal.
“Physicians are slowly becoming more aggressive about treating these disorder before the complications begin,” Patti said. “I have seen too many patients who slowly develop serious damage while struggling with ineffective medications, when a simple operation could have solved the problem.”

Grand Rounds: Sarah Ciccotto, MD
2016-12-12 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Sarah Ciccotto, MD, UNC Cardiology FellowTopic: “Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Unique Risk Factors and Implications for Primary Prevention.”

Medicine Grand Rounds, Eric Klett, Louise Newton and Keelee MacPhee "A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Care of Transgender Patients"
2016-12-15 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Eric Klett, Dr. Keelee MacPhee, J. Louise Newton will provide an overview of the diagnosis and care of patients with Gender Dysphoria. Diagnostic criteria for Gender Dysphoria as well as adherence to the standards of care will be discussed for medical providers who may come into contact with the transgender population in their practice.
Dr. Klett practices General Endocrinology at UNC with clinical interests in thyroid disease, lipid disorders and transgender medicine.
Ms. Newton is the Clinical Director of Psychotherapy at Carolina Partners in Mental HealthCare. She has been a clinical educator and advocate of access to treatment for LGBTQI communities since 2001 and specializes in working with transgender and gender variant folks; many of whom are seeking assistance in removing barriers to medical care. Ms. Newton has also worked during this time educating providers about best practices in working with transgender and gender nonconforming patients.
Dr. MacPhee has been performing gender reassignment procedures since 2005. Working with the transgender and non-binary patient population, she has seen first-hand the positive and profound effects that surgical reconstruction can have on a person’s life. Dr. MacPhee practices at Renaissance Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery in Raleigh.

Medicine Grand Rounds, Will Pendergraft "These Are Your Kidneys on Lupus"
2016-12-22 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Will Pendergraft is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology. His specialty areas include Glomerular disease, vasculitis (with primary focus on ANCA vasculitis), lupus nephritis, and drug-induced autoimmune disease.
In this lecture, Dr. Pendergraft will describe the impact of lupus on the kidneys and review the current clinical and translational states of lupus nephritis, including the first successful clinical trial in lupus nephritis. Lupus nephritis is the term used when lupus causes inflammation in the kidneys, making them unable to properly remove waste from blood or control the amount of fluids in the body. Abnormal levels of waste can build up in the blood and edema can develop. Left untreated, nephritis can lead to scarring and permanent damage to the kidneys and possibly end-stage renal disease, requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant. It is estimated that as many as 40 percent of all people with lupus, and as many as two-thirds of all children with lupus, will develop kidney complications that require medical evaluation and treatment.
Dr. Pendergraft provides medical care for patients with kidney disease, educates trainees about nephrology, and conducts translational and clinical research with a special emphasis on autoimmune diseases that affect the kidneys. His other research interests include:

Understanding response to therapy and relapse in lupus nephritis and ANCA vasculitis using high-resolution systems-level tools (epigenetic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, proteomic and microbiomic)
Repurposing FDA-approved drugs for use in lupus nephritis and ANCA vasculitis
Translational studies aimed at understanding drug-induced forms of ANCA vasculitis
Clinical trials of existing and novel biologic therapies for lupus nephritis and ANCA vasculitis
Clinical data analysis of large and unique cohorts of patients with either lupus nephritis, ANCA vasculitis or idiopathic membranous nephropathy
In-depth characterization of rituximab use and development of guidelines to prevent and manage adverse event

Medicine Grand Rounds, Raj Kasthuri and Jian Liu, "Heparins: Into the Second Century"
2017-01-05 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Raj Kasthuri is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and is the Director of the UNC HHT Center of Excellence. Dr. Kasthuri earned his medical degree from the Kasturba Medical College in India. He completed his fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the University of Minnesota. He is a member of the UNC Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center and the UNC McAllister Heart Institute. Dr. Kasthuri’s clinical and research interests are in bleeding and clotting disorders, and HHT.
Dr. Jian Liu is the John & Deborah McNeill, Jr. Distinguished Professor in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He has been working with heparin for more than 25 years. His expertise is in structural characterization of heparin and heparan sulfate, biosynthetic mechanism of heparin and enzymatic synthesis of heparin. He has invented an enzyme-based method to prepare heparin and heparan sulfate from bacteria polysaccharides. His method could potentially manufacture heparin in a confined facility to improve the safety of heparin drug.

Medicine Grand Rounds, Melina Kibbe, "Sex Bias in Biomedical and Clinical Research"
2017-01-12 12:00 - 13:00
Melina R. Kibbe is the Zack D. Owens Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery. She also is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Prior to UNC, Dr. Kibbe was faculty at Northwestern University for 13 years where she also served as the Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Surgery and as Deputy Director of the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology. Clinically, Dr. Kibbe has significant experience with both open and endovascular surgery, including the treatment of carotid stenosis, peripheral vascular disease, and abdominal aortic aneurysms. She is board certified in general and vascular surgery and is RVT and RPVI certified by ARDMS.
Dr. Kibbe has been a strong advocate for sex inclusion in biomedical research. She was interviewed by Leslie Stahl for 60 Minutes in February 2014 on this topic, and later appeared on The Colbert Report. Her publications on the presence of sex bias in surgical research gained much media attention nationally and internationally, and resulted in policy development with the National Institutes of Health, the Government Accountability Organization (GAO), and the FDA. In addition, a bill has been introduced into the House, “Research for All Act of 2015,” which hopefully will be voted into law.

Medicine Grand Rounds, Marie Demay, "FGF23 in Normal Physiology and Disease"
2017-01-19 12:00 - 13:00
FGF23 was initially identified by linkage analysis of a rare genetic disorder characterized by rickets and hypophosphatemia. Subsequent investigations identified FGF23 as a major regulator of mineral ion homeostasis under normal physiological conditions. Increased levels of FGF23 contribute to the pathology observed in numerous disease states, including chronic kidney disease. This lecture will discuss the physiologic role of FGF23 and its contributions to disease pathology.
Marie Demay is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her clinical interests include calcium disorders, endocrinology, and osteomalacia. Her current research projects include the role of the vitamin D receptor in keratinocyte stem-cell function and the role of mineral ions and hormones on growth-plate development and maturation using a model of X-linked hypophosphatemia.

Medicine Grand Rounds, David Weber and Sarah McGill, "Clostridium Difficile Infection"
2017-01-26 12:00 - 13:00
Drs. Weber and McGill will discuss Clostridium difficile, often called C. diff, a bacterium that can cause symptoms ranging from diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon. Illness from C. difficile most commonly affects older adults in hospitals or in long term care facilities and typically occurs after use of antibiotic medications.
In recent years, C. difficile infections have become more frequent, more severe and more difficult to treat. Each year, tens of thousands of people in the United States get sick from C. difficile, including some otherwise healthy people who aren’t hospitalized or taking antibiotics.
Treatment of C. difficile infections costs more than $3 billion per year in the U.S. alone. C. diff is one of the most dangerous drug-resistant infections. As a result, it’s classified as an “urgent threat” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making it a top priority for microbial researchers. Fecal microbiota transplantation is an effective treatment for recurrent C. difficile positive diarrhea. The Food and Drug Administration allows fecal transplantation to be performed in patients whose C. difficile infection has not responded to standard therapies.
Through his roles as medical director of hospital epidemiology and associate chief medical officer of UNC Health Care, Dr. Weber works to prevent hospital-acquired infections in patients and staff at UNC Hospitals. Dr. McGill cares for patients with recurrent C. difficile colitis and performs fecal transplant. She will examine the indications for fecal transplantation and how it is performed at UNC.

Grand Rounds: Akinniran Abisogun, MD
2017-01-30 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Akinniran Abisogun, MD, UNC Cardiology Fellow, Topic: “Management and Outcomes of Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Patients Hospitalized for Non-Cardiac Conditions.”
