Abstracts

Rationale: A newly established ketogenic diet program at the University of Chicago has led to an increase in the number of consults to on call neurology residents regarding diet patients. Problems such as low glucose levels, constipation and nil per os (NPO) status are unique challenges for residents when managing these patients. To date, no studies have investigated the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet curriculum for neurology residents. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel ketogenic diet curriculum in improving objective knowledge for neurology residents. Secondary objectives included assessing the impact of the curriculum on self-reported confidence and interest levels.  Methods: This is a prospective cohort study involving adult and child neurology residents in their 2nd through 5th year of training. Residents were given a pretest to assess confidence levels in managing diet patients, interest in the curriculum, and objective knowledge regarding the topic. This served the purpose of both our needs assessment and to establish baseline data on residents. An interactive PowerPoint lecture with case-based examples was then given to residents. Following the curriculum, a posttest was administered to reassess residents' confidence, interest level and objective knowledge. Residents who were unavailable to receive the curriculum served as the control group.  Results: Eighteen residents completed the study, four of whom served as a control and only took the pre and post-test but did not receive the curriculum. Prior to the curriculum, mean confidence ratings on a 10-point Likert scale was 2.79 (SD 2.29) which improved to 6.0 (SD 1.96) after receiving the curriculum (p=0.0008). Confidence levels in the control group remained unchanged from a mean of 2.25 (SD 1.26) on the pre-test to a mean of 3.0 (SD 1.41) on the post-test (p=0.1). Objective knowledge improved from a mean percentage score of 54.76 (SD 13.36) prior to the curriculum to 88.1 (SD 17.5) afterwards (p=0.0001). Knowledge scores remained unchanged in the control group. Interest levels in learning about managing ketogenic diet patients was high in both the curriculum group and control group with mean ratings on a 10-point Likert scale of 8.29 (SD 1.94) and 8.0 (SD 1.41), respectively; interest scores remained stable in both groups on follow-up testing.  Conclusions: Our novel curriculum can increase confidence and objective knowledge for neurology residents managing patients on the ketogenic diet.  Funding: No funding