About

Kathleen Beebe, MD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Her professional role involves contributing to the academic and research missions of the institution, particularly within the context of orthopaedics. The page does not provide specific details about her research focus, background, or key contributions.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Surgery
• Pathology
• Internal medicine
• Medical emergency
• Virology
• Demography
• Family medicine
• Physical therapy
• Medical education
• Oncology
• Database

Selected publications

• Mentorship and orthopaedic resident subspecialty selection

  Current Orthopaedic Practice · 2025-10-17

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Objective: Subspecialty training is an important component of orthopaedic training, and mentorship is known to hold a significant role in subspecialty selection. The objective is to investigate mentorship via the relationship between the presence of female faculty in a subspecialty and the subspecialty fellowship pursuits of female residents within that program. Methods: Graduates and faculty from ACGME-accredited orthopaedic surgery residency programs were identified. Gender and subspecialty/fellowship were collected for all individuals. Residency program locations were stratified into four regions based on state: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. To compare these categorical variables, chi-square analysis was used. Results: Of 2,151 orthopaedic faculty, 279 (13%) were female. Of 1,423 orthopaedic residency alumni, 209 (15%) were female. Pediatrics had the highest proportion of female faculty (35%) and female alumni (67%), while spine had the least female faculty (5%) and female alumni (5%). Of all female residency graduates, the most highly selected subspecialty was hand (29%). There was a significant relationship between overall female alumni subspecialty choice and the pursuit of subspecialties in which there was at least 1 female faculty at their home institution ( P <0.001). Conclusions: This study suggests that gender-based mentorship impacts subspecialty selection as a significant relationship exists between female subspecialty selection and the proportion of female faculty in that subspecialty. Overall, this study highlights the impact of gender diversity within the field orthopaedic surgery and its effects on future orthopaedic surgeons.

  PublisherDOI

• Use of Imaging Prior to Orthopedic Oncology Referral: An Analysis of ChatGPT Recommendations

  2025-04-28

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Purpose: A standardized set of clinical practice guidelines from the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) was released in 2018 to aid non-specialist physicians in diagnosing bone and soft-tissue lesions. Artificial intelligence (AI) models like ChatGPT are increasingly prevalent. Our objectives were to determine how closely ChatGPT recommendations align with MSTS guidelines for imaging bone and soft tissue lesions. Methods: We developed questions to assess ChatGPT’s alignment with MSTS guidelines. Answers from ChatGPT were double-blinded and evaluated for concordance. Answers were scored using four categories: accuracy, overconclusiveness, supplementary information, and incompleteness. Chi-square test was used with a statistically significant p-value of less than 0.05. Results: A total of 14 questions were generated from the 12 guidelines. Results showed alignment between the accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses and the guidelines. Of the 14 questions posed to ChatGPT, 10 were deemed accurate. However, responses to 13 questions were deemed overconclusive or contained supplementary information (p<0.05). Additionally, 9 responses were deemed incomplete when compared to guidelines (p<0.05). Conclusions: Imaging methods recommended by MSTS to front-line practitioners are generally aligned with AI-based modeling recommendations. However, ChatGPT is not yet sufficient as a standalone modality, often providing supplementary or incomplete information. The value of AI-based predictions in healthcare are an evolving modality.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evaluating the role of preference signaling on female representation in successful applicants in the orthopaedic surgery national resident match

  Current Orthopaedic Practice · 2025-04-21

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Background: The American Orthopaedic Association’s Council of Orthopaedic Residency Directors implemented a preference signaling program for the 2022-2023 orthopaedic residency application cycle, which allows applicants to send up to 30 “signals” that indicate their specific interest in a program. The stated purpose of the implementation of signaling is to produce “a more equitable, reproducible, efficient, and mutually optimal Match,” and to decrease barriers for applicants from groups that have been underrepresented in orthopaedic surgery. Particularly with the elimination of the USMLE Step 1 score, preference signaling has now become one of the most important factors considered by residency programs when extending interview invitations. This study thus aims to identify any significant effects of signaling on addressing the issue of female representation in successful orthopaedic surgery residency applicants. Methods: Using publicly available data, the gender distribution of orthopaedic surgery residents was obtained for the classes of 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028 for 176 of the 199 (88.44%) recognized US orthopaedic residency programs. Results: When comparing the gender distribution of orthopaedic surgery residents after the implementation of preference signaling, there was no significant change in the proportion of female residents comprising the residency class ( P =0.495). Conclusions: In its first year, preference signaling did not demonstrate a statistically significant impact on female representation of successful applicants to orthopaedic surgery residency programs. Therefore, other methods of increasing representation in orthopaedic surgery are necessary.

  PublisherDOI

• Use of imaging prior to orthopedic oncology referral: An analysis of ChatGPT recommendations

  Journal of Orthopaedic Reports · 2025-05-26

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  A standardized set of clinical practice guidelines from the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) was released in 2018, seeking to aid non-specialist physicians in diagnosing and generating treatment plans for bone and soft-tissue lesions. 1 Artificial intelligence (AI) models like ChatGPT, an OpenAI language modeling tool, assist physicians in treatment planning and reducing administrative burden. 2 Our objectives were to determine how closely ChatGPT recommendations align with MSTS guidelines for imaging bone and soft tissue lesions, prior to orthopedic oncology referral. We also investigated if ChatGPT clearly and accurately explained these MSTS guidelines to the user. We developed questions to assess ChatGPT’s alignment with MSTS guidelines. Answers from ChatGPT were double-blinded and evaluated for concordance. Answers were scored using four categories: accuracy, overconclusiveness, addition of supplementary information, and incompleteness. Chi-square test was used for analysis with a statistically significant p-value of less than 0.05. A total of 14 questions were generated from the 12 MSTS guidelines. Results showed alignment between the accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses and the 12 guidelines. Of the 14 questions posed to ChatGPT, 10 were deemed accurate to the guidelines. However, responses to 13 questions were deemed to be overconclusive or to contain supplementary information (p<0.05). Additionally, 9 responses were deemed incomplete when compared to MSTS guidelines (p<0.05). The concordance between the accuracy of responses and the 2018 MSTS guidelines is convincing, suggesting that imaging methods recommended by MSTS to front-line practitioners are generally aligned with AI-based modeling recommendations. However, it is not yet sufficient as a standalone modality, often providing supplementary or incomplete information. While AI-based predictions in healthcare are an evolving modality, their value as a diagnostic tool demands further rigorous research.

  PublisherDOI

• ChatGPT 3.5 Better Improves Comprehensibility of English, than Spanish, Generated Responses to Osteosarcoma Questions

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2025-02-03 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Despite adequate discussion and counseling in the office, inadequate health literacy or language barriers may make it difficult to follow instructions from a physician and access necessary resources. This may negatively impact survival outcomes. Most healthcare materials are written at a 10th grade level, while many patients read at an 8th grade level. Hispanic Americans comprise about 25% of the US patient population, while only 6% of physicians identify as bilingual. QUESTIONS/PURPOSE: (1) Does ChatGPT 3.5 provide appropriate responses to frequently asked patient questions that are sufficient for clinical practice and accurate in English and Spanish? (2) What is the comprehensibility of the responses provided by ChatGPT 3.5 and are these modifiable? METHODS: Twenty frequently asked osteosarcoma patient questions, evaluated by two fellowship-trained musculoskeletal oncologists were input into ChatGPT 3.5. Responses were evaluated by two independent reviewers to assess appropriateness for clinical practice, and accuracy. Responses were graded using the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test (FKGL). The responses were then input into ChatGPT 3.5 for a second time with the following command "Make text easier to understand". The same method was done in Spanish. RESULTS: All responses generated were appropriate for a patient-facing informational platform. There was no difference in the Flesch Reading Ease Score between English and Spanish responses before the modification (p = 0.307) and with the Flesch-Kincaid grade level (p = 0.294). After modification, there was a statistically significant difference in comprehensibility between English and Spanish responses (p = 0.003 and p = 0.011). CONCLUSION: In both English and Spanish, none of the ChatGPT generated responses were found to be factually inaccurate. ChatGPT was able to modify responses upon follow-up with a simplified command. However, it was shown to be better at improving English responses than equivalent Spanish responses.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Anemia, Abnormal Body Mass Index, and Sarcopenia Increase Complication Risk in Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Metastatic Bone Disease

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2025-05-15 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Metastatic bone disease (MBD) is a common complication of primary cancers and is typically managed surgically. Overall health status and nutritional optimization are essential in surgical outcomes. The objective of this study was to report the intersectionality of previously studied laboratory, imaging, and clinical characteristics on postoperative complications. METHODS: Patients treated surgically for metastatic disease of the femur or tibia from 2001 to 2022 were reviewed. Age, gender, diagnosis, perioperative BMI, hemoglobin, albumin, method of surgical treatment, history of chemotherapy, history of radiation to the site, return to the operating room (OR), and complication type were collected for analysis. Psoas cross-sectional area was measured. RESULTS: Following review, 119 patients (61 F, 58 M) treated at 128 anatomic sites, with mean age 61.9 ± 15.6 and mean follow-up 23.7 ± 9.3 met the inclusion criteria. The rate of wound dehiscence was 7/128 (5.47%) and infection was 7/128 (5.47%). Hemoglobin < 12 [OR 1.091 (95% CI 1.023-1.164, p < 0.05)] and abnormal BMI [OR 9.000 (95% CI 0.962-84.208, p < 0.05)] were both associated with an increased risk of deep infection. Hemoglobin < 12 [OR 1.091 (95% CI 1.023-1.164, p < 0.05)] was also associated with increased risk in superficial infection. Abnormal BMI [OR 3.783 (95% CI 1.209-11.831, p < 0.05)] was associated with an increased risk of return to the OR. History of chemotherapy [OR 2.965 (95% CI 1.173-7.493, p < 0.05)] was associated with an increased risk in overall complications. There was no association found between history of diabetes and complications. No statistically significant difference was found between the method of fixation when comparing complications between those that received an endoprosthesis, intramedullary nail (IMN), or plate. CONCLUSIONS: The complication risk for patients with metastatic disease is multifactorial, with anemia, abnormal BMI, and sarcopenia as measured by psoas cross-sectional area increasing risk for nononcologic complications. In the future, large-scale studies can help quantify the impact of each factor to allow for preoperative optimization to reduce complications.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Larger stem to bone diameter ratio predicts lower cemented endoprosthesis failure

  Journal of Surgical Oncology · 2024-01-14 · 1 citations

  article

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: With continued advances in treatment options, patients with endoprosthetic reconstruction are living longer and consequently relying upon their devices for a longer duration. Major causes of endoprosthesis failure include aseptic loosening and mechanical failure. In the setting of tumor resection, loss of bone stock and use of radiation therapy increase the risk for these complications. As such, considerations of remaining native bone and stem length and diameter may be increasingly important. We asked the following questions: (1) What was the overall rate of endoprosthesis failure at a minimum of 5-year follow-up? (2) Does resection length increase implant failure rates? (3) Does implant size and its ratio to cortical width of bone alter implant failure rates? METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patient outcomes at a single institution between the years of 1999-2022 who underwent cemented endoprosthetic reconstruction at the hip or knee and identified 150 patients. Of these 150, 55 had a follow-up of greater than 5 years and were used for analysis. Radiographs of these patients at time of surgery were assessed and measured for resection length, bone diameter, stem diameter, and remaining bone length. Resection percentage, and stem to bone diameter ratios were then calculated and their relationship to endoprosthesis failure were analyzed. RESULTS: Patients in this cohort had a mean age of 55.8, and mean follow-up of 59.96 months. There were 78 distal femoral replacements (52%), 16 proximal femoral replacements (10.7%), and 56 proximal tibial replacements (37.3%). There were five patients who experienced aseptic loosening and six patients who experienced mechanical failure. Patients with implant failure had a smaller mean stem to bone diameter (36% vs. 44%; p = 0.002). A stem to bone diameter of 40% appeared to be a breaking point between success and failure in this series, with 90% of patients with implant failure having a stem: bone ratio less than 40%. Stem to bone ratio less than 40% increased risk for failure versus stems that were at least 40% the diameter of bone (6/19 [31.6%] vs. 0/36 [0%]; odds ratio 0.68; p < 0.001). Resection length did not appear to have an impact on the rates of aseptic loosening and mechanical failure in this series. CONCLUSIONS: Data from this series suggests a benefit to using stems with a larger diameter when implanting cemented endoprostheses at the hip or knee. Stems which were less than 40% the diameter of bone were substantially more likely to undergo implant failure.

  PublisherDOI

• Risk factors for metastatic disease at presentation with chordoma and its prognostic value

  North American Spine Society Journal (NASSJ) · 2024-11-06 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background: Chordoma is a rare bone cancer arising from the embryonic notochord with special predilection to the axial skeleton. The locally destructive nature and metastatic potential of chordomas can lead to devastating outcomes in terms of survival. The purpose of this study was to examine potential risk factors predictive of metastatic disease at presentation and prognostic factors in patients with metastasis. Methods: SEER was used to classify each patient as having metastatic or localized disease at the time of diagnosis. Patient-specific and tumor characteristics were analyzed to determine which factors were predictive of an increased rate of metastatic disease at presentation. These factors were analyzed using univariate as well as a multivariate logistic regression model. Prognostic factors for survival were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier estimates with log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards models. Results: We identified 1,241 cases of chordoma affecting the axial skeleton, and 117 (9.4%) of the patients presented with metastatic disease. The most common locations for metastasis at presentation were lung (6.0%), followed by bone (5.1%) and liver (3.4%). Based on the unadjusted logistic regression analysis, patients had the highest odds of metastatic disease at presentation if they had a tumor located in the sacrococcygeal area (OR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.11-2.68; p = .015), a tumor with a dedifferentiated histological subtype (OR = 7.42; 95% CI, 2.31-23.79; p = .001) and a tumor size greater than 10 cm (OR = 4.57; 95% CI, 2.52-8.28; p = .009). Only the histological subtype remained significant when combined in a multivariate model controlling for age, sex, race, tumor location, histology, and size. For patients with recorded tumor size information (n = 858), the odds of metastasis at presentation increased by 12.2% with each additional centimeter of tumor size (OR = 1.122; 95% CI, 1.072-1.175; p < .0001). However, this lost significance in the multivariate model. Advanced age (hazard ratio, 2.06; 95% confidence interval, (1.18-3.60); p = .011) and dedifferentiated subtype (hazard ratio, 4.7; 95% confidence interval, (1.33-16.8); p = .02) were significant prognostic factors for survival in patients with metastatic chordoma. Conclusions: Chordoma patients with dedifferentiated histological subtype were more likely to have metastatic disease at presentation. Advanced age and dedifferentiated histological subtype were independent predictors of increased mortality in patients with metastatic chordoma. Identification of this high-risk group may help providers in counseling their patients regarding the likelihood of discovering metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis of chordoma and predicting long term prognosis.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Factors influencing the research productivity of orthopaedic surgery residents

  Journal of Orthopaedic Reports · 2024-11-12 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The factors that contribute to resident academic productivity are unknown. The primary goal of this study is to determine if factors such as program reputation, residency geographic region, and resident gender are associated with the research productivity of orthopaedic surgery residents. Top Doximity-ranking residency programs in 2021–2022 were selected for analysis. Residents were identified using program websites. Resident publications on Scopus and PubMed from July 1 of resident PGY1 year to December 2021 were collected. Demographic data including resident gender, training year, and medical school affiliation were collected. Program geographic location was collected and stratified by state. The number and type of publications, authorship position, and journal impact factor measured research productivity. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to perform statistical analyses. Among 16 of the top 25 Doximity-ranked programs studied, 560 residents were identified, 423 (75.5%) male, and 137 (24.5%) female. The median number of overall publications was 3 per resident. When stratified by class, the median number of publications per resident was 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 for the PGY1 through PGY5 classes, respectively. Male and female residents had a median of 3 total articles, but there was a significant difference between the distribution (p = 0.004). There was a significant difference in the percentage of times published in a top orthopaedic surgery journal between male and female authors (p = 0.027). There was no significant difference in research productivity by region, except for the Northeast, where residents produced significantly more publications (p < 0.001). Factors associated with increased research productivity during residency training include male gender, medical school ranking, and residency program in the Northeast region. Although it might be improving, gender differences still exist within the field of orthopaedics.

  PublisherDOI

• Diabetic myonecrosis: A rare complication of long-standing diabetes mellitus

  Primary care diabetes · 2024-11-26 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Joseph Benevenia

  Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

  135 shared

• Joseph A. Ippolito

  Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

  107 shared

• Francis Patterson

  Hackensack University Medical Center

  84 shared

• S Rivero

  51 shared

• Jennifer E. Thomson

  38 shared

• Brianna L. Siracuse

  28 shared

• Maximilian Martinez

  25 shared

• Nicole D. Rynecki

  24 shared

Labs

• Center for Immunity & Inflammation (CII)PI

  Not provided

Education

• M.D.

  Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons

  1999

• B.S.

  City University of New York, Hunter College

  1993