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Κυριακή 11 Ιουλίου 2021

The cost of cure: Examining objective and subjective financial toxicity in head and neck cancer survivors

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Abstract

Background

Little is documented regarding objective financial metrics and their impact on subjective financial toxicity in head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors.

Methods

In a cross-sectional analysis, 71 survivors with available claims data for HNC-specific out-of-pocket expenses (OOPE) completed a survey including patient-reported, subjective financial toxicity outcome tools: the Comprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) and the Financial Distress Questionnaire (FDQ).

Results

Worse COST scores were significantly associated with lower earnings at survey administration (coefficient = 3.79; 95% CI 2.63–4.95; p < 0.001); loss of earnings after diagnosis (coefficient = 6.03; 95% CI 0.53–11.52; p = 0.032); and greater annual OOPE as a proportion of earnings [log10(Annual OOPE:Earnings at survey): coefficient = −5.66; 95% CI −10.28 to −1.04; p = 0.017]. Similar results were found with FDQ.

Conclusion

Financial toxicity is associated with particular socioeconomic characteristics which, if understood, would assist the development of pre-treatment screening tools to detect at-risk individuals and intervene early in the HNC cancer survivorship trajectory.

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Otolaryngologists Trail Other Specialties in Industry Payments From Dermal Filler Companies

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Objectives/Hypothesis

Dermal filler (DF) is a widely used nonsurgical option for facial rejuvenation with a rapidly expanding market. Physician payments by DF industry leaders have yet to be characterized. We sought to investigate trends in physician-industry payments by DF companies over 6 years. Differences in payments based on physician specialty and time were characterized.

Study Design

Database review.

Methods

The Open Payments Database was queried from 2013 to 2018. Payments made by the three largest DF companies by market share to otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, and dermatologists were analyzed. Total dollars paid, number of payments made, type of payments made, and total number of specialists paid were recorded. One-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis.

Results

Otolaryngologists, plastic surgeons, and dermatologists received average annual payments of $0.36 million, $6.3 million, and $6.6 million respectively (P < .001). An average of 330 otolaryngologists, 2,128 plastic surgeons, and 5,980 dermatologists were paid annually (P < .001). Accredited speaking arrangements, consulting fees, and royalty/licensing fees comprised the majority of dollars paid to physicians.

Conclusions

Average physician payment by DF companies exceeds $12 million annually, with otolaryngologists receiving significantly less compared to plastic surgeons and dermatologists.

Level of Evidence

Not applicable Laryngoscope, 2021

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Second Primary Tumors in Patients Presenting With Unilateral HPV‐Associated Tonsillar Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Objective

To describe and compare rates of metachronous and synchronous second primaries of the contralateral tonsil in patients with primary HPV(+) tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Study Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Materials and Methods

This is a single tertiary care center retrospective case series, from 2006 to 2019, of HPV(+) tonsillar SCC patients who underwent primary surgical resection with unilateral wide-field tonsillectomy or bilateral tonsillectomy for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. A metachronous second primary is one diagnosed >6 months after completion of surgical treatment. A synchronous second primary is one diagnosed during bilateral tonsillectomy for unilateral HPV(+) tonsillar SCC. Rates of second primary and patient characteristics were compared using chi-square tests.

Results

About 303 patients underwent unilateral surgical resection +/− adjuvant therapy for HPV(+) tonsillar SCC. One (0.3%) developed a metachronous second primary in the contralateral tonsil 11.9 years following treatment. Fifty-seven patients with HPV(+) tonsillar SCC underwent bilateral tonsillectomy, and 37/57 (65%) had no clinical signs for contralateral disease. Of these, only 1/37 (2.7%) was incidentally found to have a synchronous second primary. Twenty patients underwent bilateral tonsillectomy due to clinical concern for contralateral disease. Of these, 3/20 (15%) were found to have a synchronous HPV(+) SCC in the contralateral tonsil.

Conclusions

The prevalence of metachronous second primary after appropriate treatment of HPV(+) tonsillar SCC is very low (0.3%) and so is the chance of incidentally discovering a synchronous second primary during bilateral tonsillectomy (2.7%). We do not recommend bilateral tonsillectomy as a part of the routine algorithm in the surgical management of these patients.

Level of Evidence

3 Laryngoscope, 2021

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Cell‐Free Human Papillomavirus‐DNA for Monitoring Treatment Response of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

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Objectives/Hypothesis

The aim of this study was to assess the value of cell-free human papillomavirus-DNA (cfHPV-DNA) as a diagnostic test for the post-treatment surveillance of patients with HPV-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Study Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods

A literature search was conducted in three databases (MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus) in January 2021. The population included patients with HPV-positive HNSCC. The intervention was the use of the repeated liquid biopsy with circulating HPV-DNA detection during follow-up. The outcome was to establish the value of cfHPV-DNA as a diagnostic test for the post-treatment surveillance of patients with HPV-positive HNSCC.

Results

Ten studies included in the meta-analysis provided a total of 457 patients with HPV-positive HNSCC. The meta-analytic study estimated the diagnostic performance of cfHPV-DNA as follows: pooled sensitivity and specificity of 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40–0.84) and 0.99 (99% CI: 0.96–0.99), respectively; positive and negative likelihood ratios of 62.5 (99% CI: 22.9–170.2) and 0.05 (99% CI: 0.013–0.24), respectively; and pooled diagnostic odds ratio of 371.66 (99% CI: 60.4–2286.7).

Conclusion

Currently, the follow-up protocol for HNSCC patients includes routine clinical evaluation and radiological imaging. Biomarkers to monitor this disease are not established. Considering its high specificity, cfHPV-DNA represents a potential confirmatory test in the case of positive positron emission tomography and computed tomography. In the near future, cfHPV-DNA could be used as a biomarker for monitoring the treatment response during the clinical trials of de-escalation therapy or immunotherapy. Larger sample sizes and the homologation of study protocols and methodology are needed to better establish its utility in the clinical practice. Laryngoscope, 2021

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Novel Multidisciplinary Salivary Gland Society (MSGS) Questionnaire: An International Consensus

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Objectives

First, establishment and validation of a novel questionnaire documenting the burden of xerostomia and sialadenitis symptoms, including quality of life. Second, to compare two versions regarding the answering scale (proposed developed answers Q3 vs. 0–10 visual analogue scale Q10) of our newly developed questionnaire, in order to evaluate their comprehension by patients and their reproducibility in time.

Study Design

The study is a systematic review regarding the evaluation of the existing questionnaire and a cohort study regarding the validation of our new MSGS questionnaire.

Materials and Methods

A Multidisciplinary Salivary Gland Society (MSGS) questionnaire consisting of 20 questions and two scoring systems was developed to quantify symptoms of dry mouth and sialadenitis. Validation of the questionnaire was carried out on 199 patients with salivary pathologies (digestive, nasal, or age-related xerostomia, post radiation therapy, post radioiodine therapy, Sjögren's syndrome, IgG4 disease, recurrent juvenile parotitis, stones, and strictures) and a control group of 66 healthy volunteers. The coherence of the questionnaire's items, its reliability to distinguish patients from healthy volunteers, its comparison with unstimulated sialometry, and the time to fill both versions were assessed.

Results

The novel MSGS questionnaire showed good internal coherence of the items, indicating its pertinence: the scale reliability coefficients amounted to a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92 for Q10 and 0.90 for Q3. The time to complete Q3 and Q10 amounted, respectively, to 5.23 min (±2.3 min) and 5.65 min (±2.64 min) for patients and to 3.94 min (±3.94 min) and 3.75 min (±2.11 min) for healthy volunteers. The difference between Q3 and Q10 was not significant.

Conclusion

We present a novel self-administered questionnaire quantifying xerostomia and non-tumoral salivary gland pathologies. We recommend the use of the Q10 version, as its scale type is well known in the literature and it translation for international use will be more accurate. Laryngoscope, 2021

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Improving the Pediatric Floor Discharge Process Following Tonsillectomy

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Objectives/Hypothesis

Over 300,000 tonsillectomies are performed nationwide every year. In 2017, half of children undergoing tonsillectomy at our institution were admitted to the pediatric floor, with only 10.4% being discharged before 11 AM on postoperative day 1 (POD1). Our primary objective was to increase the percentage of patients discharged before 11 AM on POD1 to at least 50% within 1 year.

Study Design

Prospective observational (quality improvement).

Methods

A multidisciplinary quality improvement (QI) team was assembled. The primary outcome was "timely discharges," defined as percentage of patients discharged before 11 AM on POD1; secondary outcomes were percentage of patients discharged before 1 PM and mean length of stay (hours). Seven-day readmission rate served as our balancing measure. Prior year data served as baseline. A process map, Ishikawa diagram, and Pareto chart were utilized to identify specific target areas for improvement. Key interventions included announcement of our initiative, an electronic health record-based handoff text prompt, discharge checklist, automated discharge instructions, encouragement to place discharge orders by 9 AM and implementation of early POD1 rounds. Data were collected on a biweekly basis and the primary and secondary outcomes were plotted on control charts and analyzed using rules for special cause variation.

Results

Within 12 months, POD1 discharges before 11 AM and before 1 PM increased to 44.9% and 83.8%, respectively, with sustained improvement for the first 6 months of the subsequent year. Mean length of stay decreased, and 7-day readmission rates were unchanged.

Conclusions

By understanding the factors influencing timely POD1 discharges after tonsillectomy, key interventions were implemented to achieve an increase in timely discharges.

Level of Evidence

III Laryngoscope, 2021

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MicroRNA‐215‐5p inhibits the proliferation of keratinocytes and alleviates psoriasis‐like inflammation by negatively regulating DYRK1A and its downstream signalling pathways

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Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by abnormal hyperproliferation and differentiation. The object of this study is to explore the role of microRNA-215-5p in psoriasis-like inflammation. The expression of miR-215-5p was found to be down-regulated in pro-inflammatory factor-stimulated HaCaT cells and imiquimod (IMQ)-treated skin tissues. Overexpression of miR-215-5p suppressed the proliferation and cell cycle progression of HaCaT cells. Further, miR-215-5p agomir alleviated the disease severity, pathological features and Ki67 positive cells in IMQ-treated mice. Luciferase assay confirmed that miR-215-5p could bind to the 3′UTR of DYRK1A. The in vitro and in vivo results showed that miR-215-5p negatively regulates DYRK1A, which further inhibited EGFR and its downstream signalling pathways, AKT and ERK. Collectively, our results provide evidence that overexpression of miR-215-5p inhibits the proliferation of HaCaT cells and alleviates psoriasis-like inflammati on partly by DYRK1A mediated inhibition of the EGFR signalling pathway. miR-215-5p may serve as a novel small molecule for therapeutic intervention in psoriasis.

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Treatment of axillary bromhidrosis in adolescents by combining electrocauterization with ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin type A injection

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J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2021 Apr 18:S1748-6815(21)00193-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.03.089. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of treatment-combined electrocauterization after removal of apocrine sweat glands with ultrasound-guided (BOTOX) injection for adolescents with axillary bromhidrosis. From January 2015 to January 2018, 90 adolescents with axillary bromhidrosis were recruited and randomly divided into three groups (group A, B, and C). Patients in group A underwent electrocauterization after removal of apocrine sweat glands, patients in group B received ultrasound-guided BOTOX injection, and patients in group C had electrocauterization after the removal of apocrine sweat glands followed by ultrasound-guided BOTOX administration after two weeks. All patients were followed up for one year. The percentages of axillary malodor score at twelve months after treatments compared wi th pre-operation for group A, group B, and group C were 20.2%, 27.5%, and 12.5%, respectively. Significant statistical differences were observed in changes of axillary malodor score among the three groups at three, six, nine and twelve months postoperatively. Satisfaction rates of group A, group B, and group C were 90.0%, 93.3%, and 96.7%, respectively. The side effects after surgery in group A were similar to group C, and no side effect was observed in group B. One-year postoperative scar formation rate of group A was 16.7%, which was significantly higher than that of group B (0) and group C (6.66%). Combination of electrocauterization after removal of apocrine sweat glands with ultrasound-guided BOTOX injection showed better treatment effects.

PMID:34238698 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2021.03.089

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Endoscope Assisted Combined Drainage of Sino-Orbital Abscess: Technique Revisited

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Abstract

Orbital complications of acute rhinosinusitis may present with painful proptosis and ophthalmoplegia. Surgical management, when required comprises of endonasal endoscopic sinus clearance with or without external orbital abscess drainage. External drainage involves blind dissection and carries a risk of iatrogenic injury to periorbital structures. We describe a novel technique of endoscope guided orbital abscess drainage under direct visualisation via the external incision site. Patients with orbital cellulitis secondary to rhinosinusitis and planned for surgical intervention were recruited. After endonasal endoscopic sinus surgery, the orbital abscess cavity was opened and an endoscope was inserted externally. The cavity was examined; loculi were opened under direct visualisation till drainage was complete. This procedure was performed in seven patients with a successful outcome. The mean time to resolution was 1.5 months (36.4 ± 18.2 days). None o f the patients had any recurrence or residual disease on follow up. In addition, in two cases with obstructed sinus drainage and "walling off" of frontal sinus, visualisation of the instrument placed in the drained abscess cavity via endo-nasally inserted endoscope confirmed the re-establishment of continuity of sinus opening. This approach may allow the surgeon to drain multiloculated abscess completely under direct visualization while minimising iatrogenic damage to periorbital structures. Real time display using endoscopic camera on the monitor screen also serves as a teaching and training tool during the procedure. Technique utilises the existing endoscopic set-up without the need for additional instrumentation.

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Role of Octreotide in Conservative Management of Chyle Leak Post Neck Dissection in Cases of Head Neck Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis

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Abstract

Chyle leak is a dreadful complication in patients undergoing neck dissections. Octreotide has been used in the management of chyle leak post neck dissections in head and neck cancer patients. Currently there is no consensus and practice guidelines on the same. (1) To study the role of octreotide in early cessation of post neck dissection chyle leak. (2) To study incidence of intra-operative and post-operative CL, its relation to the extent of nodal disease and neck dissection, prior radiotherapy. Retrospective analysis of 16 patients out of 529 neck dissection over a period of 03 years between Jan 2016 and Dec 2019 who developed post-operative chyle leak. All patients who had post-operative chyle leak were administered octreotide. Time taken for chyle leak to stop was primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were duration of hospitalization post-operatively, incidence of intra-operative and post-operative chyle leak, its relation to the extent of nodal disease, p rior radiotherapy and type of neck dissection. 59 of 529 neck dissections (11.15%) were noted to have intra-operative chyle leak. 16 of 529 neck dissections (3.02%) developed post-operative chyle leak. On applying chi square test, prior multimodality and N plus neck were found to be significant risk factors in developing postoperative chyle leak. Considering only RT versus no RT in prior multimodality treated group, the difference was insignificant. Onset of chyle leak varied from 1 to 5 post-op day (mean 2.68 days). 15 (93.75%) patients responded to octreotide. Chyle leak resolved between 3 and 10 days (mean 5.18 days) and octreotide was given for 5–12 days (mean-7.18 days). Overall duration of hospitalization ranged from 09 to 18 days (mean 12.18 days). 01 patient (6.25%) had to be re-explored due to high volume leak despite using octreotide. Adverse effects of octreotide were minimal and tolerable. Octreotide is effective in reducing the durat ion of chyle leak, hospital stay and need for surgical intervention. It may be considered as suitable adjunct to conservative measures in the management for post-operative chyle leak.

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A Review on Esthesioneuroblastoma

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Abstract

Background Esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) is a rare, aggressive and malignant sinonasal tumour. This tumour makes for a very interesting study because ever since its mention in medical literature, although quite a lot of research has been put into it, a lot is yet to be known about it. Aim To summarize the available literature & document an article on the contemporary practises in the management of ENB. Methods A comprehensive literature review was done using Google Scholar and PubMed database with the key words: "esthesioneuroblastoma", "olfactory neuroblastoma", "Kadish" and "Hyams". Articles published in English were used. Articles published till April 2021 were reviewed. Conclusion ENB has a diverse histological appearance. This tumour has a bimodal age distribution without any gender predilection. Prompt identification and treatment is required for a favourable outcome and requires close collaboration of r adiology, pathology, and rhinology. Staging, management and prognosis are determined by regional involvement in non-metastatic cases due to its proximity to neurological structures and locally destructive nature. Immunohistochemistry is a must for accurate diagnosis. Uni-modality of treatment has high chances of local recurrence. Multi-modality provides good results even in advanced stage. A combination of surgery and radiotherapy seems to be the optimum approach to treatment. The exact role of chemotherapy in treatment protocols is still unclear. Cervical lymph node metastases are commonly studied, however its management in patients who present without apparent nodal involvement is not yet clear. An extended follow-up period is recommended in all patients of ENB patients.

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