Assessment of conditions leading to lost-to-follow-up of head and neck cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Head and neck cancer patients require close clinical follow up to monitor and address sequelae of treatment and for adequate cancer surveillance. The goal of this study is to determine barriers and risk factors for head and neck cancer patients who are lost-to-follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A chart review of the Head and Neck Cancer Registry was performed to identify patients who were lost-to-follow-up (LTF). LTF was defined as missing two consecutive appointments as recommended by their oncologic surgeon. Those identified as LTF were contacted via email and phone to complete a 16-question survey addressing possible barriers to follow up. RESULTS: Of the 353 patients reviewed, 53 met the criteria for LTF (15%). Forty-eight participants were contacted, and 23 surveys were completed (48%). Of the 23 patients that responded, 22% reported difficulty scheduling an appointment, 30% had transportation barriers, 22% had personal or work obligations that prevented follow up, 17% did not follow up because they "felt better," and 39% were following up with an otolaryngologist or oncologist closer to home. Only three participants (13%) were aware of the recommended 5-year surveillance period. CONCLUSION: Head and neck cancer patients have a variety of reasons they are lost to follow-up. Understanding these barriers is critical to creating a patient-centered model that balances both clinical surveillance needs and reasonable expectations for patients. Improvements can be made to educate patients on the recommended length of follow-up and its importance.

Guided Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Control After Septorhinoplasty: A Randomized-Controlled Pilot Study.

Background: Mindfulness meditation has been shown to alleviate pain and may be an appealing adjunctive pain management option. Objective: To compare measures of pain, mindfulness, and opioid usage, and collect evaluative feedback among patients undergoing septorhinoplasty with and without guided meditation. Methods: Patients undergoing septorhinoplasty were randomized to online-guided meditation postoperative days 0-3 versus standard care; all received the same pain medications. Primary outcome measures included pain intensity, opioid consumption, mindfulness scores, and evaluative feedback. Results: Twenty-one patients received guided meditation and 24 received standard care. No significant difference in opioid consumption or pain scores was seen with the exception of higher opioid use in patients with intranasal splints in the standard care group. Twenty out of 21 patients provided evaluative feedback; all recommended mindfulness meditation to friends undergoing nasal surgery, 90% reported it was beneficial, 85% believed it eased pain/discomfort, and 80% believed it aided with sleep. Conclusion: Although no objective difference was found in opioid consumption or pain scores, most patients reported that guided mindfulness meditation was beneficial to their recovery following septorhinoplasty.

Enhancing wound healing dressing development through interdisciplinary collaboration.

The process of wound healing includes four phases: Hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. Many wound dressings and technologies have been developed to enhance the body's ability to close wounds and restore the function of damaged tissues. Several advancements in wound healing technology have resulted from innovative experiments by individual scientists or physicians working independently. The interplay between the medical and scientific research fields is vital to translating new discoveries in the lab to treatments at the bedside. Tracing the history of wound dressing development reveals that there is an opportunity for deeper collaboration between multiple disciplines to accelerate the advancement of novel wound healing technologies. In this review, we explore the different types of wound dressings and biomaterials used to treat wounds, and we investigate the role of multidisciplinary collaboration in the development of various wound management technologies to illustrate the benefit of direct collaboration between physicians and scientists.