Frailty as Tested by Gait Speed Is a Risk Factor for Liver Transplant Respiratory Complications.

OBJECTIVES: Frailty and sarcopenia are known risk factors for adverse liver transplant outcomes and mortality. We hypothesized that frailty or sarcopenia could identify the risk for common serious transplant-related adverse respiratory events. METHODS: For 107 patients (74 men, 33 women) transplanted over 1 year, we measured frailty with gait speed, chair stands, and Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) and sarcopenia with Skeletal Muscle Index on computed tomography at L3. We recorded the stress-tested cardiac double product as an index of cardiac work capacity. Outcomes included days of intubation, aspiration, clinical pneumonia, reintubation/tracheostomy, days to discharge, and survival. We modeled the outcomes using unadjusted regression and multivariable analyses controlled for (i) age, sex, and either Model for End-Stage Liver Disease-Na (MELDNa) or Child-Turcotte-Pugh scores, (ii) hepatocellular carcinoma status, and (iii) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and smoking history. Subgroup analysis was performed for living donor liver transplant and deceased donor liver transplant recipients. RESULTS: Gait speed was negatively associated with aspiration and pulmonary infection, both in unadjusted and MELDNa-adjusted models (adjusted odds ratio for aspiration 0.10 [95% confidence interval [CI] 0.02-0.67] and adjusted odds ratio for pulmonary infection 0.12 [95% CI 0.02-0.75]). Unadjusted and MELDNa-adjusted models for gait speed (coefficient -1.47, 95% CI -2.39 to -0.56) and KPS (coefficient -3.17, 95% CI -5.02 to -1.32) were significantly associated with shorter intubation times. No test was associated with length of stay or need for either reintubation or tracheostomy. DISCUSSION: Slow gait speed, an index of general frailty, indicates significant risk for post-transplant respiratory complications. Intervention to arrest or reverse frailty merits exploration as a potentially modifiable risk factor for improving transplant respiratory outcomes.

Predictors of survival in posterior cricoid squamous cell carcinoma: A study of 248 cases.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe the presentation, treatment patterns, and survival characteristics of posterior cricoid squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with the National Cancer Database (NCDB). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective database review. METHODS: We reviewed the NCDB from 2004 to 2013. Primary, previously untreated cases of posterior cricoid SCC were studied. Cox regression analysis was performed to look for prognostic factors. RESULTS: Out of 14,416 hypopharyngeal malignancies, 269 (1.8%) posterior cricoid tumors were identified, of which 248 (92.2%) were SCC. Mean age at diagnosis was 65 years (range 20-90+). Most patients were Caucasian (74.7%) and male (77.1%). By presentation, 58% were classified as clinical stage tumor (cT) 3 or cT4 to cT4 disease and 57.4% were clinical node (cN) +. Radiation (RT) alone was the most common form of treatment (32.1%), followed by chemoradiation (CRT) (31.7%) and surgery plus RT (7.4%). Overall 5- and 10-year survival was 25% and 19%, respectively. Significant prognostic factors include overall clinical stage III to IV (hazard ratio [HR] 1.8 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15-2.82], P = 0.011), clinical nodal disease (HR 1.54 [95% CI 1.10-2.15], P = 0.012), and Charlson/Deyo comorbidity score > 1 (HR 1.94 [95% CI 1.14-3.29], P = 0.014) on univariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Posterior cricoid SCCs are rare hypopharyngeal malignancies with a poor prognosis. They typically present at late stage with nodal metastasis and are most commonly treated nonsurgically with primary RT or CRT. Increasing clinical stage, comorbidity, and nodal disease are associated with worse survival. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4. Laryngoscope, 127:1093-1096, 2017.

Predictors of survival in parotid small cell carcinoma: A study of 344 cases.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: We sought to better characterize patient, tumor, and long-term survival characteristics of parotid small cell carcinoma (SmCC) with the National Cancer Database (NCDB). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective database review. METHODS: We reviewed the NCDB (1998-2012) for all cases of parotid SmCC. Relevant demographic, tumor, and survival variables were extracted and analyzed. Cox multivariate regression was performed to identify prognosticators. RESULTS: Out of 30,813 parotid gland cancers in the NCDB, we found 344 cases of parotid SmCC (1.11%). Age at diagnosis ranged from 23 to 91 years (mean = 73 years). Most patients (73.0%) were male. Most tumors were 2 to 4 cm in size (51.4%). Regional metastases were common (50.8% cN+ and 65.1% pN+) and distant metastasis (7.3%) was uncommon. Occult nodes were found in 14.4% of cases. Overall survival at 5 and 10 years was 37% and 20%, respectively. Although numerous variables were found to significantly impact survival on univariate regression analysis, age (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.08, P < .001), tumor size of 2 to 4 cm (HR: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.83-5.11, P = .011), tumors >4 cm (HR: 3.44, 95% CI: 1.63-7.27) and distant metastasis (HR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.02-4.14, P = .043) remained significant prognosticators in our multivariate model. Nodal disease was not a significant risk factor after adjustment (P = .055). CONCLUSIONS: SmCC is a rare parotid malignancy with a poor prognosis. Regional metastases were common, whereas distant metastases were uncommon. Elective neck treatment should be considered due to the incidence of occult nodal disease. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 Laryngoscope, 126:2036-2040, 2016.