Canadian French Translation and Validation of the Neck Dissection Impairment Index: A Quality of Life Measure for the Surgical Oncology Population.

BACKGROUND: Neck dissections (ND) are a routine procedure in head and neck oncology. Given the postoperative functional impact that some patients experience, it is imperative to identify and track quality of life (QoL) symptomatology to tailor each patient's therapeutic needs. To date, there is no validated French-Canadian questionnaire for this patient-population. We therefore sought to translate and validate the Neck Dissection Impairment Index (NDII) in Canadian French. METHODS: A 3-phased approach was used. Phase 1: The NDII was translated from English to Canadian French using a "forward and backward" translational technique following international guidelines. Phase 2: A cognitive debriefing session was held with 10 Canadian French-speaking otolaryngology patients to evaluate understandability and acceptability. Phase 3: The final version was administered prospectively to 30 patients with prior history of ND and 30 control patients. These patients were asked to complete the questionnaire 2 weeks after their first response. Test-retest reliability was calculated with Spearman's correlation. Internal consistency was elicited using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: NDII was successfully translated and validated to Canadian French. Cronbach's alpha revealed high internal consistency (0.92, lower 95% confidence limit 0.89). The correlation for test-retest validity were strong or very strong (0.61-0.91). CONCLUSION: NDII is an internationally recognized QoL tool for the identification of ND-related impairments. This validated Canadian French version will allow clinicians to adequately assess the surgery-related QoL effect of neck surgery in the French-speaking population, while allowing French institutions to conduct and/or participate in multisite clinical trials requiring the NDII as an outcome measure.

Cost-effectiveness of postoperative imaging surveillance strategies for nonfunctional pituitary adenomas after resection with curative intent.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine an optimal follow-up imaging surveillance strategy in terms of cost-effectiveness after resection of nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas with curative intent. METHODS: An individual-level state-transition microsimulation model was used to simulate costs and outcomes associated with three postoperative imaging strategies over a lifetime time horizon: 1) annual MRI surveillance, 2) tapered MRI surveillance (annual surveillance for 5 years followed by surveillance every 2 years), and 3) personalized surveillance (annual surveillance for 5 years followed by surveillance every 2 years when MRI shows remnant disease/postoperative changes, and surveillance at 7, 10, and 15 years for disease-free MRI). Transition probabilities, utilities, and costs were estimated from recent published data and discounted by 3% annually. Model outcomes included lifetime costs (2022 US dollars), quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). RESULTS: Under base case assumptions, annual surveillance yielded higher costs and lower health effects (QALYs) compared with the tapered and personalized surveillance strategies (dominated). Personalized surveillance demonstrated an additional 0.1 QALY at additional cost ($1298) compared with tapered surveillance (7.7 QALYs at a cost of $12,862). The ICER was $11,793/QALY. The optimal decision was most sensitive to the probability of postoperative changes on MRI after surgery and MRI cost. Accounting for parameter uncertainty, personalized surveillance had a higher probability of being a cost-effective surveillance option compared with the alternative strategies at 79%. CONCLUSIONS: Using standard cost-effectiveness thresholds in the US ($100,000/QALY), personalized surveillance that accounted for remnant disease or postoperative changes on MRI was cost-effective compared with alternative surveillance strategies.

Manual neuronavigation for superior semicircular canal dehiscence surgery.

Background: Intraoperative identification of a superior semicircular canal (SSC) dehiscence via the middle cranial fossa approach (MCFA) remains a difficult endeavor without a neuronavigation system. To address these challenges, we propose a technique to localize the SSC dehiscence intraoperatively using certain anatomical landmarks. Method: Three anatomical landmarks should be identified on preoperative radiological images: the distance from the squamous part of the temporal bone to the dehiscent SSC, the lower limit of the craniotomy, and the exact location of the craniotomy in relation to the bony external auditory canal. The use of these landmarks intraoperatively can allow the surgeon to correctly identify the position of the SSC. Two instructional videos explaining this technique are presented. Conclusion: The proposed manual neuronavigation technique seems to be an accurate, safe, and cost-effective alternative technique for use in SSC dehiscence surgery.

Post-operative surveillance for somatotroph, lactotroph and non-functional pituitary adenomas after curative resection: a systematic review.

CONTEXT: Pituitary tumors are the third most common brain tumor and yet there is no standardization of the surveillance schedule and assessment modalities after transsphenoidal surgery. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: OVID, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library databases were systematically screened from database inception to March 5, 2020. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were designed to capture studies examining detection of pituitary adenoma recurrence in patients 18 years of age and older following surgical resection with curative intent. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 7936 abstracts were screened, with 812 articles reviewed in full text and 77 meeting inclusion criteria for data extraction. A pooled analysis demonstrated recurrence rates at 1 year, 5 years and 10 years for non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA; N = 3533 participants) were 1%, 17%, and 33%, for prolactin-secreting adenomas (PSPA; N = 1295) were 6%, 21%, and 28%, and for growth-hormone pituitary adenomas (GHPA; N = 1257) were 3%, 8% and 13%, respectively. Rates of recurrence prior to 1 year were 0% for NFPA, 1-2% for PSPA and 0% for GHPA. The mean time to disease recurrence for NFPA, PSPA and GHPA were 4.25, 2.52 and 4.18 years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive review of the literature quantified the recurrence rates for commonly observed pituitary adenomas after transsphenoidal surgical resection with curative intent. Our findings suggest that surveillance within 1 year may be of low yield. Further clinical trials and cohort studies investigating cost-effectiveness of surveillance schedules and impact on quality of life of patients under surveillance will provide further insight to optimize follow-up.

Preoperative evaluation of depth of invasion in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The inclusion of depth of invasion (DOI) in the American Joint Committee on Cancer's staging system for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has major clinical impacts. Recent studies have evaluated the reliability of imaging modalities and biopsy techniques to measure DOI preoperatively. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to comprehensively include all previously described methods to measure preoperative DOI in oral tongue SCC (OTSCC) and to compare their reliability. A systematic review was conducted on PubMed, Embase and Cochrane according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies that evaluated the reliability of DOI measured on biopsy or imaging (rDOI) by comparing it to DOI on histopathology (pDOI) were included for extraction. A meta-analysis was conducted to obtain pooled correlation coefficients for each imaging modality. The pooled correlation coefficients between rDOI and pDOI were 0.86 (CI95% = [0.82-0.88]) and 0.80 (CI95% = [0.70-0.87]) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies and computed tomography (CT) studies, respectively. For ultrasound (US), the correlation coefficient could only be measured by including studies which measured not only DOI but also tumor thickness. It was 0.89 (CI95%= [0.82-0.94]). Overall, MRI is the better studied modality. It has a good reliability to measure preoperative rDOI in OTSCC. CT is less studied but appears to be less reliable. US cannot be compared to these imaging modality as it has been used more often to measure TT than DOI.

Giant Coronary Artery Aneurysm: A Successful Diagnosis.

Coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) are rare, with giant CAAs being even rarer. The precise pathophysiology of this phenomenon is still unknown. CAAs are seldom reported life-threatening abnormalities of the cardiovascular system. We herein present a case of a 74-year-old man who presented at the hospital complaining of chest pain. An adenosine thallium scan revealed a small, reversible defect in the inferior wall of the left ventricle extending into the apex, consistent with ischemia. Echocardiography uncovered a large right coronary artery (RCA) aneurysm, measuring 5.6 × 7.5 cm. Diagnostic coronary angiography confirmed the presence of a large RCA aneurysm and aneurysmal dilation of the left anterior descending and circumflex arteries with no flow-limiting lesions. A reversed saphenous vein interposition graft was placed from the ascending aorta to the right posterior descending artery. The RCA aneurysmal sac was resected and sent to pathology, which uncovered myxoid degeneration of the media as well as thrombus formation. No complications were encountered during the procedure. Early diagnosis is vital to avoid fatal complications of CAAs, and therapeutic approaches are currently individualized in view of absence of evidence-based management strategies.