Systematic Review of Long Term Sinonasal Outcomes in CRSwNP after Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: A call for Unified and Standardized Criteria and Terms.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To present current evidence in long-term (> 5 years) results after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) focusing on Patients Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and other sinonasal outcomes while assessing the role of ESS in the treatment of CRSwNP, and identifying outcomes which affect the results of ESS and defining recommendations for future studies. RECENT FINDINGS: Long-term results of ESS in CRSwNP can be branched in PROMs and other objective measurements. Despite the heterogeneity of reported outcomes make it difficult to perform comparisons and meta-analysis, ESS improves PROMs, including symptoms, QOL and olfaction. Objectives outcomes such as NPS, LMS, type of surgery, or recurrence and revision surgery don't have a clear role in long-term results. Clustering patients suggest asthma, N-ERD, allergy, eosinophil count and IL-5 could have a role in predicting recurrence and severe disease. Long-term studies of CRSwNP treated with ESS are scarce. There is a significant need to standardize the report of results. The use of tools as SNOT-22, NPS, validated smell tests, defined criteria for disease recurrence and control and ESS extension in a unified systematic way could allow better comparisons between treatments in the new era of biologics.

Anterior Pedicled Lateral Nasal Wall Flap for Endonasal Lining: A Radiologic and Anatomical Study.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The objective of this radiological/anatomical study was to evaluate the feasibility of a new endoscopic technique that uses the anterior pedicled lateral nasal flap (APLNW) for the endonasal lining in complex nasal reconstructions. STUDY DESIGN: An anatomical study was performed on 20 nasal fossae of cadaverous specimens to measure the area and lengths of the anterior pedicled nasal lateral wall flap. In addition, a radiological analysis with computed tomography was performed in 150 nostrils to determine the potential donor of the simple and extended flap in the nasal fossa floor. Complex nasal reconstruction with nasofrontal flap and internal lining using the lateral wall pedicled flap was performed in 3 patients. RESULTS: Complete reconstruction for the inner lining of the nasal tip and lateral nasal wall was achieved in the cadaveric study (10 specimens). The surface areas of the simple and extended APLNW flaps were 7.53 (standard deviation [SD] 1.25) cm2 and 24.6 (SD 3.14) cm2 , respectively. Using computed tomography scans, we determined that to reconstruct defects secondary to full-thickness nasal defects, the APLNW flap surface for the simple and extended versions was 7.90 (SD 1.68) cm2 and 23.64 (SD 4.7) cm2 . We present one case were the APLNW flap was used. CONCLUSIONS: The simple or expanded APLNW flap represents a feasible option to reconstruct the internal lining in complex nasal reconstruction. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA Laryngoscope, 131:E1462-E1467, 2021.

Timing, Complications, and Safety of Tracheotomy in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19.

IMPORTANCE: The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented needs for invasive ventilation, with 10% to 15% of intubated patients subsequently requiring tracheotomy. OBJECTIVE: To assess the complications, safety, and timing of tracheotomy performed for critically ill patients with COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This prospective cohort study assessed consecutive patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) who had COVID-19 that required tracheotomy. Patients were recruited from March 16 to April 10, 2020, at a tertiary referral center. EXPOSURES: A surgical tracheotomy was performed for all patients following recommended criteria for use of personal protective equipment (PPE). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The number of subthyroid operations, the tracheal entrance protocol, and use of PPE. Infections among the surgeons were monitored weekly by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction of nasopharyngeal swab samples. Short-term complications, weaning, and the association of timing of tracheotomy (early [≤10 days] vs late [>10 days]) with total required days of invasive ventilation were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 50 patients (mean [SD] age, 63.8 [9.2] years; 33 [66%] male) participated in the study. All tracheotomies were performed at the bedside. The median time from intubation to tracheotomy was 9 days (interquartile range, 2-24 days). A subthyroid approach was completed for 46 patients (92%), and the tracheal protocol was adequately achieved for 40 patients (80%). Adequate PPE was used, with no infection among surgeons identified 4 weeks after the last tracheotomy. Postoperative complications were rare, with minor bleeding (in 6 patients [12%]) being the most common complication. The successful weaning rate was higher in the early tracheotomy group than in the late tracheotomy group (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.55; 95% CI, 0.96-6.75), but the difference was not statistically significant. There was less time of invasive mechanical ventilatory support with early tracheotomy compared with late tracheotomy (mean [SD], 18 [5.4] vs 22.3 [5.7] days). The reduction of invasive ventilatory support was achieved at the expense of the pretracheotomy period. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, with the use of a standardized protocol aimed at minimizing COVID-19 risks, bedside open tracheotomy was a safe procedure for patients and surgeons, with minimal complications. Timing of tracheotomy may be important in reducing time of invasive mechanical ventilation, with potential implications to intensive care unit availability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lack of additive benefit of oral steroids on short-term postoperative outcomes in nasal polyposis.

OBJECTIVES: There is a lack of evidence concerning the efficacy of oral corticosteroids (OCS) as a postoperative treatment for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). The objective of our study was to determine the short-term additive benefit of postoperative OCS in CRSwNP patients. METHODS: We prospectively randomized CRSwNP patients who were treated by endoscopic sinus surgery. All patients were resistant to maximum medical treatment according to European position paper on rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps 2012 guidelines. Treatment group received postoperative OCS in descending doses plus nasal douching over a period of 4 weeks, whereas the control group received only nasal douching. The efficacy of OCS was determined by a total 5 item symptoms score (T5SS), polyp size score, Barcelona Smell Test 24 and Medical Outcome Study Short Form-36 questionnaire for quality of life (QoL). RESULTS: Of the 70 enrolled patients, 35 were in the treatment group and 35 in the control group. After 4 weeks of follow-up, patients from both groups improved in T5SS, QoL, endoscopic findings (except for crusts that increased in both) and sense of smell, without significant differences between OCS and control groups. CONCLUSION: Postoperative OCS as an add-on treatment for CRSwNP patients does not improve sinonasal and QoL outcomes; thus, they should not be routinely recommended. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Ib Laryngoscope, 2019.