Assessing outcomes after partial and total tonsillectomy for sleep-disordered breathing in children using Clinical Assessment Score-15.

INTRODUCTION: The Clinical Assessment Score-15 (CAS-15) is an office-based tool for assessing the risk of sleep disordered breathing (SDB), a relatively common condition in the pediatric population. Change in CAS-15 following total tonsillectomy (TT) has been shown to have a large effect size, but it is unclear how it varies following partial intracapsular tonsillectomy (PIT). Thus, the objective of the present study is to evaluate the utility of the CAS-15 score in assessing the effectiveness of PIT and how this compares to change after TT. MATERIAL METHODS: Children ages 2-18 undergoing PIT (N = 16) or TT (N = 8) with or without adenoidectomy for SDB completed the CAS-15 before surgery and at their post-operative follow-up visit. Changes in CAS-15 score were assessed by paired t-test. The mean difference in CAS-15 change between PIT and TT was evaluated by unpaired t-test for unequal variances. Differences in participant characteristics were determined via unpaired t-test for unequal variances. RESULTS: Participants undergoing PIT did not differ significantly than those undergoing TT with regard to age, sex, BMI percentile, pre-op CAS-15 score or tonsil size, or admission rates following surgery (p > 0.05). The median follow-up after surgery was 5.2 (PIT) and 4.4 (TT) weeks. CAS-15 score improved significantly following PIT (42.8 ± 12.3 vs. 9.4 ± 5.6, p < 0.0001) and TT (45.5 ± 13.3 vs. 7.9 ± 5.8, p < 0.0002). The decrease in CAS-15 for PIT did not differ from TT (33.3 ± 11.8 vs. 37.6 ± 15.0, p > 0.49). DISCUSSION: CAS-15 decreases drastically following PIT and TT, indicating significant improvement of SDB symptoms. Because the change in CAS-15 after PIT was similar to TT, PIT may be preferred due to the decreased morbidity of the procedure. Given the cost, time required, inconvenience, and other limitations of overnight polysomnography (PSG), which is the gold standard method of diagnosing SDB, CAS-15 may be a suitable replacement or adjunct for the assessment of SDB following PIT in addition to TT.

Outpatient Otolaryngology in the Era of COVID-19: A Data-Driven Analysis of Practice Patterns.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has induced a prioritization of acute care and telehealth, affecting the quantity of patients seen and the modality of their care. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review. SETTING: Single-institution study conducted within the Division of Otolaryngology at the Yale School of Medicine. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data on all outpatient appointments within the Division of Otolaryngology were obtained from administrative records of billing and scheduling from March 16 to April 10, 2020. For comparison, a corresponding period from 2019 was also utilized. RESULTS: Of 5913 scheduled visits, 3665 (62.0%) were seen between March 18 and April 12, 2019, in comparison with 649 of 5044 (12.9%) during the corresponding COVID-19-affected period. The majority of completed visits performed in weeks 1 and 2 were in person, while the majority in weeks 3 and 4 were via telehealth. Among subspecialties, a larger proportion of completed visits in 2020 were performed by pediatric and head and neck oncology otolaryngologists as compared with general/specialty otolaryngologists (P < .001). Older adults (≥65 years) were less likely to have telehealth visits than younger adults (18-64 years; 45.6% vs 59.6%, P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: A major decrease in the completion rates of scheduled visits was seen in the COVID-19-affected period, though this was not proportional among subspecialties. An associated increase in telehealth visits was observed. After COVID-19-related hospital policy changes, approximately 2 weeks passed before telehealth visits surpassed in-person visits, though this was not true among older adults.

Prognostic Case Volume Thresholds in Patients With Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

IMPORTANCE: Though described as an important prognostic indicator, facility case volume thresholds for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have not been previously developed to date. OBJECTIVE: To identify prognostic case volume thresholds of facilities that manage HNSCC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective analysis of 351 052 HNSCC cases reported from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2014, by Commission of Cancer-accredited cancer centers from the US National Cancer Database. Data were analyzed from August 1, 2018, to April 5, 2019. EXPOSURES: Treatment of HNSCC at facilities with varying case volumes. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Using all-cause mortality outcomes among adult patients with HNSCC, 10 groups with increasing facility case volume were created and thresholds were identified where group survival differed compared with each of the 2 preceding groups (univariate log-rank analysis). Groups were collapsed at these thresholds and the prognostic value was confirmed using multivariable Cox regression. Prognostic meaning of these thresholds was assessed in subgroups by category (localized [I/II] and advanced [III/IV]), without metastasis (M0), with metastasis (M1), and anatomic subsites (nonoropharyngeal HNSCC and oropharyngeal HNSCC with known human papillomavirus status). RESULTS: Of 250 229 eligible patients treated at 1229 facilities in the United States, there were 185 316 (74.1%) men and 64 913 (25.9%) women and the mean (SD) age was 62.8 (12.1) years. Three case volume thresholds were identified (low: ≤54 cases per year; moderate: >54 to ≤165 cases per year; and high: >165 cases per year). Compared with the moderate-volume group, multivariate analysis found that treatment at low-volume facilities (LVFs) was associated with a higher risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.09; 99% CI, 1.07-1.11), whereas treatment at high-volume facilities (HVFs) was associated with a lower risk of mortality (HR, 0.92; 99% CI, 0.89-0.94). Subgroup analysis with Bonferroni correction revealed that only the moderate- vs low- threshold had meaningful differences in outcomes in localized stage (I/II) cancers, (LVFs vs moderate-volume facilities [MVFs]: HR, 1.09 [99% CI, 1.05-1.13]; HVF vs MVF: HR, 0.95 [99% CI, 0.90-1.00]), whereas both thresholds were meaningful in advanced stage (III/IV) cancers (LVF vs MVF: HR, 1.09 [99% CI, 1.06-1.12]; HVF vs MVF: HR, 0.91 [99% CI, 0.88-0.94]). Survival differed by prognostic thresholds for both M0 (LVF vs MVF: HR, 1.09 [99% CI, 1.07-1.12]; HVF vs MVF: HR, 0.91 [99% CI, 0.89-0.94]) and nonoropharyngeal HNSCC (LVF vs MVF: HR, 1.10 [99% CI, 1.07-1.13]; HVF vs MVF: HR, 0.93 [99% CI, 0.90-0.97]) site cases, but not for M1 (LVF vs MVF: HR, 1.00 [99% CI, 0.92-1.09]; HVF vs MVF: HR, 0.94 [99% CI, 0.83-1.07]) or oropharyngeal HNSCC cases (when controlling for human papillomavirus status) (LVF vs MVF: HR, 1.10 [99% CI, 0.99-1.23]; HVF vs MVF: HR, 1.07 [99% CI, 0.94-1.22]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Higher volume facility threshold results appear to be associated with increases in survival rates for patients treated for HNSCC at MVFs or HVFs compared with LVFs, which suggests that these thresholds may be used as quality markers.

Nonsquamous cell laryngeal cancers: Incidence, demographics, care patterns, and effect of surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the incidence and clinical profile of nonsquamous cell (non-SCC) laryngeal carcinomas and to analyze the effect of surgery on survival. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of the National Cancer Database (2004-2014). METHODS: Adult patients with non-SCC laryngeal cancers were divided into six major histological subtypes. A descriptive clinical profile was obtained for non-SCC patients, and multivariate regressions were performed to analyze the effect of surgery on survival within the non-SCC cohort. RESULTS: We identified 878 cases of non-SCC laryngeal cancers, representing 1.02% of all malignant laryngeal cancers. Neuroendocrine tumors and bone/cartilage sarcomas made up the largest groups (37.02% and 32.35%, respectively). Metastasis (M) was higher in neuroendocrine tumors, representing 19.1% of those with known clinical M stages. Of those treated, the majority of patients with bone/cartilage sarcomas (80.9%) and minor salivary gland tumors (82.6%) received surgery as part of their treatment. Survival varied significantly based upon histology, with bone/cartilage sarcomas having the highest 5-year survival at 90.4%, and neuroendocrine tumors exhibiting the poorest 5-year survival at 25.7%. Multivariate analyses found surgery to be significantly associated with improved survival (hazard ratio: 0.679; 95% confidence interval: 0.472-0.976; P = 0.036). The specific surgical method (i.e., local excision vs. partial vs. total laryngectomy) did not have any effect on survival. CONCLUSION: Approximately 1% of all malignant laryngeal cancers are non-SCC in origin. At presentation, neuroendocrine tumors have the highest rate of distant metastasis and have the worst prognosis of the non-SCC cancers. Most non-SCC patients received surgery as part of their treatment regimen. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA. Laryngoscope, 129:2496-2505, 2019.