Impact of outcomes data on the management of postoperative hypocalcemia in head and neck endocrine surgery patients.

Postoperative hypocalcemia is a well-described outcome following thyroid and parathyroid surgery with symptoms ranging from clinically insignificant laboratory findings to tetany and seizures. The aims of this study were 1. To identify the characteristics and management patterns of postoperative hypocalcemia in head and neck endocrine surgery patients and 2. To compare outcomes between patients treated with empiric calcium and patients treated using a biochemically driven calcium replacement algorithm. Clinical electronic medical record (EMR) data was collected from patients who had undergone total thyroidectomy, completion thyroidectomy, and/or parathyroidectomy at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (WFBMC), a tertiary referral and academic institution. Between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017, 298 adult patients underwent surgery by a WFBMC Head & Neck (H&N) endocrine surgeon. Objective calcium and parathyroid hormone levels, postoperative supplementation with calcium and Vitamin D, 30-day physician access line (PAL) phone call utilization, emergency department (ED) encounters, and readmission rates were queried. The overall rate of hypocalcemia was 17.4%. No statistically significant difference in PAL utilization, ED visits, or readmissions was found between the empiric supplementation group and those whose supplementation was biochemically directed (PAL 5.0% vs. 5.0% [p = 0.983], ED visit 3.3% vs. 2.5% [p = 0.744], Readmission 1.7% vs. 0% [p = 0.276]). The overall postoperative rates of hypocalcemia and hypoparathyroidism following H&N endocrine surgery were consistent with the reported literature. Neither method of calcium supplementation was superior in reducing PAL utilization, ED encounters, or readmission.

Organ preservation and treatment toxicity with induction chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy or chemoradiation for advanced laryngeal cancer.

OBJECTIVES: The authors reviewed records of patients with advanced laryngeal cancer treated with induction chemotherapy (IC) and hyperfractionated radiation therapy (RT) or chemoradiation (CRT) to determine the rates of organ preservation and function. METHODS: A total of 29 patients with stage III (45%) and stage IV (55%) squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx (SCCL), were treated with IC and RT or CRT in 1 of 7 consecutive trials. Fifty-five percent had clinically node-positive disease. Fifty-five percent and 45% had T3 or T4 tumors, respectively. All received 3 cycles of platinum-based IC. Daily RT was given to 48%, twice-daily RT to 45%, and concomitant boost RT to 7%. CRT was carboplatin (28%) or docetaxel (28%). Those treated with twice-daily RT did not receive CRT. RESULTS: The median follow-up is 52 months. Overall survival is 66%. Relapse occurred in 12 patients (41%), and 6 underwent salvage laryngectomy (5 stage III, 1 stage IV). Fifty-nine percent of patients (17 of 29) are alive at last follow-up with an anatomically intact larynx, and 48% (14 of 29) are alive with a functional larynx. Of the 23 patients for whom detailed information on gastrostomy tube (g-tube) placement/removal was available, median time with g-tube was 12 months, and 15 of 23 patients (65%) had a g-tube for 6 months or more. Twenty-three of all 29 patients (79%) retained an anatomically intact larynx, but 7 of 23 (30%) never resumed their pretreatment organ function. The overall rate of functional organ preservation, regardless of survival, was 55% (16/29). The 7 of 29 patients (26%) who retained a nonfunctional larynx required permanent g-tube or were unable to return to pretreatment oral intake capability. Nine of 13 with T4 SCCL (69%) compared with 7 of 16 (44%) T3 SCCL retained a functional larynx. CONCLUSION: The rate of larynx preservation is high, but toxicity remains significant with IC followed by hyperfractionated RT or CRT in advanced laryngeal cancer. Half of all patients were alive, able to retain their larynx, and return to pretreatment function. Advanced stage was not an indicator of poor outcome.

Docetaxel, cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil (TPF)-based induction chemotherapy for head and neck cancer and the case for sequential, combined-modality treatment.

Since the publication of the Veterans Affairs study in the early 1990s, much has been learned regarding the role of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and more importantly, the role of combined-modality treatment with chemoradiation in the therapy of locally advanced head and neck cancer. There continues to be widespread variation and controversy in the timing, schedule, and intensity of chemotherapy and chemoradiation. Herein, we present the various approaches currently used in the year 2003 with a specific emphasis on the role of sequential combined-modality therapy combining chemotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, and surgery in the treatment of these malignancies.