Value-based healthcare analysis of shoulder surgery for patients with symptomatic rotator cuff tears - Calculating the impact of arthroscopic cuff repair.

Background: Surgical repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears in symptomatic patients is known to offer significant benefits. Despite this there remains a lack of universal appreciation that such surgery offers high clinical value, with some commissioners even limiting access to it. The value-based healthcare agenda provides a means to design, deliver and measure the impact of healthcare to a defined segment of patients. The aim of this study was to measure the value of surgically repairing primary symptomatic full-thickness rotator cuff tears when outcomes and costs were assessed over an entire care pathway. Methods: A prospective study of patients undergoing rotator cuff tears repair was undertaken. Patients were managed using a standardised integrated care pathway. Subsequent outcomes and costs were measured over the whole care pathway. Outcomes were assessed from both traditional and patient centric re-formatted prisms. Results: Significant improvement in clinical outcomes where recognised when assessed from either the traditional or re-formatted prisms. Economic review of this approach revealed the pathway generated a sustainable and notable positive margin. Discussion: This study evidences how a well-designed value-based healthcare shoulder approach can be delivered and measured. It demonstrates rotator cuff surgery to be a high value treatment for patients with symptomatic rotator cuff tears.

Undetected Respiratory Depression in People with Opioid Use Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Opioid-related deaths are increasing globally. Respiratory complications of opioid use and underlying respiratory disease in people with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) are potential contributory factors. Individual variation in susceptibility to overdose is, however, incompletely understood. This study investigated the prevalence of respiratory depression (RD) in OUD treatment and compared this to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) of equivalent severity. We also explored the contribution of opioid agonist treatment (OAT) dosage, and type, to the prevalence of RD. METHODS: There were four groups of participants: 1) OUD plus COPD ('OUD-COPD', n = 13); 2) OUD without COPD ('OUD', n = 7); 3) opioid-naïve COPD patients ('COPD'n = 13); 4) healthy controls ('HC'n = 7). Physiological indices, including pulse oximetry (SpO2%), end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2), transcutaneous CO2 (TcCO2), respiratory airflow and second intercostal space parasternal muscle electromyography (EMGpara), were recorded continuously over 40 min whilst awake at rest. Significant RD was defined as: SpO2%< 90% for > 10 s, ETCO2 per breath > 6.6 kPa, TcCO2 overall mean > 6 kPa, respiratory pauses > 10 s RESULTS: At least one indicator was observed in every participant with OUD (n = 20). This compared to RD episode occurrence in only 2/7 HC and 2/13 COPD participants (p < 0.05,Fisher's exact test). The occurrence of RD was similar in OUD participants prescribed methadone (n = 6) compared to those prescribed buprenorphine (n = 12). CONCLUSIONS: Undetected RD is common in OUD cohorts receiving OAT and is significantly more severe than in opioid-naïve controls. RD can be assessed using simple objective measures. Further studies are required to determine the association between RD and overdose risk.

Ulcerated amelanotic melanoma of the ear in an 11 year old with Fitzpatrick VI skin type: A case report.

Melanoma is rare in pediatric patients and even more so in those with darker Fitzpatrick skin types. Although risk factors for conventional melanoma are similar in both adult and pediatric cases, the presentation of melanoma in pediatric patients is often distinct from adults. Here, we describe a case of amelanotic ulcerated nodular melanoma with regional lymph node metastases treated with nivolumab in a patient with Fitzpatrick skin type VI.

A Lodged Barramundi Fish-Bone Stabbing the Piriform Fossa in a Child.

Unintentional ingestion of a fish bone is common in children, especially among families with high consumption of seafood. Complications in children are extremely rare. We describe a 3-year-old healthy boy who had a large bone of Barramundi fish lodged in his upper esophagus causing significant distress. Soft tissue neck radiograph revealed a mildly thickened epiglottis and bulbous and hypertrophied adenoid soft tissue. A 21-mm foreign body was noticed. A flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy revealed a large fish bone emerging from the left piriform fossa and arcing over the left arytenoid to hover over the posterior glottis. The bone was removed during anesthesia induction before a rigid esophagoscopy. The fish-bone entry point was seen stabbing through the edge of the piriform fossa and running down alongside the esophagus, without causing a through and through perforation. Fish bone ingestion can cause significant complications including perforation of the esophagus. Early suspicion of ingestion, radiological investigation, and swift management are important to ensure reduced complication rate in children.

Measles Lymphadenopathy in a Child With PFAPA Syndrome.

Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is a common cause of periodic fever in children. The pathogenesis of PFAPA is unknown but likely involves immune system dysregulation and may be initiated by an environmental trigger. Tonsillectomy resolves or improves symptoms in some patients, but the reason for this is unknown; moreover, specific abnormalities in tonsillectomy specimens from PFAPA patients have not been described. Here, we report measles virus in tonsil from a child with PFAPA. Measles-type viral cytopathic effect was discovered on histological examination of tonsillar tissue after therapeutic tonsillectomy for PFAPA. Molecular testing showed the left tonsil was positive for measles RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) while the right tonsil was inconclusive (weakly positive). Real-time RT-PCR specific for measles vaccine strain RNA (genotype A) was weakly reactive in the left tonsil tissue when tested in 3 independent replicates, but this result could not be confirmed with conventional genotyping by sequencing. The relationship and clinical significance between measles virus and PFAPA in this case is unclear but may be related to PFAPA-associated immune dysregulation. Additional investigation of measles virus in PFAPA patients would be helpful in further exploring this potential association.

Comparative study of linear and curvilinear ultrasound probes to assess quadriceps rectus femoris muscle mass in healthy subjects and in patients with chronic respiratory disease.

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasound measurements of rectus femoris cross-sectional area (RFCSA) are clinically useful measurements in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and critically ill patients. Technical considerations as to the type of probe used, which affects image resolution, have limited widespread clinical application. We hypothesised that measurement of RFCSA would be similar with linear and curvilinear probes. METHODS: Four studies were performed to compare the use of the curvilinear probe in measuring RFCSA. Study 1 investigated agreement of RFCSA measurements using linear and curvilinear probes in healthy subjects, and in patients with chronic respiratory disease. Study 2 investigated the intra-rater and inter-rater agreement using the curvilinear probe. Study 3 investigated the agreement of RFCSA measured from whole and spliced images using the linear probe. Study 4 investigated the applicability of ultrasound in measuring RFCSA during the acute and recovery phases of an exacerbation of COPD. RESULTS: Study 1 showed demonstrated no difference in the measurement of RFCSA using the curvilinear and linear probes (308±104 mm(2) vs 320±117 mm(2), p=0.80; intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)>0.97). Study 2 demonstrated high intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of RFCSA measurement with ICC>0.95 for both. Study 3 showed that the spliced image from the linear probe was similar to the whole image RFCSA (308±103.5 vs 263±147 mm(2), p=0.34; ICC>0.98). Study 4 confirmed the clinical acceptability of using the curvilinear probe during an exacerbation of COPD. There were relationships observed between admission RFCSA and body mass index (r=+0.65, p=0.018), and between RFCSA at admission and physical activity levels at 4 weeks post-hospital discharge (r=+0.75, p=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: These studies have demonstrated that clinicians can employ whole and spliced images from the linear probe or use images from the curvilinear probe, to measure RFCSA. This will extend the clinical applicability of ultrasound in the measurement of muscle mass in all patient groups.

Casting a look at pediatric plastic bronchitis.

OBJECTIVES: To review clinical presentations and management strategies for children with plastic bronchitis. METHODS: Retrospective chart review. RESULTS: Seven patients required rigid bronchoscopy to remove bronchial casts over a 17-year study period. Mean age at presentation was 60 months. Mean follow-up was 53 months. Co-morbidities included: congenital heart disease (n=3), chronic pulmonary disorders (n=2) and sickle cell disease (n=1). 4 patients required multiple bronchoscopies for recurrent casts. Adjunctive topical therapies were administered in all 7 patients, without complication. Rigid bronchoscopy for cast removal was performed in 2 patients who were on extra-corporal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), using special precautions to safeguard the ECMO catheters. CONCLUSIONS: Bronchial casts in children may present acutely or sub-acutely. Recurrent casts are unusual; however, in combination with severe cardiac disease may lead to mortality. Adjunctive topical therapies are still under investigation. Special safeguards for ECMO catheters are imperative. This case series complements and adds to the International Plastic Bronchitis Registry.

The reliability of clinical tonsil size grading in children.

IMPORTANCE: Because tonsillar enlargement can have substantial ill health effects in children, reliable monitoring and documentation of tonsil size is necessary in clinical settings. Tonsil grading scales potentially allow clinicians to precisely record and communicate changes in tonsil size, but their reliability in a clinical setting has not been studied. OBJECTIVE: To assess the interobserver and intraobserver reliability of the Brodsky and Friedman tonsil size grading scales and a novel 3-grade scale. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional study between June 2012 and August 2013 at a tertiary pediatric otolaryngology outpatient clinic at British Columbia Children's Hospital. We recruited 116 children, aged 3 to 14 years, with no major craniofacial abnormalities. For each child, 2 separate tonsil assessments (with at least a 5-minute interval in between) were conducted by 4 independent observers: 2 staff pediatric otolaryngologists, 1 otolaryngology trainee (fellow or resident), and 1 medical student. Each observer assessed and graded tonsil sizes using 3 different scales. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Interobserver and intraobserver reliabilities were assessed by deriving the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Pearson correlation coefficients, respectively. To discount for any asymmetric scores, all data analysis was conducted on the left tonsil measurement only. RESULTS: Mean interobserver reliability was highest for the Brodsky grading scale (ICC, 0.721; Cronbach α, 0.911), followed by the Friedman grading scale (ICC, 0.647; Cronbach α, 0.879) and the 3-grade scale (ICC, 0.599; Cronbach α, 0.857). The mean intraobserver reliabilities for the Brodsky, Friedman, and modified 3-grade scales were 0.954, 0.932, and 0.927, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The Brodsky grading scale offered the highest interobserver and intraobserver reliability when compared with the Friedman and novel 3-grade scales. The results of this study would support the uniform use of the Brodsky scale for future clinical and research work.

A UK survey of rehabilitation following critical illness: implementation of NICE Clinical Guidance 83 (CG83) following hospital discharge.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance (NICE CG83) for posthospital discharge critical illness follow-up and rehabilitation programmes. DESIGN: Closed-question postal survey. SETTING: Adult intensive care units (ICUs) across the UK, identified from national databases of organisations. Specialist-only and private ICUs were not included. PARTICIPANTS: Senior respiratory critical care physiotherapy clinicians. RESULTS: A representative sample of 182 surveys was returned from the 240 distributed (75.8% (95% CI 70.4 to 81.2)). Only 48 organisations (27.3% (95% CI 20.7 to 33.9)) offered a follow-up service 2-3 months following hospital discharge, the majority (n=39, 84.8%) in clinic format. 12 organisations reported posthospital discharge rehabilitation programmes (6.8% (95% CI 3.1 to 10.5)), albeit only 10 of these operated on a regular basis. Lack of funding was reported as the most frequent (n=149/164, 90%) and main barrier (n=99/156, 63.5%) to providing services. Insufficient resources (n=71/164, 43.3%) and lack of priority by the clinical management team (n=66/164, 40.2%) were also highly cited barriers to service delivery. CONCLUSIONS: NICE CG83 has been successful in profiling the importance of rehabilitation for survivors of critical illness. However, 4 years following publication of CG83 there has been limited development of this clinical service across the UK. Strategies to support delivery of such quality improvement programmes are urgently required to enhance patient care.

Assessment of vocal fold mobility before and after cardiothoracic surgery in children.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the incidence of vocal fold immobility (VFI) after cardiothoracic surgery in children and to determine the factors potentially associated with this outcome. METHODS: Flexible laryngoscopy to assess vocal fold mobility was performed before surgery and within 72 hours after extubation in 100 pediatric patients who underwent cardiothoracic procedures. The 2 operating surgeons recorded the surgical technique and their impression of possible injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve. The presence of laryngeal symptoms, such as stridor, hoarseness, and strength of cry, after extubation was documented. RESULTS: Of 100 children included in this study, 8 had VFI after surgery. Univariate analyses showed that these 8 patients were younger and weighed less than the patients with normal vocal fold movement. Monopolar cautery was used in all patients with VFI. On univariate analysis, factors statistically significantly associated with VFI were circulatory arrest and dissection or ligation of the patent ductus arteriosus, left pulmonary artery, right pulmonary artery, or descending aorta. However, multivariate analyses failed to show these associations. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of VFI after cardiothoracic surgery in our population of children was 8.0% (8 of 100). Of several factors found to be potentially associated with VFI on univariate analysis, none were significant on multivariate analysis. This may be a result of the few patients with VFI. A larger multicenter prospective study would be needed to definitively identify factors associated with the outcome of VFI.

Diaphragm electromyogram in infants with abdominal wall defects and congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Measurement of the diaphragm electromyogram (EMGdi) elicited by phrenic nerve stimulation could be useful to assess neonates suffering from respiratory distress due to diaphragm dysfunction, as observed in infants with abdominal wall defects (AWD) or congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). The study aims were to assess the feasibility of recording EMGdi using a multipair oesophageal electrode catheter and examine whether diaphragm muscle and/or phrenic nerve function was compromised in AWD or CDH infants. Diaphragm compound muscle action potentials elicited by magnetic phrenic nerve stimulation were recorded from 18 infants with surgically repaired AWD (n = 13) or CDH (n = 5), median (range) gestational age 36.5 (34-40) weeks. Diaphragm strength was assessed as twitch transdiaphragmatic pressure (TwP(di)). One AWD patient had prolonged phrenic nerve latency (PNL) bilaterally (left 9.31 ms, right 9.49 ms) and two CDH patients had prolonged PNL on the affected side (10.1 ms and 10.08 ms). There was no difference in left and right TwP(di) in either group. PNL correlated significantly with TwP(di) in CDH (r = 0.8; p = 0.009). Oesophageal EMG and magnetic stimulation of the phrenic nerves can be useful to assess phrenic nerve function in infants. Reduced phrenic nerve conduction accompanies the reduced diaphragm force production observed in infants with CDH.

Neural respiratory drive in patients with COPD during exercise tests.

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether neural drive is comparable in constant rate and incremental exercise tests. Few data have previously been available to address this question because of the lack of reliable methods to assess neural respiratory drive in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are to determine whether neural respiratory drive during constant rate exercise differs from that during incremental exercise and to determine whether neural respiratory drive was maximal at the end of exhaustive exercise tests. METHODS: We studied sixteen patients with moderate-severe COPD (mean ± SD FEV(1) 29 ± 10%). Both diaphragmatic electro-myogram (EMG) and transdiaphragmatic pressure were recorded with a combined multipair electrode balloon catheter during incremental and constant (80% of maximal oxygen consumption derived from a prior incremental exercise test) treadmill exercise. Minute ventilation and oxygen uptake were also measured. RESULTS: Root mean square (RMS) of the diaphragmatic EMG increased gradually without a plateau during incremental exercise, whereas the RMS increased initially and reached a plateau during constant work rate exercise. The RMS of the diaphragmatic EMG at the end of exercise was similar for both incremental and constant work rate exercise (176 ± 42 µV vs. 184 ± 39 µV); these values were 70 and 73% of maximal values recorded over the study. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of increase in neural respiratory drive during incremental exercise is different to that observed during constant work rate exercise, but both exercise protocols are terminated when the patients achieve a similar but submaximal drive.

Screening for sleep-disordered breathing in neuromuscular disease using a questionnaire for symptoms associated with diaphragm paralysis.

Patients with neuromuscular disease (NMD) are at risk of developing sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) following respiratory muscle involvement. We hypothesised that a questionnaire based on clinical symptoms and signs of diaphragm weakness can be used to screen for SDB in such patients. We developed a self-administered multiple choice questionnaire containing five questions (Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Neuromuscular Disease Questionnaire (SiNQ)-5), scoring 0-10 points. 125 patients were enrolled: 32 with respiratory muscle weakness, 35 subjects with normal respiratory muscle strength and 58 patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). All subjects underwent full polysomnography. NMD patients with involvement of the respiratory muscles scored mean ± sd 6.8 ± 2.3 out of 10 points, significantly higher than both OSA patients 2.5 ± 2.3 and normal subjects 1.0 ± 2.0 (p < 0.001). A score of five or more points in the SiNQ-5 had a sensitivity of 86.2%, specificity of 88.5%, positive predictive value of 69.4% and a negative predictive value of 95.5% to identify NMD with combined SDB. A short self-administered questionnaire, the SiNQ-5, based on clinical symptoms can reliably screen for SDB in patients with diaphragm weakness. However, comorbidities, such as heart failure, that have symptoms influenced by posture could alter diagnostic accuracy.

Paediatric aerodigestive foreign bodies: remember the nasopharynx.

INTRODUCTION: Nasopharyngeal foreign bodies are relatively uncommon, compared with other aerodigestive sites. They may mimic a lower airway location, or may be coughed up into the nasopharynx prior to endoscopic evaluation. OBJECTIVE: To describe our experience with nasopharyngeal foreign bodies mimicking a more distal airway location. METHOD: Case series from a tertiary referral children's hospital. RESULTS: We present a series of four children who were initially thought to have a lower aerodigestive tract foreign body (three respiratory, one oesophageal), but who were finally diagnosed with nasopharyngeal foreign body. The concept of panendoscopy at all foreign body removals is suggested as a means to avoid a missed nasopharyngeal foreign body. CONCLUSION: Although nasopharyngeal foreign bodies are uncommon, their rare ability to mimic distal sites mandates a thorough endoscopic approach to ensure that all sites (i.e. larynx, lungs, oesophagus and nasopharynx) are evaluated endoscopically.

Acute ischaemic hemispheric stroke is associated with impairment of reflex in addition to voluntary cough.

Cough function is impaired after stroke; this may be important for protection against chest infection. Reflex cough (RC) intensity indices have not been described after stroke. RC, voluntary cough (VC) and respiratory muscle strength were studied in patients within 2 weeks of hemispheric infarct. The null hypotheses were that patients with cortical hemisphere stroke would show the same results as healthy controls on: 1) objective indices of RC and VC intensity; and 2) respiratory muscle strength tests. Peak cough flow rate (PCFR) and gastric pressure (P(ga)) were measured during maximum VC and RC. Participants also underwent volitional and nonvolitional respiratory muscle testing. Nonvolitional expiratory muscle strength was assessed by measuring P(ga) increase after magnetic stimulation over the T10 nerve roots (twitch T10 P(ga)). Stroke severity was scored using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS; maximum = 31). 18 patients (mean ± sd age 62 ± 15 yrs and NIHSS score 14 ± 8) and 20 controls (56 ± 16 yrs) participated. VC intensity was impaired in patients (PCFR 287 ± 171 versus 497 ± 122 L·min⁻¹) as was VC P(ga) (98.5 ± 61.6 versus 208.5 ± 61.3 cmH2O; p < 0.001 for both). RC PCFR was reduced in patients (204 ± 111 versus 379 ± 110 L·min⁻¹; p < 0.001), but RC P(ga) was not significantly different from that of controls (179.0 ± 78.0 versus 208.0 ± 77.4 cmH2O; p = 0.266). Patients exhibited impaired volitional respiratory muscle tests, but twitch T10 P(ga) was normal. VC and RC are both impaired in hemispheric stroke patients, despite preserved expiratory muscle strength. Cough coordination is probably cortically modulated and affected by hemispheric stroke.

Review of floor of mouth dysontogenic cysts.

OBJECTIVES: We report the common surgical approaches, incidence of sinus tracts, and recurrence rates of floor of mouth dysontogenic (epidermoid, dermoid, and teratoid) cysts in the pediatric population. METHODS: Data were derived from PubMed, Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, and manual searches. Three cases from the senior author's (J.P.M.) practice were included. All English-language studies consisting of floor of mouth dysontogenic cysts were included. Case reports of tongue dysontogenic cysts, mandibular dysontogenic cysts, maxillary dysontogenic cysts, and dysontogenic cysts in the neck below the hyoid bone were excluded. RESULTS: There are 198 case reports, including those presented here, of floor of mouth dysontogenic cysts. They are more common in male patients (55.1%), and the most common location is in the sublingual space (104 or 52.5%). Most floor of mouth dysontogenic cysts can be excised by an intraoral approach. There are 5 reported cases in the literature of recurrent dysontogenic cysts and 11 cases of multiple floor of mouth dysontogenic cysts. CONCLUSIONS: Floor of mouth dysontogenic cysts most commonly present in the sublingual space, and most can be excised by an intraoral approach. Multiple dysontogenic cysts often require a combination of intraoral and extraoral approaches. Recurrence of a dysontogenic cyst may be secondary to a tract not identified at the time of surgery.

Cat scratch disease presenting as acute mastoiditis.

OBJECTIVE: To present the first published case of Cat Scratch Disease presenting as acute mastoiditis and review the relevant literature to discuss the Otolaryngologic manifestations of this disease and its treatment. DESIGN: A case report and literature review of the Otolaryngologic manifestations of Cat Scratch Disease. METHODS: A case report of a clinical scenario followed by a standard literature review. PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane database were used to find articles related to the Otolaryngologic manifestations of Cat Scratch Disease. RESULTS: A 6 year-old female presented to the Otolaryngologist with the typical appearance of acute mastoiditis. CT Scan confirmed breakdown of the osseous septae of the mastoid and mastoidectomy was undertaken. Granulation tissue and infected lymph nodes adjacent to the mastoid cortex were positive for Cat Scratch Disease. The patient was treated expectantly and recovered uneventfully. CONCLUSION: This is the first literature report of Cat Scratch Disease presenting as an acute mastoiditis.

The prevalence of quadriceps weakness in COPD and the relationship with disease severity.

Quadriceps strength relates to exercise capacity and prognosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We wanted to quantify the prevalence of quadriceps weakness in COPD and hypothesised that it would not be restricted to patients with severe airflow obstruction or dyspnoea. Predicted quadriceps strength was calculated using a regression equation (incorporating age, sex, height and fat-free mass), based on measurements from 212 healthy subjects. The prevalence of weakness (defined as observed values 1.645 standardised residuals below predicted) was related to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stage and Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea score in two cohorts of stable COPD outpatients recruited from the UK (n = 240) and the Netherlands (n = 351). 32% and 33% of UK and Dutch COPD patients had quadriceps weakness. A significant proportion of patients in GOLD stages 1 and 2, or with an MRC dyspnoea score of 1 or 2, had quadriceps weakness (28 and 26%, respectively). These values rose to 38% in GOLD stage 4, and 43% in patients with an MRC Score of 4 or 5. Quadriceps weakness was demonstrable in one-third of COPD patients attending hospital respiratory outpatient services. Quadriceps weakness exists in the absence of severe airflow obstruction or breathlessness.