Raman hyperspectroscopy of saliva and machine learning for Sjögren's disease diagnostics.

Sjögren's disease is an autoimmune disorder affecting exocrine glands, causing dry eyes and mouth and other morbidities. Polypharmacy or a history of radiation to the head and neck can also lead to dry mouth. Sjogren's disease is often underdiagnosed due to its non-specific symptoms, limited awareness among healthcare professionals, and the complexity of diagnostic criteria, limiting the ability to provide therapy early. Current diagnostic methods suffer from limitations including the variation in individuals, the absence of a single diagnostic marker, and the low sensitivity and specificity, high cost, complexity, and invasiveness of current procedures. Here we utilized Raman hyperspectroscopy combined with machine learning to develop a novel screening test for Sjögren's disease. The method effectively distinguished Sjögren's disease patients from healthy controls and radiation patients. This technique shows potential for development of a single non-invasive, efficient, rapid, and inexpensive medical screening test for Sjögren's disease using a Raman hyper-spectral signature.

A SEER database study of malignant teratomas in the head and neck region.

OBJECTIVE: To review tumor and patient characteristics as well as survival of pediatric head and neck malignant teratomas (HNMT) in comparison to the adult population. DESIGN: This investigation was a retrospective cohort study. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (SEER-18 Regs Custom registry, November 2018) was reviewed for all cases of head and neck malignant teratomas from 1975 to 2016. A log rank test was used to compare survival between infant, pediatric, and adult HNMT, and between head and neck and non-head and neck malignant teratomas. Infant, pediatric, and adult patients were defined as younger than one year old, younger than 18 years old, and older than 18 years old, respectively. RESULTS: Sixty-three malignant teratoma cases (1.96%) occurred in the head and neck region from 1975 to 2016, including 11 adult (17.46%) and 52 (82.54%) pediatric patients. 79.37% (50 patients) were diagnosed during infancy. The most common location was the soft tissue of the head and neck in pediatric patients (65.38%) and the thyroid gland in adults (54.54%). The 5-year survival was 45.83% (±7.19%) in infants and 46.00% (±7.05%) in pediatric patients. There were differences in 1-year and 5-year survival between pediatric HNMT and non-head and neck malignant teratomas, (76.01% versus 86.20%) (p = 0.022) and (46.00% versus 67.10%) (p < 0.001), respectively. There was no difference in 1-year and 5-year survival between pediatric patients and adults with HNMT, (76.01% versus 81.81%) (p = 0.618) and (46.00% versus 54.54%) (p = 0.560), respectively. CONCLUSION: HNMT occurred most frequently in patients under the age of 1. Prognosis of pediatric HNMT is poor in comparison to pediatric non-head and neck malignant teratomas. Repeat studies after accumulating more patients in the database would be beneficial to confirm our findings.

Associations of insurance, urbanity, and comorbidity with types of palliative care received by patients with head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND: Our study examined some of the social and medical factors associated with receiving pain palliation alone over more aggressive cytoreductive palliative measures, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation among patients with head and neck cancer. METHODS: This retrospective study used the National Cancer Database 2016 for data analysis. Patient and tumor characteristics were examined using bivariate analysis and logistic regression to identify their association with receiving pain palliation alone versus cytoreductive palliation treatment. RESULTS: Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, insurance status (odds ratio [OR]: 0.27, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.15-0.50, p < 0.001), urbanity (OR: 1.73, 95%CI: 1.21-2.46, p = 0.002), and Charlson-Deyo scores greater than 3 (OR: 2.49, 95%CI: 1.38-4.47, p = 0.002) were significantly associated with receipt of pain palliation alone. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should be aware of non-health-related factors, such as insurance status, that may influence patients' receipt of treatments in head and neck cancer.

Head and Neck Dystonia Following Chimeric-Antigen Receptor T-Cell Immunotherapy: A Case Report.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) is a novel immunotherapy used for the treatment of refractory B-cell leukemias and lymphoma. As clinical trials continue to expand, multiple treatment toxicities have been documented. Treatment-associated toxicities are typically systemic, however, focal manifestations have been described. We present a unique case of a 55-year-old female who developed oropharyngeal and laryngeal dystonia following CAR-T therapy. This case points to a possible association between CAR-T therapy and focal head and neck dystonia. Laryngoscope, 2020.

A necrotic tonsillar lesion: An unusual presentation of disseminated histoplasmosis.

We report a case of tonsillar histoplasmosis with hematogenous dissemination in a woman receiving infliximab for Crohn's disease. She also had a history of sarcoidosis. Due to the unusual location and confounding medical history, our case provided a diagnostic dilemma. Histoplasma infection was confirmed histologically, and the patient responded well to appropriate treatment.

Nasoseptal flap for reconstruction after robotic radical tonsillectomy.

BACKGROUND: The nasoseptal flap has revolutionized reconstruction of ventral skull base defects. The past decade is also noticeable by the evolution of transoral robotic surgery (TORS). Reconstruction of the oropharyngeal defect is challenging. Good reconstructive options with less cicatricial retraction are desirable and still lacking in the literature. METHODS: Cadaver dissection and illustrative case are used to show the feasibility of harvesting a nasoseptal flap to reconstruct oropharyngeal defect after radical tonsillectomy. Surgical resection included part of the soft palate and tongue base. RESULTS: The flap was sufficient to cover two-thirds of the tonsillar defect during the cadaver dissection. In our illustrative case, the flap filled the palatal defect and also was sufficient to cover the superior half of the tonsillar defect. CONCLUSION: The nasoseptal flap has shown to be feasible and reliable for reconstruction of the oropharyngeal defect after TORS. When soft palate resection is warranted, this flap provides excellent coverage. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E2495-E2498, 2016.

The Efficacy of Mitomycin C in the Treatment of Laryngotracheal Stenosis: Results and Experiences with a Difficult Disease Entity.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a difficult entity to treat, with many patients requiring multiple procedures. Our study assessed the efficacy of mitomycin C (MMC) application as complimentary treatment of LTS. METHODS: We reviewed clinical charts of patients with operative procedures for LTS between January 2005 and May 2013. Patients were grouped according to mitomycin use. Several outcome measures were assessed, including the number of procedures and time between procedures. RESULTS: Seventy-one patients were included in the study (30 MMC, 41 non-MMC). They underwent similar numbers of procedures (2.3 MMC, 2.0 non-MMC, p > 0.05). The average time between procedures was 360 (MMC) and 178 (non-MMC) days (p = 0.015). Multiple treatments with mitomycin increased the duration between procedures (366 vs. 340 days, multiple vs. single application, p > 0.05). Fewer mitomycin patients underwent procedures for respiratory distress than non-MMC patients (6.6 vs. 19.5%, p > 0.05). Mitomycin use increased the duration between procedures in patients treated specifically for subglottic stenosis (375 vs. 186 days, p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results and experiences with mitomycin demonstrate it is an effective agent for adjuvant treatment of LTS. Its use lengthens the symptom-free period, with further improvement demonstrated when patients expected to undergo multiple surgeries receive multiple mitomycin treatments.

Botulinum toxin-assisted endoscopic repair of traumatic vocal fold avulsion.

Blunt traumatic laryngeal injury in children often leads to intralaryngeal soft-tissue damage, which can quickly compromise an already small airway. Injuries requiring operative intervention have historically been repaired via open approaches such as thyrotomy and laryngofissure. These approaches carry significant long-term sequelae that can compromise the airway, deglutition, and voice. We describe a safe and effective alternative to open repair that includes the use of a botulinum toxin chemical myotomy to ensure optimal healing. We used this procedure to treat a 13-year-old boy who had experienced a traumatic avulsion of the true vocal folds. Postoperatively, his voice outcome was satisfactory, as evidenced by a marked improvement in his pediatric Voice Handicap Index score. No complication or compromise of the airway or swallowing occurred, and resolution of the botulinum effect was observed by 6 months postoperatively. The endoscopic approach supplemented by botulinum toxin injection avoids scarring and allows for safe postoperative extubation. Compared with open repair, it is associated with a shorter hospital stay and a lower risk of stenosis and fibrosis.

Radiotherapy-associated euthyroid Graves ophthalmopathy following floor-of-mouth surgery: a case report.

The thyroid gland is commonly included in the radiation field during treatment of nonthyroidal neoplastic disease of the head and neck. As a result, thyroid abnormalities sometimes occur following external irradiation. We report an unusual case of radiotherapy-associated Graves ophthalmopathy 5 months after adjuvant external irradiation of the head and neck in a euthyroid patient who had undergone wide local excision of squamous cell carcinoma from the floor of the mouth.