Effect of coronavirus disease 2019 on recurrences and follow up of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: This prospective study aimed to evaluate possible diagnostic delays in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma recurrences due to the changed follow-up protocol during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHODS: The follow-up appointments of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients treated more than one year prior to the pandemic were changed to telephone appointments in order to reduce physical visits to the hospital. All contacts, reasons for contact and recurrent cancers were recorded. RESULTS: There were 17 recurrences during a seven-month study period among 178 patients treated in the previous year (10 per cent); 14 of these recurrences occurred in patients whose treatment had ended less than one year previously and 3 occurred more than one year after treatment had ended. There was no delay in diagnoses of recurrent tumours or treatment despite reduced visits because of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. CONCLUSION: According to our analyses, no delay was caused in the diagnoses of recurrent diseases. Follow up by telephone or telemedicine can be considered as part of the follow-up protocol one year after the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma when necessary.

Determinants of re-operation for bleeding in head and neck cancer surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Post-operative bleeding in the head and neck area is potentially fatal. This 'real world' study sought to assess factors that increase the risk of re-operation for post-operative bleeding in head and neck cancer surgery. METHODS: A total of 456 patients underwent surgery for head and neck cancer (591 operations). The primary endpoint was re-operation for bleeding. RESULTS: The rate of re-operation for bleeding was 5 per cent of all operations. Re-operation for bleeding was an independent risk factor for 30-day mortality (odds ratio = 5.27, p = 0.014). Risk factors for re-operation because of bleeding included excessive (more than 4000 ml) fluid administration (over 24 hours) (p < 0.001), heavy alcohol consumption (p = 0.014), pre-operative oncological treatment (p = 0.017), advanced disease stage (p = 0.020) and higher tumour (T) classification (p = 0.034). Operations with more excessive bleeding (700 ml or more) were associated with an increased risk (p = 0.001) of re-operation for post-operative bleeding. Moreover, the risk of re-operation was significantly higher in patients undergoing microvascular surgery compared to those who had no oncological treatment pre-operatively (18 vs 6 per cent, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The 30-day mortality risk increased over 5-fold in patients undergoing re-operation for bleeding.

Incidence and predictors of 30-day cardiovascular complications in patients undergoing head and neck cancer surgery.

Incidence and predictors of peri-operative or post-operative cardiovascular complications in head and neck cancer surgery remain poorly elucidated. In this retrospective study, we investigated the rate and pre-operative risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications. This study included all patients (n = 456) operated for head and neck cancer between 1999 and 2008. Patients' medical records were reviewed and the adjudication of endpoints was performed by adjudication committee. The 30-day incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications was 7.2 %. Cardiac mortality at 30 days was 1.0 %. Univariate predictors of MACCE (major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events) at the 30-day follow-up were history of myocardial infarction (OR 4.56, 95 % CI 1.73-11.97, p = 0.002); history of heart failure (OR 4.14, 95 % CI 1.32-13.02, p = 0.015); pre-existing coronary artery disease (OR 3.98, 95 % CI 1.75-9.06, p = 0.001); prior aspirin medication (OR 3.73, 95 % CI 1.81-7.71, p < 0.001); prior betablocker medication (OR 3.67, 95 % CI 1.79-7.51, p < 0.001); hypertension (OR 2.55, 95 % CI 1.25-5.19, p = 0.010); and increasing age (OR 1.08, 95 % CI 1.05-1.12, p < 0.001). In a multivariate model, independent predictors of MACCE were pre-existing coronary artery disease (OR 2.45, 95 % CI 1.03-5.80, p = 0.042) and increasing age (OR 1.08, 95 % CI 1.04-1.11, p < 0.001). Patients having surgery for head and neck cancer are at high (>5 %) risk of developing vascular complications. Prior coronary artery disease and increasing age are independent risk factors for MACCE.

Pleomorphic adenoma in the nasal cavity: a clinicopathological study of ten cases in Finland.

The objective of the study was to investigate the nationwide occurrence of sinonasal pleomorphic adenoma in Finland. A retrospective study was conducted at The Departments of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and Pathology at the five university hospitals in Finland. Data were obtained by searching for sinonasal pleomorphic adenoma cases in the clinical and histopathological registries at these institutions for the past two to four decades. All patients who had had a histologically proven pleomorphic adenoma in the sinonasal area were included as participants. Ten cases with pleomorphic adenoma of the nasal cavity were found. The majority of these tumours originated in the septum, and there were no malignant transformations. Pleomorphic adenomas of the nasal cavity were found to be extremely rare in this nationwide investigation.

Effect of hypothermia on blood-flow responses in pedicled groin flaps in rats.

Cooling is widely used for preserving tissues such as kidneys before transplantation and for preserving extremities before replantation. Hypothermia has also been shown to be effective in the temporary storage of free flaps. However, in the intact living body, cooling can be damaging to tissue and the body system. We used a custom-designed clamping method (after flap elevation, occlusion and release of the flap-feeding artery) and continuous laser Doppler flowmetry to investigate the effects of hypothermia on blood flow and postocclusive reactive hyperaemia in the flaps. The animal model used was the partially elevated epigastric flap of adult Sprague-Dawley rats. In the hypothermia group (n=12), the core temperature and the flap temperature were allowed to fall during anaesthesia. At core temperatures of 34.58 degrees C and 338 degrees C and after rewarming of the rat, the feeding artery was occluded for 30 s and 120 s to observe the changes in blood flow and postocclusive reactive hyperaemia in the flap. In the control group (n=12), the core temperature was maintained at more than 378 degrees C throughout the experiment. To compare the flap blood-flow responses to occlusion of the femoral artery in the hypothermia group and the control group, the postocclusive reactive hyperaemia periods (i.e. blood flow above baseline after clamp release) were analysed. Statistical analysis of the responses showed that the magnitude (P=0.024), duration (P<0.001) and amplitude (i.e. peak flow) (P=0.037) of postocclusive reactive hyperaemia were significantly decreased in the hypothermia group. Our results suggest that hypothermia significantly decreases blood flow and postocclusive reactive hyperaemia in the rat epigastric flap. This may increase the risk of ischaemic flap complications unless rewarming is performed.

Repair of orbital floor fractures with bioactive glass implants.

PURPOSE: The ideal management of orbital floor fractures has been highly controversial. Many implants, both autogenous and alloplastic, have been used to span the defects. This study evaluated the use of bioactive glass implants (BAG-implant, S53P4; Abmin Technologies Ltd, Turku, Finland) for the repair of orbital floor defects caused by blunt facial trauma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective review of 36 patients was carried out from 1995 to 1999. All patients were diagnosed with an orbital floor fracture or a large orbital blowout fracture. The BAG-implant was placed over the defect, using a subciliary or transconjunctival approach. No screw fixation was used when the implant was the correct size. Follow-up examination was done at 1 and 3 months after surgery. Twenty-eight (82%) of the patients were also seen at one-year follow-up (21 men and 7 women). RESULTS: The implants did not cause a foreign body reaction in the bone or soft tissue. There was no sign of resorption or infection, nor postoperative extrusion, hemorrhage, or displacement of the implant. Diplopia was seen preoperatively in 17 cases (61%) and postoperatively in 5 cases (18%). In 1 patient, the implant was removed 3 months after operation because of diplopia. Infraorbital nerve paresthesia was seen preoperatively in 9 patients (32%) and postoperatively in 5 patients (18%). The functional and cosmetic results were good at the 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: The BAG-implant is a well-tolerated material in orbital floor reconstruction. It provides a favorable environment for an uncomplicated healing process because it is bioactive and biocompatible and because it causes new bone formation.

Changes in blood flow in the partially elevated epigastric pedicled flap in response to occlusion of the femoral artery in rats.

In this study, the authors used a custom-designed clamping method and laser Doppler flowmetry to investigate the short-term autoregulatory patterns of blood flow (BF) in partially elevated pedicled epigastric flaps in rats (n=11). The femoral artery was clamped for 30, 60, 120 and 180 sec directly after flap elevation and 40 to 80 min after flap elevation. Changes during and after clamping indicate the functioning of autoregulatory factors in the vessels of the epigastric partially elevated flap. The longer the clamp ischemia is in a flap, the greater (p < 0.0001) is the need for a compensatory increase in BF and for a longer time (p < 0.0001) in the flap after clamp release. They compared the responses of BF directly after flap elevation with those 40 to 80 min after flap elevation. The results suggest a significant increase in the autoregulatory capacity of the pedicled partially elevated flap in measurements performed 40 to 80 min after flap elevation (p = 0.043). They conclude that the novel clamping method seems to be reliable when studying the short-term autoregulatory patterns of the epigastric partially elevated pedicled flap.

Reconstruction of orbital floor fractures using bioactive glass.

INTRODUCTION: The management of orbital floor fractures continues to be debated. Bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics are in the new group of materials developed for the repair of bone defects which are beyond any innate healing capacity due to their size. OBJECTIVE: We compared the use of alloplastic implants (bioactive glass) with conventional autogenous grafts (cartilage--plus or minus Iyophilized dura) for the repair of orbital floor defects after trauma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients having orbital floor fractures with persistent diplopia, enophthalmos, and/or infraorbital nerve paraesthesia were operated on from 1991 to 1995 at Turku University Central Hospital. Reconstruction was either with bioactive glass (S93P4) or autogenous cartilage implants. RESULTS: Postoperative tomograms in the 28 patients showed adequate maintenance of orbital and maxillary sinus volume without any evidence of resorption in either group. None of 14 patients in the study group had any evidence of dystopia or complications relating to implants follow-up. One had infraorbital nerve paraesthesia and another had entropion postoperatively. Among the 14 control subjects there were three cases of persistent diplopia, two of infraorbital nerve paraesthesia and one of enophthalmos. CONCLUSION: Bioactive glass implants are well-tolerated and seem to be a promising repair material for orbital floor fractures. Their use leads to less morbidity as no donor site operation is needed. Also it provides favourable healing as it is bioactive, biocompatible and causes new bone formation.

Changes in blood flow in the epigastric free flap after microsurgical artery anastomoses in rats.

A number of clinical disorders of free vascularized flap are presumed to reflect insufficient blood flow (BF) or an inadequate range of vascular responsiveness. We compared the changes in BF in a pedicled and free epigastric flap, directly after and 90 min after performing microsurgical artery anastomoses. We used the clamping method and laser Doppler flowmetry in six Sprague-Dawley rats. The BF response curves shortly after re-anastomosing of the artery differ markedly from those in a pedicled flap model and curves registered 90 min after performing the anastomosis. We conclude that the clamping method is reliable and reproducible when studying the short-term autoregulatory BF patterns of epigastric pedicled and free flaps.

Saccular laryngeal cysts. Three case studies and review of the literature.

Supraglottic laryngeal cysts are benign lesions that usually are easily recognized and simply managed. Among these lesions saccular cysts are uncommon, usually large, anomalies of the larynx and can cause severe airway obstruction and even death. Three patients with a saccular cyst were successfully treated by endoscopic CO(2)-laser excision of their lesions. Before microlaryngoscopy and laser procedure, an urgent tracheostomy was required in 1 of our cases.

Cerebral benzodiazepine receptor binding and distribution in generalized anxiety disorder: a fractal analysis.

Data obtained from animal and human brain imaging studies indicate that frontal cortex and medial temporal lobe are involved in experiencing and controlling fear and anxiety. We tested the hypothesis that benzodiazepine receptor binding is decreased in the left temporal pole and increased in the right prefrontal area among patients suffering from anxiety. We studied 10 drug-naive female patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and 10 age- and gender-matched healthy controls with MRI and with SPET by using a new (123)I-labelled specific benzodiazepine receptor radioligand, NNC 13-8241. Blindly analyzed results showed that the benzodiazepine receptor binding of [(123)I]NNC 13-8241 was significantly decreased in the left temporal pole among patients with GAD when compared with age- and sex-matched healthy controls. This hemispheric asymmetry was studied further with a fractal analysis of the SPET images. The fractal dimension of the left hemispheric benzodiazepine receptor binding in patients with GAD was significantly higher than that of controls (1.28 +/- 0.09 and 1.17 +/- 0.07, respectively), whereas the intercept was decreased by 43 +/- 23% reflecting more homogeneous cerebral benzodiazepine receptor density distribution in patients with GAD. The finding is analogous to the decreased heterogeneity of myocardial blood flow observed in patients with ischemic heart disease. The results are consistent with the general hypothesis that high regional heterogeneity of perfusion, metabolism and receptor density is necessary to maintain adaptation ability in the living organism.

The effect of age and concomitant treatment with other psychoactive drugs on serum concentrations of citalopram measured with a nonenantioselective method.

We measured citalopram and desmethylcitalopram concentrations in serum from 169 psychiatric patients, who were treated with common therapeutic drug doses. Altogether 202 serum samples were assayed by a nonenantioselective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The results indicate that the kinetic variability (maximum concentration/minimum concentration) in dose- and weight-related serum citalopram (10.6-fold) and desmethylcitalopram (7.2-fold) is large even during monotherapy. Log serum citalopram (r = 0.36, p < 0.05) and desmethylcitalopram (r = 0.51, p < 0.01) concentrations of individual patients increased significantly with increasing drug doses. Dose- and weight-related (calculated as mg/kg dose basis) log serum citalopram (r = 0.29) but not desmethylcitalopram (r = 0.06) concentrations increased with aging (p < 0.001). No sex-related differences were found. Nineteen patients (19 samples) had concomitant treatment with neuroleptics, 84 patients (101 samples) with benzodiazepines, and 18 patients (28 samples) with tricyclic antidepressants. The concentrations in these patients were compared with those of 48 nonsmoking patients (54 samples) without any concomitant psychotropic drug treatment. None of the single neuroleptics alone had a significant effect on dose- and weight-related serum citalopram or desmethylcitalopram concentrations. However, citalopram concentrations increased by 121% (338 +/- 165 vs. 747 +/- 505, mean +/- SD; p < 0.01) and desmethylcitalopram by 85% (124 +/- 53 vs. 229 +/- 138; p < 0.05) when neuroleptics were pooled. Among single benzodiazepines, only alprazolam increased serum citalopram (338 +/- 165 vs. 391 +/- 267; p < 0.01) and desmethylcitalopram (124 +/- 53 vs. 186 +/- 175; p < 0.01) concentrations. When all the benzodiazepines were pooled, they still increased the serum concentration of the parent drug by 23% (338 +/- 165 vs. 414 +/- 303; p < 0.05) and those of the metabolite by 47% (124 +/- 53 vs. 182 +/- 163; p < 0.01). In patients who were simultaneously treated with clomipramine, serum citalopram (338 +/- 165 vs. 655 +/- 409; p < 0.001) and desmethylcitalopram (124 +/- 53 vs. 435 +/- 347; p < 0.001) concentrations were consistently higher than those of the controls. Even when the tricyclic antidepressants were pooled, they increased citalopram concentrations by 44% (338 +/- 165 vs. 486 +/- 312; p < 0.001) and desmethylcitalopram concentrations by 111% (124 +/- 53 vs. 261 +/- 260; p < 0.001). The results suggest that interindividual variability in serum citalopram concentrations is pronounced and that increased serum citalopram levels are related to advancing age and concomitant treatment with other psychotropic drugs. The citalopram dose should therefore ideally be individualized by therapeutic drug monitoring.

Increase in cerebral blood flow of right prefrontal cortex in man during orgasm.

The functional anatomy of human emotional responses has remained poorly understood, mainly because invasive experiments in humans are unacceptable due to ethical reasons. The new functional imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography have made it possible to study the neurophysiology of living humans noninvasively. We studied the regional cerebral blood flow with semi-quantitative 99mTc-HMPAO single photon emission computed tomography in eight healthy right-handed heterosexual males during organism. The results showed decrease of cerebral blood flow during orgasm in all other cortical areas except in right prefrontal cortex, where the cerebral blood flow increased significantly (P < 0.005).