Neonatal Temporomandibular Joint Dislocation: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Neonatal temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dislocation is rare. The purpose of this study is to describe a case of neonatal TMJ dysfunction and to review the literature on this topic. A six-day-old female was seen with both parents for evaluation of a dislocating jaw. Her mother had been breastfeeding successfully but noticed that there was a noticeable click every time the baby swallowed. Her jaw came out and down as she fed and then returned to the normal position. Over the last few days, her mother felt that only one side was involved as her jaw movement seemed asymmetrical. Her primary care physician had witnessed the click during the sucking reflex. The patient had a normal appearance and was otherwise healthy. The pediatric otolaryngologist observed deviation of the jaw toward the left with a palpable click upon mouth opening and spontaneous reduction with mouth closing. The symptoms resolved over the following month. The literature review showed few cases of TMJ dislocation in infants, most of which described fixed dislocation related to vomiting or crying. Due to the development of the TMJ in infancy characterized by joint laxity and a flat mandibular fossa, malfunctioning of the hinge joint mechanism could be expected to be more common early in life.

Multi-agent Systems and Cancer Pain Management.

PURPOSE: The present investigation explores multi-agent systems, their function in cancer pain management, and how they might enhance patient care. Since cancer is a complex disease, technology can help doctors and patients coordinate care and communicate effectively. Even when a patient has a dedicated team, treatment may be fragmented. Multi-agent systems (MAS) are one component of technology that is making progress for cancer patients. Wireless sensory networks (WSN) and body area sensory networks (BASN) are examples of MAS. RECENT FINDINGS: Technology is advancing the care of patients, not only in everyday clinical practice, but also in creating accessible communication between patients and provider. Many hospitals have utilized electronic medical records (EHR), but recent advancements allowed the pre-existing infrastructure to network with personal devices creating a more congruent form of communications. Better communication can better organize pain management, leading to better clinical outcomes for patients, integrating body sensors, such as smart watch, or using self-reporting apps. Certain software applications are also used to help providers in early detections of some cancers, having accurate results. The integration of technology in the field of cancer management helps create an organized structure for cancer patients trying to understand/manage their complex diagnosis. The systems for the various healthcare entities can receive and access frequently updated information that can better provide better coverage of the patient's pain and still be within the legalities as it pertains to opioid medications. The systems include the EHR communicating with the information provided by the patient's cellular devices and then communicating with the healthcare team to determine the next step in management. This all happens automatically with much physical input from the patient decreasing the amount of effort from the patient and hopefully decreasing the number of patients' loss to follow-up.

An Evaluation of Otolaryngology Residency Program Websites.

INTRODUCTION:  Otolaryngology remains one of the most competitive specialties to match into during the residency application process. Medical students often apply to many programs to increase their chances of matching into a residency program and rely on residency websites to gather information about the programs they apply to. The purpose of this study was to determine the comprehensiveness of the information on otolaryngology residency program websites. METHODS: One hundred twenty-two publicly available otolaryngology residency program websites were evaluated for the presence of 47 criteria. Size, geographic location, and affiliation with a Top 50 ranked hospital for ear, nose, and throat care, according to the US News and World Report, were determined for each program. Frequencies were calculated for each of the different residency website criteria and non-parametric comparisons were used to analyze the relationship between the location, size, and ranking of each program, and the comprehensiveness of the program website. RESULTS:  An average of 19.1 items (SD: 6.6 items) out of the 47 searches were present on the otolaryngology residency program websites. More than 75% of the websites contained the following program features: facility descriptions, descriptions of didactics, and research requirements. A total of 89.3% of the websites had a current resident list, 87.7% of these websites had photos of their residents, and 86.9% had a program contact email. Otolaryngology residency programs affiliated with a Top ENT hospital had a higher average number of criteria satisfied (21.6 criteria) compared to those that were not affiliated (17.9 criteria). CONCLUSION:  The inclusion of research selection criteria, call schedule/requirements, average Step 2 scores of matched residents, and social aspects of residency could improve otolaryngology residency applicant satisfaction with residency program websites. Updating otolaryngology residency websites will assist prospective applicants as they apply to a wide variety of residency programs.

Aminoglycoside-Related Nephrotoxicity and Ototoxicity in Clinical Practice: A Review of Pathophysiological Mechanism and Treatment Options.

Aminoglycosides are a class of medications used to treat certain bacterial infections, specifically gram-negative aerobes. These drugs can be used alone as first-line treatments or in combination with other medications. There can be many different formulations of aminoglycosides including oral, inhalants, intravascular, intramuscular, or intraventricular. There are many distinctive types of aminoglycosides, and although they provide excellent coverage, they can have a wide variety of side effects. The most prevalent side effects of aminoglycosides are nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. Aminoglycoside-induced nephrotoxicity is concerning because of the effects that abnormal creatinine levels can have on other drugs and the potential for neurotoxicity. Fortunately, changes in renal function are typically reversible. The kidney is affected by the drug's ability to enter the proximal tubule and cause a buildup of phospholipids in the lysosomes, inhibiting their function. Exposure to aminoglycosides in utero can result in permanent ototoxicity. The mechanism of ototoxicity is through the drug's ability to freely pass into hair cells and cause reactive oxygen species to damage the mitochondria, resulting in cell death. There is not a substantial amount of research regarding the prevention and treatment of adverse effects of aminoglycosides. Future research on the mediation or modulation of these pathophysiological processes would expand their usage in modern medicine.

Palatal Supernumerary Tooth in a Pediatric Patient.

This report describes the case of a child with a congenital palatal lesion that grew rapidly in the first year of life and was found to be a supernumerary tooth. A 14-month-old male presented with a congenital midline palatal lesion visible behind his newly erupted maxillary central incisors. The lesion had been present since birth and was round, raised, firm, and covered with normal-appearing mucosa. The results from CT imaging indicated the lesion was a rudimentary tooth crown. It was excised and confirmed to be a supernumerary tooth. The patient healed without complications. Congenital palatal lesions with this appearance are most commonly hamartomas, cysts, epulides, and teratomas. Congenital midline palatal lesions are uncommon, and supernumerary teeth are not typically in the differential diagnosis. Imaging is helpful for the management of congenital palatal lesions.

Transoral Robotic Surgical Proficiency Via Real-Time Tactile Collision Awareness System.

OBJECTIVES: In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the surgical robotic system for removal of benign and malignant conditions of the upper aerodigestive tract. This novel application of robotic-assisted surgery, termed transoral robotic surgery (TORS), places robotic instruments and camera system through the mouth to reach recessed areas of the pharynx and larynx. Over the successive decade, there was a rapid adoption of TORS with a surgical growth rate that continues to increase. Despite the rapid clinical acceptance, the field of TORS has not yet seen substantive changes or advances in the technical shortcomings, the lack of which has restricted objective TORS-specific surgical skills assessment as well as subsequent skills improvement efforts. One of the primary technical challenges of TORS is operating in a confined space, where the robotic system is maneuvered within the restrictive boundaries of the mouth and throat. Due to these confined boundaries of the pharynx, instruments can frequently collide with anatomic structures such as teeth and bone, producing anatomic collisions. Therefore, we hypothesized that anatomic collisions negatively impact TORS surgical performance. Secondarily, we hypothesized that avoidance of unwanted anatomic collisions could improve TORS surgical proficiency. METHODS: Design and fidelity testing for a custom TORS training platform with an integrated anatomic collision-sensing system providing real-time tactile feedback is described. Following successful platform assembly and testing, validation study using the platform was carried through prospective surgical training with trial randomization. Twenty otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residents, each trainee performing three discrete mock surgical trials (n = 60), performed the initial system validation. Ten of the 20 residents were randomized to perform the surgical trials utilizing the real-time feedback system. The remaining 10 residents were randomized to perform the surgical trials without the feedback system, although the system still could record collision data. Surgical proficiency was measured by Global Evaluative Assessment of Robotic Skills (GEARS) score, time to completion, and tumor resection scores (categorical scale ranging 0-3, describing the adequacy of resection). RESULTS: Major anatomic collisions (greater than 5N of force) negatively affected GEARS robotic skills. A mixed model analysis demonstrated that for every additional occurrence of a major collision, GEARS robotic skills assessment score would decrease by 0.29 points (P = .04). Real-time collision awareness created significantly fewer major (> 5 N) anatomic collisions with the tactile feedback system active (n = 30, mean collisions = 2.9 ± 4.2) as compared with trials without tactile feedback (n = 30, mean collisions = 12.53 ± 23.23) (P < .001). The second assessment measure of time to completion was unaffected by the presence of collisions or by the use of tactile feedback system. The third proficiency assessment was measured with tumor resection grading. Tumor resection scores was significantly (P = .02) improved with collision awareness system activated than trials without collision awareness. CONCLUSION: In order to test our primary hypothesis, a novel TORS training platform was successfully developed that provides collision force measurements including frequency, severity, and duration of anatomic collisions. Additionally, the platform was modulated to provide real-time tactile feedback of the occurrence of out-of-field collisions. Utilizing this custom platform, our hypothesis that anatomic collisions during TORS diminishes surgical performance was supported. Additionally, our secondary hypothesis that subsequent reduction of anatomic collisions improves TORS proficiency was supported by the surgical trial. Dedicated investigation to characterize the effect size and clinical impact is required in order to translate this finding into training curriculums and into clinical utilization. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II (Randomized trial) Laryngoscope, 130:S1-S17, 2020.

Development of a Transoral Robotic Surgery Training Platform.

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) presents unique challenges due to difficulty manipulating surgical instruments within the tight confines of the oral cavity. Collisions between the end effectors and anatomical structures can be visualized through the endoscope; however, instrument shaft collisions are outside of the field-of-view. Acquiring the requisite skill set to minimize these collisions is challenging due to the lack of an appropriate training platform. In this paper, we present a TORS training platform with an integrated collision sensing system and real-time haptic feedback. Preliminary testing involved the recruitment of 10 Otolaryngology residents assigned to `feedback' (N=5) and `no feedback' (N=5) groups. Each trainee performed three mock surgical procedures involving the resection of a tumor from the base of the tongue. Superior surgical performance was observed in the feedback group suggesting that haptic feedback will enhance the acquisition of surgical skills.