Proyecto ECHO Uruguay: fortalecimiento de la formación de profesionales en el abordaje del cáncer ginecológico / Projeto ECHO Uruguai: fortalecimento da formação de profissionais na abordagem do câncer ginecológico / ECHO Project Uruguay: strengthening the training of professionals in the approach to gynecological cancer

En Uruguay existe una desigual distribución de médicos entre la capital y el resto del país, determinando que los pacientes deban ser referidos a centros asistenciales fuera del área en la que residen. El Proyecto ECHO (del inglés: Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) busca mejorar el acceso a atención especializada para poblaciones rurales mediante la utilización de tecnologías de la comunicación, democratizando el conocimiento. Objetivo: evaluar los resultados en lo referente a competencias y habilidades profesionales en los participantes de las teleclínicas ECHO sobre cáncer ginecológico en Uruguay. Método: evaluación retrospectiva de impacto con línea de base y línea de impacto mediante un censo vía web. Período: setiembre 2020- mayo/2021. Se relevaron 22 variables, 14 indicadores dependientes que miden autopercepciones sobre incremento de capacidades en forma retrospectiva a partir de una escala Likert de 5 valores y, 8 independientes que abordan aspectos generales de la población. Teniendo en cuenta que no hay una distribución normal se aplica el test no paramétrico de Wilkoxon. Resultados: se obtuvieron 36 respuestas. Los resultados, muestran que todos los pares tienen una significación bilateral, pudiendo afirmar que existe una diferencia significativa entre las capacidades previas y posteriores a la participación en el programa ECHO. Conclusiones: se objetiva una mejora en la autopercepción de las capacidades de los participantes luego de la implementación de las teleclínicas ECHO.

In Uruguay there is an unequal distribution of doctors between the capital and the rest of the country, determining that patients must be referred to healthcare centers outside the area in which they reside. The ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) Project seeks to improve access to specialized care for rural populations through the use of communication technologies, democratizing knowledge. Objective: to evaluate the results regarding professional competencies and skills in the participants of the ECHO teleclinics on gynecological cancer in Uruguay. Method: retrospective impact evaluation with baseline and impact line through a web census. Period: September 2020- May/2021. 22 variables were surveyed, 14 dependent indicators that measure self-perceptions of increased capabilities retrospectively based on a Likert scale of 5 values, and 8 independent indicators that address general aspects of the population. Taking into account that there is no normal distribution, the non-parametric Wilkoxon test is applied. Results: 36 responses were obtained. The results show that all pairs have a bilateral significance, being able to affirm that there is a significant difference between the capabilities before and after participation in the ECHO program. Conclusions: an improvement in the self-perception of the participants' capabilities was observed after the implementation of the ECHO teleclinics.

No Uruguai existe uma distribuição desigual de médicos entre a capital e o resto do país, determinando que os pacientes sejam encaminhados para centros de saúde fora da área em que residem. O Projeto ECHO (de Inglês: Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes)procura melhorar o acesso a cuidados especializados para as populações rurais através do uso de tecnologias de comunicação, democratizando o conhecimento. Objetivo: avaliar os resultados relativos às competências e habilidades profissionais dos participantes das teleclínicas ECHO sobre câncer ginecológico no Uruguai. Método: avaliação retrospectiva de impacto com linha de base e linha de impacto através de censo web. Período: Setembro 2020- Maio/2021. Foram levantadas 22 variáveis, 14 indicadores dependentes que medem retrospectivamente as autopercepções de aumento de capacidades com base em uma escala Likert de 5 valores, e 8 indicadores independentes que abordam aspectos gerais da população. Levando em consideração que não existe distribuição normal, aplica-se o teste não paramétrico de Wilkoxon. Resultados: foram obtidas 36 respostas. Os resultados mostram que todos os pares têm um significado bilateral, podendo afirmar que existe uma diferença significativa entre as capacidades antes e depois da participação no programa ECHO. Conclusões: observou-se melhora na autopercepção das capacidades dos participantes após a implantação das teleclínicas ECHO.

Detection of NTRK gene fusions in solid tumors: recommendations from a Latin American group of oncologists and pathologists.

NTRK gene fusions have been detected in more than 25 types of tumors and their prevalence is approximately 0.3% in solid tumors. This low prevalence makes identifying patients who could benefit from TRK inhibitors a considerable challenge. Furthermore, while numerous papers on the evaluation of NTRK fusion genes are available, not all countries have guidelines that are suitable for their setting, as is the case with Latin America. Therefore, a group of oncologists and pathologists from several countries in Latin America (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay) met to discuss and reach consensus on how to identify patients with NTRK gene fusions in solid tumors. To do so, they developed a practical algorithm, considering their specific situation and limitations.

Evidence-based practice and clinical practice in child language: an online survey with Brazilian speech-language pathologists. / Prática baseada em evidências e atuação clínica em linguagem infantil: uma pesquisa online com fonoaudiólogos brasileiros.

PURPOSE: To characterize the knowledge, skills, opinions, and main barriers perceived by speech-language pathologists, in child language in Brazil, regarding evidence-based practice (EBP). METHODS: The study was conducted between August 2021 and July 2022 using an online questionnaire. In addition to sociodemographic and field data, 22 items related to EBP were considered and subdivided into "knowledge", "skills", "opinion" and "barriers". Each item had five response options (strongly disagree, disagree, not decided, agree, strongly agree). A total of 122 speech-language pathologists who work with child language answered the questionnaire. Their responses were described by the percentage of frequency distribution. The time since graduation and the level of proficiency in English were considered to compare the distribution pattern of the answers. RESULTS: Although most speech-language pathologists report having learned the basics of EBP in their academic training, there are weaknesses in their knowledge and lack of mastery of search strategies and critical evaluation of scientific articles. Although most agree that EBP's use is necessary for speech-language practice and consider the need to increase the use of scientific evidence in their daily practice, the lack of articles, difficulties related to the practical application of scientific results and lack of collective support among colleagues are identified as barriers. CONCLUSION: This study alerts the academic community to the urgency of considering EBP in the context of Brazilian Speech-Language Pathology.

OBJETIVO: Caracterizar o conhecimento, habilidades, opiniões e principais barreiras percebidas por fonoaudiólogos, da área de linguagem infantil no Brasil, a respeito da prática baseada em evidências (PBE). MÉTODO: O estudo foi conduzido entre agosto de 2021 e julho de 2022 por meio de um questionário online. Além de dados sociodemográficos e de campo de trabalho, foram considerados 22 itens relacionados à PBE e subdivididos em "conhecimento", "habilidades", "opinião" e "barreiras". Cada item apresentava cinco opções de resposta (discordo totalmente, discordo, não estou decidido, concordo, concordo totalmente). Ao total 122 fonoaudiólogos que atuam na área da linguagem infantil responderam ao questionário. Suas respostas foram descritas pela porcentagem de distribuição de frequência. O tempo de formação e o nível de domínio do inglês foram considerados para comparar o padrão de distribuição das respostas. RESULTADOS: Apesar da maioria dos fonoaudiólogos reportar ter aprendido as bases da PBE em sua formação acadêmica, há fragilidades em seu conhecimento e falta de domínio das estratégias de busca e avaliação crítica dos artigos científicos. Ainda que a maioria concorde que a aplicação da PBE é necessária para a prática fonoaudiológica e considere precisar aumentar o uso de evidências científicas em sua prática diária, são apontadas como barreiras a falta de artigos, dificuldades relacionadas à aplicação prática de resultados científicos e falta de apoio coletivo entre os colegas. CONCLUSÃO: Este estudo alerta a comunidade acadêmica para a urgência de se considerar a PBE no contexto da Fonoaudiologia brasileira.

Opinion of speech-language pathologist on the use of photobiomodulation in the vocal clinic. / Opinião de fonoaudiólogos sobre uso da fotobiomodulação na clínica vocal.

PURPOSE: to investigate the opinion of Brazilian speech-language pathologists on the training, performance, and parameters used for the application of photobiomodulation (PBM) in the vocal clinic. METHODS: observational, cross-sectional, and quantitative study, carried out through a web survey hosted on the Google Forms digital platform, composed of questions related to training, professional performance, and knowledge about PBM in the voice area. Twenty-nine speech-language pathologists of both sexes participated. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: all participants knew the theoretical foundations of PBM, and among them, 28 (96.6%) knew its use specifically in the voice area; twenty-five respondents (86.2%) had a device to perform the irradiation, and all of them used it routinely in their clinical practice in voice. The majority (96.6%, 28) participated in a PBM training course, including specific approaches to the voice area. Participants stated that PBM is a resource that can be used in the area of ​​voice to improve performance in sung (86.2%, 25) and spoken (82.8%, 24), in addition to its application in cases of inflammatory processes in the vocal folds (79.3%, 23). As for dosimetry parameters, the most used wavelength was 808 - 830nm (37.9%, 11) and 660/808nm simultaneously (37.9%, 11), with a dose of 3-5 J per point for the patients with inflammatory processes in the vocal folds (51.7%, 15) and 6-9 J (44.8%, 13) per point for patients whose objective was improvement/conditioning. CONCLUSION: the study participants demonstrated knowledge and training in PBM and its applicability to the voice area.

OBJETIVO: investigar a opinião de fonoaudiólogos brasileiros sobre a formação, atuação e parâmetros utilizados para aplicação da fotobiomodulação (PBM) na clínica vocal. MÉTODO: utilizou-se uma websurvey no Google Forms composta por questões relacionadas à formação, atuação profissional e conhecimentos sobre a PBM na área de voz. Participaram 29 fonoaudiólogos, de ambos os sexos. Os dados foram analisados utilizando a estatística descritiva. RESULTADOS: todos os participantes conheciam os fundamentos teóricos da PBM e entre eles, vinte e oito (96,6%) conheciam sua utilização especificamente na área de voz; vinte e cinco respondentes (86,2%) possuíam aparelho para fazer a irradiação e todos o utilizavam rotineiramente em sua prática clínica em voz. A maioria (28, 96,6%) participou de curso de capacitação em PBM, incluindo abordagens específicas para a área de voz. Os participantes afirmaram que a PBM é um recurso que pode ser utilizado na área de voz para melhorar a performance na voz cantada (25, 86,2%) e falada (24, 82,8%), além da sua aplicação em casos de processos inflamatórios nas pregas vocais (23, 79,3%). Quanto aos parâmetros de dosimetria, o comprimento de onda mais utilizado foi de 808 - 830nm (11, 37,9%) e 660/808nm simultaneamente (11, 37,9%), com dose de 3-5 J por ponto para os pacientes com processos inflamatórios nas pregas vocais (15, 51,7%,) e de 6-9 J (13, 44,8%) por ponto para os pacientes cujo objetivo era o aperfeiçoamento/condicionamento. CONCLUSÃO: os participantes do estudo demonstraram ter conhecimento e formação em PBM e suas aplicabilidades para a área de voz.

A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Speech-Language Pathologists' Executive Function Services.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine school-based speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') implementation of services to address students' executive function (EF) needs, with particular emphasis on the prevalence and characteristics of EF interventions and the factors and barriers that influence service provision for students with EF needs. METHOD: We applied an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design, beginning with a quantitative survey followed by a series of qualitative interviews. We analyzed the survey results using descriptive data and binary logistic regressions and used the emergent trends to inform our interview protocol, so that we could explore those trends in greater detail and context. We synthesized our quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate the characteristics of EF interventions and the factors influencing services. RESULTS: Most SLPs reported that they addressed their students' EF needs through some sort of direct or indirect intervention. Direct interventions varied by targeted domain, service delivery setting, and teaching techniques, though most SLPs favored strategy instruction and highly contextualized services. Indirect services included accommodations and consultation. SLPs commonly reported the lack of collaborative support, time, and knowledge as barriers, and most reported that professional development would be helpful to improve their services. CONCLUSIONS: Speech-language pathology graduate programs and providers of professional development should be mindful of their role in preparing SLPs to address EF needs, while SLPs may use these results to inform their own practice. Further guidance and research are necessary to elucidate the SLPs' role in mitigating the negative impact of EF challenges on students' education. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.24101241.

Perspectives of Indian speech language pathologists towards assessing adolescents with language impairments.

PURPOSE: Perspective-based studies have been carried out on health professionals to create clinical implications that will positively impact the healthcare system. There are no such studies exploring the perspectives of Indian speech language pathologists (SLPs) towards handling adolescents with language impairments. Therefore, the current study aims to explore the perspectives of Indian SLPs on the assessment of adolescent language. METHODS: The study followed a cross-sectional study design following a non-random convenient sampling procedure. A total number of 102 SLPs participated in the study. Phase 1 comprised developing a questionnaire to identify the perspectives of SLPs towards the assessment of adolescents with language impairments. A total of 9 questions were formulated for the same. Phase 2 included the data collection which was conducted through an online survey. Phase 3 focused on the data analysis. Descriptive statistics were to determine the mean and SD for continuous variables, and frequency and percentage for discrete variables. RESULTS: The current study results indicated significant disparities in the perspectives of SLPs towards adolescent language assessment. An overall level of poor awareness and a superficial understanding of the core area (about adolescence, and the areas and tools for assessment) was evident. CONCLUSION: Understanding the perspectives of SLPs towards adolescent language assessment is critical in paving the way for future clinical development and research.

MICROSCOPIC COLITIS: CONSIDERATIONS FOR GASTROENTEROLOGISTS, ENDOSCOPISTS, AND PATHOLOGISTS.

•Diagnosis of microscopic colitis necessitates effective communication among gastroenterologists, endoscopists, and pathologists. •The gastroenterologist should refer every patient with chronic watery diarrhea to perform a colonoscopy in spite of the benign course of the disease and the absence of alarm symptoms. •The endoscopist should take 2 or 3 biopsy samples of the colonic mucosa from the right and left colon, put in separate recipients, despite that the mucosa looked macroscopically normal. •The pathologist should be encouraged to use objective histological criteria to make the diagnosis. Microscopic colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by non-bloody diarrhea that can range from mild to severe. It is difficult to attribute up to 10-20% of chronic diarrhea to microscopic colitis. The three determinants factors of the diagnosis are characteristic clinical symptoms, normal endoscopic picture of the colon, and pathognomonic histological picture. This manuscript aimed to update considerations and recommendations for professionals involved (gastroenterologist, endoscopists and pathologist) in the diagnosis of MC. In addition, a short recommendation about treatment.

Manejo de la disfagia en pacientes con antecedente de infección severa por COVID-19 / Manejo de la disfagia en pacientes con antecedente de infección severa por COVID-19

de la deglución, los cuales representan todas las alteraciones del proceso fisiológico encargado de llevar el alimento desde la boca al esófago y después al estómago, salvaguardando siempre la protección de las vías respiratorias. OBJETIVO. Definir el manejo óptimo, de la disfagia en pacientes con antecedente de infección severa por COVID-19. METODOLOGÍA. Se realizó una revisión de la literatura científica en las bases de datos PubMed y Elsevier que relacionan el manejo de la disfagia y pacientes con antecedente de infección severa por SARS-CoV-2. Se obtuvo un universo de 134 artículos que cumplieron los criterios de búsqueda. Se seleccionaron 24 documentos, para ser considerados en este estudio. RESULTADOS. La incidencia de disfagia posterior a infección severa por SARS-CoV-2 fue del 23,14%, siendo la disfagia leve la más frecuente 48,0%. Los tratamientos clínicos más empleados en el manejo de la disfagia fueron rehabilitación oral y cambio de textura en la dieta en el 77,23% de los casos, mientras que el único tratamiento quirúrgico empleado fue la traqueotomía 37,31%. Un 12,68% de pacientes recuperó su función deglutoria sin un tratamiento específico. La eficacia de los tratamientos clínicos y quirúrgicos en los pacientes sobrevivientes de la infección severa por SARS-CoV-2 fue del 80,68%, con una media en el tiempo de resolución de 58 días. CONCLUSIÓN. La anamnesis es clave para el diagnóstico de disfagia post COVID-19. El tratamiento puede variar, desde un manejo conservador como cambios en la textura de la dieta hasta tratamientos más invasivos como traqueotomía para mejorar la función deglutoria.

INTRODUCTION. The difficulty to swallow or dysphagia is included within the problems of swallowing, which represent all the alterations of the physiological process in charge of carrying the food from the mouth to the esophagus, and then to the stomach, always taking into account the protection of the airways. OBJECTIVE. To define the optimal management, both clinical and surgical, for the adequate treatment of dysphagia produced as a consequence of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODOLOGY. A review of the scientific literature was carried out using both PubMed and Elsevier databases, which relate the management of dysphagia and patients with a history of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS. The incidence of dysphagia following severe SARS-CoV-2 infection was of 23,14%, with mild dysphagia being the most frequent 48,00%. The most frequently used clinical treatments for dysphagia management were oral rehabilitation and change in dietary texture in 77,23% of cases, while tracheotomy was the only surgical treatment used 37,31%. A total of 12,68% of patients recovered their swallowing function without specific treatment. The efficacy of clinical and surgical treatments in survivors of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection was 80,68%, with a mean resolution time of 58 days. CONCLUSION. An adequate medical history is key to the diagnosis of post-COVID-19 dysphagia. Treatment can range from conservative management such as changes in diet texture to more invasive treatments such as tracheotomy to improve swallowing function.

Assessment of mouth breathing by Speech-Language Pathologists: an international Delphi consensus.

PURPOSE: mouth breathing (MB) has detrimental effects on children's growth. Diagnosis of MB is possible through a multidisciplinary approach including Speech-Language Pathologist's (SLP) assessment; however, SLPs currently have little to no defined selection criteria to determine the awake and habitual breathing pattern. This study aims at identifying relevant criteria for the assessment of the habitual and awake breathing pattern of preschool children, and developing a grid that would help SLPs diagnose MB in their clinical practice. METHODS: A three-rounded online international Delphi process was conducted to achieve a consensus on the relevant items and their interpretation. Agreement was established through a Content Validity Ratio calculation. Based on the agreed items, we developed a grid through a scoring function. RESULTS: Observing the child at rest (i.e., time spent with an open/closed mouth and position of the tongue/lips) was considered the most important criterion. The experts also considered that observing the breathing pattern while chewing (open/closed mouth) and after swallowing (i.e., air intake and open/ closed mouth just after swallowing) should provide relevant but secondary information in decision-making. We were able to establish a clinical grid based on those criteria. CONCLUSION: The Delphi procedure provided content-valid criteria and conditions of observation for the myofunctional SLP assessment of the awake and habitual breathing pattern in preschoolers. A clinical validation of the developed prototype grid should be conducted in preschool children to explore its effectiveness in the diagnosis of MB.

From Germany to Venezuela: The two careers of the Jewish-born pathologist Rudolf Jaffé (1885-1975).

The pathologist Rudolf Jaffé (1885-1975) is considered one of the most important specialists of his time - even though he had to flee from the Nazis and attempt a professional restart in South America. The article examines the concrete background of his emigration to South America and the factors that enabled Jaffé to establish pathology as a scientific discipline in Venezuela. Various archival documents and materials from the private archives of Jaffé's descendants serve as sources. These documents are supplemented by relevant secondary literature. Jaffé's career can be divided into four phases: (1) Jaffé's broad education, which qualified him for his later work in Venezuela. (2) Jaffé's professional activity at the Senckenberg Institute of Pathology in Frankfurt. (3) His career peak in Germany as head of the Institute of Pathology in Berlin-Moabit, and finally (4) his forced emigration to Venezuela, where he became the doyen of the field of pathology. It can be shown that Jaffé's great scientific success, even after his emigration, was based on three factors: his exceptional personality, his broad, multifaceted training, and the special conditions in Venezuela.

Designing a cyber-physical robotic platform to assist speech-language pathologists.

This research focused on the development of a cyber-physical robotic platform to assist speech-language pathologists who are related to articulation disorders in education environments. The first goal was the design and development of the system. The second goal was the qualitative initial validation of the platform with robotics and mobile device functionalities drawing on the participation of real patients and speech-language pathologists (SLP). The research method is based on qualitative data. The first phase was the application of engineering requirements and agile techniques to build the robotic system. The second phase was to execute test sessions of the robotic platform with speech-language pathologists supervision and analyzing the experience of real male and female patients collecting data by in-depth interviews and video recordings at Heredia Special Education Center in Costa Rica. The practical approach of the cyber-physical platform has preliminarily support. Testing with SLPs and 3 other older individuals suggests that it may become a useful tool to assist professionals in the treatment of some types of articulation disorders. The time savings and data collection possibilities should be included in future investigations of efficacy.

Corioamnionitis Histológica Asociada a Muerte Fetal / Histological Chorioamnionitis Associated with Fetal Death

INTRODUCCIÓN. Anualmente ocurren más de 2 millones de muertes fetales a nivel mundial, siendo fundamental el estudio anatomopatológico placentario para disminuir el número de muertes inexplicadas. OBJETIVO. Revisar la literatura existente acerca de corioamnionitis histológica, los criterios para establecer su diagnóstico, su presencia y posible asociación en estudios de causas de muerte fetal. METODOLOGÍA. Se realizaron búsquedas en bases de datos electrónicas para recopilar estudios de causas de muerte fetal que incluyeron corioamnionitis histológica. RESULTADOS. Se encontraron 13 estudios que evaluaron mortalidad fetal y que entre sus causas incluyeron corioamnionitis histológica. DESARROLLO. El estudio microscópico placentario en muertes fetales es esencial al investigar una muerte fetal. Las anomalías placentarias son la causa más común de muerte fetal, la corioamnionitis aguda es la lesión inflamatoria más frecuente. Se detallaron los criterios más relevantes para definir corioamnionitis aguda histológica pero aún no se establece un consenso. Estudios de causas de muerte fetal en años recientes han reportado corioamnionitis histológica entre 6,3% y 41,3% de casos. Las alteraciones inflamatorias del líquido amniótico son una causa importante de muerte fetal, siendo la corioamnionitis la más frecuente en este grupo. CONCLUSIÓN. En estudios para determinar las causas de muerte fetal se evidenció corioamnionitis aguda histológica en hasta el 41,3% de casos, por lo que podría estar asociada a dicho evento. Sin embargo, es necesario establecer un sistema de estadiaje de corioamnionitis histológica mediante un panel de expertos a nivel mundial.

INTRODUCTION. Annually more than 2 million fetal deaths occur worldwide, being fundamental the placental anatomopathological study to reduce the number of unexplained deaths. OBJECTIVE. To review the existing literature on histological chorioamnionitis, the criteria to establish its diagnosis, its presence and possible association in studies of causes of fetal death. METHODOLOGY. Electronic databases were searched to collect studies of causes of fetal death that included histologic chorioamnionitis. RESULTS. Thirteen studies were found that evaluated fetal mortality and that included histologic chorioamnionitis among their causes. DEVELOPMENT: Placental microscopic study in fetal deaths is essential when investigating a fetal death. Placental abnormalities are the most common cause of fetal death, acute chorioamnionitis being the most frequent inflammatory lesion. The most relevant criteria for defining histologic acute chorioamnionitis have been detailed but consensus has not yet been established. Studies of causes of fetal death in recent years have reported histologic chorioamnionitis in between 6,3% and 41,3% of cases. Inflammatory changes in the amniotic fluid are an important cause of fetal death, with chorioamnionitis being the most frequent in this group. CONCLUSIONS. In studies to determine the causes of fetal death, histological acute chorioamnionitis was evidenced in up to 41,3% of cases, so it could be associated with this event. However, it is necessary to establish a histological chorioamnionitis staging system by means of a worldwide panel of experts.

Clinical features of oral lichen planus and oral lichenoid lesions: an oral pathologist's perspective.

The clinicopathological features that precisely characterize oral lichen planus (OLP) and oral lichenoid lesions (OLL) still represent a challenge. The aim of the present study was to analyze, from an oral pathologist perspective, the clinical features from OLP and OLL. Specimens fullfilling the histological criteria for OLP and OLL, and also compatible with OLP (OLP-C), were selected and clinical information was retrieved from the laboratory forms. The final sample was composed by 221 cases, including 119 OLP (53.8%), 65 OLP-C (29.4%) and 37 OLL (16.7%). Females were more affected in the three groups, but the number of males was higher in OLL. Mean age was lower in OLP (52.3 years) in comparison with OLL (57.9 years) (p=0.020). Buccal mucosa and tongue involvement was more frequent in OLP; gingival involvement was uncommon in OLL. The reticular pattern was more frequently found in OLP, while the association of reticular and atrophic/erosive/ulcerated patterns was more common in OLP-C and OLL (p=0.025). In conclusion, gender and mean age of the patients, and anatomical location and clinical manifestation of OLL are different from OLP, and could help to better characterize this group of conditions. Specimens diagnosed as OLP-C showed clinical parameters close to OLP.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Speech Language Pathologists in India about Telerehabilitation Services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has opened opportunities for service providers and patients to continue with clinical services in certain extraordinary settings and circumstances. Telerehabilitation in the field of speech language pathology in India is still at its infancy, with a majority of the Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) accustomed with the conventional face-to-face system of service delivery. The present study aims to gather the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of SLPs in India regarding telerehabilitation services during the pandemic. METHODS: The study was conducted in three phases: phase I involved the development and validation of a questionnaire to explore the KAP of SLPs regarding telerehabilitation services. The items were framed based on a Likert rating scale (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree), yes-no-maybe format, open-ended, and multiple-choice format. Phase II involved data collection, while phase III involved data analysis. Descriptive statistics was done to derive the frequency and percentage for discrete variables and mean and SD for continuous variables. RESULTS: Many SLPs feel underprepared in their technical knowledge and skills needed for telerehabilitation. Furthermore, a majority of the SLPs also did report patients to be relatively lesser motivated and satisfied with tele practices due to issues that are discussed in the paper. CONCLUSION: This study is an initial attempt to touch upon the fabric of telerehabilitation services delivered by SLPs of India. Future studies are directed to study the technical, professional, and personal issues encountered during telerehabilitation services specifically pertaining to specific communication disabilities.

A multitask deep representation for Gleason score classification to support grade annotations.

The Gleason grade system is the main standard to quantify the aggressiveness and progression of prostate cancer. Currently, exists a high disagreement among experts in the diagnosis and stratification of this disease. Deep learning models have emerged as an alternative to classify and support experts automatically. However, these models are limited to learn a rigid stratification rule that can be biased during training to a specific observer. Therefore, this work introduces an embedding representation that integrates an auxiliary task learning to deal with the high inter and intra appearance of the Gleason system. The proposed strategy implements as a main task a triplet loss scheme that builds a feature embedding space with respect to batches of positive and negative histological training patches. As an auxiliary task is added a cross-entropy that helps with inter-class variability of samples while adding robust representations to the main task. The proposed approach shows promising results achieving an average accuracy of 66% and 64%, for two experts without statistical difference. Additionally, reach and average accuracy of 73% in patches where both pathologists are agree, showing the robustness patterns learning from the approach.

Speech-Language Pathologist's Role in Understanding and Promoting Self-Advocacy in Autistic Adults.

PURPOSE: This tutorial introduces speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to strategies that promote and support self-advocacy among autistic college students. The discussion for this tutorial is grounded within the framework of the social model of disability and the need for addressing environmental barriers to communication and self-advocacy. METHOD: We provide a self-advocacy framework to guide SLPs in developing programs for autistic adults. We describe factors that impact self-advocacy in autistic college students and the role of university-based SLPs and speech-language pathology graduate students in program implementation. Scenarios and examples are included to aid SLPs in implementing the recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Self-advocacy is a predictor of retention, adaptation, and graduation of autistic postsecondary students. Prior research on autistic self-advocacy is minimal, and guidance for SLPs on promoting and supporting self-advocacy of their autistic clients is limited. SLPs play a very important role as they can increase understanding and appreciation for autistic social communication differences among nonautistic peers and professors and address autistic stigma through meaningful engagement of autistic individuals in planning and program development.

The need for communication between clinicians and pathologists in the context of oral and maxillofacial diseases.

Good communication between clinicians and pathologists is a vital element in the diagnostic process, and poor communication can adversely affect patient care. There is a lack of research about communication in diagnostic oral and maxillofacial pathology. This narrative review explores different aspects of the quality of communication between clinicians and oral pathologists, with a focus on the diagnosis of oral and maxillofacial diseases. An electronic search was carried out in MEDLINE through the PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases up to April 2021. No studies reporting communication, its adequacy or the required skills between clinicians and pathologists in oral diagnosis were found. According to studies published in medicine, strategies for improving communication skills include clinician-pathologist collaboration; a well-formatted, clear and thorough report; training in communication skills; and patient-centered care. Further studies evaluating the current practices and quality in oral and maxillofacial pathology are required to identify barriers and encourage optimal communication to facilitate diagnosis, as well as patient safety.