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Since its outbreak in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has diverted resources from non-urgent and elective procedures, leading to diagnosis and treatment delays, with an increased number of neoplasms at advanced stages worldwide. The aims of this study were to quantify the reduction in surgical activity for indeterminate thyroid nodules during the COVID-19 pandemic; and to evaluate whether delays in surgery led to an increased occurrence of aggressive tumours.

Objective: To determine the overall surgical outcomes of infranotch T4b oral cancers and compare them with T4a oral cancers. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane databases from 2000 to 2022 were systematically searched. Clinical studies reporting at least one outcome following curative surgery and adjuvant therapy for comparison of patients with either infranotch T4b (IN–T4b) or T4a tumour. The heterogeneity of the included studies was determined using Tau-squared, Chi-squared, and the Higgins I2test. The random effects model was used to determine the log odds ratio (logOR). Results: The systematic review comprised 11,790 patients from 16 included studies. Seven studies were included in the meta-analysis (n = 11,381). For IN–T4b patients, the pooled 2 and 5 year overall survival (OS) were 59.3% and 53.2%, 2 and 5 year disease-free survival (DFS) 57.9% and 48.4%, 2 and 5 year disease-specific survival (DSS) 72% and 68%, and 2 and 5 year local control (LC), 47% and 56%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in 2 year OS [logOR = 0.28 (−0.47, 1.03), p= 0.46, confidence interval (CI) = 95%], 5 year OS [logOR = 0.7 (−0.4, 1.8), p= 0.54, CI = 95%], 2 year DFS [logOR = 0.22 (−0.35, 0.79), p= 0.45, CI = 95%], 5 year DFS [logOR = 0.17 (−0.42, 0.77), p= 0.57, CI = 95%], 2 year LC [logOR = 0.47 (−0.33, 1.26), p= 0.25, CI = 95%] and 5 year LC [logOR = 0.34 (−0.31, 0.99), p= 0.31, CI = 95%] between IN–T4b and T4a oral cancers. Conclusion: Results of this meta-analysis suggest that IN–T4b oral cancers have similar outcomes to T4a oral cancers, which supports down-staging IN–T4b cancers to T4a cancers.

Purpose: Fabrication of tissue replacements with minimal harvest of autologous tissues from patients is a key challenge in the field of tissue engineering. Despite the innate potential of bone tissue to spontaneously heal, excessive tissue loss necessitates the harvest of patient-derived autografts. This, in turn, leads to major post-operative complications. Moreover, insufficient vascularization of implanted constructs and lack of proper connectivity with the host circulatory system hampers the engraftment process. To overcome these limitations, tissue-engineered constructs have been designed to provide a suitable environment for bone tissue development, by integrating biocompatible osteoinductive materials, as well as elements that promote vascularization and nutrient supply for cells and regenerative tissues. Methods: In the current work, a 3D micro-osteo tubular scaffold was fabricated by incorporating an electrospun vessel-mimic within a highly porous osteoconductive core. These constructs enable the flow of nutrients throughout the entirety of the construct, through a hierarchical structure extending from inlet and outlet and diverging into micro-scaled synthetic vessels. Results: Both in vitro and in vivo cellular adherence, proliferation and biocompatibility were assessed, confirming that the constructs were biocompatible, and a sub-cutaneous ectopic model exhibited the construct integration with host tissues. Eventually, the MOT construct was anastomosed with hosts’ common femoral vessels leading to cellular adhesion, recruitment, and penetration of vasculature, and the formation of de novo osteoids within the MOT scaffold core. Conclusion: The proposed methodology supported the formation of highly perfused bone constructs as an alternative for autologous tissue harvest. Lay Summary: The study aimed to create a de novo vascularized bone by combining electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) with mineralized bone graft (Pro-Osteon) and human cells. The constructs fabricated here termed micro-osteo tubular scaffolds (MOT) can be connected directly with the circulatory system of a live host. Based on the results of the current study, the construct was successfully integrated and vascularized upon implantation and formation of both microvasculature and newly formed bone tissue were observed. Based on the current findings, creating a live de novo bone graft for implantation may be within our reach. Graphical abstract:

All treatment modalities for head and neck cancer carry with them a risk of adverse events. Head and neck surgeons are faced with significant challenges to minimize associated morbidity and manage its sequelae. Recognizing situations in which a surgical complication is an adverse event inherent to the procedure can alleviate the psychologic impact a complication might have on the treatment team and minimize external and internal pressures. Focusing on the complications that can be effectively modified, future complications can be avoided. Also, some surgical morbidities may not be preventable, necessitating the option to reconsider whether the incidents should be labeled toxic reactions rather than a complication. This discussion highlights some of the areas in which additional research is needed to achieve the goal of minimizing the impact of surgical morbidity.

Purpose: Thyroid Bethesda classification system provides 6 diagnostic categories, the first being a sample deemed non-diagnostic or insufficient and requiring a subsequent second biopsy. Our objective was to evaluate differences in non-diagnostic fine needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules conducted with a 23-gauge(G) needle vs. those conducted with a 25 G needle. Methods: Data from 298 aspiration procedures using either 23 G or 25 G needles were collected, including cytological findings, ultrasound characteristics and patient demographics. The samples were classified as diagnostic or non-diagnostic according to final cytology. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the 25 G and 23 G needles in terms of non-diagnostic rates (35.7%, 31.9%; p= 0.494). Nodules defined as cystic had higher non-diagnostic rates (p< 0.05). Older patients as well as cystic nodules were associated with a higher non-diagnostic rate (OR = 1.018, p= 0.047, OR = 13.533, p= 0.0001, respectively), while nodule size was associated with lower non-diagnostic rates (OR = 0.747, p= 0.017). Conclusions: The use of 25 G needle did not produce a lower non-diagnostic rate when compared to 23 G needle. Larger nodules might increase diagnostic rates, while older patients and cystic nodules are prone to inadequate samples. Patients and caregivers should be aware that FNA of small or cystic nodules as well as nodules in older patients may result in a higher non-diagnostic rate. Further research comparing other needles gauges should be conducted.

Antibiotic treatment guidelines promote proper diagnosis and treatment and optimize antibiotic treatment, minimizing both antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics and financial expenditure. This study aimed to investigate whether community physicians and emergency department (ED) physicians diagnose and treat acute rhinosinusitis according to accepted guidelines. This was a retrospective study of medical records and referrer letters of patients admitted to the medical center between 2014 and 2015. Physician adherence to antibiotic guidelines regarding indication, type and duration of treatment was assessed. Overall, the study included 84 patients diagnosed with acute rhinosinusitis and admitted to the ED. Fewer than 20% of doctors treating patients with rhinosinusitis at our institution followed the current recommended guidelines. In most cases, the type of treatment administered by ED physicians and by community physicians complied with the guidelines (90% and 96%, respectively, p=0.564). The duration of treatment prescribed by the ED physicians aligned with the guidelines in 37.7% of the cases. There was insufficient compliance with acute rhinosinusitis treatment guidelines among all treating physicians in this study, which was characterized by excessive antibiotic treatment. Therefore, ways to increase understanding and adherence to clinical guidelines, and to provide optimal settings in the clinics to carry out the guidelines should be investigated.

Purpose: There is scarce data about the interpretation of high thyroid hormone levels in hospitalized patients. We wished to investigate the significance of high thyroxine (T4) in hospitalized patients with low TSH. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of data from patients in nonsurgical departments. Three groups of random patients with low TSH were defined and compared: 123 patients with only high FT4 levels (T4 group), 82 with high FT3 levels with or without high FT4 level (T3 group), and 119 with low FT3 and FT4 level in the lower half of the norm and below (NTIS group). Results: The primary cause of admission in the T4 and NTIS groups was infectious disease, 20.3% and 40.3%, respectively; while in the T3 group it was cardiovascular disease (31.7%). The T4 group but not T3 group had epidemiological and clinical characteristics similar to the NTIS group. The T4 group had a significant correlation between increased CRP levels and decreased FT3 (r= 0.366, p< 0.001) similar to the NTIS group. The T3 group had a borderline correlation between increased FT3 and FT4 levels (r= 0.208, p= 0.061) but the T4 group did not. Conclusions: The combination of low TSH and high FT4 levels in hospitalized patient is usually caused by nonthyroidal illness combined with drug effects. This thyroid function disturbance is common in hospitalized patients and if the FT3 level is below the middle of the norm, treatment is probably unnecessary.

Endoscopic examination of the nasal cavity is an integral part of the assessment of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. However, the benefit gained by performing endoscopy with respect to the patient’s medical condition has not been completely assessed. We conducted a prospective cohort in an academic medical center. Thirty-nine patients diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis, without polyps, whose ailment was managed conservatively with no surgical intervention. All patients underwent nasal endoscopy, a computed tomography (CT) scan rated for Lund-MacKay score, and completed a sino nasal outcome test (SNOT)-20 questionnaire. This same evaluation was repeated 6 weeks following medical treatment. The CT scan and SNOT-20 questionnaire were independent parameters to evaluate the endoscopy score in each nasal passage. Thirty-nine (28 females) patients completed the follow-up period. A total of 156 endoscopic evaluations were performed, in which 74 nasal cavities were found to have significant pathology and 82 were either normal or displayed mild pathology. The correlation with the Lund-MacKay score was poor with a positive predictive value of 68.9% (31.1% false positive and 28% false negative). However, while looking at the SNOT-20 score, corrected for repeated measures, a higher endoscopy score was associated with a higher SNOT-20 score (odds ratio = 3.53, 95% confidence interval = 1.54-8.09, P= .003). Patients with higher endoscopy scores had a greater probability for exhibiting severe symptoms. However, we could not demonstrate a strong correlation between nasal endoscopy findings and CT scan scores. Therefore, with respect to patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without polyps, nasal endoscopy could be utilized as a beneficial objective tool.

Acute suppurative parotitis (ASP) is an acute infection of the parotid gland that necessitates hospitalization in some patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical laboratory values including hydration, nutritional status, inflammatory markers and age, and to compare them with duration of hospitalization of patients with ASP. This is a retrospective chart review in a tertiary academic center. We investigated the factors affecting length of hospitalization in patients admitted to Galilee Medical Center with a diagnosis of ASP between 2010 and 2018. Of the 60 patients with ASP included in the study, 24 were male. The average age of patients was 60, ranging from 18 to 99. We found statistically significant correlations between length of hospitalization and patient age (r=0.3), C reactive protein (r=0.3), white cell count (WCC) at presentation (r=0.3), blood urea nitrogen to creatinine ratio (BUN:Cr) (r=0.2), and platelet levels at discharge (r=0.4). Examination of these factors on multivariate analysis found hospitalization duration was exclusively affected by patients’ level of dehydration as represented by BUN:Cr. Patient age, WCC levels at presentation, and platelet levels were not found to be statistically significant. Treatment and interventions should be planned accordingly.

Osteitis of the nasal bones is a rare disease; when it occurs, it usually has a known etiology. To the best of our knowledge, idiopathic nasal bone osteitis (NBO) has [...]

TSH routine testing in hospitalized patients has low efficacy, but may be beneficial in a selected subgroup of patients. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of routine thyroid function tests among patients admitted to internal medicine departments. It is a retrospective study. A randomly selected cohort of hospitalized patients with abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) blood tests drawn as part of admission protocol. Patient data were collected from the electronic medical files and analyzed for its efficacy. TSH as a screening test was proven unnecessary in 75% (174) of the study population. Leading causes were non-thyroidal illness syndrome, drugs affecting the test results and subclinical disorders. TSH testing was found to be clinically helpful in only 9 patients; however, all of them had other clinical need for TSH testing. We found a clinically abnormal TSH in 20 patients, hypothyroidism in 11 patients and thyrotoxicosis in 9 patients. Low efficacy ascribed to TSH screening test by this study correlates with recent recommendations that indicate TSH screening in admitted patients only with accompanying clinical suspicion. Most probably, the majority of patients found by screening to have thyrotoxicosis have non-thyroidal illness or drug effects so the threshold for FT4 to diagnose overt thyrotoxicosis should be higher than that in ambulatory patients. In elderly patients, clinically relevant TSH disturbances are more frequent and are harder to diagnose, therefore, TSH screening in this group of patients might be beneficial.

AbstractWith the collapse of the medical system in Syria, Israel began providing Syrians with humanitarian aid, first to the war-injured and then general medical treatment. We developed a novel specialist ambulatory care concept to provide medical care for Syrian children. Children with their caregivers were transported by bus across the border from Syria to our medical center in Israel for day-stay outpatient-clinic advanced evaluation and treatment due to coordination between Syrian, Red Cross, and Israeli authorities, including Israeli Defense Forces. This retrospective field report includes 371 Syrian children treated as outpatients at Galilee Medical Center between January 2016 and September 2018. In our experience, this novel pediatric ambulatory care concept has been feasible, efficient, and successful in providing specialist care for children in a crisis region devoid of access to health care. We believe it can also serve adult patients and be implemented in other crises and disasters scenarios.

We report on an artificially intelligent nanoarray based on molecularly modified gold nanoparticles and a random network of single-walled carbon nanotubes for noninvasive diagnosis and classification of a number of diseases from exhaled breath. The performance of this artificially intelligent nanoarray was clinically assessed on breath samples collected from 1404 subjects having one of 17 different disease conditions included in the study or having no evidence of any disease (healthy controls). Blind experiments showed that 86% accuracy could be achieved with the artificially intelligent nanoarray, allowing both detection and discrimination between the different disease conditions examined. Analysis of the artificially intelligent nanoarray also showed that each disease has its own unique breathprint, and that the presence of one disease would not screen out others. Cluster analysis showed a reasonable classification power of diseases from the same categories. The effect of confounding clinical and environmental factors on the performance of the nanoarray did not significantly alter the obtained results. The diagnosis and classification power of the nanoarray was also validated by an independent analytical technique, i.e., gas chromatography linked with mass spectrometry. This analysis found that 13 exhaled chemical species, called volatile organic compounds, are associated with certain diseases, and the composition of this assembly of volatile organic compounds differs from one disease to another. Overall, these findings could contribute to one of the most important criteria for successful health intervention in the modern era, viz. easy-to-use, inexpensive (affordable), and miniaturized tools that could also be used for personalized screening, diagnosis, and follow-up of a number of diseases, which can clearly be extended by further development.

We describe a modified technique for percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy using a 15F tube exchanger or Eschmann catheter. A retrospective review of 1180 procedures using this modified technique demonstrated it to be effective with a failure rate of only 0.25% (3 patients). Moreover, it provides an additional safeguard with the ability to rapidly reintroduce the endotracheal tube into the trachea guided by the exchange catheter in the event of accidental extubation during the procedure. This technique needs no additional special devices or equipment (eg, a bronchoscope). However, a prospective study is needed to better define its complication rate.