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Objective: Since 2015, Transnasal Humidified Rapid Insufflation Ventilatory Exchange (THRIVE) has been used in general anesthesia for preoxygenation or difficult exposure airway management. Its use offers new opportunities in laryngology. THRIVE increases apnea time and frees the access to the upper airway. However, its use may be less stable than orotracheal intubation. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of laryngeal microsurgery under THRIVE including using Laser., Study Design: Retrospective., Setting: A total of N = 99 patients with laryngeal microsurgery (with or without CO 2 laser) under THRIVE were included successively from January 1, 2020 to January 30, 2022., Method: Medical history, comorbidities, clinical and surgical data were extracted and analyzed. Two groups were constituted regarding the "success" (use of THRIVE along all the procedure) or the "failure" (need for an endotracheal tube) of the use of THRIVE during the procedure., Results: A failure occurred in N = 15/99 patients (15.2%) mainly due to refractory hypoxia. The odd ratios (OR) for THRIVE failure were: OR = 6.6 [2.9-35] for overweight (BMI >25 kg/m 2 ); OR = 3.8 [1.7-18.7] for ASA score >2; OR = 4.7 [2.3-24.7] for the use of CO 2 laser. Elderly patients and patients with pulmonary pathology were not statistically at greater risk of THRIVE failure. No adverse event was described., Conclusion: This work confirms the feasibility of laryngeal microsurgery under THRIVE, including with CO 2 laser. Overweight, ASA >2 and lower fraction of inspired oxygen during CO 2 laser use increased the risk for orotracheal intubation., Competing Interests: None., (© 2024 The Authors. OTO Open published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.)

Introduction: To explore the prevalence of dysphonia in European patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and the clinical features of dysphonic patients., Methods: The clinical and epidemiological data of 702 patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 were collected from 19 European Hospitals. The following data were extracted: age, sex, ethnicity, tobacco consumption, comorbidities, general, and otolaryngological symptoms. Dysphonia and otolaryngological symptoms were self-assessed through a 4-point scale. The prevalence of dysphonia, as part of the COVID-19 symptoms, was assessed. The outcomes were compared between dysphonic and nondysphonic patients. The association between dysphonia severity and outcomes was studied through Bayesian analysis., Results: A total of 188 patients were dysphonic, accounting for 26.8% of cases. Females developed more frequently dysphonia than males (P = 0.022). The proportion of smokers was significantly higher in the dysphonic group (P = 0.042). The prevalence of the following symptoms was higher in dysphonic patients compared with nondysphonic patients: cough, chest pain, sticky sputum, arthralgia, diarrhea, headache, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. The severity of dyspnea, dysphagia, ear pain, face pain, throat pain, and nasal obstruction was higher in dysphonic group compared with nondysphonic group. There were significant associations between the severity of dysphonia, dysphagia, and cough., Conclusion: Dysphonia may be encountered in a quarter of patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 and should be considered as a symptom list of the infection. Dysphonic COVID-19 patients are more symptomatic than nondysphonic individuals. Future studies are needed to investigate the relevance of dysphonia in the COVID-19 clinical presentation., (Copyright © 2020 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate the oncological, functional and voice rehabilitation outcomes of transoral robotic surgery for total laryngectomy (TORS-TL)., Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients treated by TORS-TL was conducted at a single academic medical center. The following outcomes were studied: indication; average robotic set-up and operative times; mean estimated blood loss; postoperative complications; re-feeding features; mean hospital stay; need of adjuvant therapy and voice rehabilitation type., Results: TORS-TL was performed in 10 patients for the following indications: nonfunctional larynx (N = 2); low-grade cricoid chondrosarcoma (N = 3) and recurrent laryngeal cancer after (chemo) radiation (N = 5). Two patients were excluded because the larynx was not exposable. Average robotic set-up and operative times were 20 and 278 min, respectively. The mean estimated blood loss was 50 mL. The mean hospital stay was 13.9 days (8-28 days). There was no local recurrence in patients operated for cancer recurrence (N = 5) 5 years after the surgery. Distant metastases occurred in one patient. A patient with laryngeal chondrosarcoma experienced local failure 3 years after TORS-TL. The voice rehabilitation consisted of esophageal voice (N = 2) and tracheoesophageal prosthesis (Provox®, N = 8). The main reasons for prosthesis replacement were transprosthetic (79%) and periprosthetic leaks (21%). The median lifespan of prostheses was 81 days., Conclusion: TORS-TL may be a safe and effective surgical approach for selected surgical indications. Future controlled studies are needed to determine additional indications and limitations of this procedure., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate prevalence and epidemiological and clinical factors associated with olfactory dysfunction (OD) and gustatory dysfunction (GD) in COVID-19 patients according to the disease severity., Study Design: Cross-sectional study., Methods: A total of 2579 patients with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 were identified between March 22 and June 3, 2020 from 18 European hospitals. Epidemiological and clinical data were extracted. Otolaryngological symptoms, including OD and GD, were collected through patient-reported outcome questionnaire and Sniffin'Sticks tests were carried out in a subset of patients., Results: A total of 2579 patients were included, including 2166 mild (84.0%), 144 moderate (5.6%) and 269 severe-to-critical (10.4%) patients. Mild patients presented an otolaryngological picture of the disease with OD, GD, nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea and sore throat as the most prevalent symptoms. The prevalence of subjective OD and GD was 73.7 and 46.8%, and decreases with the severity of the disease. Females had higher prevalence of subjective OD and GD compared with males. Diabetes was associated with a higher risk to develop GD. Among the subset of patients who benefited from psychophysical olfactory evaluations, there were 75 anosmic, 43 hyposmic and 113 normosmic patients. The prevalence of anosmia significantly decreased with the severity of the disease. Anosmia or hyposmia were not associated with any nasal disorder, according to SNOT-22., Conclusion: OD and GD are more prevalent in patients with mild COVID-19 compared with individuals with moderate, severe or critical diseases. Females might have a higher risk of developing OD and GD compared with males.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and the outcomes of transoral laser CO 2 microsurgery (TLM) for resection of early-stage squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the vocal folds through several additional surgical procedures and tips improving the glottic exposure., Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients treated by TLM cordectomy in a single European University Hospital for early-stage vocal fold SCCs (Tis, T1a, T1b, and T2). The following TLM outcomes were studied regarding the tumor size (Tis and T1a vs T1b and T2) and the margin status (negative vs positive/suspicious): patient position; type of laryngoscope; requirement to external counter pressure; resection of supraglottic structures (eg, ventricular band, epiglottic petiole, and suprahyoid epiglottis); pre- and postoperative complications; overall survival; disease-specific survival (DSS); and disease-free survival (DFS)., Results: A total of 148 patients were included. The TLM was realized in 95.3% of cases. External counter pressure, partial, or total vestibulectomy were necessary in 65.9%, 57.4%, and 4.2% of cases, respectively. A resection of the epiglottic petiole was required in 24.8% of cases. The realization of both epiglottis petiole resection and vestibulectomies were significantly higher in patients with T2 and T1b SCCs compared to those with T1a and Tis SCCs ( P = .01). Different procedure tips were described for improving the laryngeal exposition. The 5-year laryngeal preservation rate, DSS, and DFS were significantly better in patients without SCC involvement of the anterior commissure, and did not vary according to the margin status. The laryngeal exposure difficulties did not impact the margin status., Conclusion: The exposure of glottis is possible in 95% of cases of early-stage vocal cord SCC but requires the use of several additional surgical procedures, especially for anterior commissure SCCs. The SCC involvement of the vocal fold anterior commissure is associated with lower DSS, DFS, and laryngeal preservation rate.