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Background: To develop machine learning (ML) models predicting unplanned readmission and reoperation among patients undergoing free flap reconstruction for head and neck (HN) surgery. Methods: Data were extracted from the 2012–2019 NSQIP database. eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) was used to develop ML models predicting 30‐day readmission and reoperation based on demographic and perioperative factors. Models were validated using 2019 data and evaluated. Results: Four‐hundred and sixty‐six (10.7%) of 4333 included patients were readmitted within 30 days of initial surgery. The ML model demonstrated 82% accuracy, 63% sensitivity, 85% specificity, and AUC of 0.78. Nine‐hundred and four (18.3%) of 4931 patients underwent reoperation within 30 days of index surgery. The ML model demonstrated 62% accuracy, 51% sensitivity, 64% specificity, and AUC of 0.58. Conclusion: XGBoost was used to predict 30‐day readmission and reoperation for HN free flap patients. Findings may be used to assist clinicians and patients in shared decision‐making and improve data collection in future database iterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Identify and appraise clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for radioactive iodine (RAI) indications in differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), and the treatment for radioactive iodine refractory (RAI‐R) DTC using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool. Data Sources: MEDLINE (Pubmed), Ovid (EMBASE), and Scopus. Review Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify CPGs addressing RAI in DTC. CPGs were appraised by 4 independent reviewers in 6 distinct areas of quality. Scaled domain scores were subsequently calculated for each domain. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for each domain to assess interrater reliability. Results: Sixteen guidelines were found addressing RAI indications for DTC. Of these 16, 9 also addressed the treatment of RAI‐R DTC. A further 6 unique guidelines were identified that exclusively address RAI‐R DTC, bringing the total number of guidelines to 22. The American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines for adult thyroid cancer were the highest scoring with a mean score of 83.5%. Two guidelines scored >60% in 5 or more domains, qualifying as "high" quality: ATA and British Thyroid Association. The highest scoring domain was domain 4: clarity of presentation (80.4%) while the lowest scoring domain was domain 5: applicability (38.6%). Conclusion: Of the 22 guidelines identified, only two were "high quality." CPGs exclusively addressing the treatment of RAI‐R DTC were weak with most guidelines scoring in the "low" quality range. This report reveals an unmet need for rigorously developed guidelines addressing indications for RAI in DTC, as well as the treatment for RAI‐R DTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology has profoundly transformed current healthcare systems globally, owing to advances in hardware and software research innovations. Despite these advances, MRI remains largely inaccessible to clinicians, patients, and researchers in low‐resource areas, such as Africa. The rapidly growing burden of noncommunicable diseases in Africa underscores the importance of improving access to MRI equipment as well as training and research opportunities on the continent. The Consortium for Advancement of MRI Education and Research in Africa (CAMERA) is a network of African biomedical imaging experts and global partners, implementing novel strategies to advance MRI access and research in Africa. Upon its inception in 2019, CAMERA sets out to identify challenges to MRI usage and provide a framework for addressing MRI needs in the region. To this end, CAMERA conducted a needs assessment survey (NAS) and a series of symposia at international MRI society meetings over a 2‐year period. The 68‐question NAS was distributed to MRI users in Africa and was completed by 157 clinicians and scientists from across Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). On average, the number of MRI scanners per million people remained at less than one, of which 39% were obsolete low‐field systems but still in use to meet daily clinical needs. The feasibility of coupling stable energy supplies from various sources has contributed to the growing number of higher‐field (1.5 T) MRI scanners in the region. However, these systems are underutilized, with only 8% of facilities reporting clinical scans of 15 or more patients per day, per scanner. The most frequently reported MRI scans were neurological and musculoskeletal. The CAMERA NAS combined with the World Health Organization and International Atomic Energy Agency data provides the most up‐to‐date data on MRI density in Africa and offers a unique insight into Africa's MRI needs. Reported gaps in training, maintenance, and research capacity indicate ongoing challenges in providing sustainable high‐value MRI access in SSA. Findings from the NAS and focused discussions at international MRI society meetings provided the basis for the framework presented here for advancing MRI capacity in SSA. While these findings pertain to SSA, the framework provides a model for advancing imaging needs in other low‐resource settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome commonly have macroglossia, which can negatively affect dentoskeletal development, breathing, speaking, and eating. Tongue reduction surgery can improve symptoms, but there is no standardized surgical approach., Methods: A video and observational commentary highlighting the effectiveness of a tongue reduction technique for BWS were presented., Results: The peripheral resection with a keyhole approach safely reduced tongue volume, maintained the lateral neurovascular pedicles, optimized intraoperative visualization, and limited bleeding., Conclusions: The peripheral resection with a keyhole tongue reduction surgical technique is effective for treating symptomatic macroglossia in BWS., Competing Interests: J.A.T. is a co-founder of Ostiio, LLC. The remaining authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 by Mutaz B. Habal, MD.)

Rationale and Objectives: The emergence of low-dose protocols for CT imaging has mitigated pediatric radiation exposure, yet ionizing radiation remains a concern for children with complex craniofacial conditions requiring repeated radiologic monitoring. In this work, the clinical feasibility of an ultrashort echo time (UTE) MRI sequence was investigated in pediatric patients., Materials and Methods: Twelve pediatric patients (6 female, age range 8 to 18 years) with various imaging conditions were scanned at 3T using a dual-radiofrequency, dual-echo UTE MRI sequence. Bright-bone images were generated using a weighted least-squares conjugate gradient method to enhance bone specificity. The overlap of the binary skull masks was quantified using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and the 95th percentile Hausdorff distance (HD95) to evaluate the similarity between MRI and CT. To assess the anatomic accuracy of 3D skull reconstructions, six craniometric distances were recorded and the agreement between MRI- and CT-derived measurements was evaluated using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (ρ c )., Results: The bright-bone images from UTE MRI demonstrated high bone-contrast, suppression of soft tissue, and separation from air at the sinuses. The DSC and HD95 between MRI and CT had medians of 0.81 ± 0.10 and 1.87 ± 0.32 mm, respectively. There was good agreement between MRI and CT for all craniometric distances (ρ c ranging from 0.90 to 0.99) with a mean absolute difference in measurements of < 2 mm., Conclusion: The clinical feasibility of the UTE MRI sequence for craniofacial imaging was demonstrated in a cohort of pediatric patients, showing good agreement with CT in resolving thin bone structures and craniometry., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Ultrashort echo time (UTE) MRI can be a radiation-free alternative to CT for craniofacial imaging of pediatric patients. However, unlike CT, bone-specific MR imaging is limited by long scan times, relatively low spatial resolution, and a time-consuming bone segmentation workflow., Methods: A rapid, high-resolution UTE technique for brain and skull imaging in conjunction with an automatic segmentation pipeline was developed. A dual-RF, dual-echo UTE sequence was optimized for rapid scan time (3 min) and smaller voxel size (0.65 mm 3 ). A weighted least-squares conjugate gradient method for computing the bone-selective image improves bone specificity while retaining bone sensitivity. Additionally, a deep-learning U-Net model was trained to automatically segment the skull from the bone-selective images. Ten healthy adult volunteers (six male, age 31.5 ± 10 years) and three pediatric patients (two male, ages 12 to 15 years) were scanned at 3 T. Clinical CT for the three patients were obtained for validation. Similarities in 3D skull reconstructions relative to clinical standard CT were evaluated based on the Dice similarity coefficient and Hausdorff distance. Craniometric measurements were used to assess geometric accuracy of the 3D skull renderings., Results: The weighted least-squares method produces images with enhanced bone specificity, suppression of soft tissue, and separation from air at the sinuses when validated against CT in pediatric patients. Dice similarity coefficient overlap was 0.86 ± 0.05, and the 95th percentile Hausdorff distance was 1.77 ± 0.49 mm between the full-skull binary masks of the optimized UTE and CT in the testing dataset., Conclusion: An optimized MRI acquisition, reconstruction, and segmentation workflow for craniofacial imaging was developed., (© 2024 The Author(s). Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.)