Predicting health-related quality of life change using natural language processing in thyroid cancer.

Background: Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) allow clinicians to measure health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and understand patients' treatment priorities, but obtaining PRO requires surveys which are not part of routine care. We aimed to develop a preliminary natural language processing (NLP) pipeline to extract HRQOL trajectory based on deep learning models using patient language.

Materials And Methods: Our data consisted of transcribed interviews of 100 patients undergoing surgical intervention for low-risk thyroid cancer, paired with HRQOL assessments completed during the same visits.

Qualitative Analysis of Single-Site Headache Surgery: Is It Different From Multiple-Site Surgery?

Background: Migraine surgery has been shown to be efficacious, but nuanced effects of surgery on pain and individuals' lives remain incompletely understood. Surgery may be performed at a single or multiple "primary" sites. The aims of this study were to investigate patient perceptions following single-site surgery and compare themes in patients undergoing single-site surgery with those from a previously published conceptual framework generated with patients undergoing multisite surgery.

An Implementation Assessment of the Virtual Acute Care for Elders Program From the Perspective of Key Stakeholders.

Objective: The aim of this study was to obtain feedback from key stakeholders and end users to identify program strengths and weaknesses to plan for wider dissemination and implementation of the Virtual Acute Care for Elders (Virtual ACE) program, a novel intervention that improves outcomes for older surgical patients.

Background: Virtual ACE was developed to deliver evidence-based geriatric care without requiring daily presence of a geriatrician. Previous work demonstrated that Virtual ACE increased mobility and decreased delirium rates for surgical patients.

Patients' Reaction to Diagnosis with Thyroid Cancer or an Indeterminate Thyroid Nodule.

Little is known about the experiences and concerns of patients recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer or an indeterminate thyroid nodule. This study sought to explore patients' reactions to diagnosis with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) or indeterminate cytology on fine needle aspiration. We conducted semistructured interviews with 85 patients with recently diagnosed PTC or an indeterminate thyroid nodule before undergoing thyroidectomy.

What is the experience of our patients with transient hypoparathyroidism after total thyroidectomy?

Background: We sought to better understand the experience of patients with transient hypoparathyroidism using patient interviews and quality of life surveys.

Methods: This is a prospective analysis of 62 patients after total thyroidectomy at a high-volume institution. Semistructured patient interviews and quality of life surveys were conducted preoperatively and postoperatively at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year and compared based on postoperative parathyroid hormone levels.

Perceived Professional and Institutional Factors Influencing Clinical Adoption of Pharyngeal High-Resolution Manometry.

Purpose We assessed experienced clinicians' perceptions of benefits and drawbacks to the clinical adoption of pharyngeal high-resolution manometry (HRM). This article focuses on the professional and institutional factors that influence the clinical adoption of pharyngeal HRM by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Method Two surveys (closed- and open-ended questions) and a series of focus groups were completed with SLP members of both the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Dysphagia Research Society (DRS).

A Novel Surgical Patient Engagement Model: A Qualitative Study of Postoperative Patients.

Background: Strong patient engagement is often associated with better postoperative outcomes and reduced risk of dangerous and expensive complications for the patient. Our goal with this project is to define a new model specifically for surgical patient engagement to guide future work to improve patient outcomes.

Methods: Open-ended qualitative interviews were conducted with 38 postoperative patients, analyzed using the conventional content analysis method, and coded with NVivo 11.

"Like a Normal Person Again": A Qualitative Analysis of the Impact of Headache Surgery.

Background: Outcomes after migraine surgery have been previously assessed using quantitative measurements, including the migraine headache index. Qualitative methodologies offer the ability to analyze patients' perceptions and pain experience, and may point to changes in domains not captured by quantitative instruments. The purpose of this study was to characterize individual patients' experiences with migraines and to analyze how patients' experience of headaches changes in relation to surgery.

A Qualitative Analysis of the Preoperative Needs of Patients With Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

Background: Thyroid cancer patients report unmet needs after diagnosis. However, little is known about their specific needs. Therefore, we sought to characterize the needs of patients with thyroid cancer before undergoing surgery.

SLP-Perceived Technical and Patient-Centered Factors Associated with Pharyngeal High-Resolution Manometry.

High-resolution manometry (HRM) objectively measures swallowing-related pressures in the pharynx and esophagus. It has been used in many research applications, but it is unclear how HRM is perceived amongst speech-language pathologists (SLP) as it enters into clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to explore SLP perceptions of clinical HRM use.

Correlates of Early Pharyngeal High-Resolution Manometry Adoption in Expert Speech-Language Pathologists.

Pharyngeal high-resolution manometry (HRM) is at a point of entry into speech-language pathologist (SLP) clinical practice. However, the demographic characteristics of SLPs who are early adopters of HRM are unclear; perspectives of early adopters may shape how the technology is received by the field at large. We hypothesized that younger SLPs, those working in outpatient settings, those with a strong knowledge base in HRM, and those with experience in other types of instrumentation are more likely to have interest in adopting HRM.

Comparison Between Patient-Perceived Voice Changes and Quantitative Voice Measures in the First Postoperative Year After Thyroidectomy: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Voice changes after thyroidectomy are typically attributed to recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. However, most postoperative voice changes occur in the absence of clinically evident vocal fold paralysis. To date, no study has compared the prevalence, duration, and consequences of voice-related disability from the patient perspective with use of quantitative vocal measures.

Use of Game Theory to model patient engagement after surgery: a qualitative analysis.

Background: Patient engagement is challenging to define and operationalize. Qualitative analysis allows us to explore patient perspectives on this topic and establish themes. A game theoretic signaling model also provides a framework through which to further explore engagement.

Papillary Thyroid Cancer: The Good and Bad of the "Good Cancer".

Background: Papillary thyroid cancer is often described as the "good cancer" because of its treatability and relatively favorable survival rates. This study sought to characterize the thoughts of papillary thyroid cancer patients as they relate to having the "good cancer."

Methods: This qualitative study included 31 papillary thyroid cancer patients enrolled in an ongoing randomized trial.