Factors affecting adherence to intranasal treatment for allergic rhinitis: A qualitative study.

Objective: To determine the facilitators of and barriers to adherence to use of intranasal pharmacotherapy (daily intranasal corticosteroids and/or antihistamine, and nasal saline irrigation [NSI]), for allergic rhinitis (AR).

Methods: Patients were recruited from an academic tertiary care rhinology and allergy clinic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted after the initial visit and/or 4-6 weeks following treatment.

Efficacy of Topical Silver Nitrate for Control of Post-tonsillectomy Hemorrhage.

Objective Management of patients with post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage (PTH) is not well defined but may include observation, topical bedside treatments, or return to the operating room. Data on the use and efficacy of silver nitrate as a topical bedside agent for the management of PTH remain unexplored. Our primary objective was to assess the efficacy of silver nitrate in reducing the need for operative control of PTH.

Radiation-Associated Sarcoma of the Head and Neck: Incidence, Latency, and Survival.

Objectives/hypothesis: Radiation-associated sarcomas of the head and neck (RASHN) are known but rare sequelae after radiation for squamous cell carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to characterize RASHN, estimate the risk of RASHN in head and neck squamous cell patients after therapeutic radiation, and compare their survival to that of patients with de novo sarcomas of the head and neck (dnSHN).

Study Design: Retrospective database analysis.

Survival outcomes for head and neck patients with Medicaid: A health insurance paradox.

Purpose: Privately insured patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) typically have better outcomes; however, differential outcome among Medicaid versus the uninsured is unclear. We aimed to describe outcome disparities among HNC patients uninsured versus on Medicaid.

Methods: A cohort of 18-64-year-old adults (n = 57 920) with index HNC from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 database (2007-2015) was analyzed using Fine and Gray multivariable competing risks proportional hazards models for HNC-specific mortality.

PC945, a Novel Inhaled Antifungal Agent, for the Treatment of Respiratory Fungal Infections.

Disease due to pulmonary infection remains a significant unmet need, particularly in immunocompromised patients, patients in critical care and those with underlying chronic lung diseases. To date, treatment using inhaled antifungal agents has been limited to repurposing available systemic medicines. PC945 is a novel triazole antifungal agent, a potent inhibitor of CYP51, purpose-designed to be administered via inhalation for high local lung concentrations and limited systemic exposure.

Safety and nonclinical and clinical pharmacokinetics of PC945, a novel inhaled triazole antifungal agent.

PC945 is a novel antifungal triazole formulated for nebulized delivery to treat lung Aspergillus infections. Pharmacokinetic and safety profiles from nonclinical studies and clinical trials in healthy subjects, and subjects with mild asthma were characterized. Toxicokinetics were assessed following daily 2-hour inhalation for 14 days.

Safety and Antiviral Effects of Nebulized PC786 in a Respiratory Syncytial Virus Challenge Study.

Background: PC786 is a nebulized nonnucleoside respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) polymerase inhibitor designed to treat RSV, which replicates in the superficial layer of epithelial cells lining the airways.

Methods: Fifty-six healthy volunteers inoculated with RSV-A (Memphis 37b) were randomly dosed with either nebulized PC786 (5 mg) or placebo, twice daily for 5 days, from either 12 hours after confirmation of RSV infection or 6 days after virus inoculation. Viral load (VL), disease severity, pharmacokinetics, and safety were assessed until discharge.

Pediatric Post-Tonsillectomy Opioid Prescribing Practices.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of discharge order sets on prescribing patterns of opioids after pediatric tonsillectomy. Secondary outcomes included encounters for postoperative pain, dehydration, and bleeding.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of pre- and post-intervention in pediatric post-tonsillectomy patients, 0-18 years old (n = 1486).

A Systematic Review of the Neuropathologic Findings of Post-Viral Olfactory Dysfunction: Implications and Novel Insight for the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Post-viral olfactory dysfunction is a common cause of both short- and long-term smell alteration. The coronavirus pandemic further highlights the importance of post-viral olfactory dysfunction. Currently, a comprehensive review of the neural mechanism underpinning post-viral olfactory dysfunction is lacking.

The Current State of the Otolaryngology Workforce.

A shortage of otolaryngologists is predicted for the coming decades, primarily because of an aging population and aging workforce. However, many factors affect the agility of the workforce to expand or contract. This article discusses what is known about factors of the current otolaryngology workforce, including trends in residency and fellowship training, diversity of the specialty, its geographic distribution, and the challenges of caring for an aging population.

What's Love Got to do with it? Marital status and survival of head and neck cancer.

Objective: To determine whether marital status independently predicts survival in a head and neck cancer (HNC) survivor population.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we analysed data from 460 adult patients (59.31 ± 11.

Impact of gender on the association between marital status and head and neck cancer outcomes.

Objectives: To determine whether the impact of marital status on head and neck cancer (HNC) outcomes vary by gender.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 database from 2007 to 2014 was queried for eligible cases of HNC (n = 71,799). An interaction term (gender*marital status) was tested for each outcome of interest (cancer-specific survival, stage of presentation, adequate treatment), and when significant (p < 0.

Demographic predictors of head and neck cancer survival differ in the elderly.

Objectives/hypothesis: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) prognosis strongly correlates with demographic factors. This study aimed to determine whether demographic predictors of HNSCC survival differ between age cohorts, with an emphasis on the growing elderly demographic.

Study Design: Outcomes research.

Reduced Nasal Viral Load and IFN Responses in Infants with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Bronchiolitis and Respiratory Failure.

Rationale: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in infancy. Severe disease is believed to result from uncontrolled viral replication, an excessive immune response, or both.

Objectives: To determine RSV load and immune mediator levels in nasal mucosal lining fluid by serial sampling of nasal fluids from cases of moderate and severe bronchiolitis over the course of infection.

Late therapeutic intervention with a respiratory syncytial virus L-protein polymerase inhibitor, PC786, on respiratory syncytial virus infection in human airway epithelium.

Background And Purpose: Effective anti-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) agents are still not available for clinical use. Current major targets are virus surface proteins, such as a fusion protein involved in viral entry, but agents effective after RSV infection is established are required. Here we have investigated the effects of late therapeutic intervention with a novel inhaled RSV polymerase inhibitor, PC786, on RSV infection in human airway epithelium.

Oncologic and functional outcomes of pretreatment tracheotomy in advanced laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma: A multi-institutional analysis.

Objectives: Describe the influence of pretreatment tracheotomy and treatment modality (surgical versus non-surgical) on oncologic and functional outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective study of previously untreated advanced-stage laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients at two academic tertiary care institutions from 1995 to 2014.

Results: Primary outcomes evaluated were disease-free survival, disease-specific survival, and overall survival of pretreatment tracheotomy versus no pretreatment tracheotomy cohorts.

Preclinical Characterization of PC786, an Inhaled Small-Molecule Respiratory Syncytial Virus L Protein Polymerase Inhibitor.

Although respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of lower respiratory tract infection in infants and young children, attempts to develop an effective therapy have so far proved unsuccessful. Here we report the preclinical profiles of PC786, a potent nonnucleoside RSV L protein polymerase inhibitor, designed for inhalation treatment of RSV infection. PC786 demonstrated a potent and selective antiviral activity against laboratory-adapted or clinical isolates of RSV-A (50% inhibitory concentration [IC], <0.

Decreased cancer-independent life expectancy in the head and neck cancer population.

Background: Aside from cancer mortality, patients with head and neck cancer have increased mortality risk. Identifying patients with the greatest loss of cancer-independent life expectancy can guide comprehensive survivorship programs.

Methods: Age-based survival data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result (SEER) database for patients with head and neck cancer were censored for mortality from the index cancer.

Voriconazole Concentrations in Plasma and Epithelial Lining Fluid after Inhalation and Oral Treatment.

Adverse effects can compromise oral voriconazole treatment of pulmonary aspergillosis. Inhaled low-dose voriconazole may be an alternative treatment. In this study, six patients inhaled 40 mg voriconazole b.

How do caregivers understand and respond to unsettled infant behaviour in Vietnam? A qualitative study.

Background: Unsettled infant behaviours are a common source of concern for new parents and have been associated with perinatal common mental disorders amongst women in high-income settings. There is little evidence about how unsettled infant behaviours are understood and managed in low and lower-middle income countries. This study aimed to describe caregivers' understandings of, and responses to, unsettled infant behaviours in Vietnam and their family caregiving contexts.

Nasosorption as a Minimally Invasive Sampling Procedure: Mucosal Viral Load and Inflammation in Primary RSV Bronchiolitis.

Background: Existing respiratory mucosal sampling methods are flawed, particularly in a pediatric bronchiolitis setting.

Methods: Twenty-four infants with bronchiolitis were recruited: 12 were respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-positive, 12 were RSV-negative. Infants were sampled by nasosorption and nasopharyngeal aspiration (NPA).

The role of ligands in determining the exciton relaxation dynamics in semiconductor quantum dots.

This article reviews the mechanisms through which molecules adsorbed to the surfaces of semiconductor nanocrystals, quantum dots (QDs), influence the pathways for and dynamics of intra- and interband exciton relaxation in these nanostructures. In many cases, the surface chemistry of the QDs determines the competition between Auger relaxation and electronic-to-vibrational energy transfer in the intraband cooling of hot carriers, and between electron or hole-trapping processes and radiative recombination in relaxation of band-edge excitons. The latter competition determines the photoluminescence quantum yield of the nanocrystals, which is predictable through a set of mostly phenomenological models that link the surface coverage of ligands with specific chemical properties to the rate constants for nonradiative exciton decay.

The chemical environments of oleate species within samples of oleate-coated PbS quantum dots.

A combination of FT-IR, (1)H NMR, nuclear Overhauser effect (NOESY), and diffusion-ordered (DOSY) NMR spectroscopies shows that samples of oleate-coated PbS quantum dots (QDs) with core radii ranging from 1.6 to 2.4 nm, and purified by washing with acetone, contain two species of oleate characterized by the stretching frequencies of their carboxylate groups, the chemical shifts of their protons, and their diffusion coefficients.

Spontaneous multielectron transfer from the surfaces of PbS quantum dots to tetracyanoquinodimethane.

This paper describes an investigation of the interfacial chemistry that enables formation of a multielectron ground-state charge-transfer (CT) complex of oleate-coated PbS quantum dots (QDs) and tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) in CHCl3 dispersions. Thermodynamically spontaneous electron transfer occurs from sulfur ions on the surfaces of the QDs (radius = 1.6 nm) to adsorbed TCNQ molecules and creates indefinitely stable ion pairs that are characterized by steady-state visible and mid-infrared absorption spectroscopy of reduced TCNQ and by NMR spectroscopy of the protons of oleate ligands that coat the QDs.

A molecule to detect and perturb the confinement of charge carriers in quantum dots.

This paper describes unprecedented bathochromic shifts (up to 970 meV) of the optical band gaps of CdS, CdSe, and PbS quantum dots (QDs) upon adsorption of an organic ligand, phenyldithiocarbamate (PTC), and the use of PTC to map the quantum confinement of specific charge carriers within the QDs as a function of their radius. For a given QD material and physical radius, R, the magnitude of the increase in apparent excitonic radius (ΔR) upon delocalization by PTC directly reflects the degree of quantum confinement of one or both charge carriers. The plots of ΔR vs R for CdSe and CdS show that exciton delocalization by PTC occurs specifically through the excitonic hole.