Impact of Treatment Modalities upon Survival Outcomes in Skull Base and Clival Chordoma: An NCDB Analysis.

 Skull base chordomas are locally aggressive malignant tumors derived from the notochord remnant. There are limited large-scale studies examining the role and extent of surgery and radiation therapy.  Analysis of the National Cancer Database (NCDB) was performed to evaluate the survival outcomes of various treatments, and to assess for predictors of overall survival (OS).

Surfing-Related Craniofacial Injuries: A NEISS Database Study.

Introduction: Surfing is a popular pastime in coastal areas around the world with increasing numbers of participants. There is a lack of detailed data in the literature regarding surfing-related head and neck (HN) injuries.

Materials And Methods: We queried the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database to characterize patient demographics, injury types, injury subsite, and emergency department (ED) disposition status associated with surfing-related HN injuries between 2009 and 2020 in the United States.

Migraine Features in Patients With Isolated Aural Fullness and Proposal for a New Diagnosis.

Objective: To compare the presence of migraine features between patients with isolated aural fullness (AF) who meet the diagnostic criteria for migraine headache and those who do not, and to propose diagnostic criteria for migraine-related AF based on our results.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients presenting to a tertiary-care neurotology clinic between 2014 and 2020 with migraine-related AF. This was defined as isolated, prolonged aural fullness concurrent with migraine features once other etiologies were ruled out via examination, audiometry, and imaging.

Tinnitus and Subjective Hearing Loss are More Common in Migraine: A Cross-Sectional NHANES Analysis.

Objectives: To investigate whether migraine is independently associated with tinnitus and subjective hearing loss (HL) in a large national database.

Methods: The de-identified 1999 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database was retrospectively queried for subjects aged 18 to 65. HL and tinnitus were subjectively reported by subjects.

Appropriate extent of surgery for aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease.

The current literature lacks strong guidelines regarding surgical management of patients with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD), who present with the clinical triad of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP), bronchial asthma, and aspirin/nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug intolerance. To further define the effectiveness of sinus surgery in treating AERD patients, this review article discusses current evidence regarding outcomes associated with more extensive surgery, the benefits of frontal sinus surgery on polyposis, and the role of Draf III intervention. Numerous studies suggest that Draf III frontal sinusotomy may be an efficacious early intervention due to increased neo-ostial patency and subsequent distribution of topical therapies.

Short-Term Morbidity and Predictors of Adverse Events Following Esthesioneuroblastoma Surgery.

Introduction: The short-term adverse events and predictors of morbidity in surgical resection of esthesioneuroblastoma (ENB) are largely unknown, and investigating these variables can help direct planning for at-risk patients.

Methods: The 2005-2017 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was queried to identify patients with a diagnosis of ENB undergoing skull base surgery for tumor resection. Information regarding demographics, patient morbidity score, pre-operative and intra-operative data, and post-operative outcomes were extracted.

False-Positive Cholesteatomas on Non-Echoplanar Diffusion-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Objectives: To investigate false-positive findings on non-echoplanar (non-EPI) diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) in patients under surveillance post-cholesteatoma surgery.

Study Design, Setting, Subjects, And Methods: A retrospective review was performed on patients diagnosed with cholesteatoma who underwent surgical resection and were then followed by serial non-EPI DWI using half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin echo (HASTE) sequence. All patients had at least two annual follow-up imaging studies.

Rhinosinusitis in Pediatric Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia: Impact of Disease.

Objectives: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetic disorder characterized by abnormal respiratory cilia ultrastructure and/or function causing defective mucociliary clearance. We investigated the extent and severity of rhinosinusitis in a large cohort of children with PCD and explored associations among risk factors, including genotype and sinus disease.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Self-assembling peptides for stem cell and tissue engineering.

Regenerative medicine holds great potential to address many shortcomings in current medical therapies. An emerging avenue of regenerative medicine is the use of self-assembling peptides (SAP) in conjunction with stem cells to improve the repair of damaged tissues. The specific peptide sequence, mechanical properties, and nanotopographical cues vary widely between different SAPs, many of which have been used for the regeneration of similar tissues.