ACR Appropriateness Criteria Penetrating Neck Injury.

In patients with penetrating neck injuries with clinical soft injury signs, and patients with hard signs of injury who do not require immediate surgery, CT angiography of the neck is the preferred imaging procedure to evaluate extent of injury. Other modalities, such as radiography and fluoroscopy, catheter-based angiography, ultrasound, and MR angiography have their place in the evaluation of the patient, depending on the specific clinical situation and question at hand. The ACR Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines for specific clinical conditions that are reviewed annually by a multidisciplinary expert panel.

Aberrant position of nonrecurrent inferior laryngeal nerve: Report of 3 cases and a review of the literature.

The presence of a nonrecurrent inferior laryngeal nerve (NRILN) is a significant risk factor for nerve injury during thyroid, parathyroid, and vascular surgeries involving the paratracheal area of the head and neck. The objective of this report is to review the association between an aberrant right subclavian artery (SCA) identified on preoperative imaging and an NRILN identified intraoperatively during thyroid and parathyroid surgery. We reviewed 3 selected cases in which we preoperatively identified an aberrant right SCA and determined the intraoperative position of the inferior laryngeal nerve on the right.

Implementation of TeamSTEPPS at a Level-1 Military Trauma Center: The San Antonio Military Medical Center Experience.

Context: When a health care system deals with complex trauma patients while simultaneously serving as an educational platform, teamwork and clear communication are imperative. While there are numerous tools and resources available to address the concerns surrounding patient safety, Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) emphasizes a team approach to improve communication among all caregivers and is specifically designed to improve patient safety through improved communication. This article reports the interim results of implementation of TeamSTEPPS in the operating room environment at the most complex and busiest tertiary military trauma center in the Department of Defense in the midst of the longest period of continuous combat operations in US history.

Alteration of cellular and humoral immunity by mutant p53 protein and processed mutant peptide in head and neck cancer.

Purpose: To determine if serologic recognition of p53 mutations at the protein level depends upon the ability of mutant p53 to express new peptide epitopes that bind to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II molecules, we used anti-p53 antibody production as a marker for HLA class II-restricted T-cell involvement in head and neck cancer.

Experimental Design: An anti-p53 antibody response was correlated with specific p53 mutations and the patients' HLA class II alleles and haplotypes. HLA binding studies and in vitro stimulation (IVS) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were done using a mutant versus wild-type HLA-DQ7-binding p53 peptide.

Prevalence and patterns of intraoperative nerve monitoring for thyroidectomy.

Objective: To estimate the patterns of use of intraoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN)-monitoring devices during thyroid surgery by otolaryngologists in the United States.

Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to 1685 randomly selected otolaryngologists, representing approximately half of all otolaryngologists currently practicing in the United States. Topics covered included training history and current practice setting, use and characteristics of use of RLN monitoring during thyroid surgery, as well as history of RLN injury and/or subsequent lawsuits.

Patterns of use of facial nerve monitoring during parotid gland surgery.

Objective: To determine current patterns of use of facial nerve monitoring during parotid gland surgery by otolaryngologists in the United States.

Study Design And Setting: A questionnaire encompassing surgeon training background, practice setting, patterns of facial nerve monitor usage during parotid gland surgery, and history of permanent facial nerve injury or legal action resulting from parotid surgery was mailed to 3139 otolaryngologists in the United States. Associations between facial nerve monitor usage and dependent variables were examined by using the chi(2) test.