Adding folic acid to corn Masa flour: Partnering to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce health disparities.

Although strides have been made in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs), Hispanic women remain more likely to have a baby born with an NTD and less likely to know the benefits of, or consume, folic acid than women of other race/ethnic groups. In 1998, the U.S.

Screening for Excessive Alcohol Use and Brief Counseling of Adults - 17 States and the District of Columbia, 2014.

Excessive and/or risky alcohol use* resulted in $249 billion in economic costs in 2010 (1) and >88,000 deaths in the United States every year from 2006 to 2010 (2). It is associated with birth defects and disabilities (e.g.

Describing the Prevalence of Neural Tube Defects Worldwide: A Systematic Literature Review.

Background: Folate-sensitive neural tube defects (NTDs) are an important, preventable cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. There is a need to describe the current global burden of NTDs and identify gaps in available NTD data.

Methods And Findings: We conducted a systematic review and searched multiple databases for NTD prevalence estimates and abstracted data from peer-reviewed literature, birth defects surveillance registries, and reports published between January 1990 and July 2014 that had greater than 5,000 births and were not solely based on mortality data.

Self-Reported Prevalence of Alcohol Screening Among U.S. Adults.

Introduction: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends for adults alcohol screening and brief behavioral counseling interventions in primary care settings.

Alcohol use and binge drinking among women of childbearing age - United States, 2011-2013.

Excessive alcohol use is risk factor for a wide range of health and social problems including liver cirrhosis, certain cancers, depression, motor vehicle crashes, and violence. Alcohol use during pregnancy can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) and other adverse birth outcomes . Community studies estimate that as many as 2% to 5% of first grade students in the United States might have an FASD, which include physical, behavioral, or learning impairments.

Effect of a second primary thyroid carcinoma on patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to characterize the timing, histology, and behavior of second primary thyroid carcinoma (SPTC) developing after a diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 9 database.

Results: Patients with HNSCC who develop SPTC die 1.

Endoscopic management of esophageal discontinuity.

Background: The management of esophageal discontinuity remains challenging and often involves complex reconstructive surgeries.

Methods And Results: We describe a unique and successful treatment of esophageal discontinuity using a modification of the natural orifice translumenal surgery (NOTES) approach in a patient presenting with long-standing esophageal discontinuity resulting from an iatrogenic esophageal injury.

Conclusion: This case provided an opportunity to affirm the efficacy of endoscopy for treating esophageal discontinuities to minimize the degree of morbidity and mortality normally associated with the surgical treatment of this type of injury.

Prevalence and characteristics of women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) in the United States: estimates from the National Survey of Family Growth.

Non-pregnant women can avoid alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEPs) by modifying drinking and/or contraceptive practices. The purpose of this study was to estimate the number and characteristics of women in the United States who are at risk of AEPs. We analyzed data from in-person interviews obtained from a national probability sample (i.

Otolaryngology and medical malpractice: A review of the past decade, 2001-2011.

Objectives/hypothesis: To better understand the causes and outcomes of lawsuits involving otolaryngologists in the past decade by analyzing malpractice litigation trends to prevent future litigation and improve physician education.

Study Design: Analysis of a national database for all US civil trials.

Methods: The Westlaw database was reviewed from 2001 to 2011.

Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma in a Branchial Cleft Cyst without a Thyroid Primary: Navigating a Diagnostic Dilemma.

We report a rare case of papillary thyroid carcinoma incidentally found within a branchial cleft cyst. Only four other cases have been described in the literature. A total thyroidectomy and selective neck dissection was performed, and no evidence of occult primary disease was found after review of fine sections.

Microvascular reconstructive surgery in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom: the US military experience performing free flaps in a combat zone.

Background: Local nationals with complex wounds resulting from traumatic combat injuries during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom usually must undergo reconstructive surgery in the combat zone. While the use of microvascular free-tissue transfer (free flaps) for traumatic reconstruction is well documented in the literature, various complicating factors exist when these intricate surgical procedures are performed in a theater of war.

Methods: The microvascular experiences of six military surgeons deployed during a 30-month period between 2006 and 2011 in Iraq and Afghanistan were retrospectively reviewed.

Salivary gland surgery and medical malpractice.

Objective: To better understand the causes and outcomes of lawsuits involving salivary gland surgery by analyzing malpractice litigation trends to prevent future litigation and improve physician education.

Study Design: Analysis of a national database.

Setting: All US civil trials.

Characteristics and behaviors of mothers who have a child with fetal alcohol syndrome.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a leading cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics and behaviors of mothers of children with FAS in the United States using population-based data from the FAS Surveillance Network (FASSNet). FASSNet used a multiple source methodology that identified FAS cases through passive reporting and active review of records from hospitals, specialty clinics, private physicians, early intervention programs, Medicaid, birth certificates and other vital records, birth defects surveillance programs, and hospital discharge data.

Head and neck ultrasound: why now?

This article provides an overview of ultrasound and the techniques for its use by otolaryngologists in diagnosing and treating neck masses and lesions. Head and neck ultrasound is extremely useful in diagnosing neck masses and lesions and in facilitating many procedures that are commonly performed on the head and neck. Although in the past these studies were generally performed by radiologists, clinicians are now able to perform high-quality ultrasound studies and ultrasound-guided procedures in the head and neck.

Diagnostic efficacy of surgeon-performed ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of surgeon-performed, office-based head and neck ultrasound in facilitating diagnostic fine needle aspiration (FNA) of lesions in the head and neck.

Study Design: A randomized controlled trial of ultrasound-guided FNA versus traditional palpation-guided technique for palpable masses in the head and neck.

Setting: An office-based study performed in a military academic medical center.

Public health interventions for arthritis: expanding the toolbox of evidence-based interventions.

Background: Since 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Arthritis Program has worked to improve the quality of life for people with arthritis, in part by funding state health departments to disseminate physical activity (PA) and self-management education (SME) interventions. Initially, only one SME and two PA interventions were considered evidence-based and appropriate for people with arthritis. The purposes of this article are to describe the processes and criteria used to screen new or existing intervention programs and report the results of that screening, including an updated list of recommended intervention programs.

Adult presentation of a fourth branchial pouch sinus.

A fourth branchial pouch sinus is a rare clinical entity. The handful of previously reported cases have all involved children. We report a rare case of an intrathyroidal fourth branchial pouch sinus in an adult.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine among patients with arthritis.

Introduction: Previous studies suggest that people with arthritis have high rates of using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches for managing their arthritis, in addition to conventional treatments such as prescription medications. However, little is known about the use of CAM by diagnosis, or which forms of CAM are most frequently used by people with arthritis. This study was designed to provide detailed information about use of CAM for symptoms associated with arthritis in patients followed in primary care and specialty clinics in North Carolina.

Oral carcinoma associated with betel nut chewing in the Pacific: an impending crisis?

In Western populations, tobacco and alcohol use are the major etiologic factors associated with oral cavity cancers. In developing countries of Asia and the South Pacific, however, oral cancer is increasingly associated with the chewing of betel nut. As the population of Asia and the South Pacific immigrates, Head and Neck surgeons in North America are likely to see more patients with oral carcinoma induced by betel nut chewing.

Utilization of free tissue transfer in head and neck surgery.

Objective: Free tissue transfer is frequently incorporated into the reconstructive algorithm for a multitude of defects in the head and neck. With the increasing usage of free tissue transfer we undertook to review the most current advances in the field.

Data Sources: PubMed search of all pertinent articles as they related to oropharyngeal reconstruction, flap choice, new technologies and techniques, and outcomes.

A Benign, Mature, Parapharyngeal Teratoma Presenting in an Adult.

We present a case of an adult female who presented mildly symptomatic and with a history of having a mass removed from her neck as an infant. Radiographic imaging detected the presence of a heterogeneous, encapsulated mass in the parapharyngeal space that was surgically resected, and subsequently pathologically confirmed to be a benign, mature cystic teratoma.