Pediatric Tracheostomy Safety: Implementation of an Airway Safety Placard.

Background: First health care professionals arriving at the bedside in tracheostomy-related emergencies are rarely the surgical subspecialists who placed the tracheostomy and are unfamiliar with the relevant anatomy and tracheostomy specifications for the individual patient. We hypothesized that implementing a bedside airway safety placard would increase caregiver confidence, understanding of airway anatomy, and management of patients with a tracheostomy.

Methods: A prospective survey study was performed by distributing a tracheostomy airway safety survey before and after implementation of an airway safety placard in a 6-month study period.

Retained tracheostomy stay suture with migration into the glottic airway: A case report.

The stay-suture technique (SST) helps ensure safe replacement of the tracheostomy tube after accidental decannulation. We describe a patient found to have a retained stay suture in the glottis 2 weeks post-decannulation. It is important to appreciate the possible complications associated with SST, including airway compromise, infection, and laryngospasm.

Impact of Patient Socioeconomic Disparities on Time to Tympanostomy Tube Placement.

Objectives: Extensive literature exists documenting disparities in access to healthcare for patients with lower socioeconomic status (SES). The objective of this study was to examine access disparities and differences in surgical wait times in children with the most common pediatric otolaryngologic surgery, tympanostomy tubes (TT).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed at a tertiary children's hospital.

Pediatric subperiosteal orbital abscess characterization and prediction of size, location, and management.

Introduction: Subperiosteal orbital abscess (SPOA) is a serious suppurative complication of pediatric sinusitis. The objective of this study is to stratify patient selection into those best treated medically versus surgically based on clinical outcomes.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of patients diagnosed with SPOA complicating sinusitis treated at a tertiary care pediatric hospital from 2002 through 2016.

Lesion-Mapping Software for the Measurement of Subperiosteal Abscess Volume for Pediatric Orbital Cellulitis: A Retrospective Chart Review.

Introduction: Our objective was to assess the utility of using lesion-mapping software to calculate precise orbital volumes to predict patients who would benefit from early surgical intervention.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients diagnosed with subperiosteal orbital abscess (SPOA) secondary to sinusitis at a tertiary pediatric hospital from 2005 to 2016. Diagnoses were confirmed by CT scans.

Metachronous Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Patient Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes.

Objectives: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is a distressing condition that can significantly affect quality of life. Unilateral ISSNHL, occurring first in 1 ear and then the contralateral ear at a separate and discrete time, is a rare presentation that we refer to as . Our objective was to characterize the presentation of metachronous ISSNHL and report on management and hearing outcomes.

TMEM16A/ANO1 is differentially expressed in HPV-negative versus HPV-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma through promoter methylation.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has a variety of causes. Recently, the human papilloma virus (HPV) has been implicated in the rising incidence of oropharyngeal cancer and has led to variety of studies exploring the differences between HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC. The calcium-activated chloride channel TMEM16A is overexpressed in a variety of cancers, including HNSCC, but whether or not it plays different roles in HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC is unknown.

Incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma among subjects at high risk of lung cancer: results from the Pittsburgh Lung Screening Study.

Background: Earlier detection and diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) should lead to improved outcomes. However, to the authors' knowledge, no effective screening strategy has been identified to date. In the current study, the authors evaluated whether it would be useful to screen subjects targeted for lung cancer screening for HNSCC as well.

Panic attack symptoms differentiate patients with epilepsy from those with psychogenic nonepileptic spells (PNES).

Psychogenic nonepileptic spells (PNES) are frequently challenging to differentiate from epileptic seizures. The experience of panic attack symptoms during an event may assist in distinguishing PNES from seizures secondary to epilepsy. A retrospective analysis of 354 patients diagnosed with PNES (N=224) or with epilepsy (N=130) investigated the thirteen Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV-Text Revision panic attack criteria endorsed by the two groups.

Medical comorbidities in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic spells (PNES) referred for video-EEG monitoring.

Differentiating between psychogenic nonepileptic spells (PNES) and epileptic seizures without video-EEG monitoring is difficult. The presence of specific medical comorbidities may discriminate the two, helping physicians suspect PNES over epilepsy earlier. A retrospective analysis comparing the medical comorbidities of patients with PNES with those of patients with epilepsy was performed in 280 patients diagnosed with either PNES (N = 158, 74.