Quality improvement in tracheostomy care: A multidisciplinary approach to standardizing tracheostomy care to reduce complications.

Purpose: Develop a model for quality improvement in tracheostomy care and decrease tracheostomy-related complications.

Methods: This study was a prospective quality improvement project at an academic tertiary care hospital. A multidisciplinary team was assembled to create institutional guidelines for clinical care during the pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative periods.

Plasma circulating tumor DNA as a potential tool for disease monitoring in head and neck cancer.

Background: Recommendations for perioperative therapy in head and neck cancer are not explicit and recurrence occurs frequently. Circulating tumor DNA is an emerging cancer biomarker, but has not been extensively explored for detection of recurrence in head and neck cancer.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma were recruited into the study protocol.

Extended use of perioperative antibiotics in head and neck microvascular reconstruction.

Purpose: Many head and neck surgical procedures are considered clean-contaminated wounds and antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended. Despite prophylaxis, the incidence of surgical site infections remains significant - especially in the setting of free tissue transfer. The antibiotic course is often of a longer duration after free tissue transfer than the recommended 24hour post-operatively.

Pitfalls in the use of epinephrine for anaphylaxis: patient and provider opportunities for improvement.

Background: Epinephrine remains the mainstay of treatment for life-threatening allergic reactions. A number of challenges are encountered with epinephrine, resulting in underutilization and misutilization of epinephrine. The purpose of this study was to identify the scope of epinephrine pitfalls and opportunities for improvement in the management of allergy emergencies.

Oral allergy syndrome.

Purpose Of Review: Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is common in patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. OAS may be less recognized in clinical practice leading to unclear diagnosis and treatment plans. Many aspects of OAS remain poorly understood, including a lack of a standard definition, limits in diagnostic tests, and complicated pathophysiology with a multitude of cross-reactivities.

Degrees of dysplasia based on viral typing in patients with cidofovir use and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.

Objectives/hypothesis: To evaluate the degree of dysplasia following cidofovir injections while documenting human papillomavirus (HPV) type in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP).

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Methods: Demographic data, operative reports, and pathology results were reviewed from 25 patients with RRP who had had cidofovir injections.

Molecular signatures of maturing dendritic cells: implications for testing the quality of dendritic cell therapies.

Background: Dendritic cells (DCs) are often produced by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) stimulation of monocytes. To improve the effectiveness of DC adoptive immune cancer therapy, many different agents have been used to mature DCs. We analyzed the kinetics of DC maturation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) induction in order to characterize the usefulness of mature DCs (mDCs) for immune therapy and to identify biomarkers for assessing the quality of mDCs.