| Long-term Health-Related Quality of Life in Survivors of Head and Neck Cancer [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology January 16, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objective To examine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) reported by 5-year head and neck cancer survivors and factors that predicted these long-term scores.
Design Prospective, observational outcomes study.
Setting Tertiary care institution.
Patients A total of 337 patients diagnosed as having head and neck carcinoma between January 1995 and December 2004, who enrolled in the Outcomes Assessment Project and survived at least 5 years.
Interventions While participating in the longitudinal Outcomes Assessment Project, patients filled out surveys measuring HRQOL at numerous points in time.
Main Outcome Measures Outcomes included 5-year scores in eating, speech, aesthetics, social disruption, physical and mental health, depressive symptoms, and overall quality of life (QOL). In addition to analyzing patients' 5-year HRQOL outcomes, multivariate analyses were performed to determine which patient, clinical, treatment, and 1-year HRQOL factors independently predicted these 5-year outcomes.
Results Overall, the cohort's long-term general health was similar to that to age-matched norms from the general population. But over 50% of these survivors had problems eating, 28.5% reported depressive symptoms, and 17.3% reported substantial pain. At long-term follow-up, 13.6% continued to smoke, and 38.9% used alcohol. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that 1-year pain and diet were the strongest independent predictors of 5-year HRQOL outcomes.
Conclusions Eating problems due to poor oropharyngeal functioning and persistent pain are the most prevalent problems that these survivors face. Early interventions addressing eating issues, swallowing problems, and pain management will be a crucial component in improving this patient population's long-term QOL, especially in those who are functioning poorly 1 year after diagnosis. |
| Get the full story here |
More from Archives of Otolaryngology
| Balloon Dilation Laryngoplasty for Subglottic Stenosis in Children: Eight Years' Experience [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology February 20, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objective To evaluate outcomes of balloon dilation laryngoplasty for laryngeal stenosis in children.
Design Retrospective study.
Setting Academic tertiary care department of pediatric otolaryngology.
Patients All children treated with laryngeal balloon dilation (primarily or secondarily following laryngeal surgery) from 2002 to 2010.
Main Outcome Measures Stenosis severity, measured using the Cotton and Myer classification.
Results |
| Balloon Dilation Laryngoplasty for Subglottic Stenosis in Children: Eight Years' Experience [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology February 20, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objective To evaluate outcomes of balloon dilation laryngoplasty for laryngeal stenosis in children.
Design Retrospective study.
Setting Academic tertiary care department of pediatric otolaryngology.
Patients All children treated with laryngeal balloon dilation (primarily or secondarily following laryngeal surgery) from 2002 to 2010.
Main Outcome Measures Stenosis severity, measured using the Cotton and Myer classification.
Results |
| Minimally Invasive/Focused Parathyroidectomy in Patients With Negative Sestamibi Scan Results [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology February 20, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objective To examine the feasibility of minimally invasive/focused parathyroidectomy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and negative results on preoperative sestamibi scanning.
Design Retrospective review.
Setting Hospital.
Patients A total of 452 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism underwent parathyroidectomy between January 2005 and December 2009.
Main Outcome Measures Preoperative sestamibi scans were reviewed, and their influence |
| Minimally Invasive/Focused Parathyroidectomy in Patients With Negative Sestamibi Scan Results [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology February 20, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objective To examine the feasibility of minimally invasive/focused parathyroidectomy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and negative results on preoperative sestamibi scanning.
Design Retrospective review.
Setting Hospital.
Patients A total of 452 patients with primary hyperparathyroidism underwent parathyroidectomy between January 2005 and December 2009.
Main Outcome Measures Preoperative sestamibi scans were reviewed, and their influence |
| Effectiveness of Pediatric Tracheostomy Tube Cleaning [Original Article] |
| Archives of Otolaryngology February 20, 2012, 12:00 pm |
| Objective To determine the effectiveness of typical reprocessing of pediatric tracheostomy tubes (TTs) with detergent-soaked gauze pads.
Design In vitro microbiologic study.
Setting Department of Otolaryngology, University of Florida, Gainesville.
Participants Polyvinyl chloride and silicone TTs of 3 different manufacturers.
Intervention Thirty TTs were cultured with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus and reprocessed after |
|
|
