The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented demands on healthcare with many requiring intubation. Tracheostomy insertion has often been delayed and the enduring effects of this on voice, swallow, and airway outcomes in COVID-19 tracheostomy patients are unknown. The aim of this study was to prospectively assess these outcomes in this patient cohort following hospital discharge.Methods: All COVID-19 patients who had undergone tracheostomy insertion, and were subsequently decannulated, were identified at our institution and followed up 2 months post-discharge. Patient-reported (PROMS) and clinician-reported outcome measures, endoscopic examination, and spirometry were used to assess voice, swallow, and airway outcomes.Results: Forty-one patients were included in the study with a mean age of 56 years and male:female ratio of 28:13. Average duration of endotracheal intubation was 24 days and 63.4% of tracheostomies were performed at day 21 to 35 of intubation. 53.7% had an abnormal GRBAS score and 30% reported abnormal swallow on EAT-10 questionnaire. 81.1% had normal endoscopic examination of the larynx, however, positive endoscopic findings correlated with the patient self-reported VHI-10 (P = .036) and EAT-10 scores (P = .027). 22.5% had spirometric evidence of fixed upper airway obstruction using the Expiratory-Disproportion Index (EDI) and Spearman correlation analysis showed a positive trend between abnormal endoscopic findings and EDI scores over 50 (P < .0001). Conclusion:The preliminary results of this study reveal a high incidence of laryngeal injury among patients who underwent intubation and tracheostomy insertion during the COVID-19 pandemic. As these patients continue to be followed up, the evolution of these complications will be studied.

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Introduction: The benefits of intraoperative neural monitoring (IONM) of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) on post-thyroidectomy vocal cord palsy (VCP) rates are contentious. We wished to study impact of IONM on permanent VCP after thyroidectomy. Methods: Retrospective review of prospective series of 1011 (1539 nerves-atrisk) patients undergoing thyroidectomy without (418, group 1) and with (583, group 2) IONM. Results: There were three recognized nerve injuries in group 1, vs one in group 2 (P = .3). There were no differences in overall VCP rates. However, patients in group 2 with immediate postoperative VCP had higher likelihood of full recovery than patients in group 1 (55 of 56 vs 23 of 29 patients, P = .01), and lower incidence of total permanent VCP (2 of 917 vs 9 of 647 patients, P = .01). Conclusion: Among patients with immediate postoperative VCP after thyroidectomy, IONM is associated with a higher likelihood of regaining normal vocal function. This may be related to better identification of RLN branching in IONM cases.

A 59-year-old man presented to the emergency department with recent onset biphasic stridor, dyspnoea and increased work of breathing on the background of prolonged intubation for the novel COVID-19 2 months previously. Flexible laryngoscopy revealed bilateral vocal fold immobility with a soft tissue mass in the interarytenoid region. The patient’s symptoms improved with oxygen therapy, nebulised epinephrine (5 mL; 1:10 000) and intravenous dexamethasone (3.3 mg). The following morning, the patient was taken to theatre, underwent suspension microlaryngoscopy and found to have bilateral fixation of the cricoarytenoid joints and a large granuloma in the interarytenoid area. He underwent cold steel resection of the granuloma and balloon dilatation between the arytenoids, with the hope of mobilising the joints. This failed and CO2 laser arytenoidectomy was performed on the left side. The stridor had resolved postoperatively, with normalisation of work of breathing and the patient was discharged home on the first postoperative day.

Objective Balloon sinuplasty (BS) is a surgical management option in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis. The purpose of this study was to examine BS utilization among children with a national database. Study Design Retrospective review. Setting National pediatric database. Subjects and Methods All cases of children aged ≤18 years who underwent BS or traditional endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) 5 years before and after the introduction of BS billing codes were studied with the Pediatric Health Information System database. We evaluated overall trends, demographics, performing physicians, readmissions, and cost data. Results A total of 14,079 patients met inclusion criteria: 13,555 underwent traditional ESS and 524 had a BS procedure. There was no significant increase in BS rates between 2011 and 2016. BS was more commonly performed among younger children than ESS (median age [interquartile range], 6 years [4-10] vs 9 years [6-13]; P < .001). There were 23 (4.4%) readmissions within 30 days in the balloon cohort versus 474 (3.5%) in the ESS cohort. The median cost of balloon maxillary antrostomy (US $6560 [$5420-$8250]) was higher than that of traditional maxillary antrostomy (US $5630 [$4130-$7700], P < .001). Physicians who performed BS had a larger volume of ESS procedures when compared with those who did not perform BS. Conclusion Rates of BS performance in the pediatric population have not increased over time. Results showed no difference in readmission rates between BS and ESS. BS was associated with higher costs as compared with ESS. The role of BS in the pediatric chronic rhinosinusitis population remains unclear.

Objectives In most cases, suspension laryngoscopy (SL) is efficient, bloodless and with minimal post‐procedure discomfort. We aimed to identify predictive patient factors for acceptable surgical views at SL as well as quantify our tertiary airway unit's complication rates. Design Prospective cohort study of 150 consecutive microlaryngoscopy procedures involving SL over an 8‐month period between November 2019 and July 2020. Patients were assessed preoperatively for pre‐existing oral, temporomandibular, dental, pharyngeal or laryngeal pathology, interincisor distance and qualitative gross limitations to neck extension and forward head posture. Intraoperatively, the laryngoscopic view was graded by anaesthetic and surgical teams, and complications were recorded on patient interview in recovery. Setting Tertiary adult airway service for predominantly benign pathology. Results Adequate surgical views were obtained in 149/150 procedures. BMI had a weak positive correlation with a more difficult view (r = .22, p = .008) but did not correlate with a statistically significant increase in any complication. There was a weak negative correlation between age and interincisor gap (r = −.20, p = .014), and wider mouth opening correlated very weakly with a lower incidence of sore throat (r = −.19, p = .023). Gross macroglossia showed a significant moderate positive correlation with tongue symptoms (r = .45, p = 1.611 × 10−8). Conclusion In the context of an experienced airway unit with a high caseload of predominantly benign pathology, SL is very effective and safe with low associated morbidity and no mortality. The most common complication of SL is temporary sore throat and there remain recognised risks of temporary tongue and dental symptoms.

Introduction Preoperative testing for COVID‐19 has become widely established to avoid inadvertent surgery on patients with COVID‐19 and prevent hospital outbreaks. Methods A prospective cross sectional study was carried out in two university hospitals examining the pre‐operative protocols for patients undergoing otolaryngology surgery and the incidence of COVID‐19 within 30 days of surgery in patients and the otolaryngologists performing surgery. Results One hundred and seventy‐three patients were recruited. One hundred and twenty‐three (71%) patients “cocooned” for 14 days prior to surgery. All completed a questionnaire prior to admission. One hundred and fifty‐six patients (90%) had reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) nasopharyngeal swabs, 14 patients (8%) had CT thorax. No cases of COVID‐19 were detected among patients followed up at 30 days. Two surgeons developed COVID‐19 early during the study period. Conclusion Current pre‐operative testing protocols consisting primarily of questionnaires and RT‐PCR resulted in zero cases of COVID in this cohort. It is possible that COVID‐19 restrictions and high proportion of patients cocooning preoperatively were factors in ensuring a low rate of COVID‐19 post‐operatively.