Background: Adequate personal protective equipment is needed to reduce the rate of transmission of COVID-19 to health care workers. Otolaryngology groups are recommending a higher level of personal protective equipment for aerosol-generating procedures than public health agencies. The objective of the review was to provide evidence that a.) demonstrates which otolaryngology procedures are aerosol-generating, and that b.) clarifies whether the higher level of PPE advocated by otolaryngology groups is justified. Main body: Health care workers in China who performed tracheotomy during the SARS-CoV-1 epidemic had 4.15 times greater odds of contracting the virus than controls who did not perform tracheotomy (95% CI 2.75-7.54). No other studies provide direct epidemiological evidence of increased aerosolized transmission of viruses during otolaryngology procedures. Experimental evidence has shown that electrocautery, advanced energy devices, open suctioning, and drilling can create aerosolized biological particles. The viral load of COVID-19 is highest in the upper aerodigestive tract, increasing the likelihood that aerosols generated during procedures of the upper aerodigestive tract of infected patients would carry viral material. Cough and normal breathing create aerosols which may increase the risk of transmission during outpatient procedures. A significant proportion of individuals infected with COVID-19 may not have symptoms, raising the likelihood of transmission of the disease to inadequately protected health care workers from patients who do not have probable or confirmed infection. Powered air purifying respirators, if used properly, provide a greater level of filtration than N95 masks and thus may reduce the risk of transmission.

IntroductionVideo teaching modules are proven effective tools for enhancing student competencies and technical skills in the operating room. Integration into post-graduate surgical curricula, however, continues to pose a challenge in modern surgical education. To date, video teaching modules for neck dissection have yet to be described in the literature.PurposeTo develop and validate an HD video-based teaching module (HDVM) to help instruct post-graduate otolaryngology trainees in performing neck dissection.MethodsThis prospective study included 6 intermediate to senior otolaryngology residents. All consented subjects first performed a control selective neck dissection. Subjects were then exposed to the video teaching module. Following a washout period, a repeat procedure was performed. Recordings of the both sets of neck dissections were de-identified and reviewed by an independent evaluator and scored using the Observational Clinical Human Reliability Assessment (OCHRA) system.ResultsIn total 91 surgical errors were made prior to the HDVM and 41 after exposure, representing a 55% decrease in error occurrence. The two groups were found to be significantly different. Similarly, 66 and 24 staff takeover events occurred pre and post HDVM exposure, respectively, representing a statistically significant 64% decrease.ConclusionHDVM is a useful adjunct to classical surgical training. Residents performed significantly less errors following exposure to the HD-video module. Similarly, significantly less staff takeover events occurred following exposure to the HDVM.

BackgroundTreatment for advanced stage oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) includes combined chemoradiation therapy or surgery followed by radiation therapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy. The goal of this study was to utilize available evidence to examine survival outcome differences in patients with advanced stage OPSCC treated with these different modalities.MethodsPatients with advanced stage OPSCC were identified. Primary outcome measurements were disease specific and overall survival rates with differences examined via Kaplan-Meier and logistic regression analysis.Results344 patients were enrolled. 94 patients underwent triple modality therapy inclusive of surgery followed by adjuvant combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy (S-CRT). 131 had surgery and radiation therapy (S-RT), while 56 had chemoradiation (CRT) therapy as their primary treatment. A total of 63 patients had single modality radiation therapy and were excluded from analysis due to the large number of palliative patients.Kaplan-Meier overall survival analysis showed that therapy with S-CRT had the highest disease specific survival at five years (71.1%). This is contrasted against S-RT and CRT, with five year survival rates at 53.9%, and 48.6%, respectively.Cox regression showed that the comparison of S-CRT vs. S-RT, and CRT is associated with statistically significant increased hazard ratios of 1.974, and 2.785, indicating that both S-RT and CRT are associated with a reduced likelihood of survival at 5 years when compared to S-CRT.ConclusionsIn this population based cohort study S-CRT is associated with a 17–22% 5 year disease specific survival benefit compared to CRT or S-RT.

Apexification with calcium hydroxide is a routine procedure. However, some clinical reports suggest that root completion can occur by controlling the infection without use of a catalyst. The present study investigated the use of tetracycline treatment (in root canals) on root growth in immature teeth, rendered non-vital experimentally. Incisors in 3 young baboons were exposed and canals were left open. After 2 months all canals were cleaned and treated with either tetracycline or formocresol. Some canals in each group were filed. Animals were sacrificed after 6 months. Bacterial evaluations were done before placing medications, one week later and six months after that. The number of bacteria were reduced in all treatment groups. Root growth almost near completion was observed in more teeth treated with tetracycline than in the formocresol group.

Distally impacted chronic tracheobronchial sharp foreign bodies in children are a management challenge that presents with clinical subtlety and extreme variability. The use of image guided techniques, imaginative instrumentation, tracheotomy, thoracotomy, and even extracorporeal membrane oxygneation have been reported. Endoscopy is made difficult by the distal location, inflammatory reaction with granulation tissue formation, and bleeding obscuring the foreign body. Our aim is to describe our experience with two children who had removal of aspirated impacted sharp metallic foreign bodies from the distal airway using rigid bronchoscopy, preceded by maximal medical therapy.