Objective To broadly synthesize the literature regarding rural health disparities in otolaryngology, categorize findings, and identify research gaps to stimulate future work. Study Design Scoping review. Data Sources A comprehensive literature search was performed in the following databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, and CINAHL. Review Methods The methods were developed in concordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. Peer-reviewed, English-language, US-based studies examining a rural disparity in otolaryngology-related disease incidence, prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, or outcome were included. Descriptive studies, commentaries, reviews, and letters to the editor were excluded. Studies published prior to 1980 were excluded. Results The literature search resulted in 1536 unique abstracts and yielded 79 studies that met final criteria for inclusion. Seventy-five percent were published after 2010. The distribution of literature was as follows: otology (34.2%), head and neck cancer (20.3%), endocrine surgery (13.9%), rhinology and allergy (8.9%), trauma (5.1%), laryngology (3.8%), other pediatrics (2.5%), and adult sleep (1.3%). Studies on otolaryngology health care systems also accounted for 10.1%. The most common topics studied were practice patterns (41%) and epidemiology (27%), while the Southeast (47%) was the most common US region represented, and database study (42%) was the most common study design. Conclusion Overall, there was low-quality evidence with large gaps in the literature in all subspecialties, most notably facial plastic surgery, laryngology, adult sleep, and pediatrics. Importantly, there were few studies on intervention and zero studies on resident exposure to rural populations, which will be critical to making rural otolaryngology care more equitable in the future.

Background Literature on the dermoscopic patterns of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in India is limited. Aim To describe the dermoscopic pattern and dermoscopic–histopathological correlation in a large cohort of patients with BCC from India, with a particular focus on skin of colour (SOC). Methods This retrospective study was conducted under the aegis of the Dermatoscopy Society of India. Clinical details were collected, and two lead authors independently analysed dermoscopic images of BCC for a predefined set of characteristics. Histopathological slides/blocks were reviewed, and dermoscopic–histological correlation attempted. Results In total, 143 patients with BCC and skin phototypes IV–VI were included. The mean largest BCC diameter was 3.10 ± 3.68 cm and there was a significant but weak association between duration and largest dimension of the lesion (Spearman ρ = 0.33, P < 0.01). Nearly half of the cases were diagnosed with pigmented BCC and the most common histological subtype was nodular BCC (37.9%). Dermoscopically, blue–grey dots and arborizing vessels were the most common features (60.0%). Pigmentary changes were found in the majority of cases, and included blue–white veil, blue–grey ovoid nests and maple leaf‐like areas. A third of our patients had short linear telangiectasia, polymorphic vessels and regular dotted vessels, and another third exhibited a dermoscopic rainbow effect. Arborizing vessels were significantly more common with micronodular (78.9%) and nodular variants (74.1%, P = 0.05), whereas regular dotted vessels (68.4%, P = 0.04), blue–white veil (84.2%, P = 0.02) were significantly associated with micronodular variant. Conclusion The dermoscopic patterns of blue–white veil and regular dotted vessels are indicators towards micronodular BCC in SOC and can help in prioritizing treatment.

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