ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Behavioral cough suppression therapy (BCST) has demonstrated up to 88% effectiveness at treating refractory chronic cough (RCC). With onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with many other medical services, BCST shifted to telehealth delivery. Our group hypothesized that BCST delivered via telemedicine by a specialized Speech-Language Pathologist would be comparable to previously reported response to treatment for in-person settings. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review. METHODS: An Emory IRB approved, retrospective review of electronic medical records was completed for RCC patients who received BCST via telehealth from March 2020 through January 2022 at Emory Voice Center. Patients were included in the study if they had a diagnosis of RCC, were referred for BCST, were seen for at least one therapy session in the telehealth setting, and provided Cough Severity Index (CSI) data pre and post-treatment. Patients were excluded if they had incomplete datasets, a known pulmonary condition, structural laryngeal disorders, smoking history, dysphagia, and ACE-inhibitor use. Change in CSI score pre- and post-treatment was calculated to determine treatment effect. Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to compare pre-and post-treatment CSI score change. RESULTS: Fifty-one RCC patients were included in this study; 88% were female with an average age of 60 years (SD = 12.68). Post-treatment CSI scores were significantly lower than pretreatment CSI scores (P < 0.0001). These findings are comparable to historical documented CSI change achieved with in-person BCST. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence of the efficacy of BCST via telehealth for treating RCC. The findings of this study support the continued flexibility in speech-language pathology service delivery to include in-person and telehealth platforms for RCC beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
Background: Plastic surgery residency program websites are an important source of information to prospective applicants, especially given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting suspension of all visiting electives and in-person interviews. This study aimed to analyze the online content of Canadian plastic surgery residency program websites. Methods: The content of all accredited Canadian plastic surgery residency websites was evaluated using 77-point criteria in the following 10 domains: recruitment, faculty, residents, research and education, surgical program, clinical work, benefits and career planning, wellness, environment, and gender of faculty leadership. Results: All accredited Canadian plastic surgery residency programs (n = 13) were identified using Canadian Resident Matching Service and had their dedicated program websites available for analysis. On average, residency program websites obtained a score of 33.5 (standard deviation = 13.7). The majority of programs did not score differently on the criteria by geographical distribution (P > .05) nor by ranking (P > .05). Conclusions: Most Canadian plastic surgery residency program websites are lacking content relevant to prospective applicants. Addressing inadequacies in online content may support programs to inform and recruit strong applicants into residency programs.
Historique: Les sites Web des programmes de résidence en chirurgie plastique sont une source d'information importante pour les candidats potentiels, notamment en contexte de pandémie de COVID-19 et de suspension de tous les séjours pour cours facultatifs et des entrevues en personne. La présente étude visait à analyser le contenu des sites Web des programmes canadiens de résidence en chirurgie plastique. Méthodologie: Les chercheurs ont évalué le contenu de tous les sites Web canadiens de résidence en chirurgie plastique d'après des critères en 77 points dans les dix domaines suivants: recrutement, professeurs, résidents, recherche et formation, programme de chirurgie, travail clinique, avantages sociaux et planification de carrière, bien-être, environnement et genre de la direction des professeurs. Résultats: Les chercheurs ont utilisé le service canadien de jumelage des résidents pour repérer tous les programmes canadiens agréés en chirurgie plastique (n = 13) et ont retenu ceux qui étaient dotés d'un site Web consacré au programme pour en analyser le contenu. En moyenne, ils leur ont attribué un score de 33,5 (ÉT = 13,7). La majorité des programmes n'obtenaient pas de scores différents au critère de la répartition géographique (P > 0,05) ou du classement (P > 0,05). Conclusions: La plupart des sites Web des programmes canadiens de résidence en chirurgie plastique ne contiennent pas d'information pertinente pour les candidats potentiels. Si les programmes connaissent les lacunes de leur contenu en ligne, ils pourront apporter les correctifs nécessaires pour informer de solides candidats et les recruter dans leur programme de résidence.