Early laryngeal outcome of prolonged intubation using an anatomical tube: a double blind, randomised study.

The objective of this study was to study the short-term impact on larynx by a newly designed anatomical tube. A prospective randomised trial of a newly designed anatomical tube versus a standard endotracheal tube in patients operated under general anaesthesia for at least 12 h. Seventy adults were included and randomised to either type of tube. The patients were evaluated by means of fibre-optic laryngoscopy and VAS-rating of symptoms on two occasions in the first post-operative week. The evaluating investigators and the patients were blinded to the type of tube used. 27 cases and 23 controls had complete data for evaluation. Age, gender and intubation times were comparable. Symptoms such as hoarseness, coughing, and pain were rated above 30 % of maximum during at least one of the first post-operative days by 21 and 19 patients, respectively. At the first examination (within 24 h), 38 % of patients in the anatomical tube group stated no hoarseness; compared to 13 % of the controls (p = 0.057). Fibre-optic laryngoscopy showed some kind of pathology in all the patients examined within 24 h of extubation. After 3-6 days, seven patients with the anatomical tube and four patients in the control group showed complete resolution of the lesions, and the changes were limited to redness in the vocal process area in another seven and four, respectively. The differences between the groups did not attain statistical significance. The study shows considerable short-term laryngeal morbidity after prolonged intubation, and the anatomical tube only showed an advantage concerning hoarseness. Further improvement of the endotracheal tubes and intubation routines are still needed.

Time trends in T3 to T4 laryngeal cancer: a population-based long-term analysis.

BACKGROUND: A decline in laryngectomies and survival in laryngeal cancer has been reported, especially among patients with advanced tumors. METHODS: Of 1058 patients with laryngeal cancer diagnosed from 1978 to 2007 in the Uppsala-Örebro region in Sweden, 263 T3 to T4 tumors treated with curative intent were studied retrospectively. Two time periods were defined, 1978 to 1992 and 1993 to 2007. RESULTS: Glottic tumors decreased constituting 68.6% of cases in 1978 to 1992 and 47.9% in 1993 to 2007. Laryngectomies were performed in 38.8% and 34.5% in the corresponding time periods. The use of laryngectomy was not strongly prognostic. A decline in overall survival (OS) over time could only be identified for the first year of follow-up. Chemotherapy was only used in a minority of cases. CONCLUSION: The marked decrease of glottic site may mark a shift in etiology. Laryngectomy was not strongly associated with improved survival. The absence of improved survival calls for intensified research.

Early release of interalveolar synechiae under general anesthesia through fiberscopic nasal intubation.

This article presents a treatment strategy for early release of interalveolar synechiae, aiming to facilitate early oral feeding and prevent temporomandibular joint ankylosis.The treatment results of 2 patients with van der Woude syndrome were retrospectively studied. Both patients underwent early surgical release of interalveolar synechiae under general anesthesia through fiberscopic nasal intubation. The 2 patients were treated at the ages of 6 and 14 days, respectively. The interincisival distances increased from 5 and 6 mm preoperatively to 11 and 10 mm immediately after surgery. This was increased further to 25 and 20 mm at long-term follow-up (6 and 24 months).In conclusion, synechiae between the upper and lower jaws can be safely treated at a very early age under general anesthesia with fiberscopic nasotracheal intubation. The purpose of early intervention in these cases is to facilitate oral feeding and prevent temporomandibular joint ankylosis.

Molecular profiling using tissue microarrays as a tool to identify predictive biomarkers in laryngeal cancer treated with radiotherapy.

AIM: To explore the usefulness of the expression of five potential cancer biomarkers in predicting outcome in patients with laryngeal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, the Swedish National Cancer Registry databases were used to identify patients with laryngeal cancer diagnosed during the years 1978-2004 in the Uppsala-Orebro region and treated with radiotherapy. The expression of Ki-67, MutS homolog 2, (MSH2), p53, B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and cyclin D1 in the cancer cells was assessed immunohistochemically using tissue microarrays (TMAs) and its predicitve value on survival and relapse was analyzed using Cox regression models. RESULTS: A total of 39 patients were included in the present study. Nuclear MSH2 staining was statistically significantly correlated to Ki-67 expression (p=0.022). However, univariate and multivariate Cox analyses showed no statistically significant association between the expression of the investigated biomarkers and overall survival or relapse. CONCLUSION: The present exploratory study does not show any significant predictive value of the biomarkers examined with respect to survival or relapse. However, with larger patient cohorts, we believe that protein profiling using TMAs and immunohistochemistry is a feasible strategy for prognostic and predictive biomarker screening in laryngeal cancer.

Impact of age at diagnosis on prognosis and treatment in laryngeal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to analyze how age affects treatment and treatment outcome, and to determine whether tumor characteristics differ between different age groups with laryngeal cancer. METHODS: Patients with laryngeal cancer during 1978-2004 in the Uppsala-Orebro region in Sweden were retrospectively studied. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the 945 cases between age groups concerning major patient and tumor characteristics, such as male/female ratio, distribution of glottic/supraglottic tumors, stage, or site of recurrence. Overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were worse among the oldest, although a significant proportion was cured. Relapse risk was lower among the oldest (12%) compared with the youngest (23%). The risk of never becoming tumor-free was 25% among the oldest and 7% in the youngest. Among the most elderly, only 1 late recurrence occurred. CONCLUSION: Elderly patients with laryngeal carcinoma cope well with treatment. Undertreatment may determine outcome more than age. The oldest group should be followed for a minimum of 2 years.

Long-term effects of intracapsular partial tonsillectomy (tonsillotomy) compared with full tonsillectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the long-term effects (six years after surgery) of two techniques for pediatric tonsil surgery with respect to snoring, apneas, eating difficulties, infections and general health. The two methods were intracapsular partial tonsillectomy (tonsillotomy, "TT") using CO(2)-laser technique and traditional (total) blunt dissection tonsillectomy (TE). STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire distributed by mail to the parents of children, who, in 1998, were included in a prospective clinical randomized study in one tertiary care ENT clinic. METHOD: A 10 question survey follow-up of 41 children, between 9 and 15 years of age, who originally, six years earlier had been randomized to either TT with CO(2)-laser (n=21) or TE (n=20). The main indication for the surgery was a history of sleep related breathing distress (SRBD). Before the present study, all of the children had participated in earlier follow-ups at six months and one year after surgery. RESULTS: All the children in both groups answered the questionnaire. There were no significant differences between the answers from the two groups in any respects: the effect on snoring and apneas was equally stable for both groups. The number of children who remained free from snoring decreased from 40 after the first year to 25 after six years (11 TT, 14 TE). Snoring in the recurrent cases was not rated to be as frequent or as loud as before the surgery. Infections of the upper respiratory tract (URI) that had been treated with antibiotics occurred to the same extent in both groups. None had eating difficulties. The patients' satisfaction with the results of the surgery was high or very high in 18/21 TT and 20 TE cases, and the vast majority of the parents rated their children's present health status as improved compared with the preoperative condition. CONCLUSION: Tonsillotomy with CO(2)-laser seems to be a reliable method for tonsil surgery with substantially less primary morbidity than conventional tonsillectomy and with the same positive long-term effects after six years.

Radiation treatment of T1-T4 squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx: a retrospective analysis and long-term follow-up of 135 patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term outcome of radiation therapy for patients with histologically verified squamous cell glottic carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on patients who had received radiation treatment at the Department of Oncology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, between 1978 and 1987 Patients with a documented follow-up for at least five years, or to time of death, were studied. Radiation treatment was delivered utilising daily fractions of 1.8-20 over 6-7 weeks, totalling 60-70 Gy. Patients whose tumours were not controlled by radiation therapy, or whose tumours recurred, were offered surgical intervention. RESULTS: The study included 135 patients. Five-year survival rates adjusted to death due to laryngeal carcinoma were: T1, 95%; T2, 87%; T3, 72% and T4, 25%. CONCLUSION: Primary radiotherapy achieves a high rate of cure for T1-T2 laryngeal carcinoma. Tumour-related morbidity and death continued beyond the standard five-year follow-up, especially for patients with T1/T2 laryngeal carcinomas.