A Behavioral Adherence Intervention Improves Rates of Viral Suppression Among Adherence-Challenged People Living with HIV in South India.

The success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to both extended life expectancy and improved quality of life among people living with HIV (PLWH). To maximize the efficacy of first line ART regimens in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), we need culturally-relevant interventions that empower participants to reduce barriers to long-term uninterrupted adherence. The Chetana adherence intervention trial was designed in collaboration with local community groups as a comprehensive wellness program for adherence-challenged PLWH and included peer-led adherence support, yoga, nutrition, information about local resources, and individual counseling using motivational interviewing techniques. Intervention arm participants were almost twice as likely to be virally suppressed at their 12-month follow-up visit (AOR = 1.98; 95% CI [1.2, 3.23]) as were participants in the active control arm. They were also about twice as likely as control arm participants to self-report ≥ 95% adherence (AOR = 1.86, 95% CI [1.09, 3.15]), and as having eliminated individual adherence barriers (AOR = 2.33, 95% CI [1.51, 3.62]) and clinic attendance barriers (AOR = 2.01, 95% CI [1.20, 3.38]) These low-cost strategies can be implemented by local NGOs, making it both scalable and sustainable in this and similar settings.

Free Flap Head and Neck Reconstruction with an Emphasis on Postoperative Care.

Microsurgical free tissue transfer represents the mainstay of care in both ablative locoregional management and the simultaneous reconstruction of a defect. Advances in microsurgical techniques have helped balance the restoration of both form and function-decreasing the significant morbidity once associated with large ablative, traumatic, or congenital defects-while providing immediate reconstruction enabling early aesthetic and functional rehabilitation. There are a multitude of perioperative measures and considerations that aim to maximize the success of free tissue transfer. These include nutritional support, tight glycemic control, acknowledgment of psychological and psychiatric factors, intraoperative surgical technique, and close postoperative monitoring of the patients' hemodynamic physiology. While the success rates of free tissue transfer in experienced hands are comparable to alternative options, the consequences of flap failure are catastrophic-with the potential for significant patient morbidity, prolonged hospital stay (and associated increased financial implications), and increasingly limited options for further reconstruction. Success is entirely dependent on a continuous arterial inflow and venous outflow until neovascularization occurs. Flap failure is multifactorial and represents a dynamic process from the potentially reversible failing flap to the necrotic irreversibly failed flap-necessitating debridement, prolonged wound care, and ultimately decisions concerned with future reconstruction. The overriding goal of free flap monitoring is therefore the detection of microvascular complications prior to permanent injury occurring-identifying and intervening within that critical period between the failing flap and the failed flap-maximizing the potential for salvage. With continued technique refinement, microvascular free flap reconstruction offers patients the chance for both reliable functional and aesthetic restoration in the face of significant ablative defects. The caveat to this optimism is the requirement for considered perioperative care and the optimization of those factors that may offer the difference between success and failure.

Clinical audit and national survey on the assessment of collateral circulation before radial forearm free flap harvest.

Controversy exists regarding the use of Duplex Ultrasound (DUS) in addition to the Modified Allen's Test (MAT) for the assessment of collateral circulation prior to elevation of the Radial Forearm Free Flap (RFFF). A survey amongst members of BAOMS Head & Neck Oncology Subspecialty Interest Group and a completed local audit was undertaken to assess the need for DUS. Data for the initial audit was collected retrospectively between 2010 and 2013. Both MAT and DUS was performed routinely during this period. The results of the survey and initial audit led to a change in practice and DUS was no longer requested. The re-audit was performed prospectively between 2013 and 2015. The results of the survey showed that all respondents performed MAT. DUS was performed 'always' by 40%, 'sometimes' by 13.3% and 'never' by 46.7%. A total of 41 patients were included in the initial audit, 6 had an abnormal DUS but only 1 had an abnormal MAT. Five cases had an abnormal DUS but normal MAT and went on to have their ipsilateral RFFF raised without ischaemic complications. The patient with an abnormal MAT had their contralateral RFFF raised. No patients suffered ischaemic complications during the initial audit. A total of 48 patients were included in the re-audit 2 of which had an abnormal MAT and their contralateral RFFF raised. No patients suffered ischaemic complications during the re-audit. In conclusion, routine use of DUS did not provide any additional information above the MAT in identifying patients at risk of ischaemic complications.

Longitudinal evaluation of health-related quality of life after osteoradionecrosis of the mandible.

There is a lack of longitudinal data on the effect of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We report data on HRQoL across groups of patients with ORN at different stages of disease and reconstruction. We identified 71 patients treated for ORN of the mandible, and cross-referenced the data with their medical records. They were divided into 4 groups according to the Notani classification and patients who did not have ORN were used for comparison. Patients with ORN reported the most pain, and rates were relatively high for problems concerning appearance, activity, recreation, swallowing, and chewing. There were significant differences for pain, appearance, swallowing, and chewing between patients who had ORN and those who did not and had not had radiotherapy. On the University of Washington quality of life questionnaire (UWQoL), patients with ORN reported similar levels of morbidity to those who had had radiotherapy but did not have ORN, particularly on the physical and social-emotional subscales. Those with grade III ORN were particularly affected, and the UWQoL scores after mandibular resection and reconstruction were disappointing. HRQoL after composite resection for Notani grade III disease is relatively poor. In patients whose symptoms can be managed without an operation, it seems appropriate to defer resection and reconstruction until there is an appreciable drop in the quality of life, and pain is difficult to control.

Saliva collection methods for DNA biomarker analysis in oral cancer patients.

Patients with head and neck cancers are predisposed to local recurrence and second primaries because of the phenomenon of field cancerisation, and clinical detection of recurrence remains challenging. DNA biomarkers in saliva may prove to be an adjunct to current diagnostic methods, but irradiation of the primary site often leads to xerostomia. We assessed 3 methods of collecting saliva for their ability to generate DNA of sufficient quantity and quality to use in biomarker assays. Paired saliva samples were collected from 2 groups of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). In the first group saliva was collected in Oragene(®) vials and as saline mouthwash from non-irradiated patients (n=21) (4 had had radiotherapy before collection); in the second group it was collected using Oragene(®) sponge kits and as mouthwash from irradiated patients (n=24). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) showed that Oragene(®) vials contained DNA in significantly greater amounts (median 122 µg, range 4-379) than mouthwash (median 17 µg, range 2-194) (p=0.0001) in the non-irradiated patients, while Oragene(®) sponge kits (median 4 µg, range 0.1-61) and mouthwash (median 5.5 µg, range 0.1-75) generated comparable concentrations of DNA from the irradiated group. All 90 samples contained DNA of sufficient quantity and quality for p16 promoter quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP). While Oragene(®) vials contained the most DNA, all 3 methods yielded enough to detect DNA biomarkers using qMSP. The method of collection should depend on the compliance of the patient and oral competency.

Management of the neck in metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article reviews the predictors, prognosis, and treatment of nodal metastases in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. RECENT FINDINGS: There is a better understanding of the risk factors that predict metastatic disease in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Recent data has simplified the relationship between the site of the primary tumour and nodal disease, allowing for a more selective approach to the neck, in terms of both surgery and radiotherapy. Newer staging systems that take into account the clinicopathological factors allow better prognostication, and their application has been discussed. There is ongoing research on concurrent chemoradiotherapy, sentinel node biopsy, and epidermal growth factor receptor overexpression. SUMMARY: The status of the parotid and level II/III nodes has important implications for the management of the neck, and therefore dissection of level I and level IV/V nodes is required in selected cases only. Prognostic stratification is needed to tailor treatment algorithms that intensify therapy in high-risk disease and minimize toxicity in selected low-risk patients.

Patterns of invasion and routes of tumor entry into the mandible by oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: An understanding of the patterns, spread, and routes of tumor invasion of the mandible is essential in deciding the appropriate level and extent of mandibular resection in oral squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: A prospective study of histologic patterns of tumor invasion and routes of tumor entry into the mandible was performed in a consecutive series of 100 previously untreated patients. RESULTS: The pattern of tumor invasion of the mandible depended on the depth of invasion both in the hard (p =.001) and soft tissues (p =.001). There was evidence that the pattern of invasion was related to histologic prognostic indicators of the disease, such as extracapsular spread from invaded lymph nodes (p =.03). The route of tumor entry was at the point of abutment to the mandible (direct) in all 13 cases, invading the dentate part of the mandible. Fifty-five percent (23 of 42) of tumors invading the edentulous ridge entered through the occlusal (superior) surface. Direct entry to the mandible in the edentulous ridge was more likely for tumors arising in the tongue, floor of the mouth and the buccal mucosa compared with alveolar or retromolar sites (p =.003) CONCLUSIONS: Larger or more deeply invading tumors in the soft tissue are more likely to invade the mandible and show the more aggressive (invasive) form of tumor spread, reducing the options of a more conservative (rim) resection. Tumors tend to enter the mandible at the point of abutment, which in both the dentate and edentulous jaw is often at the junction of the reflected and attached mucosa. A point of tumor entry below the occlusal ridge or gingival crest should be assumed when planning rim or marginal resections of the mandible.