Goiter and Laryngopharyngeal Reflux

The purpose of this study is to look at the prevalence of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease in patients with goiter in a group of 52 patients with goiter. All participants were asked to respond to the 9 questions on the Reflux Symptom Index (RSI). A diagnosis of LPRD based on symptoms was made for any RSI score above 10. The average score of every question was computed for all patients with goiter and compared to the corresponding average score of the controls. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The total prevalence of LPRD in patients with goiter as indicated by an RSI score greater than 10 was 15.4% versus 9.1% in controls. The difference was not statistically significant (P value 0.525). Looking at the average score of the individual symptoms as listed in the RSI questionnaire, the average score of all the symptoms was higher in patients with goiter versus controls. There was no correlation between LPRD and any of the demographic variables except for nodules (P value 0.035). The presence of laryngopharyngeal symptoms in patients with goiter should alert the treating physician to the presence of laryngopharyngeal reflux disease

Support for UNRWA's survival

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides life-saving humanitarian aid for 5·4 million Palestine refugees now entering their eighth decade of statelessness and conflict. About a third of Palestine refugees still live in 58 recognised camps. UNRWA operates 702 schools and 144 health centres, some of which are affected by the ongoing humanitarian disasters in Syria and the Gaza Strip. It has dramatically reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases, mortality, and illiteracy. Its social services include rebuilding infrastructure and homes that have been destroyed by conflict and providing cash assistance and micro-finance loans for Palestinians whose rights are curtailed and who are denied the right of return to their homeland

Patient tolerance in office‐based blue laser therapy for lesions of the vocal folds: Correlation with patients' characteristics, disease type and procedure‐related factors

Abstract Objective To report patient tolerance in office‐based blue laser therapy for vocal fold lesions. Methods A retrospective review of the medical records of patients who underwent office‐based blue laser therapy for lesions of the vocal folds between November 2021 and February 2023 was conducted. A total of 48 patients were included. Patient tolerance was assessed using the Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale (IOWA). Patient tolerance was analyzed in relation to patients' demographic characteristics, disease type and severity, and procedure‐related factors. Results The mean tolerance score of the study group was 1.51 ± 1.1. There was a significant difference in the mean tolerance score between smokers and non‐smokers (p = .038). Patients with vocal fold cyst (n = 3) had the highest mean tolerance score followed by patients with vocal fold polyps (n = 15). There was a nonsignificant difference in the mean tolerance score between benign lesions of the vocal folds and leukoplakia. Patients with lesions extending to more than half the vocal fold had less tolerance than those with lesions limited to less than half the vocal fold (1.91 vs. 1.27, p value .041). There was a moderate and significant negative correlation between vocal fold movement VAS, swallowing VAS, and tolerance score. The mean total duration of the procedures was 10.38 ± 4.8 min. There was a mild negative correlation between the duration of the procedure and tolerance. Conclusion Office‐based blue laser therapy for vocal fold lesions is a well‐tolerated procedure. Patient should be instructed how to breathe quietly and avoid swallows to improve tolerance to surgery. Level of Evidence 4

Updated Results of Rituximab Pre- and Post-BEAM with or without 90Yttrium Ibritumomab Tiuxetan during Autologous Transplant for Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma.

Purpose: We evaluated the effect on long-term survival of adding rituximab (R) to BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) conditioning with or without yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan (90YIT) in patients with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) undergoing autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).Experimental design: Patients were enrolled on three consecutive phase II clinical trials. Patients received two doses of rituximab (375 and 1,000 mg/m2) during mobilization of stem cells, followed by 1,000 mg/m2 on days +1 and +8 after ASCT with R-BEAM or 90YIT-R-BEAM (90YIT dose of 0.4 mCi/kg) conditioning.Results: One hundred thirteen patients were enrolled, with 73 receiving R-BEAM and 40 receiving 90YIT-R-BEAM. All patients had a prior exposure to rituximab. The median follow-up intervals for survivors were 11.8, 8.1, and 4.2 years in the three trials, respectively. The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 62% for R-BEAM and 65% for 90YIT-R-BEAM (P = 0.82). The 5-year overall survival rates were 73% and 77%, respectively (P = 0.65). In patients with de novo DLBCL, survival outcomes of the germinal center/activated b-cell histologic subtypes were similar with 5-year OS rates (P = 0.52) and DFS rates (P = 0.64), irrespective of their time of relapse (<1 vs. >1 year) after initial induction chemotherapy (P = 0.97).Conclusions: Administering ASCT with rituximab during stem cell collection and immediately after transplantation induces long-term disease remission and abolishes the negative prognostic impact of cell-of-origin in patients with relapsed DLBCL. The addition of 90YIT does not confer a further survival benefit. Clin Cancer Res; 24(10); 2304-11. ©2018 AACR