Validation of the Distress Thermometer and Problem List in Patients with Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis

Objective. There is no specific clinical tool for physicians to detect psychosocial and physical distress or health care need in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). The main aim of this study is to validate the RRP-adapted Distress Thermometer and Problem List (DT&PL). Study Design. Prospective cross-sectional questionnaire research. Setting. Academic tertiary care medical centers in Groningen, Netherlands, and Helsinki, Finland. Subjects and Methods. Ninety-one juvenile- and adult-onset RRP patients participated from the departments of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery of the University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands, and Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used as the gold standard. Results. A DT cutoff score 4 gave the best sensitivity and specificity. Thirty-one percent of patients had significant distress according to the DT cutoff. Significantly more patients with a score above than under the cutoff had a referral wish. The PL appeared to be reliable. Patients' opinions on the DT&PL were largely favorable. Conclusion. The Dutch and Finnish versions of the DT&PL are valid, reliable screening tools for distress in RRP patients

European Laryngological Society position paper on laryngeal dysplasia Part II: diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up

Purpose of review To give an overview of the current knowledge regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of laryngeal dysplasia (LD) and to highlight the contributions of recent literature. The diagnosis of LD largely relies on endoscopic procedures and on histopathology. Diagnostic efficiency of endoscopy may be improved using videolaryngostroboscopy (VLS) and bioendoscopic tools such as Narrow Band Imaging (NBI) or Storz Professional Image Enhancement System (SPIES). Current histological classifications are not powerful enough to clearly predict the risk to carcinoma evolution and technical issues such as sampling error, variation in epithelial thickness and inflammation hamper pathological examination. Almost all dysplasia grading systems are effective in different ways. The 2017 World Health Organization (WHO) system should prove to be an improvement as it is slightly more reproducible and easier for the non-specialist pathologist to apply. To optimize treatment decisions, surgeons should know how their pathologist grades samples and preferably audit their transformation rates locally. Whether carcinoma in situ should be used as part of such classification remains contentious and pathologists should agree with their clinicians whether they find this additional grade useful in treatment decisions. Recently, different studies have defined the possible utility of different biomarkers in risk classification. The main treatment modality for LD is represented by transoral laser microsurgery. Radiotherapy may be indicated in specific circumstances such as multiple recurrence or wide-field lesions. Medical treatment currently does not have a significant role in the management of LD. Follow-up for patients treated with LD is a fundamental part of their care and investigations may be supported by the same techniques used during diagnosis (VLS and NBI/SPIES)