Does recreational drug use influence survival and morbidity associated with laryngeal cancer

Background: The use of opioids is considered a risk factor for laryngeal cancer. A retrospective study was performed to explore the relationship between recreational drug exposure and laryngeal cancer.Methods: Patients diagnosed between the 1st of January 2013 and the 31st of December 2017 using ICD-10 CD-32 coding were identified from the Head and Neck Multidisciplinary Team database. We divided the study population into two cohorts (RD and non-RD) and compared the demographics, morbidity, and outcomes of these two populations. In addition, we performed case-matched analysis to control for potential confounding factors including gender, alcohol use and cigarette smoking.Findings: 329 patients in Glasgow, Scotland were included with a mean age of 64.96 ± 10.94 and a follow-up of 24 ± 13.91 months. Of these, 39 reported recreational drug use (RD). RD was associated with younger age (53.0 vs. 66.6, p<0.001) at diagnosis with laryngeal cancer. A greater proportion of tumours occurred in the supraglottic subsite (p=0.041). Furthermore, these patients were more likely to undergo tracheostomy (RR=2.50, 95% CI: 1.41-4.44, p=0.008) and laryngectomy (RR=2.25, 95% CI: 1.57-3.21, p<0.001). Recreational drug users were more likely to require enteral feeding support (RR= 1.44, 95% CI: 1.13-1.84, p=0.02) during oncological treatment. No survival differences were noted at 1, 2, or 3-years (plog-rank=0.83). Case matched analysis correcting for smoking, alcohol and gender confirmed that recreational drug users were younger at diagnosis with a predilection for the supraglottic subsite.Conclusion: Recreational drug use is associated with an increased burden of disease and morbidity in laryngeal cancer. We suggest that clinicians view recreational drug exposure as a red flag in those with suspected laryngeal cancer regardless of patient age

A multicentre development and evaluation of a dietetic referral score for nutritional risk in sick infants

Background &amp; aims: Unrecognized nutritional issues may delay recovery in hospitalized infants. It has been proposed that nutritional risk screening should be performed at hospital admission, but few tools include infants. The aim of this study was to develop and test a tool to identify sick infants in need of dietetic input. Methods: Hospitalised infants were recruited from hospitals in the United Kingdom (UK), Greece and Iran. Weight, skinfold thickness and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) were measured, with detailed dietetic assessment in the UK and Greece. Simple screening questions were used in the UK cohort to formulate a score (infant early nutrition warning score-iNEWS) which was then validated in the Greek and Iranian groups. Results: After dietetic assessment, 20 (9.6%) UK and 22 (22%) Greek infants were rated as needing dietetic input. Underweight, poor weight gain/loss and reduced intake were all independent predictors of perceived need for dietetic input in stepwise multivariate regression analysis. The score based on these items (iNEWS), had 84% sensitivity, 91% specificity and 49% positive predictive value to predict need for dietetic input in the UK cohort. In the Greek cohort this was 86%, 78% and 53% respectively. In all three countries, infants with high iNEWS had significantly lower average skinfold thickness (between −1 and −1.8 SD, p &lt; 0.0001) and MUAC (between −1.8 and −2 SD, p &lt; 0.0001) than those at low risk. Conclusions: iNEWS, a simple nutritional risk tool, identifies most hospitalised infants who need dietetic input. Clinical trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03323957