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Objectives/hypothesis: Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a disease with a high disease burden. Few studies have assessed quality of life (QoL) of RRP patients. This study compares QoL of these patients with controls. Associations between QoL and sociodemographic and illness-related factors are examined, as is uptake of psychosocial care and speech therapy., Study Design: Prospective cross-sectional questionnaire research., Methods: Ninety-one RRP patients (response = 67%) from two university hospitals in the Netherlands and Finland completed the following patient reported outcome measures: (HADS), 15-dimensional health-related quality-of-life scale (15D), Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and the RAND 36-item health-related quality-of-life survey instrument (RAND-36) assessing health-related QoL and voice handicap, and they provided sociodemographic, illness-related, and allied healthcare use. Descriptive analyses, χ 2 tests, t tests, analysis of variance tests, and Pearson correlations were computed to describe the study population and to examine differences between groups., Results: RRP patients had significantly higher mean scores on depression, health-related QoL (15D) and on voice problems (VHI), and significantly lower mean scores on anxiety than controls. Dutch patients had more pain and a decreased general health perception (RAND-36) than controls. Dutch patients and older patients were more depressed, women were more anxious, older patients had lower health-related QoL, and smoking was significantly associated with voice handicap. Patients who had received psychosocial care had significantly higher HADS-depression mean scores than patients who did not receive psychosocial care., Conclusions: Having RRP has significant effect on voice-related QoL and depression, but has no negative effect on anxiety and health-related QoL. Risk factors for decreased functioning are different than previously hypothesized by many authors. Prevention should be aimed at these risk factors., Level of Evidence: 4. Laryngoscope, 127:1826-1831, 2017., (© 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objectives/hypothesis: Dysphagia may cause concern about malignancy. Symptoms are often unspecific; thus, it is essential to identify those requiring further investigations., Study Design: Retrospective study combined with patient survey., Methods: Case records of the 303 dysphagia patients referred in 2009 to Helsinki University Hospital, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery were surveyed. Based on clinical data, the main cause of symptoms divided patients into five groups. Alarming signs were food sticking in the throat or in the esophagus, weight loss, and progressive dysphagia symptoms. A questionnaire sent 3 years after the primary visit concerned the present symptoms. To investigate whether dysphagia could have been early symptom of malignancy, we surveyed the Finnish Cancer Registry database until the end of 2012., Results: Most diagnoses remained descriptive: unspecific dysphagia (167, 55%). Five (0.02%) had malignant disease, for all of whom the suspicion of malignancy was evident. Finnish Cancer Registry data indicated that unspecific dysphagia did not develop into malignancy during a 3-year follow-up. Returned questionnaires numbered 154 (62%), of which 30 (19%) were asymptomatic patients; relieved symptoms in 36 (23%), fluctuating or unchanged symptoms in 43 (28%), and worse symptoms in 12 (8%). The remaining patients (33, 21%) had not answered that question or the answer was uninterpretable., Conclusion: Further investigations to reveal malignancy seemed unnecessary if alarming clinical signs or findings were lacking. After 3 years, almost half the patients were asymptomatic or had milder symptoms revealing the condition's potential for spontaneous recovery., Level of Evidence: N/A. Laryngoscope, 126:2073-2078, 2016., (© 2015 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objectives/hypothesis: To determine clinical features, health-related quality of life, and adult voice in patients with a history of juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP)., Study Design: Case-control study., Methods: All 32 patients with JORRP treated at Helsinki University Hospital between 1975 and 1994 were invited to an outpatient visit in spring 2008, and 18 of them (56%) entered the study. Each patient had an age- and gender-matched control subject with similar smoking habits. Videolaryngostroboscopy was performed and voice quality determined by acoustic and perceptual analysis. Voice-quality characteristics of the whole patient group and the recurrence-free patients were examined separately. Subjective voice-related disability was studied with voice handicap index (VHI) and health-related quality of life with a 15D questionnaire., Results: Acoustic analysis showed that patients had statistically significantly higher values in percent jitter, percent shimmer, and noise-to-harmonics ratio. Perceptual analysis indicated higher scores for patients in overall grade, roughness, breathiness, and strain. Acoustic and perceptual values for recurrence-free patients (n = 14) were also significantly higher than those for their matched paired controls. No statistically significant differences emerged for handicap related to voice or to health-related quality of life. Four study patients (22%) had undergone tracheotomy, indicating severity of juvenile-onset disease., Conclusions: JORRP is a risk factor for permanent laryngeal pathology and voice-disturbances in adulthood., (Copyright © 2011 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objectives: Coating an implant with albumin prevents adhesion of proteins, bacteria, and platelets and thus may lead to its improved and prolonged function. Previously, we have demonstrated the inhibition of binding of fibronectin, one of the most adhesive glycoproteins, on human serum albumin (HSA)-coated tympanostomy tubes and the durability of this binding inhibition in a 8-month trial. We have also demonstrated that the HSA coating inhibits the binding of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to titanium plates. This prospective study evaluated the effect of albumin coating on tympanostomy tube sequelae and on the outcome of tympanostomized patients., Study Design: Double-blind, prospective, randomized clinical trial., Methods: Two otolaryngological centers in southern Finland enrolled 179 pediatric patients. Number of tube occlusions and otorrhea and tube ventilation time in the ears with HSA-coated titanium tympanostomy tubes were compared with the contralateral ear with its uncoated, otherwise identical titanium tube during a 9-month follow-up period., Results: In HSA-coated tubes, average ventilation time was slightly longer and the number of early tube occlusions significantly less (P < .05). Moreover, in patients with perioperative bleeding, the coating prolonged average ventilation time of tympanostomy tubes significantly (P < .05)., Conclusions: HSA coating reduces early tube occlusions by preventing adherence of blood and secretion.

Objective: To evaluate the histology of minced and injected autologous fascia graft in the augmentation of unilateral vocal fold paralysis., Study Design: Prospective study using a canine model., Methods: Nine dogs were operated. At first, a piece of fascia was harvested from fascia lata and minced into tiny chips with a scalpel. Cutting off a section of the recurrent nerve paralyzed the right vocal fold. The minced fascia-paste (0.1 mL) was injected using a pressure syringe into the paralyzed thyroarytenoid muscle under direct laryngoscopy. Two animals were killed at 3 days, one at 10 days, three at 6 months, and three at 12 months postinjection. Each dog underwent laryngectomy and serial coronal sections of paraffin blocks from the posterior part of the vocal folds were made., Results: The dogs experienced no complications perioperatively or during follow-up. Under microscopy, muscle of the paralyzed vocal fold was atrophied in comparison to the contralateral control. There was an acute inflammatory reaction induced by the graft. This did not exist in the specimens taken at 6 and 12 months. No extensive edema, areas of necrosis, or formation of granulomas was seen at any time. Maturation of the graft was characterized by active collagen remodeling up to 12 months. At that time the graft consisted of firm, condensed fibrous tissue. Scar formation around the graft was moderate, and the subepithelial layer of the vocal fold remained undisturbed. Each graft consisted of singular foreign bodies from the polyamide mincing plate. We cannot exclude that their presence would have had an impact on the final architecture of the graft., Conclusion: In a canine vocal fold, the free fascia graft is well tolerated and after 12 months a well-organized, collagen rich tissue is seen on histological sections. The findings are in accordance with clinical studies applying free fascia grafts.

Vocal fold augmentation by injection under direct visual control is a quick and simple operation. However, when autologous fat or bovine collagen is used, resorption creates a problem. The low metabolic requirements and the relatively stable histologic character of free fascial grafts make autologous fascia a fascinating material in vocal fold augmentation. This research project was carried out to establish a suitable method to transplant fascia into a vocal fold and to assess its impact on the voice. A piece of fascia lata was chopped with a scalpel. The material was injected in the lateral aspect of the thyroarytenoid muscle using a pressure syringe. Nine subjects with a paralyzed vocal fold were analyzed after the injection. The postoperative voice, rated by a panel of experienced listeners, was significantly better than the preoperative (P < 0.05). Five of nine voices were rated normal or near normal after the procedure. The mean maximal phonation time increased significantly (P < 0.01). All patients considered that their voice had improved, and eight of nine regarded it as good. No one reported deterioration of the result during the follow-up (mean duration, 10 months; range, 3 to 18 months).