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Background: Clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of biologics in treating chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). However, real-world evidence regarding patient outcomes and predictors of clinical response remains limited., Methodology: In this multicentric 18-month follow-up study, 326 adult patients who initiated biologic therapy for severe uncontrolled CRSwNP were included. Patient characteristics, including clinical and inflammatory markers, and comorbidities were collected at baseline and at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months of follow-up. We examined success rates based on current guidelines and identified potential factors associated to clinical response at 6 months., Results: We observed a significant decrease of Sino-Nasal Outcomes Test-22 (SNOT-22) from a median score (interquartile range) of 60.5 (47-74) at baseline to 26.0 (11-41) at 3 months. A significant decrease of nasal symptoms and endoscopic nasal polyp score was observed at 3 months. After 6 months of biologic treatment, 59% of patients were classified as excellent responders according to the EUFOREA-EPOS 2023 criteria. Multivariate analysis revealed a suggestive association between baseline eosinophil blood count, type of biologic and an excellent response at 6 months., Conclusions: This real-world study confirms the effectiveness of biologics as an add-on therapy in patients with severe uncontrolled CRSwNP. Biologics lead to rapid and sustained improvement in clinical symptoms. A significant proportion of patients exhibit an excellent response, with no need for systemic corticosteroids.

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy or volumetric-modulated arctherapy is nowadays the recommended radiation technique for the treatment of head and neck cancers. However, by providing a significant dose gradient between target volumes and organs at risk, there is a risk of target missing and thus recurrence in case of inadequate delineation. It is therefore necessary to determine the origin of these recurrences to improve clinical practice. Over the past years, different methods have been described for the analysis of recurrences. Using the patterns of failure of patients with oral cavity and oropharynx carcinoma, treated with postoperative volumetric-modulated arctherapy in our institution, the purpose of this work was to analyse the sites of local recurrences and to evaluate the disparity in the classification of recurrences when different methods were used., Material and Methods: Between 2011 and 2019, 167 patients who underwent postoperative volumetric-modulated arctherapy for oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancers were included (60 and 40 % respectively). Two or three dose levels were prescribed (54Gy, 59.4/60Gy±66Gy). Local recurrence occurred in 17 patients (10.2 %). We assessed the patterns of local recurrences according to four methods: 1/ volume-based method using the volume overlap between the recurrence volume and initial target volumes; 2/ volume-based method of overlap between the recurrence volume and the 95 % treatment isodose; 3/ point-based method using the position of the barycentre of the recurrence volume; 4/ combined centroid method classifying recurrences according to both the initial target volumes and dose distribution. Each case was reviewed to make a clinical judgment on these classifications and assessed them as "appropriate", "possible", or "inappropriate"., Results: For the volume-based method using overlap between the recurrence volume and the initial clinical target volume, this classification was clinically judged as inappropriate in 11 out of 17 cases (65 %). For the volume-based method using overlap between the recurrence volume and the 95 % prescribed isodose, this classification was clinically judged as appropriate in 15 out of 17 cases (88 %). For the point-based method, this classification was clinically judged as appropriate in 14 out of 17 cases (82 %). Thirteen out of 17 local recurrences had the same classification between this point-based method and the volume-based method of overlap between the recurrence volume and the 95 % prescribed isodose. For the combined centroid method, among 17 local recurrences nine were classified as type A, two as type B, two as type C, three as type D and one as type E. This classification was clinically judged as appropriate in 15 out of 17 cases (88 %). Only five out of 17 of the local recurrences were classified the same way according to the four different methods (29 %)., Conclusion: Recurrences that are "marginal" or "outfield" represent a major challenge for intensity-modulated radiation therapy/volumetric-modulated arctherapy quality assurance and improvement of delineation recommendations. To date, there are no published methods that give complete satisfaction., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Objective: To assess the opinion, practices, and challenges of international key opinion leaders about two minimal invasive surgical techniques in supraglottic laryngeal tumours: transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) and the transoral robotic surgery (TORS)., Methods: Design of a questionnaire composed of seven sections and fifty questions covering descriptive data of participants, practitioners experience procedural sequences, considerations related to airways, feeding, and voice, intraoperative haemorrhage, postoperative management, and a comparative analysis of TLM and TORS in treating supraglottic laryngeal cancer., Results: A total of 27 head and neck surgeons replied to the survey. The experts had an average experience in laryngeal surgery of 20.0 ± 9.4 years, ranging from 5 to 36 years. We noted a significantly shorter installation time in TLM compared to TORS (19% of experts estimated the installation time of over 20 min with TLM vs 44% with TORS; p = 0.02). According to complications, the experts considered that bleeding was the major concern with supraglottic laryngeal surgery, especially intraoperative bleeding in TLM (52% in TLM vs 26% in TORS) (p = 0.09) and postoperative bleeding in TORS (56% in TORS vs 44% in TLM)., Conclusion: The experts did not identify a clear superiority of one technology (TLM) over the other (TORS). The two techniques seemed equivalent to the experts, except for the control of intraoperative haemostasis and visualisation of the surgical field, where TORS was perceived as superior to TLM., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Competing interest: The author Jerome R. Lechien was not involved with the peer review process of this article., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Diagnosis of Menière's disease relies on clinical symptoms. Injected 3T MRI can show endolymphatic hydrops (EH), but correlation with the clinical status of MD, (probable -PMD or definite-DMD) remains doubtful. We revealed endolymphatic pressure disruption through functional exploration and verified if it was associated with an EH through MRI., Materials and Methods: We prospectively analyzed 3D3T FLAIR MRI of DMD and PMD patients. All of them underwent electrocochleography (EcoG), distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), and videonystagmograhy (VNG). Amplitudes of summating potential (SP) and cochlear nerve action potential (AP) were measured on EcoG. DPOAE-phase was collected at 1 kHz for the 2f1-f2 DPOAE between sitting and laying position. A SP/AP ≥ 40% and a DPOAE phase-shift > 40° revealed pressure disruption., Results: 39 patients (25 women, 53 y.o. 20-78), were included, with 32 DMD ears and 11 PMD ears. MRI was performed in a median of 21 days [0; 68] from the MD incident. Audiovestibular exploration took place 41 days after the crisis [0;83]. MRI revealed an EH in 71.9% and 27.2% of DMD and PMD, respectively. When combining functional explorations and MRI, testing was positive in 97% for DMD and 82% for PMD. When abnormal (59%), VNG mainly showed hyporeflexia in the diseased ear., Conclusion: In patients suffering from DMD or PMD, with endolymphatic pressure disturbances confirmed by combined DPOAE-phase and EcoG, 3T 3D MRI reveals EH mostly in DMD but rarely in PMD. This seems to confirm that disturbance of endolymphatic pressure precedes EH., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: The management of the facial nerve (FN) is a major issue in parotid cancer, especially when there is no preoperative facial palsy and FN invasion is discovered intraoperatively. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of FN resection in patients with parotid cancer abutting the FN, without pretreatment facial palsy, using a propensity score matching., Materials and Methods: Data from all patients treated between 2009 and 2020 for a primary parotid cancer abutting or invading the FN but without pretreatment facial palsy were extracted from the national multicentric REFCOR database. Three different definitions of tumors abutting the FN were used for sensitivity analyses, in a retrospective setting. Propensity score matching was used to assess the impact of FN resection on disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS) and locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS)., Results: A total of 163 patients with parotid cancer abutting or invading the FN without pretreatment facial palsy were included. Among them, 99 patients (61 %) underwent FN resection. After overlap weighting and multiple imputation, no benefit of FN resection over preservation was found in terms of OS (HR = 1.21, p = 0.6), DFS (HR = 0.88, p = 0.5) and LRRFS (HR = 0.99, p = 1). Sensitivity analyses revealed similar results, and no significant efficacy was found in the subgroup analyses., Conclusion: In this retrospective study with propensity score analysis, FN resection did not improve survival outcomes in patients without preoperative facial palsy treated surgically for a primary parotid cancer abutting the FN. In line with recent guidelines, the results of this study suggest that FN preservation should be considered whenever possible in this specific group of patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have declared no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background : Surgical resection of vestibular schwannomas (VS) can be responsible for single-sided deafness (SSD). Hearing restoration can be a challenge both for the otolaryngologist and the patient. Patients and Methods : In a retrospective series, we analyzed the charts of SSD patients operated on for VS from 2005-2021, checking which type of hearing rehabilitation was chosen. All patients who wanted a hearing restoration underwent a hearing in noise test (HINT) in a stereo auditorium with and without a bone-anchored hearing device (BAHD) worn with a headband on the deaf side. Then, they had a preimplantation one-month trial with the BAHD at home vs. contralateral routing of signal (CROS) or BiCROS (with contralateral signal amplification) hearing aids (HAs). Results : Among 52 charts of the included adult SSD patients, only 29 (56%) eventually chose a hearing rehabilitation device (14 BAHD). Only one BAHD patient required a device explantation for skin complications, but then asked for reimplantation. Another one swapped the BAHD for HAs 2.5 years after. Two patients only occasionally used their BAHD with a headband. Nine patients preferred HAs, mainly BiCROS. Their contralateral hearing was significantly less than BAHD patients ( p < 0.05), and only three used their HAs every day. Conclusions : Hearing rehabilitation in SSD patients after VS surgical resection is chosen in about 50% of cases. In complement of HINT, a real-life comparative hearing trial helps patients chose the best device, with good long-term results when a BAHD is chosen. HAs are preferred when contralateral hearing is altered but are not always worn.

Purpose: Peritonsillar abscess (PTA) is a frequent pathology. Treatment consists in drainage of the collection, associated to probabilistic antibiotic therapy. The usefulness of cytobacteriological testing (CBT) of the drainage pus is controversial., Material and Methods: A retrospective study of patients managed for PTA between 2013 and 2020 in our university hospital was performed. The main objective was to assess the usefulness of CBT in the management of PTA. The secondary objectives were to determine the bacteriological profile involved in the onset of PTA and to assess the rate of bacterial resistance to antibiotics prescribed on a probabilistic basis., Results: The study included 207 patients: 70 outpatients (33%) and 137 inpatients (67%). Probabilistic antibiotic therapy was implemented in 100% of patients. CBT was performed systematically and was negative in 106 patients, revealing oropharyngeal flora in 40% of cases, polymicrobial flora in 50% and sterile samples in 10%. In the 101 patients with positive CBT, the bacteria isolated were penicillin-sensitive in 99%. All patients were successfully treated. In the light of the bacteriological results, no changes were made to the probabilistic antibiotic therapy introduced on admission., Conclusion: CBT on drainage pus had no impact on the management of PTA. CBT is therefore unnecessary in patients with no comorbidities and no signs of severity at admission., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We present a novel method for augmented reality in endoscopic endonasal surgery. Our method does not require the use of external tracking devices and can show hidden anatomical structures relevant to the surgical intervention., Methods: Our method registers a preoperative 3D model of the nasal cavity to an intraoperative 3D model by estimating a scaled-rigid transformation. Registration is based on a two-stage ICP approach on the reconstructed nasal cavity. The hidden structures are then transferred from the preoperative 3D model to the intraoperative one using the estimated transformation, projected and overlaid into the endoscopic images to obtain the augmented reality., Results: We performed qualitative and quantitative validation of our method on 12 clinical cases. Qualitative results were obtained from an ENT surgeon from visual inspection of the hidden structures in the augmented images. Quantitative results were obtained by measuring a target registration error using a novel transillumination-based approach. The results show that the hidden structures of interest are augmented at the expected locations in most cases., Conclusion: Our method was able to augment the endoscopic images in a sufficiently precise manner when the intraoperative nasal cavity did not deform considerably with respect to its preoperative state. This is a promising step towards trackerless augmented reality in endonasal surgery., (© 2024. CARS.)

Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a frequent condition affecting approximately 2% of the population. Medical treatment consists long-term use of intranasal corticosteroids and short-term use of oral corticosteroids, in adjunct with saline solution rinses. Surgical management is proposed in patients who failed after medical treatment. In France, two biologics are reimbursed in case of severe uncontrolled CRSwNP despite medical treatment and endoscopic sinus surgery. Waiting for head-to-head biologics comparison, studies should report the efficacy and safety of biologics in large real-life cohorts. This study protocol describes the aims and methods of a prospective, observational, national, multicentric cohort of patients with CRSwNP treated with biologics., Methods and Analysis: The BIOlogics in severe nasal POlyposis SurvEy is a French multicentre prospective observational cohort study. The main aim is to assess the efficacy and tolerance of biologics in patients with CRSwNP, with or without association with other type 2 diseases, and to determine the strategies in case of uncontrolled disease under biologics. Patients over 18 years old requiring biologics for CRSwNP in accordance with its marketing approval in France (ie, severe nasal polyposis, with lack of control under nasal corticosteroid, systemic corticosteroids and surgery) are invited to participate. Collected data include topical history of surgical procedures and biologics, medication and use of systemic corticosteroids, visual analogical scales for specific symptoms, Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 questionnaire, nasal polyp score, asthma control test, Lund-Mackay score on CT scan and IgE concentration and eosinophilic count on blood sample., Trial Registration: NCT05228041/DRI&#95;2021/0030., Competing Interests: Competing interests: All authors report personal fees as expert consultant for Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Cancer and chemotherapy induce a severe loss of muscle mass (known as cachexia), which negatively impact cancer treatment and patient survival. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether cannabidiol (CBD) administration may potentially antagonize the effects of cisplatin in inducing muscle atrophy, using a model of myotubes in culture. Cisplatin treatment resulted in a reduction of myotube diameter (15.7 ± 0.3 vs. 22.2 ± 0.5 µm, P < 0.01) that was restored to control level with 5 µM CBD (20.1 ± 0.4 µM, P < 0.01). Protein homeostasis was severely altered with a ≈70% reduction in protein synthesis ( P < 0.01) and a twofold increase in proteolysis ( P < 0.05) in response to cisplatin. Both parameters were dose dependently restored by CBD cotreatment. Cisplatin treatment was associated with increased thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) content (0.21 ± 0.03 to 0.48 ± 0.03 nmol/mg prot, P < 0.05), catalase activity (0.24 ± 0.01 vs. 0.13 ± 0.02 nmol/min/µg prot, P < 0.01), whereas CBD cotreatment normalized TBARS content to control values (0.22 ± 0.01 nmol/mg prot, P < 0.01) and reduced catalase activity (0.17 ± 0.01 nmol/min/µg prot, P < 0.05). These changes were associated with increased mRNA expression of GPX1 , SOD1 , SOD2 , and CAT mRNA expression in response to cisplatin ( P < 0.01), which was corrected by CBD cotreatment ( P < 0.05). Finally, cisplatin treatment increased the mitochondrial protein content of NDUFB8, UQCRC2, COX4, and VDAC1 (involved in mitochondrial respiration and apoptosis), and CBD cotreatment restored their expression to control values. Altogether, our results demonstrated that CBD antagonize the cisplatin-induced C2C12 myotube atrophy and could be used as an adjuvant in the treatment of cancer cachexia to help maintain muscle mass and improve patient quality of life. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In an in vitro model, cisplatin treatment led to myotube atrophy associated with dysregulation of protein homeostasis and increased oxidative stress, resulting in increased apoptosis. Cotreatment with cannabidiol was able to prevent this phenotype by promoting protein homeostasis and reducing oxidative stress.

Objectives: To analyse prognostic factors and survival outcomes of malignant tumors of the external auditory canal, to investigate the role of regional surgery, and adjuvant radiotherapy in early stages and to investigate the role of surgery in operable T4 stage., Setting: A retrospective analysis was conducted on all patients prospectively included in the national database of the French Expertize Network for Rare ENT Cancers (REFCOR) from January 2000 to December 2016., Participants: 103 patients from 19 reference centers were included. A propensity score matching analysis was applied to enable comparisons between treatments., Main Outcomes and Measures: Event-free survival, overall survival and factors of poor prognosis of the cohort were described. The interest of local and regional surgery and postoperative radiotherapy were evaluated., Results: The factors of poor prognosis on event-free survival were immunosuppression (p = 0.002), Karnofsky status less than 90% (p = 0.02), body mass index less than 19 Kg / m2 (p = 0.0009), peripheric facial palsy (p = 0.0016), and positive margin (p = 0.0006). In early stages, locoregional surgery was associated with an increase in event-free survival (p = 0.003, HR = 0.21) versus local surgery alone, while postoperative radiotherapy was not associated with an increase in event-free survival (p = 0.86, HR = 0.91) or overall (p = 0.86, HR = 0.91). In locally advanced stages, locoregional surgery followed by radiotherapy was associated with an increase in event-free survival (p = 0.03, HR = 0.39) and overall (p = 0.02, HR = 0.34) versus chemoradiotherapy alone., Conclusion and Relevance: Regional surgery is recommended for early stages of cancers of the external auditory canal. In operable cases, locoregional surgery followed by radiotherapy is recommended., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background : In order to better understand the pathophysiology of surgically induced hearing loss after vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery, we postoperatively analyzed the hearing status in a series of patients where hearing was at least partially preserved. Methods : Hearing was assessed through tonal audiometry, speech discrimination score, maximum word recognition score (dissyllabic word lists-MaxIS), otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), and auditory brainstem response (ABR). The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tumor characterization was also noted. Results : In a series of 24 patients operated on for VS over 5 years, depending on the results of this triple hearing exploration, we could identify, after surgery, patients with either a myelin alteration or partial damage to the acoustic fibers, others with a likely partial cochlear ischemia, and some with partial cochlear nerve ischemia. One case with persisting OAEs and no preoperative ABR recovered hearing and ABR after surgery. Long follow-up (73 ± 57 months) revealed a mean hearing loss of 30 ± 20 dB with a drastic drop of MaxIS. MRI revealed only 25% of fundus invasion. Conclusion : a precise analysis of hearing function, not only with classic audiometry but also with ABR and OEAs, allows for a better understanding of hearing damage in VS surgery.

The aim of this study was to assess the medico-economic impact of the MACD Coupler™ system in comparison with HSA for end to end veno-venous anastomosis during free flap transfer. A retrospective case-control study was performed in an academic institution, from March 2019 through July 2021, to analyze medical and economic outcomes of patients managed for head and neck reconstruction with free flap transfer. 43 patients per group were analyzed. Rates of initial success, re-intervention, complications and flap transfer failure were not different between groups. Use of MACD increased the cost of medical devices between Coupler and Control groups with respectively K€ 0.7 [0.5; 0.8] and K€ 0.1 [0.5; 0.8] (p = 0.001) and decreased the cost for operating staff with respectively K€ 4.0 [3.4; 5.2] and K€ 5.1 [3.8; 5.4] (p = 0.03). The total management costs were not different between groups with respectively a total median cost of K€ 18.4 [14.3; 27.2] and K€ 17.3 [14.1; 23.7] (p = 0.03). In conclusion, the cost of the Coupler™ is significant but is partly offset by the decrease in operating staff costs. The choice of one or the other technique can be left to the discretion of the surgeon., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Among all studies describing COVID-19 clinical features during the first wave of the pandemic, only a few retrospective studies have assessed the correlation between olfac-tory dysfunction (OD) and the evolution of disease severity. The main aim was to assess whether OD is a predictive factor of COVID-19 severity based on the patient's medical management (outpa-tient care, standard hospital admission, and ICU admission)., Methods: A national, prospective, mul-ticenter cohort study was conducted in 20 public hospitals and a public center for COVID-19 screen-ing. During the first wave of the pandemic, from 6 April to 11 May 2020, all patients tested positive for COVID-19 confirmed by RT-PCR underwent two follow-up ENT consultations within 10 days of symptom onset. The main outcome measures were the evolution of medical management (out-patient care, standard hospital admission, and ICU admission) at diagnosis and along the clinical course of COVID-19 disease., Results: Among 481 patients included, the prevalence of OD was 60.7%, and it affected mostly female patients (74.3%) under 65 years old (92.5%), with fewer comor-bidities than patients with normal olfactory function. Here, 99.3% (290/292) of patients with OD presented with non-severe COVID-19 disease. Patients reporting OD were significantly less hospi-talized than the ones managed as outpatients, in either a standard medical unit or an ICU. Conclu-sions: As regards the clinical course of COVID-19 disease, OD could predict a decreased risk of hospitalization during the first wave of the pandemic.