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The treatment of patients with severe hearing loss or deafness with a cochlear implant (CI) represents a standard in Germany today. However, there is hardly any data on the current number of clinical CI centers (CI clinics) and their geographical distribution. The patient self-help organization, German Cochlear Implant Society (DCIG), and the German Society for Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (DGHNO-KHC) have therefore initiated a survey to determine the regional distribution, the range of services, the consideration of existing quality standards and cooperation with patient self-help organizations of the individual clinical CI centers.For this purpose, a total number of 170 ENT departments or their directors (37 professors and 133 chief physicians), respectively, were contacted by e-mail and provided with a questionnaire. The survey took place from October 2019 to February 2020.Of the 170 departments contacted, 71 (41.8 %) took part in the survey. Of these, 70 departments (98.6 %) confirmed to perform CI surgeries. Thus, 41.8 % of all clinics contacted reported to perform CI surgeries (70 of 170 clinics), while this information was not available from 99 clinics. All 70 clinical CI centers (100 %) reported to conduct CI surgeries on adults, 60 centers (85.7 %) also on children (< 18 years). 36 departments (51.4 %) reported that the total number of CI surgeries at their facility in 2018 was more than 50. In 64 departments (91.4 %), the recommendations of the DGHNO-KHC on CI care (according to the White Paper CI care 2018) were followed. A collaboration between the department and patient self-help organization was confirmed by 67 institutions (95.7 %). The geographical distribution of the clinical CI centers showed a heterogeneous distribution pattern between the individual federal states and also within the respective federal state.The work presented here is a first assessment of the situation with regard to the regional distribution of clinical CI centers in Germany. A clustering of CI centers was noticeable in metropolitan areas, sometimes with several facilities in one city. The predominant attention to quality-related aspects, such as the consideration of the DGHNO-KHC white paper and the cooperation with patient self-help, is gratifying. The limitations of the study result from limited participation in the survey (41.8 % of the contacted clinics)., Competing Interests: Die Autorinnen/Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background/aim: A change in epidemiology of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has been noticed: while overall incidence has decreased, the incidence of oropharyngeal SCC (OSCC) has been increasing over the past decades. A growing body of evidence suggests a causative role of the human papillomavirus (HPV) as an independent risk factor in development of OSCC. The aim of this study was to determine the HPV status in all OSCC specimens collected in our biological database since 1988, correlating the results with overall survival, and to compare them with the current literature data., Patients and Methods: A total of 104 tumor samples were obtained and included in this study. Patient records were reviewed. HPV status was determined by a two-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with p16 immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed with BiAS™., Results: Overall 12 (12%) of the 104 tumor samples were HPV-positive. Most of the patients had advanced disease [(UICC) stage III or IV)]: 91.7 % in the HPV-positive group versus 78.2% in the HPV-negative group. Multivariate analysis showed that HPV status (p=0.04), UICC stage (p=0.01) and age at initial diagnosis (p=0.0006) were all independent determinants of overall survival. A positive HPV status (hazard ratio=0.52; 95%) was associated with a 48% increase of overall survival compared to patients with HPV-negative tumors., Conclusion: Our findings confirm a prevalence of HPV-positive tumors within OSCC. Due to its epidemiologic and prognostic relevance, HPV status should be considered an important part of tumor staging. For this purpose, HPV detection via two-step PCR combined with p16 immunohistochemistry seems reliable.