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Objectives: The quadriceps angle (Q-angle) measures the force vector of pull of the extensor mechanism of the knee. A larger Q-angle is thought to be a predisposing factor for patellar dislocation, but previous literature has reported poor reliability and validity of clinically measured Q-Angle. In response to poor reliability, a new "Standard Q-Angle" (SQA) was developed by Merchant et al. (Merchant 2020) in an attempt to create a standardized and repeatable method of clinically measuring the Q-Angle. The SQA may be a practical, inexpensive, and valuable part of physical examinations to help clinicians decide if concomitant medializing osteotomy is indicated in patellar stabilization procedures. However, SQA has not yet been validated in patients with anatomic risk factors for recurrent patellar instability such as patella alta and trochlear dysplasia. Furthermore, while SQA has previously been demonstrated to have strong interrater reliability, it has never been shown to correlate with standardized measurements for a lateralized tibial tuberosity, such as the Tibial Tuberosity - Trochlear Grove (TT-TG) distance. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to determine the correlation between SQA and TT-TG distance in patients with recurrent patellar instability. We hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between SQA and TT-TG distance. 1. Merchant AC, Fraiser R, Dragoo J, Fredericson M. A reliable Q angle measurement using a standardized protocol. Knee. 2020;27(3):934-939. Methods: Patients at a single institution treated by a single surgeon with recurrent patellar instability who had previously obtained a dynamic 4D CT scan were included in this study. Patients who had previous patellar stabilization procedures were excluded. The Standard Q-angle was measured as previously described by Merchant et al. (Merchant 2020). The patient was placed in the supine position with the knee extended. A long-arm goniometer was centered over the patella with the distal arm over the tibial tuberosity and the proximal arm extended up to the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). The examiner then centered the patella within the trochlear groove and the SQA was measured. A second examiner stood at foot of the patient's bed to confirm positioning. Measurements were taken in the office, as well as in the operating room after the induction of general anesthesia. All measurements were performed by the senior author (***). Utilizing 4D CT scans, the TT-TG, Caton-Deschamps index (CDI), and lateral trochlear inclination (LTI) were measured as previously described. Patients whose CDIs were between 0.8 and 1.2 were considered to have normal patellar height. Patients whose LTIs were >11° were considered to have normal LTI, which has been shown to have a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity 87% for detecting trochlear dysplasia. Mean and standard deviation values were calculated for patient demographic information, and correlation coefficients were calculated to compare SQA with TT-TG distance in both awake and anesthetized patients. The statistical software Stata was utilized for all analyses (StataCorp. 2021. Stata Statistical Software: Release 17. College Station, TX). Results: Fifty-seven patient knees were included in the study. The mean age was 22 years-old (±6 years). For awake patients, the correlation coefficient (R2) between SQA and TT-TG was -0.006 (Figure 1), and in anesthetized patients R2 = 0.093 (Figure 2). In the "normal patellar height" group, the R2 value was higher in the anesthetized group (R2 = 0.334) than the awake group (R2 = 0.239). In the normal lateral trochlear inclination group, there was also a greater R2 value in the anesthetized group (R2 = 0.403) than the awake group (R2 =0.093). The correlation between SQA and TT-TG was the strongest in anesthetized patients with both a CDI < 1.2 and LTI >11° (R2 = 0.635). Conclusions: There was a strong positive association between SQA and TT-TG in anesthetized patients with normal patellar height and a normal lateral trochlear inclination. However, in awake patients and patients with anatomic risk factors for recurrent patellar instability there was only a weak association between SQA and TT-TG. The SQA may be able to provide useful information, but only in selected cases. Therefore, it remains important to have objective radiographic measurements to characterize the position of the tibial tuberosity when planning patellar stabilization surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives/Hypothesis: Research surrounding outcome differences for patients with recurrent acute rhinosinusitis (RARS) is scarce. This investigation explored quality of life (QOL) and sinonasal attributes in patients during acute episodes (AEs) and in‐between AEs of RARS. Study Design: Retrospective outcomes research. Methods: Data from patients with RARS were collected from two academic institutions between 2009 and 2017 using prospective and retrospective methodology. During clinical presentation, subjects were classified as with or without an AEs using guideline definitions of acute bacterial rhinosinusitis (ABRS). Between‐group differences in 22‐item Sino‐Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT‐22) survey and Lund‐Kennedy (LK) endoscopy scores were assessed. Results: Four hundred twenty‐three clinical visits from 202 patients were included. Visits during an AE (168/423, 40%) were associated with significantly worse SNOT‐22 total scores compared to between AEs (255/423, 60%; median = 53.0 [interquartile range (IQR) = 24.0] vs. 34.0 [IQR = 29.5]) and all SNOT‐22 subdomain scores (all P <.001). LK scores were available for 167 visits, with 56 (34%) completed during an AE. Compared to visits without an AE, endoscopy findings associated with an AE were less frequently normal (LK score = 0, 45% vs. 62%, P =.031) with worse median LK scores (2.0 [IQR = 4.0] vs. 0.0 [IQR = 2.0], P =.005). Conclusions: AEs are associated with significantly worse QOL and mildly worse endoscopic findings. Almost half of visits during AEs had negative endoscopy, identifying a disparity between patient symptoms and objective findings and calling into question alternative or concomitant diagnoses. Diagnostic criteria for ABRS or AEs in RARS do not require objective confirmation of inflammation, presenting a conundrum for clinicians. The potential for overdiagnosis of ABRS and AEs should be considered when determining the risk/benefit ratio of treatments for RARS. Level of Evidence: 2c Laryngoscope, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: More than 1.3 million people in the United States have a hematologic malignant tumor currently or in remission. Previous studies have demonstrated an increased risk of secondary neoplasms in patients with hematologic malignant tumors, but research specifically on the risk of head and neck solid tumors in patients with prior hematologic malignant tumors is limited., Objectives: To examine a possible association between prior hematologic malignant tumors and risk of head and neck cancer and to assess the overall survival (OS) among these patients., Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective analysis used the Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) to identify patients with diagnoses of hematologic malignant tumors and head and neck cancers. All patients in the VA CDW with a birthdate between January 1, 1910, and December 31, 1969, were included, for a cohort of 30 939 656 veterans. Data analysis was performed from August 15, 2018, to January 31, 2019., Exposures: Outpatient problem lists were queried for diagnoses of hematologic malignant tumor and associated malignant tumors using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes to categorize patients by history of hematologic malignant tumors., Main Outcomes and Measures: Presence of head and neck cancer was determined from ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes of outpatient problem lists, and cancers were grouped by subsite. The OS was determined from date of death or last outpatient visit date., Results: Of 30 939 656 patients (27 636 683 [89.3%] male; 13 971 259 [45.2%] white), 207 322 patients had a hematologic malignant tumor, of whom 1353 were later diagnosed with head and neck cancer. A history of hematologic malignant tumors was significantly associated with overall aerodigestive tract cancer, with a relative risk (RR) of 1.6 (95% CI, 1.5-1.7), as well as oral cavity (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5-1.9), oropharynx (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5-1.9), larynx (RR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.2-1.5), nasopharynx (RR, 2.8; 95% CI, 2.1-3.9), sinonasal (RR, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.2-4.1), salivary gland (RR, 2.8; 95% CI, 2.4-3.3), and thyroid (RR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.9-2.4) tumors on subsite analysis. A prior hematologic malignant tumor was also negatively associated with 2-year and 5-year OS for multiple subsites., Conclusions and Relevance: A prior diagnosis of hematologic or associated malignant tumors was associated with an increased risk of solid head and neck cancers in a range of subsites. In addition, for several head and neck cancer subsites, patients with prior hematologic malignant tumors had worse 2-year and 5-year OS. These results indicate that a prior hematologic malignant tumor may be an adverse risk factor in the development and progression of head and neck cancer.

Importance: Sarcopenia, or the loss of muscle mass, is associated with poor treatment outcomes in a variety of surgical fields. However, the association between sarcopenia and long-term survival in a broad cohort of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) is unknown., Objective: To determine whether sarcopenia is associated with long-term survival in patients undergoing major head and neck surgery for HNC., Design, Setting, and Participants: A retrospective medical records review was conducted at a tertiary care academic hospital. Two hundred sixty patients undergoing major head and neck ablative procedures with cross-sectional abdominal imaging performed within 45 days prior to surgery were included in the analysis. The study was conducted from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2016. Data analysis was performed from June 1, 2018, to February 28, 2019., Interventions: Measurement of cross-sectional muscle area at the L3 vertebra level., Main Outcomes and Measures: Two- and 5-year overall survival were the primary outcomes., Results: Of the 260 patients included in the study, 193 were men (74.2%); mean (SD) age was 61.1 (11) years. Sarcopenia was present in 144 patients (55.4%). Two-year overall survival was 71.9% of the patients (n = 82) in the sarcopenia group compared with 88.5% of the patients (n = 85) in the nonsarcopenia group (odds ratio [OR], 0.33; 95% CI, 0.16-0.70). At 5 years, overall survival was 36.5% in patients (n = 23) with sarcopenia and 60.5% in patients (n = 26) without sarcopenia (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17-0.84). On multivariate analysis, sarcopenia was a significant negative predictor of both 2-year (OR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.14-0.77) and 5-year (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17-0.84) overall survival., Conclusions and Relevance: Sarcopenia appears to be a significant negative predictor of long-term overall survival in patients with HNC undergoing major head and neck surgery. Sarcopenia may be accurately assessed on cross-sectional imaging and may be useful clinically as a prognostic variable and as an area for intervention to improve treatment outcomes.