Oral health in patients with different sites of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is not different

by Philipp Kanzow, Katharina Mielke, Franziska Haupt, Susanne Wiegand, Henning Schliephake, Dirk Beutner, Annette Wiegand

Oral health might not only act as risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), but might also have a predictive value for the patients’ survival. Currently, information on the effect of oral health on survival of patients with different sites of HNSCC is lacking. This single-center retrospective study aimed to compare oral health in patients with different sites of HNSCC and to analyse whether oral health is associated with survival in the different subsets of HNSCC patients. Dental records of HNSCC patients referred for dental assessment prior to radio(chemo)therapy were included. Patient-related parameters (age at time of diagnosis, sex, tobacco exposure, alcohol consumption, HPV status), treatment data (primary treatment, intent), performance status, tumor demographics (anatomical site, TNM staging), and oral health parameters (DMFT, periodontal health, teeth with/without root canal treatment and with/without periodontitis apicalis) were obtained. Oral health parameters were compared between different anatomical sites. Survival of all HNSCC patients and of individual subsets was assessed using Kaplan-Meier statistics, and the effect of tumor demographics, patient-related parameters, and oral health on survival was analysed by cox regression analyses (α = 5%). 371 patients with HNSCC (oral: n = 86, oropharyngeal: n = 174, hypopharyngeal: n = 59, laryngeal: n = 15, other: n = 37) were included. Oral health parameters did not differ between subsets (p_adj.≥0.199). Five-year cumulative survival of HNSCC patients amounted to 78.6%. Only for HNSCC originating in the oral cavity and oropharynx, survival was associated with the treatment intent (p = 0.015) or performance status (p = 0.007) in the multivariable analyses, respectively. Within the limitations of this study, oral health was not different between different subsets and had no significant effect on survival of HNSCC patients.

Critical care nursing workforce in crisis: A discussion paper examining contributing factors, the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic and potential solutions

Abstract

Aims and Objectives

The critical care nursing workforce is in crisis, with one-third of critical care nurses worldwide intending to leave their roles. This paper aimed to examine the problem from a wellbeing perspective, offering implications for research, and potential solutions for organisations.

Design

Discursive/Position paper.

Method

The discussion is based on the nursing and wellbeing literature. It is guided by the authors' collaborative expertise as both clinicians and researchers. Data were drawn from nursing and wellbeing peer-reviewed literature, such as reviews and empirical studies, national surveys and government and thinktank publications/reports.

Results

Critical care nurses have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with studies consistently showing critical care nurses to have the worst psychological outcomes on wellbeing measures, including depression, burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These findings are not only concerning for the mental wellbeing of critical care nurses, they also raise significant issues for healthcare systems/organisations: poor wellbeing, increased burnout and PTSD are directly linked with critical care nurses intending to leave the profession. Thus, the wellbeing of critical care nurses must urgently be supported. Resilience has been identified as a protective mechanism against the development of PTSD and burnout, thus offering evidence-based interventions that address resilience and turnover have much to offer in tackling the workforce crisis. However, turnover data must be collected by studies evaluating resilience interventions, to further support their evidence base. Organisations cannot solely rely on the efficacy of these interventions to address their workforce crisis but must concomitantly engage in organisational change.

Conclusions

We conclude that critical care nurses are in urgent need of preventative, evidence-based wellbeing interventions, and make suggestions for research and practice.

Estilo de vida en mujeres con cáncer de mama: un estudio de revisión narrativa

Objetivo: El presente estudio de revisión tuvo como objetivo evaluar el estilo de vida de
mujeres con cáncer de mama. Métodos: en este estudio, la información sobre el estilo de vida en
mujeres con cáncer de mama se obtuvo de bases de datos en persa e inglés utilizando palabras clave
en persa y su equivalente en inglés para "Estilo de vida, cáncer de mama" basado en MeSH (encabezamientos de temas médicos) de 2000 a 2020. Entre todos los artículos buscados, 48 estudios se
incluyeron en la investigación de revisión. Para recopilar información de los estudios, se revisaron
cuidadosamente los artículos y se extrajeron los resultados. Resultados: De acuerdo con la evidencia
científica disponible, el estilo de vida tiene un efecto sobre la salud y algunos factores relacionados
como la actividad física inadecuada, el estrés, los patrones de alimentación, las malas conductas
como el tabaquismo y el consumo de alcohol se asocian con el cáncer de mama. Conclusión: Por lo
tanto, las intervenciones y capacitaciones deben planificarse para proporcionar un terreno adecuado
y suficiente para orientar a las mujeres hacia estilos de vida y hábitos de comportamiento saludables.