Latin American Consensus on the Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is well known as a serious health problem worldwide, especially in low-income countries or those with limited resources, such as most countries in Latin America. International guidelines cannot always be applied to a population from a large region with specific conditions. This study established a Latin American guideline for care of patients with head and neck cancer and presented evidence of HNSCC management considering availability and oncologic benefit. A panel composed of 41 head and neck cancer experts systematically worked according to a modified Delphi process on (1) document compilation of evidence-based answers to different questions contextualized by resource availability and oncologic benefit regarding Latin America (region of limited resources and/or without access to all necessary health care system infrastructure), (2) revision of the answers and the classification of levels of evidence and degrees of recommendations of all recommendations, (3) validation of the consensus through two rounds of online surveys, and (4) manuscript composition. The consensus consists of 12 sections: Head and neck cancer staging, Histopathologic evaluation of head and neck cancer, Head and neck surgery-oral cavity, Clinical oncology-oral cavity, Head and neck surgery-oropharynx, Clinical oncology-oropharynx, Head and neck surgery-larynx, Head and neck surgery-larynx/hypopharynx, Clinical oncology-larynx/hypopharynx, Clinical oncology-recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer, Head and neck surgery-reconstruction and rehabilitation, and Radiation therapy. The present consensus established 48 recommendations on HNSCC patient care considering the availability of resources and focusing on oncologic benefit. These recommendations could also be used to formulate strategies in other regions like Latin America countries.

[Construct validity of the TECS questionnaire for the quality of teamwork in surgery]

Objective

To assess the construct validity and reliability of the Trabajo en Equipo en Cirugía (TECS) questionnaire.

Method

The questionnaire was administered to 401 undergraduate students who were doing surgery practices at three universities. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on the first 200 observations, and a confirmatory factor analysis on the remaining ones. The reliability of the instrument was established with Cronbach's alpha.

Results

The average age of the study population was 22 years (± 1.4) and 65.5% were women. The factors "Student's disposition towards teamwork", "Structure of the work environment" and "Leadership and collaboration in the work team" showed excellent internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.94. The results in the exploratory factor analysis showed adequate goodness of fit with the empirical data.

Conclusions

The TECS is a valid (content and construct) and reliable instrument to assess the quality of teamwork in surgery in medical students.

Workplace bullying and sexual harassment among general surgery residents in Colombia

INTRODUCTION

Workplace bullying and sexual harassment are concerns among general surgery residents in Colombia.

OBJETIVE

To explore the prevalence and impact of workplace bullying and sexual harassment incidents among general surgery residents in Colombia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This nationwide study was conducted in 2020. Residents selfrated their exposure to workplace bullying and to sexual harassment in the forms of gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion. We analyzed demographic variables, perpetrator’s characteristics, and differences between victims and non-victims.

RESULTS

The study included 302 residents. It found that 49% of general surgery residents in Colombia suffered from workplace bullying and 14.9% experienced sexual harassment. The main forms of sexual harassment were gender harassment (47%) and unwanted sexual attention (47%). Women reported significantly higher rates of being sexually harassed. Surgeons were the main perpetrators of sexual harassment.

CONCLUSIONS

Workplace bullying and sexual harassment are frequent events in general surgery residency in Colombia. These findings suggest the need for interventions to improve the educational culture of surgical departments and decrease the prevalence of these behaviors.

Neck Surgery for Non-Well Differentiated Thyroid Malignancies: Variations in Strategy According to Histopathology

Lymph node metastases in non-well differentiated thyroid cancer (non-WDTC) are common, both in the central compartment (levels VI and VII) and in the lateral neck (Levels II to V). Nodal metastases negatively affect prognosis and should be treated to maximize locoregional control while minimizing morbidity. In non-WDTC, the rate of nodal involvement is variable and depends on the histology of the tumor. For medullary thyroid carcinomas, poorly differentiated thyroid carcinomas, and anaplastic thyroid carcinomas, the high frequency of lymph node metastases makes central compartment dissection generally necessary. In mucoepidermoid carcinomas, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, sarcomas, and malignant thyroid teratomas or thyroblastomas, central compartment dissection is less often necessary, as clinical lymphnode involvement is less common. We aim to summarize the medical literature and the opinions of several experts from different parts of the world on the current philosophy for managing the neck in less common types of thyroid cancer.

Síndrome de desgaste profesional en residentes de cirugía: estudio transversal colombiano en 2020

Introducción. El síndrome de desgaste profesional incluye un estado de agotamiento físico y mental relacionado con las actividades del trabajo. El personal en formación de residencias médicas puede experimentar una salud mental y un rendimiento laboral adverso, con una alta prevalencia del síndrome. El objetivo de este trabajo fue comparar los resultados publicados del desgaste profesional en residentes de cirugía con los obtenidos en el presente estudio. Métodos. Se hizo una encuesta anónima en línea a los residentes de los veinte programas de Cirugía general en Colombia, entre junio y julio del 2020. El desgaste profesional se evaluó con el cuestionario de Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI). Se calcularon las puntuaciones para las subescalas de agotamiento emocional, despersonalización y realización personal, así como la frecuencia del síndrome según las variables demográficas. Resultados. Participaron 302 residentes en el estudio; el 20,2 % presentaron síndrome de desgaste profesional, 43,7 % agotamiento emocional, 23,2 % despersonalización y 45 % baja realización personal. Al comparar el grupo con desgaste frente al grupo sin desgaste, no se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las variables demográficas. Conclusiones. Aunque el porcentaje de síndrome de desgaste profesional entre los residentes de Cirugía general en Colombia fue menor al encontrado en otros estudios, es preocupante. Dado su posible impacto en la práctica médica y los resultados en el paciente, es necesario continuar describiendo la aparición del síndrome en el personal en formación, comprender el desarrollo del mismo y, de esta forma, crear intervenciones específicas para controlarlo.

Personalidades históricas de la cirugía oncológica

Desde tiempos remotos el cáncer ha acompañado a nuestra especie, y los procedimientos de resección quirúrgica fueron los primeros propuestos para su control. La comprensión de la historia del cáncer permite entender el papel de la cirugía como herramienta de tratamiento. Los principales avances quirúrgicos ocurrieron durante el siglo XIX con el advenimiento de la anestesia y la antisepsia, lo que permitió realizar cirugías más complejas y radicales hasta llevar la cirugía al límite de la anatomía con la super-radicalidad del siglo XX. Actualmente, con la medicina basada en la evidencia y la integración con otras especialidades como la radioterapia y la oncología clínica, se ha logrado un sinergismo que ofrece al paciente una mayor supervivencia con menor morbilidad y mejor calidad de vida. Destacamos la vida de cuatro cirujanos y sus aportes a la cirugía del cáncer en diferentes épocas.

Tireoidectomia endoscópica transoral por acesso vestibular (TOETVA): experiência inicial no Brasil

RESUMO Objetivo: apresentar a experiência inicial no Brasil com a tireoidectomia transoral endoscópica por abordagem vestibular (TOETVA). Métodos: estudo prospectivo de pacientes submetidos à TOETVA no Serviço de Cirurgia de Cabeça e Pescoço do Hospital Regional do Oeste, Chapecó, Santa Catarina. Foram candidatos para o estudo os pacientes entre 18 e 65 anos de idade, ASA I e II, com volume glandular de até 35cm3e nódulos de até de 4cm. Dados dos pacientes, dos nódulos, tempo cirúrgico, complicações, e tempo de internação foram registrados. Resultados: nove pacientes foram operados entre maio de 2017 e abril de 2018. Todos eram mulheres, com idades entre 33 e 64 anos. O tamanho do nódulo variou de 1cm a 4cm. Dois pacientes eram portadores de neoplasia maligna e a tireoidectomia total foi feita em oito casos. Sete pacientes tiveram uma internação de apenas um dia. Um paciente sofreu uma complicação menor na pele, mas não ocorreram lesões dos nervos laríngeos recorrentes ou hipoparatireoidismo definitivo. Conclusão: a TOETVA é uma técnica segura para pacientes bem selecionados, com condições favoráveis e com especial preocupação com resultados estéticos.

The Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology in Colombia: Correlation with histopathological diagnoses in oncology and non-oncology institutions

Aim:

To determine the correlation between the results of thyroid fine-needle aspirations interpreted using the Bethesda system and final histopathological reports for patients at an oncology hospital (OH) and non-oncology hospitals (NOHs).

Materials and Methods:

A retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive study was performed to compare the cytology and histopathology results for patients with thyroid nodules in three Colombian hospitals. The final correlation of diagnoses between the two methods is reported. In Colombia, the health system provides the existence of general care hospitals and hospitals specializing in care of patients with cancer.

Results:

A total of 196 reports were reviewed, of which 53% were from OH and 47% were from NOHs. A greater proportion of category V (37.5%) was diagnosed at the OH, whereas NOHs diagnosed a greater proportion of category II (42.3%). The global correlation between diagnoses made using cytology and histopathology was 93.3% for categories V and VI (based on the final malignant diagnosis) and 86.9% for benign category II. Significant differences between institution types were observed when category IV and V and malignant histopathology were compared (56.3% OH vs. 23.5% NOH; P = 0.05 for category IV, 97.4% OH vs. 82.3% NOH; P = 0.03 for category V), while no significant difference between institution types was observed when category II and final benign diagnosis were compared (P = 0.6).

Conclusions:

The Bethesda system for thyroid cytology correlates adequately with final histopathological diagnosis in Colombia. Significant differences were identified in the diagnostic correlation for malignant lesions between the OH and NOHs in categories IV and V caused by selection bias of the population.

Spanish adaptation of The Penn State College of Medicine Scale to assess professionalism in medical students

INTRODUCTION

Professionalism is a subject of interest in medical schools around the world. The use of a questionnaire could be useful to assess professionalism in Colombia.

OBJECTIVE

To adapt The Penn State University College of Medicine Professionalism Questionnaire as a culturally valid instrument in the Spanish language.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We followed recommendations from the IQOLA project and used forward and back translation with four independent translations, as well as a pilot evaluation and an evaluation of psychometric features with 250 students. We evaluated item-scale correlations and internal consistency with Chronbach's alpha test and conducted a principal components factor analysis.

RESULTS

Global Cronbach's alpha was 0.86, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was 0.83, and Bartlett's test of sphericity had a p >0.00001. We found six factors that explained 93% of the total variance and four new factors emerged in the factor analysis, while eight items had high uniqueness.

CONCLUSION

The Penn State University College of Medicine Scale measures professionalism attitudes in medical students with good reliability. However, the structure of the scale demonstrated differences when used in the Latin American medical student population.