Piraka, Cyrus

ObjectiveTo compare improvement in patient‐reported outcomes (PROM) in persons undergoing endoscopic and open surgical management of Zenker diverticula (ZD).MethodologyProspective, multicenter cohort study of all individuals enrolled in the Prospective OUtcomes of Cricopharyngeus Hypertonicity (POUCH) Collaborative who underwent surgery for ZD. Patient survey, radiography reports, and the 10‐item Eating Assessment Tool (EAT‐10) pre‐ and post‐procedure were abstracted from a REDCap database, which summarized means, medians, percentages, and frequencies of. Outcome based on operative intervention (endoscopic vs. open) was compared using t‐test, Wilcoxon rank sum test or chi‐square test, as appropriate.ResultsOne hundred and forty‐seven persons were prospectively followed. The mean age (SD) of the cohort was 68.7 (11.0). Overall, 66% of patients reported 100% improvement in EAT‐10; 81% of patients had greater than 75% improvement; and 88% had greater than 50% improvement. Endoscopic was used for n = 109 patients, and open surgical intervention was used for n = 38. The median [interquartile range, IQR] EAT‐10 percent improvement for endoscopic treatment was 93.3% [72, 100], and open was 100% [92.3, 100] (p = 0.05). The incidence of intraoperative complications was 3.7% for endoscopic and 7.9% for open surgical management. The median [IQR] in follow‐up was 86 and 97.5 days, respectively.ConclusionBoth endoscopic and open surgical management of ZD provide significant improvement in patient‐reported outcomes. The data suggest that open diverticulectomy may provide a modest advantage in symptomatic improvement compared to endoscopic management. The data suggest that the postoperative complication rate is higher in the open surgical group.Level of Evidence3 Laryngoscope, 134:97–102, 2024

ObjectiveTo assess barium esophagram (BAS) as a diagnostic marker for patients with Killian Jamieson diverticula (KJD).MethodsProspective, multicenter cohort study of individuals enrolled in the Prospective OUtcomes of Cricopharyngeus Hypertonicity (POUCH) Collaborative. Patient demographics, comorbidities, radiographic imaging reports, laryngoscopy findings, patient‐reported outcome measures (PROM), and operative reporting were abstracted from a REDCap database and summarized using means, medians, percentages, frequencies. Paired t‐tests and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test were used to test pre‐ to post‐operative differences in RSI, EAT‐10, and VHI‐10 scores. Diagnostic test evaluation including sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive value with 95% confidence intervals were calculated comparing BAS findings to operative report.ResultsA total of 287 persons were enrolled; 13 (4%) patients were identified with confirmed KJD on operative reports. 100% underwent open transcervical excision. BAS has a 46.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 23.2, 70.9) sensitivity and 97.8% (95% CI: 95.3, 99.0) specificity in detecting a KJD and 50% (95% CI: 25.4, 74.6) positive predictive value but 97.4% (95%CI: 94.8, 98.7) negative predictive value. Preoperatively, patients reported mean (SD) RSI and EAT‐10 of 19.4 (9) and 8.3 (7.5) accordingly. Postoperatively, patients reported mean (SD) RSI and EAT‐10 as 5.4 (6.2) and 2.3 (3.3). Both changes in RSI and EAT‐10 were statistically significant (p = 0.008, p = 0.03).ConclusionKJD are rare and represent <5% of hypopharyngeal diverticula undergoing surgical intervention. Open transcervical surgery significantly improves symptoms of dysphagia. BAS has high specificity but low sensitivity in detecting KJD.Level of Evidence4 Laryngoscope, 133:2110–2115, 2023

ObjectiveTo describe demographics and imaging and compare findings and symptoms at presentation in a large cohort of persons with cricopharyngeus muscle dysfunction (CPMD) with and without hypopharyngeal diverticula.MethodologyProspective, multicenter cohort study of all individuals enrolled in the Prospective OUtcomes of Cricopharyngeal Hypertonicity (POUCH) Collaborative. Patient survey, comorbidities, radiography, laryngoscopy findings, and patient‐reported outcome measures (e.g., Eating Assessment Tool [EAT‐10]) data were abstracted from a REDCap database and summarized using means, medians, percentages, and frequencies. Diagnostic categories were compared using analysis of variance.ResultsA total of 250 persons were included. The mean age (standard deviation [SD]) of the cohort was 69.0 (11.2). Forty‐two percent identified as female. Zenker diverticula (ZD) was diagnosed in 85.2%, 9.2% with CPMD without diverticula, 4.4% with a Killian Jamieson diverticula (KJD), and 1.2% traction‐type diverticula. There were no differences between diagnostic categories in regard to age, gender, and duration of symptoms (p = 0.25, 0.19, 0.45). The mean (SD) EAT‐10 score for each group was 17.1 (10.1) for ZD, 20.2 (9.3) for CPMD, and 10.3 (9.4) for KJD. Patients with isolated CPMD had significantly greater EAT‐10 scores compared to the other diagnostic groups (p = 0.03).ConclusionZD is the most common, followed by CPMD without diverticula, KJD, and traction‐type. Patients with isolated obstructing CPMD may be more symptomatic than persons with ZD or KJD.Level of Evidence4 Laryngoscope, 133:1349–1355, 2023