ObjectivesIdiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) is characterized by progressive fibrosis and subglottic luminal narrowing. Currently, immune characterization has focused on T‐cells; however, macrophages remain largely unexplored. The goals of this study are to characterize the transcriptome of iSGS macrophages and the fibrogenic nature of identifed biomarkers.Study DesignBioinformatics and in vitro.MethodsHuman tracheal biopsies from iSGS scar (n = 4), and matched non‐scar (n = 4) regions were analyzed using single‐cell RNA‐seq (scRNA‐seq). Immunofluorescence (IF) was performed on rapidly processed autopsies (RPA) and iSGS tracheal resections (n = 4) to co‐localize S100A8/9 and CD11b. Collagen gene/protein expression was assessed in iSGS fibroblasts (n = 4) treated with protein S100A8/9 (1000 ng/ml). Macrophages were subclustered to identify distinct subpopulations.ResultsscRNA‐seq analysis revealed S100A8/S100A9 (fold change (FC) = 4.1/1.88, p < 0.001) as top differentially expressed genes in iSGS macrophages. IF exhibited increased CD11b+/S100A8/9+ cells in tracheal samples of iSGS versus RPA (26.75% ± 7.08 vs. 0.594% ± 0.974, n = 4, p = 0.029). iSGS fibroblasts treated with S100A8/9 demonstrated increased gene expression of COL1A1 (FC = 2.30 ± 0.45, p = 0.03, n = 4) and COL3A1 (FC = 2.44 ± 0.40, p = 0.03, n = 4). COL1A1 protein assays revealed an increase in the experimental group, albeit not significant, (p = 0.12, n = 4). Finally, macrophage sub clustering revealed one subpopulation as a predominant source of S100A8/S100A9 expression (FC = 7.94/5.47, p < 0.001).ConclusionsS100A8/9 is a key biomarker in iSGS macrophages. Although S100A8/9 demonstrates profibrotic nature in vitro, the role of S100A8/9+ macrophages in vivo warrants further investigation.Level of EvidenceNA Laryngoscope, 133:2308–2316, 2023

Introduction Effective management of chronic burn-induced neuropathy manifesting as pain and/or pruritus presents an ongoing challenge for clinicians. Standards of care are based on limited evidence and vary widely, especially for non-surgical neuropathies that are not associated with a specific nerve distribution. This study aims to quantify and qualify evidence for non-surgical treatments of chronic burn-induced neuropathy to define their efficacy. Methods PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines were implemented for review structure. PubMed, Science Direct, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant studies. Inclusion criteria were patients age 18 years and older, with neuropathy lasting &gt;6 months following burn injury. Studies for inclusion were comparative intervention studies for treatments of chronic burn-induced neuropathies. Mean differences (MD) between interventions eligible for meta-analysis were analyzed for neuropathy outcomes. Results Seventeen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified for inclusion with a mean post-burn follow-up of 20.8±39.3 months. Nine studies reported pain and sixteen reported pruritus using patient reported visual analogue scales for 601 and 975 patients, respectively. Pain interventions included transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), extracorporeal shockwave therapy (EWST), massage therapy, carbon dioxide (CO2) laser, silicone gel, and pressure therapy. Pruritus interventions included tDCS, ESWT, massage, herbal cream, doxepin cream, enzymatic moisturizer, CO2 laser, silicone gel, and pressure therapy. CO2 laser showed no improvement over standard care for the treatment of pain or pruritus associated with hypertrophic scarring (pain: MD 0.26, 95%CI -0.04, 0.57; p=0.09; pruritus: MD -0.07, 95%CI -0.44, 0.30; p=0.72). ESWT showed no statistically significant improvement over standard care for the treatment of pruritus (MD -2.69, 95%CI -5.42, 0.04; p=0.05). Massage therapy was associated with significantly greater improvements in pruritus than standard care (MD -1.64, 95%CI -2.10, -1.09; p&lt; 0.00001). Doxepin cream was not associated with greater improvements in pruritus than placebo or antihistamines (MD -0.84, 95%CI -3.61, 1.94; p=0.56). Conclusions Creative efforts have revealed massage therapy as a potential non-surgical intervention for treating chronic burn-induced neuropathy. Additional RCTs with innovative non-surgical interventions will provide further insights for this challenging condition.

Introduction Patients with homelessness in the setting of burns experience more complications and longer lengths of stay (LOS), resulting in higher costs of care and recidivism rates, making appropriate screening and documentation critical to improving outcomes. However, the prevalence of housing instability and its effect on outcomes has not yet been studied. This study sought to describe the prevalence of housing insecurity, or homelessness and housing instability, in patients admitted to an urban burn intensive care unit (BICU) and compare their outcomes to their housed counterparts. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of all adult patients admitted to our BICU over 3 years. The degree of burn injury and LOS were collected. We used the World Health Organization definitions of housing insecurity to identify patients. Physician and case management notes were used to evaluate housing status. Results There were 881 patients observed. The prevalence of patients with homelessness was 2.9 per 100 patients. The prevalence of patients with housing instability was 10.3 per 100 patients. The median length of stay was 8 (IQR 4 – 11) days for patients with homelessness and 4.5 (IQR 2 – 12) days for patients with housing instability compared to 4 (IQR 1 – 8) days for housed patients (P &lt; 0.001). Patients with housing insecurity had similar injuries to housed patients (P = 0.06). Physicians incorrectly documented housing status in 42.9% of patients with housing insecurity compared to case management, which correctly screened all patients (P &lt; 0.01). The electronic medical record correctly screened less than 1% of the patients with housing insecurity (P &lt; 0.01). Conclusions Housing insecurity is more prevalent than previously thought, with 13.2 per 100 patients experiencing either homelessness or housing instability. These patients have similar injuries to their housed counterparts, with longer stays and higher health care costs. Identifying and implementing appropriate screening tools can help provider teams connect patients with resources, reducing costs and improving outcomes. Applicability of Research to Practice Identifying patients at high risk earlier in their care can ensure that they are provided with the appropriate resources to avoid complications and worse outcomes.

Introduction Burn injuries are well known to cause a state of immunosuppression in patients. This can result in wound infections, a common complication in burn injuries, that can lead to sepsis and increased mortality. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is also known to cause immunosuppression in patients. The outcomes of burn patients with pre-existing HIV infections, however, are not yet completely understood. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the outcomes of burn patients with pre-existing HIV against those without this chronic infection. Methods We searched MEDLINE (Pubmed), Google Scholar, Scopus, and Embase for studies that compared outcomes and complications between burn patients with and without HIV. From this search, we screened 445 articles. Through our selection criteria, five articles focusing on HIV patients were selected for systematic review and meta-analysis. Data were analyzed using the Cochrane Review Manager (RevMan) Data Analysis package to produce pooled odds ratios and mean differences from the random effect model. Results Five studies observing a total of 24,419 burn patients, published between 2000 and 2017, were included. Of these, two are prospective studies and three are retrospective chart reviews. The primary outcome of mortality for HIV+ patients compared to HIV- patients had an odds ratio of 2.04 (CI= 0.46–9.14) in the random effects model. Secondary outcomes of sepsis and wound infection odds ratios were 1.47 (CI= 0.44–4.99) and 1.10 (CI= 0.28–4.25), respectively. The length of stay (LOS) between studies showed an overall mean difference of 0.95 (CI=-8.08–9.99). Most studies had a greater proportion of male patients. TBSA between studies ranged from 13.1% and 35%. Conclusions From our results, we concluded that HIV+ had a tendency toward greater mortality (OR=2.04) and sepsis (OR=1.47). However, mortality and sepsis had confidence intervals of [0.46–9.14] and [0.44–4.99], respectively. Therefore, we cannot definitively state that HIV infection is responsible for greater mortality or sepsis in burn patients. Additionally, LOS analysis also showed a wide confidence interval [-8.08–9.99], preventing us from making reliable deductions about this outcome. We believe further research is needed before universal conclusion or recommendations are appropriate.