Lessons from the European Mpox Outbreak: Strengthening Cohort Research for Future Pandemic Preparedness.

Background: Well-designed cohort studies are crucial for pandemic preparedness informing evidence-based infection prevention and treatment strategies.

Objectives: Following the 2022 mpox outbreak in Europe, this scoping review critically evaluates the design, implementation, and characteristics of cohort studies focusing on mpox. The aim is to inform recommendations for the Cohort Coordination Board and CoMeCT to enhance cohort study research and improve preparedness.

Treatment Durability of Injection Augmentation of Vocal Fold Atrophy.

Objective: Injection augmentation (or injection laryngoplasty) is a common treatment for presbyphonia. As current injection materials are temporary, it is anticipated that patients injected for presbyphonia will either need a repeat injection or framework surgery to maintain glottal competence (or sufficient glottal closure). Despite the expected temporary nature of these injections, patients report variable durability of effect, and some do not require a repeat injection.

Internal Superior Laryngeal Nerve Injections Through the Piriform Sinus for Laryngeal Neurosensory Disturbances: A Prospective Analysis.

Objective: Internal superior laryngeal nerve (iSLN) injections demonstrate short term improvements in patients with laryngeal neurosensory disturbances (ie, chronic refractory cough and globus pharyngeus) that can require multiple injections. A more targeted iSLN injection approach could provide greater effectiveness. This study prospectively evaluated whether transnasal endoscopic iSLN injections that target the internal iSLN as it transverses the piriform sinuses was effective at treating laryngeal neurosensory disturbances.

How to: share and reuse data-challenges and solutions from predicting the impact of monoclonal antibodies & vaccines on antimicrobial resistance project.

Background: Data sharing accelerates scientific progress and improves evidence quality. Even though journals and funding institutions require investigators to share data, only a small part of studies made their data publicly available upon publication. The procedures necessary to share retrospective data for reuse in secondary data analysis projects can be cumbersome.

Third Proceedings of The North American Airway Collaborative (NoAAC): Consensus Statement on Trial Design for Airway Stenosis.

Importance: Airway stenosis is a rare but debilitating disorder that significantly degrades the quality of life in affected patients. Treatments are primarily surgical, and disease management lacks established medical therapies. The North American Airway Collaborative held its third symposium at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 15, 2024, focused on strategies to advance the care of these patients.

Bilateral internal superior laryngeal nerve injections for unexplained chronic cough.

Objective: Internal Superior laryngeal nerve (iSLN) injections with steroids and anesthetic for Unexplained Chronic Cough (UCC) was initially described as a unilateral injection. This study reports the safety profile and patient-reported outcomes of concurrent bilateral iSLN injections for UCC.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Recurrent Inflammatory Reaction to Laryngeal Hyaluronic Acid Injection.

Objectives: Vocal fold injection augmentation with hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers is a common treatment for glottic insufficiency. While generally well-tolerated, rare inflammatory reactions can occur in 3% to 5% of patients. All reported reactions resolved after corticosteroid treatment, and no cases of recurrent inflammatory reaction with airway obstruction following steroid treatment have been reported.

Community case study for surveillance and early case-detection of SARS-CoV-2 infections across high-risk key populations: the Sentinella programme.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, an organisational framework was established between academic, local government and community partners to implement the "Sentinella - Identify, Trace and Prevent" screening programme in Verona, north-east Italy. Between September 2020 and May 2021, key populations not covered by any screening policies at the local and national level were screened for SARS-CoV-2. Target populations were: older adult residents (males >65 years and females >75 years), bus and taxi drivers, social workers, supermarket employees, hospital cleaning and catering staff, researchers working in the local hospitals, students, and people experiencing homelessness (PEH).

PD-L1 Acts Independently of PD-1 as a Marker of Pathologic Fibroblasts in Laryngotracheal Stenosis.

Objective: Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) describes fibrotic airway obstruction that is life-threatening without treatment. Targeted therapies are needed as an adjunct to surgical management. We have previously observed the upregulation of immune checkpoint programmed cell death (PD)-1 and its ligand, PD-L1, in patients with LTS.

Similarity Network Analysis of the Adaptive Immune Response in the Proximal Airway.

Objectives: Recent immunologic study of the adaptive immune repertoire in the subglottic airway demonstrated high-frequency T cell clones that do not overlap between individuals. However, the anatomic distribution and antigenic target of the T cell repertoire in the proximal airway mucosa remain unresolved.

Methods: Single-cell RNA sequencing of matched scar and unaffected mucosa from idiopathic subglottic stenosis patients (iSGS, n = 32) was performed and compared with airway mucosa from healthy controls (n = 10).

The Challenges of Vaccine Trial Participation among Underserved and Hard-to-Reach Communities: An Internal Expert Consultation of the VACCELERATE Consortium.

Underserved and hard-to-reach population groups are under-represented in vaccine trials. Thus, we aimed to identify the challenges of vaccine trial participation of these groups in member countries of the VACCELERATE network. Seventeen National Coordinators (NC), each representing their respective country (15 European countries, Israel, and Turkey), completed an online survey.

Adverse outcomes and an immunosuppressed endotype in septic patients with reduced IFN-γ ELISpot.

BACKGROUNDSepsis remains a major clinical challenge for which successful treatment requires greater precision in identifying patients at increased risk of adverse outcomes requiring different therapeutic approaches. Predicting clinical outcomes and immunological endotyping of septic patients generally relies on using blood protein or mRNA biomarkers, or static cell phenotyping. Here, we sought to determine whether functional immune responsiveness would yield improved precision.

Mucosal Microbiome Disruption in Acute Laryngeal Injury Following Intubation.

The objective of this study was to characterize mucosal microbial shifts in patients with acute laryngeal injury (ALgI) after intubation. This cross-sectional study included 20 patients with ALgI who underwent early endoscopic intervention with tissue culture, 20 patients with idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) who underwent tissue culture during the routine endoscopic intervention, and 3 control patients who underwent mucosal swab culture. 70% of the ALgI patients had a positive culture compared to 5% of the iSGS patients and none of the controls.

Characterizing the T Cell Repertoire in the Proximal Airway in Health and Disease.

Objectives: Recent translational scientific efforts in subglottic stenosis (SGS) support a disease model where epithelial alterations facilitate microbiome displacement, dysregulated immune activation, and localized fibrosis. Given the observed immune cell infiltrate in SGS, we sought to test the hypothesis that SGS cases possessed a low diversity (highly clonal) adaptive immune response when compared with healthy controls.

Methods: Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) of subglottic mucosal scar in iSGS (n = 24), iLTS (n = 8), and healthy controls (n = 7) was performed.

How European Research Projects Can Support Vaccination Strategies: The Case of the ORCHESTRA Project for SARS-CoV-2.

ORCHESTRA ("Connecting European Cohorts to Increase Common and Effective Response To SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic") is an EU-funded project which aims to help rapidly advance the knowledge related to the prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the management of COVID-19 and its long-term sequelae. Here, we describe the early results of this project, focusing on the strengths of multiple, international, historical and prospective cohort studies and highlighting those results which are of potential relevance for vaccination strategies, such as the necessity of a vaccine booster dose after a primary vaccination course in hematologic cancer patients and in solid organ transplant recipients to elicit a higher antibody titer, and the protective effect of vaccination on severe COVID-19 clinical manifestation and on the emergence of post-COVID-19 conditions. Valuable data regarding epidemiological variations, risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its sequelae, and vaccination efficacy in different subpopulations can support further defining public health vaccination policies.

Localizing Hormone Receptor Expression to Cellular Compartments in Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis.

Objectives: Idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) is an unexplained progressive fibrosis of the upper airway. iSGS almost exclusively affects women; as a result, female hormones (estrogen and progesterone) have been proposed to participate in the pathogenesis of iSGS. Our aim was to localize cell-specific gene expression of estrogen receptors (ESR1 and ESR2) and progesterone receptor (PGR) using an established iSGS single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) cell atlas.

VACCELERATE Site Network: Real-time definition of clinical study capacity in Europe.

Background: The inconsistent European vaccine trial landscape rendered the continent of limited interest for vaccine developers. The VACCELERATE consortium created a network of capable clinical trial sites throughout Europe. VACCELERATE identifies and provides access to state-of-the-art vaccine trial sites to accelerate clinical development of vaccines.

Sirolimus-eluting airway stent reduces profibrotic Th17 cells and inhibits laryngotracheal stenosis.

Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is pathologic fibrotic narrowing of the larynx and trachea characterized by hypermetabolic fibroblasts and CD4+ T cell-mediated inflammation. However, the role of CD4+ T cells in promoting LTS fibrosis is unknown. The mTOR signaling pathways have been shown to regulate the T cell phenotype.

Mapping Genetic Susceptibility to Stenosis in the Proximal Airway.

Objectives: Recent translational scientific efforts in subglottic stenosis (SGS) support a disease model where epithelial alterations facilitate microbiome displacement, dysregulated immune activation, and localized fibrosis. Yet despite recent advances, the genetic basis of SGS remains poorly understood. We sought to identify candidate risk genes associated with an SGS phenotype, investigate their biological function, and identify the cell types enriched for their expression.

Interdisciplinary assessment of tracheostomy care knowledge: An opportunity for quality improvement.

Purpose: A 2013 AAOHNS consensus statement called for reduced variation in tracheostomy care. Multidisciplinary approaches and standardized protocols have been shown to improve tracheostomy outcomes. This study aims to identify inconsistencies in knowledge in order to design standardized education targeting these areas to improve quality of care.

Enhancing Public Health Communication Regarding Vaccine Trials: Design and Development of the Pan-European VACCELERATE Toolkit.

Background: The pan-European VACCELERATE network aims to implement the first transnational harmonized and sustainable vaccine trial Volunteer Registry, being a single entry point for potential volunteers of large-scale vaccine trials across Europe. This work exhibits a set of harmonized vaccine trial-related educational and promotional tools for the general public, designed and disseminated by the pan-European VACCELERATE network.

Objective: This study primarily aimed to design and develop a standard toolkit to increase positive attitudes and access to trustworthy information for better access and increased recruitment to vaccine trials for the public.

Challenges of data sharing in European Covid-19 projects: A learning opportunity for advancing pandemic preparedness and response.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a massive investment into collaborative research projects with a focus on producing data to support public health decisions. We relay our direct experience of four projects funded under the Horizon2020 programme, namely ReCoDID, ORCHESTRA, unCoVer and SYNCHROS. The projects provide insight into the complexities of sharing patient level data from observational cohorts.

Phenotypic Epithelial Changes in Laryngotracheal Stenosis.

Objective: Characterize and quantify epithelium in multiple etiologies of laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) to better understand its role in pathogenesis.

Study Design: Controlled in vitro cohort study.

Methods: Endoscopic brush biopsy samples of both normal (non-scar) and scar were obtained in four patients with idiopathic subglottic stenosis (iSGS) and four patients with iatrogenic LTS (iLTS).