Emergence of Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis in Recently Recovered COVID-19 Patients

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Emergence of Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis in Recently Recovered COVID-19 Patients Via otol rhinol Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2021 Dec 1:34894211060923. doi: 10.1177/00034894211060923. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: The risk of invasive fungal rhinosinusitis is increased in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) because of its direct impact in altering innate immunity and is further exacerbated by widespread use of steroids/antibiotics/monoclonal antibodies. The study aims to describe this recently increased clinical entity in association with COVID-19. METHO D: A prospective, longitudinal study including patients diagnosed with acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (AIFRS) who recently recovered from COVID-19 infection or after an asymptomatic carrier state. A single-center, descriptive study investigating demographic details, clinical presentation, radio-pathological aspects, and advocated management. RESULT: A total of 21 patients were included with a mean age of 49.62 years (SD: 14.24). Diabetes mellitus (DM) was the most common underlying disorder (90.48%), and 63.16% of all patients with DM had a recent onset DM, either diagnosed during or after COVID-19 infection. Nineteen patients (90.48%) had recently recovered from active COVID-19 infection, and all had a history of prior steroid treatment (oral/parenteral). Remaining 2 patients were asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers. Surprisingly, 2 patients had no underlying disorder, and 5 (23.81%) recently received the Covishield vaccine. Fungal analysis exhibited Mucor (95.24%) and Asper gillus species (14.29%). Most common sign/symptom was headache and facial/periorbital pain (85.71%), followed by facial/periorbital swelling (61.90%). Disease involvement: sinonasal (100%), orbital (47.62%), pterygopalatine fossa (28.58%), infratemporal fossa (14.29%), intracranial (23.81%), and skin (9.52%). Exclusive endoscopic debridement and combined approach were utilized in 61.90% and 38.10%, respectively. Both liposomal amphotericin B and posaconazole were given in all patients except one. CONCLUSION: A high suspicion of AIFRS should be kept in patients with recent COVID-19 infection who received steroids and presenting with headache, facial pain, and/or facial swelling. Asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers and COVID-19 vaccinated candidates are also observed to develop AIFRS, although the exact immuno-pathogenesis is still unknown. Prompt diagnosis and early management are vital for a favorable outcome. PMID:34852669 | DOI:10.1177/00034894211060923 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Estimating Clinically Meaningful Change of Efficacy Outcomes in Inadequately Controlled Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Estimating Clinically Meaningful Change of Efficacy Outcomes in Inadequately Controlled Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis Via The Laryngoscope Objectives/Hypothesis Clinical trials of biologics to treat chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP) have evaluated objective outcomes (e.g., University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test [UPSIT], nasal polyps score [NPS], and computed tomography Lund-Mackay score [CT-LMK]) and patient-reported symptoms (e.g., nasal congestion/obstruction [NC], loss of smell [LoS], and total symptom score [TSS]). We estimated anchor-based thresholds for clinically meaningful change in objective and patient-reported outcomes in patients with CRSwNP using data from LIBERTY NP SINUS-24 and SINUS-52 trials (NCT02912468; NCT02898454). Methods Target patient-reported outcomes were NC, LoS, and TSS; target objective outcomes were UPSIT, NPS, and CT-LMK. Anchor measures were the 22-item sinonasal outcome test (SNOT-22) rhinologic symptoms domain and total score and rhinosinusitis visual analog scale (VAS). The appropriateness of each anchor measure was evaluated by reviewing correlations between change in anchor measures and target outcomes and descriptive scores on target outcomes by levels of change in the anchor measure. Established thresholds for anchor measures (3.8 points for SNOT-22 rhinologic symptoms, 8.9 points for SNOT-22 total, 1-category improvement for rhinosinusitis VAS) were used to estimate clinically meaningful score changes for each target outcome. Results Based on correlations between change in anchor measures and target outcomes, SNOT-22 rhinologic symptoms domain was deemed the most appropriate anchor measure. Using this anchor measure, thresholds for clinically meaningful within-patient change were NC: 1 point; LoS: 1 point; TSS: 3 points; UPSIT: 8 points; NPS: 1 point; and CT-LMK: 5 points. Conclusion These thresholds support interpretation of efficacy results for target outcomes in CRSwNP trials. Level of Evidence 2 Laryngoscope, 2021 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Hearing Preservation Microsurgery in Vestibular Schwannomas: Worth Attempting in “Larger” Tumors?

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Hearing Preservation Microsurgery in Vestibular Schwannomas: Worth Attempting in "Larger" Tumors? Via The Laryngoscope Objectives/Hypothesis To review hearing preservation after microsurgical resection of sporadic vestibular schwannomas according to tumor size. Study Design Retrospective cohort. Methods Baseline, intraoperative, and postoperative patient and tumor characteristics were retrospectively collected for a cohort who underwent hearing preservation microsurgery. Serviceable hearing was defined by a pure tone average ≤50 dB and word recognition score ≥50%. Results A total of 243 patients had serviceable hearing preoperatively. Fifty (21%) tumors were confined to the internal auditory canal, and the median tumor size was 16.2 mm (interquartile range [IQR] 11.3–23.2) for tumors with cerebellopontine angle extension. Serviceable hearing was maintained in 64% of patients with tumors confined to the internal auditory canal, 28% with cerebellopontine angle extension <15 mm, and 9% with cerebellopontine angle extension ≥15 mm. On multivariable analysis, the odds ratios of acquiring nonserviceable hearing postoperatively for tumors extending <15 mm and ≥15 mm into the cerebellopontine angle were 5.75 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.13–15.53; P < .001) and 22.11 (95% CI 7.04–69.42; P < .001), respectively, compared with intracanalicular tumors. Conclusions The strongest predictor of hearing preservation with microsurgery after multivariable adjustment is tumor size. Approximately 10% of patients with tumors ≥15 mm of cerebellopontine angle extension will retain serviceable hearing after microsurgery. Furthermore, hearing preservation techniques offer cochlear nerve preservation and cochlear patency allowing for possible future cochlear implantation. An attempt at hearing preservation, including avoiding surgical approaches that necessarily sacrifice hearing, is worthwhile even in larger tumors if serviceable hearing is present preoperatively. Level of Evidence IV Laryngoscope, 2021 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in ADIPOQ gene with risk of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in <em>ADIPOQ</em> gene with risk of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis Via International Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Genetics Int J Mol Epidemiol Genet. 2021 Oct 15;12(5):90-101. eCollection 2021. ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Hypertension has been continuing to be a major contributor to the global burden of disease and to the global mortality, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between Adiponectin gene polymorphism with Essential hypertension (EH). METHODS: PubMed, EMbase, the Cochrane Library, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched independently by two investigators. Pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to estimate the associations of Adiponectin polymorphism with EH. RESULTS: Thirteen studies with 3198 cases and 3076 controls for meta-analysis (MA) were included in present study. Pooled results showed that rs2241766 polymorphism is associated with the risk of EH in the allelic model (G vs. T: OR=1.10; 95% CI, 1.01-1.21). In the < ;40 years subgroup, rs2241766 polymorphism is associated with the risk of EH in allele model (G vs. T: OR=1.43; 95% CI, 1.06-1.94), recessive model (GG vs. GT + TT: OR=5.26, 95% CI=1.47-18.76), homozygous model of GG (GG vs.TT: OR=5.27, 95% CI=1.47-18.95), and rs266729 in recessive model (GG vs. GT + TT: OR=2.33, 95% CI=1.33-4.08). CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis results show that the rs2241766 polymorphism is associated with the risk of hypertension. There still need a larger sample with better design to verify. PMID:34853633 | PMC:PMC8611228 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The potential adverse effect of 2.45 GHz microwave radiation on the testes of prenatally exposed peripubertal male rats

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader The potential adverse effect of 2.45 GHz microwave radiation on the testes of prenatally exposed peripubertal male rats Via Cellular and Molecular Biology Histol Histopathol. 2021 Dec 2:18402. doi: 10.14670/HH-18-402. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT In utero development of organs is easily influenced by many environmental factors. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of microwave radiation (MR) at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and a specific absorption rate of 1.73 W/kg on intrauterine development of testis. Pregnant albino rats were exposed to whole-body MR for 2 hours per day throughout the pregnancy. Male offspring (n=12, age 35 days) were not exposed to MR after birth. The study revealed that MR applied in utero induced apparent structural changes in the testes, such as irregular shape of seminiferous tubules, significant decrease in the diameter of seminiferous tubules (p<0.05) and in the height of the germinal epithelium (p<0.01), disorganisation of germ cells, desquamations of immature germ cells, formation of giant multinucleated cells, and significant (p<0.01) ex pansion of the interstitium. At the level of transmission electron microscopy, there were observed basement membrane irregularities in seminiferous tubules, vacuolation of the cytoplasm and adversely affected organelles in Sertoli cells, germ cells, Leydig cells, peritubular and endothelial cells. The tight junctions between adjacent Sertoli cells were often incomplete, and necrotizing germ cells were more numerous in experimental animals compared to controls. Enhanced necrotizations of germ cells proved by a Fluoro Jade C method, and declined germ cells proliferation confirmed by proliferating cell nuclear antigen analysis, were detected in MR exposed animals. Our results revealed that the prenatal exposure to MR had an adverse effect on the postnatal testicular development in rats. PMID:34854072 | DOI:10.14670/HH-18-402 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Functional results of endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy for bilateral vocal fold palsy

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Functional results of endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy for bilateral vocal fold palsy Via http://link.springer.com/journal/405,European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology,The European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Dec 2. doi: 10.1007/s00405-021-07199-1. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT PURPOSE: Endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy (EAAL) is a reliable surgical solution for the minimally invasive treatment of bilateral vocal fold palsy (BVFP), providing a stable airway by the lateralization of the arytenoid cartilages with a simple suture. The nondestructive manner of the intervention theoretically leads to higher regeneration potential, thus better voice quality. The study aimed to investigate the respiratory and phonatory outcomes of this treatment concept. METHODS: 61 BVFP patients with significant dyspnea associated with thyroid/parathyroid surgery were treated by unilateral EAAL. Jitter, Shimmer, Harmonics to Noise Ratio, Maximum Phonation Time, Fundamental frequency, Voice Handicap Index, Dysphonia Severity Index, Friedrich's Dysphonia Index, Global-Roughness-Breathiness scale, Quality of Life, and Peak Inspiratory Flow were evaluated 18 months after EAAL. RESULTS: All patients had a stable and adequate airway during the follow-up. Ten patients (16.4%) experienced complete bilateral motion recovery with objective acoustic parameters in the physiological ranges. Most functional results of the 13 patients (21.3%) with unilateral recovery also reached the normal values. Fifteen patients (24.6%) had unilateral adduction recovery only, with slightly impaired voice quality. Eleven patients (18.0%) had false vocal fold phonation with socially acceptable voice. In 12 patients (19.7%) no significant motion recovery was detected on the glottic level. CONCLUSION: EAAL does not interfere with the potential regeneration process and meets the most important phoniatric requirements while guaranteeing the reversibility of the procedure-therefore serving patients with transient palsy. Further, a socially acceptable voice quality and an adequate airway are ensured even in cases of p ermanent bilateral vocal fold paralysis. PMID:34854971 | DOI:10.1007/s00405-021-07199-1 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Effects of rapid maxillary expansion on hearing loss and otitis media in cleft palate children

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Effects of rapid maxillary expansion on hearing loss and otitis media in cleft palate children Via http://link.springer.com/journal/405,European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology,The European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2021 Dec 2. doi: 10.1007/s00405-021-07187-5. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT PURPOSE: Otitis media with effusion (OME), recurrent acute otitis media and conductive hearing loss (CHL) are significantly prevalent in children with cleft palate (CP) and cleft lip and palate (CLP). Rapid Maxillary Expansion (RME) appears to have a positive effect also on middle ear disorders in these patients. The study aims to offer a prospective evaluation of RME effects in a group of patients with CP/CLP in terms of OME, CHL. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted. Thirty-four CP, CLP and submucosa cleft patients who received orthodontic indication to RME treatment for OME or conductive hearing loss in a tertiary institutional Care Unit of San Paolo Hospital, Milan (IT), were included. Twenty-two patients matched for age and with analogous inclusion criteria except for indication to RME treatment were en rolled in the control group. Clinical otolaryngological evaluation, pure tone audiometry and tympanogram were performed at the beginning of treatment (T0), at the end of the expansion (T1) and at 6-month follow-up (T2). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Air-bone gaps and tympanogram results at each time interval. RESULTS: In the main group, RME allowed a statistically significant improvement of air-bone gaps (according to frequency, p < 0.001-0.089 T0 vs. T1 and < 0.001-0.044 T0 vs. T2, Friedman's test) and tympanometry results (p = 0.002 T0 vs. T1 and p < 0.001 T0 vs. T2, Friedman's test). Improvements were stable during follow-up and were significantly better in the main group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: CHL and middle ear effusion improved significantly overtime during RME and after 6 months of follow-up. PMID:34854972 | DOI:10.1007/s00405-021-07187-5 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.