3D fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging at different stages of otosclerosis.

PURPOSE: The aim of this work is to study otosclerotic patients by 3D-FLAIR (fluid attenuated inversion recovery) sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with and without Gadolinium administration (-/+ Gd), to understand whether there is a direct relationship between radiological findings at 3D FLAIR MRI sequences and some clinical features of otosclerosis, such as the presence and entity of sensorineural involvement, duration of disease, patient gender, and other factors. METHODS: 38 patients affected by different stages of unilateral or bilateral otosclerosis underwent 3D FLAIR MRI+/- Gd. 11 subjects with normal hearing, previously submitted to 3T MRI for other minor diseases, unrelated with otosclerosis, had been retrospectively enrolled as control group. RESULTS: We found significant correlations between 3D FLAIR MRI findings and some clinical features of otosclerosis, such as severity of cochlear damage (in terms of entity of sensorineural loss) and duration of disease. These findings indicate that at 3D-FLAIR MRI different patterns may depend on the level of blood labyrinth barrier damage in the cochlea, and be related to different stages of cochlear involvement in otosclerotic patients. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that our findings may contribute in understanding the pathogenesis of cochlear damage in otosclerosis and may have further prognostic value. Our results led us to consider the possible use of 3D-FLAIR sequences in monitoring the effectiveness of any medical therapy of otosclerosis and in selecting the patients eligible for treatment.

How does a bilingual environment affect the results in children with cochlear implants compared to monolingual-matched children? An Italian follow-up study.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the results after cochlear implantation achieved by monolingual and bilingual deaf children implanted at our Institution, with the aim of understanding if there are any differences between the two groups and if there is a correlation between the outcomes and some patients' variables. METHODS: The study group was composed by 14 bilingual deaf children and the control group by the same number of monolingual children implanted at our Institution. The control group was obtained by matching to each bilingual child a monolingual one with a similar clinical history regarding age at hearing loss diagnosis, age at first hearing-aids fitting and age at CI procedure. Children received a speech perception and linguistic development evaluation through specific structured tests. The linguistic competence of the patients both in mainstream and native language was determined by the Student Oral Language Observation Matrix (SOLOM). RESULTS: We did not find any statistically significant differences between bilingual and monolingual children in speech perception outcomes. Nevertheless, we obtained different results concerning language skills: bilingual implanted children scored lower at structured language tests, even if the difference was not statistically relevant. Bilingual children scored significantly lower than monolingual ones at the SOLOM scale for linguistic competence. CONCLUSION: The results reported in the present study show better language skills after cochlear implant in Italian monolingual cases than in bilingual ones. This seems to be related to the condition of bilingualism in Italy, mainly related to immigration, and frequently associated with low socio-economic levels, poor competence in the mainstream language and poor social integration, with a suboptimal exposure to the mainstream language and difficulties in following the rehabilitative program.

Syringocystadenoma Papilliferum of the External Auditory Canal.

BACKGROUND Ceruminous glands are modified apocrine glands, situated in the external auditory canal, that, together with sebaceous glands, produce cerumen, better known as ear wax. The neoplastic transformation of these structures is very rare and there have been few cases reported in the literature. CASE REPORT Syringocystadenoma papilliferum is one of the rarest tumors among benign tumors arising from the ceruminous glands. We here report the case of a 72-year-old man with a lesion histologically documented as a syringocystadenoma papilliferum and we review the literature, focusing our attention on clinical features and treatment options of benign glandular tumors arising from the external auditory canal. CONCLUSIONS Syringocystadenoma papilliferum is a rare benign tumor of the ceruminous glands of the external ear canal. Excision biopsy is mandatory for the diagnosis and is the best treatment.

Otogenic Meningitis: A Comparison of Diagnostic Performance of Surgery and Radiology.

Development of intracranial complications from middle ear infections might be difficult to diagnose. We compared radiological and surgical findings of 26 patients affected by otogenic meningitis. Results of our analysis showed that surgery is more reliable than imaging in revealing bone defects. Therefore, suggest that surgery be performed for diagnosis and eventual management of all cases of suspected otogenic meningitis.

Chronic Tuberculous Otomastoiditis: A Case Report.

Worldwide, tuberculosis is a widespread disease, with 8.7 million new cases occurring annually. Its etiologic agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, essentially causes pneumonia. However, this organism affects the middle ear in rare cases, accounting for 0.04-0.09% of all chronic middle ear otitis cases in Western countries. In this report, we describe the case of a young woman affected by tuberculosis of the middle ear. In our experience, empiric therapy was not beneficial. Adequate treatment was possible only after obtaining a specific diagnosis through a difficult process requiring surgical sampling for culture examination. We consider surgical sampling to be mandatory in all cases of chronic otitis media that do not respond to prolonged systemic and local therapies.