Coblator adenoidectomy in pediatric patients: a state-of-the-art review.

INTRODUCTION: Adenoid hypertrophy is one of the main causes of nasal obstruction in 'children. Adenoid hypertrophy can be approached either with nasal corticosteroids, or surgically when medical treatment fails. Different adenoidectomy techniques have been proposed to reduce morbidity and surgical risks, with a consequent marked increase in the use of new surgical procedures in recent years, with a progressive increase in the use of coblation. This state-of-the-art review aims to systematically review the current literature on the role of coblation in adenoidectomy. METHODS: The selection criteria included children submitted to adenoidectomy with coblator vs other techniques. 11 research questions were defined. 4 databases were explored by four authors: PubMed (Medline), the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and SciELO. The level of evidence and quality of the selected articles were assessed according to assessed according to the Quality Assessment Checklist of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. RESULTS: 20 studies met the inclusion criteria: 2 metanalysis, 12 randomized clinical trial, 2 non-randomized clinical trial, 1 prospective cohort study, and 3 retrospective cohort study. It encompassed a total population of 8375 participants. Regarding the different surgical techniques, 18 studies (excluding metanalysis) performed coblation (n = 1550), 6 microdebridement (n = 883), 15 curettage (n = 4016), and 1 suction coagulation (n = 1926). CONCLUSION: Coblator adenoidectomy appears to offer better adenoid control compared to curettage, with a possible, although not confirmed lower rate of revision surgery. Similarly, this greater resection of adenoid tissue seems to be related to a greater reduction of nasal obstruction. The advantages of this technique are mainly less surgical bleeding-although it is not clear this is a clinically relevant difference, and less postoperative pain compared to cold curettage. The difference in pain is small, as adenoidectomy is not a painful surgery in general. There is little evidence on the control of OME and comparison with other techniques such as microdebrider adenoidectomy.

Rhinomanometry with and without decongestant used to select children for adenoidectomy: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: Adenoid hypertrophy may coexist, and often does, with rhinitis. Therefore, in some cases, adenoidectomy alone, despite the fact that it reduces nasal resistance, may be insufficient to restore nasal breathing. Juliusson et al. suggested using rhinomanometry with and without nasal decongestant as a method for selecting patients for adenoidectomy. In this study, we aim to assess whether the decongestant test, when using normative data, is useful to select children for adenoidectomy. METHODS: Children between 4 and 15 years old undergoing adenoidectomy were selected from two tertiary referral university hospitals. Participants underwent anterior active rhinomanometry with and without nasal decongestant before and after surgery. Parents fill in the sinus and nasal quality-of-life survey (SN5). RESULTS: 47 participants were included, and mean age 6.5 ± 2.15. 2 cohorts were defined according to the result of the nasal decongestant test (> 40% improvement in nasal resistance or not). There is a statistically significant difference between groups, with a higher improvement in nasal resistance and airflow after adenoidectomy in the group with less than 40% improvement in nasal resistance. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, this study supports the use of the decongestant test with rhinomanometry to select children for adenoidectomy; especially as it has proven to be a simple technique, harmless, fast, and easily performed on collaborative children.

Ethyl alcohol threshold test: a fast, reliable and affordable olfactory Assessment tool for COVID-19 patients.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 patients may present mild symptoms. The identification of paucisymptomatic patients is paramount in order to interrupt the transmission chain of the virus. Olfactory loss could be one of those early symptoms which might help in the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. In this study, we aim to develop and validate a fast, inexpensive, reliable and easy-to-perform olfactory test for the screening of suspected COVID-19 patients. STUDY DESIGN: Phase I was a case-control study and Phase II a transversal descriptive study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Olfaction was assessed with the ethyl alcohol threshold test and symptoms with visual analogue scales. The study was designed in two phases: In Phase I, we compared confirmed COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. In Phase II, patients with suspected COVID-19 infection referred for testing were studied. RESULTS: 275 participants were included in Phase I, 135 in Phase II. The ROC curve showed an AUC of 0.749 in Phase I, 0.737 in Phase II. The cutoff value which offered the highest amount of correctly classified patients was ≥ 2 (10% alcohol) for all age intervals. The odds ratio was 8.19 in Phase I, 6.56 in Phase II with a 75% sensitivity. When cases report normal sense of smell (VAS < 4), it misdiagnoses 57.89% of patients detected by the alcohol threshold test. CONCLUSION: The olfactory loss assessed with the alcohol threshold test has shown high sensitivity and odds ratio in both patients with confirmed COVID-19 illness and participants with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Effect of turbinate surgery on mucociliary clearance. A systematic review and metanalysis.

Despite the fact that turbinate surgery provides satisfactory results regarding nasal obstruction, most of these procedures are destructive, to some extent, for the respiratory epithelium. There are valid hypotheses suggesting either that turbinate surgery may improve mucociliary clearance (MCC) by improving rhinitis, as well hypotheses suggesting that these surgeries may impair it by damaging the nasal ciliated epithelia. This systematic review is designed with the objective of exploring the effect of turbinate surgery on MCC. Pubmed (Medline), the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, SciELO were analyzed. Four authors members of the YO-IFOS rhinology study group independently analyzed the articles. Extracted variables encompassed: sample size, age, indication for surgery, surgical technique, method used to measure mucociliary clearance, mucociliary transport time before and after surgery, and main outcome. 15 studies with a total population of 1936 participants (1618 patients excluding healthy controls) met the inclusion criteria. 9 studies could be combined in a metanalysis, wich revealed a non-statistically significant decrease of 3.86 min in MCTT after turbinate surgery (p = 0.06). The subgroup analysis of the 5 cohorts who underwent microdebrider turbinoplasty reached statistical significance under a random effect model, revealing a 7.02 min decrease in MCTT (p < 0.001). The laser turbinoplasty subgroup, composed of 4 cohorts, also reached significance, although the difference was lower than that for microdebrider turbinoplasty, 1.01 min (p < 0.001). This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that turbinate surgery does not compromise mucociliary clearance. The available evidence also suggests that turbinate surgery with mucosa sparing techniques improves MCC, while with aggressive techniques it increases or remains the same. This beneficial effect is evident since the first to third month after surgery. However, for solid conclusions, a standard way to measure MCTT should be stablished, as well as a method to appropriately describe the extension of the surgery.

Radiofrequency ablation turbinoplasty improves the sense of smell in pediatric patients: A prospective study.

INTRODUCTION: The olfactory sense is of paramount importance for the adequate development of a child. Olfactory loss in children might have different origins. One of the most common is conductive, when nasal obstruction prevents odorants from reaching the olfactory epithelium. Rhinitis and turbinate enlargement have been proven to diminish the sense of smell in pediatric patients. A common treatment for resistant rhinitis in these patients is turbinate radiofrequency ablation (TRA). However, despite an increasing research effort in this field, there are no studies instrumentally assessing olfaction in children undergoing turbinate surgery to date. This study was designed with the aim of assessing changes in olfaction through validated instrumental tools in pediatric patients undergoing TRA for the first time. METHODS: A prospective uncontrolled intervention clinical trial design was conducted. Two cohorts of children ranging 4-15 years old were consecutively selected from a third level referral Hospital and subjected to the universal sniff test (U-Sniff), alcohol sniff test (AST), and sniffin sticks threshold test (SST) before and 1, 3 and 6 months after surgery. Cohort A consisted of children solely undergoing TRA. Cohort B consisted of children on whom adenoidectomy and TRA had been performed. Additionally, a cohort of Spanish healthy controls, paired by sex and age, were asked to perform the U-Sniff. RESULTS: A total of 81 participants with a mean age of 10.31 ± 2.56 years were included. Fifty-three patients underwent TRA exclusively and 28 were subjected to associated adenoidectomy. Despite a tendency toward improvement in the U-sniff scores, there were no statistically significant differences after surgery. However, statistically significant differences were obtained for threshold tasks measured with SST and AST, revealing differences at 1, 3 and 6 months after surgery compared to preoperative scores. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this research demonstrated adequate levels in the sense of smell regarding identification tasks, but decreased olfactory threshold scores in pediatric patients suffering from TE. TRA, alone or with adenoidectomy, improved smell threshold scores, but had no significant effect on identification tasks.

Assessing the effect of adenoidectomy on nasal resistance and airflow. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Clinical guidelines suggest adenoidectomy when enlarged adenoids are associated with nasal obstruction and other symptoms. Given that nasal obstruction is the leading symptom of adenoid hypertrophy, it should be thoroughly explored. However, there is no consensus regarding what could be the best approach. This systematic review is designed with the objective of exploring the extent to which adenoidectomy can decrease nasal resistance through rhinomanometry. REVIEW METHODS: 3 authors members of the YO-IFOS rhinology study group independently analyzed the data sources (Pubmed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, SciELO) for papers assessing the change in nasal resistance and/or nasal airflow in rhinomanometry after adenoidectomy in pediatric patients. RESULTS: A total of 9 studies with a total population of 423 participants (323 patients excluding healthy controls) met the inclusion criteria. All of them found decreased nasal resistance after adenoidectomy. 5 studies could be combined in a metanalysis, which revealed a statistically significant difference of 0.52 Pa in basal conditions, and 0.64 Pa in rhinomanometry under nasal decongestion. 4 authors explored changes in nasal airflow. All of them found a statistically significant increase in nasal airflow after adenoidectomy. However, their results could not be merged in a meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated the existence of a systematic decrease in nasal resistance and increase in nasal airflow with and without nasal decongestant after adenoidectomy. The available evidence suggests that rhinomanometry with nasal decongestant could help in intermediate cases of adenoid hypertrophy, in order to identify the presence of nasal obstruction and, when present, the possibility of other causes for it rather than enlarged adenoids, mainly turbinate hypertrophy.

Creation and validation of a radiological checklist for functional endoscopic sinonasal surgery. A YO-IFOS initiative.

BACKGROUND: Functional endoscopic sinus surgery might lead to dangerous complications. Studying and analysing preoperative CT scans provides surgeons with a precise knowledge of their patient's anatomy, thus reducing the risk of potential complications. Checklists highlighting key anatomical areas have been published and proven useful. However, none of these are widely accepted or systematically used in daily practice. OBJECTIVE: In this paper, the rhinology group of the Young-Otolaryngologists of the International Federations of Otorhinolaryngological Societies (YO-IFOS) aim to create and validate a new checklist designed to be fast and user friendly for daily practice. METHODS: Two CT sinonasal scans were selected as test cases. Forty otolaryngologists were selected from five tertiary referral hospitals. It was a cross-sectional study; each participant was their own control. All participants completed a questionnaire after the analysis of both CT scans to prevent learning bias. The evaluation included ten items critical in endoscopic sinus surgery according to previous publications. RESULTS: There were 80 evaluations. There was a significant increase in the number of correctly identified critical structures with the use of the checklist (p=.009). There was a statistically significant difference in low- experience evaluators, while it was not statistically significant for experienced surgeons. The most unanswered structures were suprabullar recess, dangerous v2 nerve, anterior ethmoid artery, dangerous vidian nerve and Onodi cell. The most wrongly identified structures were Keros type, septal deviation and cribiform middle turbinate. CONCLUSION: The YO-IFOS radiological checklist has proven a useful tool for correctly studying sinonasal anatomical variations. There is a clear learning component in the use of the checklist although it does not in any way exempt specialists from thorough study of sinonasal anatomy. Given the risk-benefit ratio, we strongly suggest the routine use of the checklist to systematically assess CT-scans prior to endoscopic sinonasal surgery.

The Impact of Maxillary Expansion on Adults' Nasal Breathing: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Nasal surgery fails to restore nasal breathing in some cases. Maxillary constriction is suggested as a major cause of failure. It is thought that maxillary constriction leads to the closure of the internal and external nasal valves. Moreover, it is well established in the literature that maxillary expansion, both in adults and children, increases upper airway volume. However, it is yet unclear whether maxillary expansion may improve nasal function.Review Methods: Pubmed (Medline), the Cochrane Library, EMBASE and Trip Database were checked by two authors from the Rhinology Study Group of the Young Otolaryngologists section of the International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies. Two authors extracted the data. The main outcome was expressed as the value (in variable units) prior to treatment (T0), after expansion procedures (T1), after the retention period (T2), and after a follow-up period (T3). RESULTS: A total of 10 studies (257 patients) met the inclusion criteria. The data pooled in the meta-analysis reveals a statistically significant reduction of 0.27 Pa/cm3/s (CI 95% 0.15, 0.39) in nasal resistance after palatal expansion As far as subjective changes are concerned, the pooled data for the change in the NOSE score shows a statistically significant mean reduction after maxillary expansion of 40.08 points (CI 95% 36.28, 43.89). CONCLUSION: The initial available evidence is too limited to suggest maxillary expansion as a primary treatment option to target nasal breathing. However the data is encouraging with regards to the effect of maxillary expansion on nasal function. Further higher quality studies are needed in order to define clearer patient selection criteria, distinguish optimal techniques, and demonstrate long-term efficacy in long term follow up studies.

Creation and validation of a radiological checklist for functional endoscopic sinonasal surgery. A YO-IFOS initiative

Background: Functional endoscopic sinus surgery might lead to dangerous complications. Studying and analysing preoperative CT scans provides surgeons with a precise knowledge of their patient's anatomy, thus reducing the risk of potential complications. Checklists highlighting key anatomical areas have been published and proven useful. However, none of these are widely accepted or systematically used in daily practice.ObjectiveIn this paper, the rhinology group of the Young-Otolaryngologists of the International Federations of Otorhinolaryngological Societies (YO-IFOS) aim to create and validate a new checklist designed to be fast and user friendly for daily practice.MethodsTwo CT sinonasal scans were selected as test cases. Forty otolaryngologists were selected from five tertiary referral hospitals. It was a cross-sectional study; each participant was their own control. All participants completed a questionnaire after the analysis of both CT scans to prevent learning bias. The evaluation included ten items critical in endoscopic sinus surgery according to previous publications.ResultsThere were 80 evaluations. There was a significant increase in the number of correctly identified critical structures with the use of the checklist (p=.009). There was a statistically significant difference in low- experience evaluators, while it was not statistically significant for experienced surgeons. The most unanswered structures were suprabullar recess, dangerous v2 nerve, anterior ethmoid artery, dangerous vidian nerve and Onodi cell. The most wrongly identified structures were Keros type, septal deviation and cribiform middle turbinate. (AU)

Objetivo: La cirugía endoscópica nasosinusal (CENS) tiene complicaciones peligrosas. El estudio peroperatorio de la tomografía nasosinusal otorga un conocimiento preciso de la anatomía del paciente, reduciendo así el riesgo de complicaciones. Se han publicado listas de comprobación para cirugía nasosinusal, y estas han demostrado su utilidad. En este trabajo, desde el grupo de rinología de Young-Otolaryngologists of the International Federations of Oto-rhino-laryngological Societies (YO-IFOS), se diseñó y validó una lista de comprobación con el objetivo de ser amplia, cómoda y práctica para uso en la práctica clínica diaria.MétodosSe seleccionaron 2 tomografías nasosinusales como caso problema. Cuarenta otorrinolaringólogos fueron reclutados de 5 centros de tercer nivel. Se diseñó un estudio cruzado, por lo que cada participante fue su propio control. Todos los participantes completaron una evaluación tras el análisis de ambos casos con el objetivo de evitar sesgo de aprendizaje.ResultadosSe completó un total de 80 evaluaciones. El uso del checklist supuso una mejoría en el número de variantes peligrosas identificadas (p=0,009). La diferencia fue estadísticamente significativa para evaluadores poco experimentados, pero no para los experimentados. Las variantes con mayor número de respuestas en blanco fueron el receso suprabullar, el nervio V2, la arteria etmoidal anterior, el nervio vidiano y la celda de Onodi. Las estructuras con mayor número de error fueron Keros, desvío septal e inserción del cornete medio en lámina cribosa. (AU)

Effect of turbinate surgery on mucociliary clearance. A systematic review and metanalysis / Efecto de la cirugía turbinal en el aclaramiento mucociliar. Revisión sistemática y metaanálisis

Despite the fact that turbinate surgery provides satisfactory results regarding nasal obstruction, most of these procedures are destructive, to some extent, for the respiratory epithelium. There are valid hypotheses suggesting either that turbinate surgery may improve mucociliary clearance (MCC) by improving rhinitis, as well hypotheses suggesting that these surgeries may impair it by damaging the nasal ciliated epithelia. This systematic review is designed with the objective of exploring the effect of turbinate surgery on MCC. Pubmed (Medline), the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, SciELO were analyzed. Four authors members of the YO-IFOS rhinology study group independently analyzed the articles. Extracted variables encompassed: sample size, age, indication for surgery, surgical technique, method used to measure mucociliary clearance, mucociliary transport time before and after surgery, and main outcome. 15 studies with a total population of 1936 participants (1618 patients excluding healthy controls) met the inclusion criteria. 9 studies could be combined in a metanalysis, wich revealed a non-statistically significant decrease of 3.86 min in MCTT after turbinate surgery (p = 0.06). The subgroup analysis of the 5 cohorts who underwent microdebrider turbinoplasty reached statistical significance under a random effect model, revealing a 7.02 min decrease in MCTT (p < 0.001). The laser turbinoplasty subgroup, composed of 4 cohorts, also reached significance, although the difference was lower than that for microdebrider turbinoplasty, 1.01 min (p < 0.001). This systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that turbinate surgery does not compromise mucociliary clearance. The available evidence also suggests that turbinate surgery with mucosa sparing techniques improves MCC, while with aggressive techniques it increases or remains the same. ... . (AU)

A pesar de que la cirugía turbinal tiene efectos positivos en la ventilación nasal, gran parte de estos procedimientos son agresivos con el epitelio respiratorio. Existen hipótesis que sugieren que la cirugía turbinal puede mejorar el aclaramiento mucociliar (AMC) al mejorar la rinitis, así como alterarlo al lesional el epitelio nasal. Esta revisión se diseña con el objetivo de explorar el efecto de la cirugía turbinal en el AMC. Se revisó Pubmed (Medline), the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, SciELO. 4 autores miembros de YO-IFOS grupo de estudio en rinología, analizaron de manera independiente los artículos. Las variables analizadas fueron tamaño muestral, edad, indicación quirúrgica, técnica quirúrgica, método de medición de AMC, AMC antes y después de la cirugía y resultado principal. Se incluyeron 15 estudios con 1936 participantes (1618 excluyendo controles sanos). 9 estudios fueron combinados en un metanálisis que demostró una diferencia no estadísticamente significativa de -3,86 minutos en AMC tras cirugía (p = 0,06). El análisis por subgrupos de las 5 cohortes sometidas a turbinoplastia con microdebridador si fueron estadísticamente significativas con una diferencia de -7,02 minutos (p < 0,001). El grupo sometido a laser (4 cohortes) también obtuvo diferencia estadística, aunque menor, -1,01 minutos (p < 0,001). Esta revision y metaanálisis sugiere que la cirugía turbinal no afecta al aclaramiento mucociliar. La evidencia disponible también sugiere que las técnicas menos agresivas con la mucosa mejoran el AMC, mientras que las agresivas podrían aumentarlo o no modificarlo. Este efecto beneficioso se observa desde el 1º al 3º mes postquirúrgico. Sin embargo, para poder obtener adecuadas conclusiones, debe existir un método estandarizado para medir el AMC, así como un método para describir adecuadamente la extensión quirúrgica. (AU)