Surgical outcomes for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the auricle.

Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) on the auricle is believed to carry a higher risk of metastatic spread. The rates of lymphatic metastasis reported in the literature have varied widely. There are no established prognostic criteria to determine which of these tumors are higher risk and warrant prophylactic treatment of the associated lymphatic basins. Objective: To retrospectively evaluate outcomes after surgical treatment of auricular CSCC in our department, examining excision completeness, tumor recurrence, and lymphatic metastasis. Secondarily, to identify factors associated with lymphatic metastasis. Methods: One hundred and thirty-eight consecutive cases of auricular SCC were excised from 126 patients in our department over a 7-year period (January 2012-December 2018). Data were retrospectively collected on patient characteristics, tumor histology, surgical procedures, and follow-up. Results: Incomplete initial excision occurred in 17 cases (12.32%). Six patients (4.76%) had a local recurrence. Lymphatic metastasis occurred in eight patients (6.35%), on average within 10.25 months after primary excision. Six patients with metastasis died during follow-up, with a mean survival of 10.2 months. Older age was associated with lymphatic metastasis (P = 0.0267). Other factors, including tumor recurrence, size, grade, cartilage invasion, and positive margins, were evaluated and not significantly associated with metastasis. Conclusion: In this study, the metastatic rate of auricular SCC was 6.35%, which is within the previously reported ranges. No histological prognostic factors were identified in this study, which may be due to our limited sample size. In the absence of established prognostic criteria, decisions regarding prophylactic treatment should be made on an individual basis with multidisciplinary support.

Return to contact sports following infectious mononucleosis: the role of serial ultrasonography.

Splenic rupture is a rare but potentially fatal complication of infectious mononucleosis. Athletes returning to contact sports following infectious mononucleosis are at potential risk of splenic rupture secondary to abdominal trauma. No clear consensus exists as to when it is safe to allow these athletes to return to contact sports. Suggested periods of abstinence have ranged from 2 weeks to 6 months. We outline our experiences with the use of abdominal ultrasonography at 1 month after the diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis as a means of determining when athletes can safely return to contact sports. Our study group was made up of 19 such patients (mean age: 16.7 yr). We found that 16 of these patients (84%) had normal splenic dimensions on ultrasonography 1 month after diagnosis, and they were therefore allowed to return to contact sports. While the remaining 3 patients had an enlarged spleen at 1 month, their splenic dimensions had all returned to normal when ultrasonographic examination was repeated at 2 months postdiagnosis. We conclude that serial abdominal ultrasonography allows for informed decision making in determining when athletes can safely return to contact sports following infectious mononucleosis.

A critical evaluation of Web sites offering patient information on tinnitus.

The Internet is a vast information resource for both patients and healthcare professionals. However, the quality and content often lack formal scrutiny, so we examined the quality of patient information regarding tinnitus on the Internet. Using the three most popular search engines (google.com, yahoo.com, and msn.com), we found pertinent Web sites using the search term tinnitus. Web sites' accountability and authorship were evaluated using previously published criteria. The quality of patient information about tinnitus was assessed using a new 10-point scale, the Tinnitus Information Value (TIV). Statistical analysis was performed using the independent sample t-test (p

Zinc protection against pneumolysin toxicity on rat cochlear hair cells.

Streptococcus pneumoniae can induce local and systemic diseases such as meningitis, otitis media, and pneumonia. One third of these meningitis cases can be associated with irreversible sensorineural hearing loss whose mechanisms likely involves the exotoxin pneumolysin (PLY) that irreversibly damages cochlear hair cells (HCs). In the respiratory system and in neuron it has been demonstrated that zinc deficiency increases severity and mortality of such infections in animal models and in children. Moreover, zinc supplementation can decrease the severity of pneumococcal respiratory infections. The aim of our study was to assess the potential protective effect of zinc against PLY toxicity on HCs in culture. Our results showed that in the presence of zinc at concentration as low as 1 microM, the toxicity of PLY was largely reduced by about 50% for both inner and outer HCs. At 300 microM of zinc, protection significantly increased with 62 and 55.2% for IHCs and OHCs, respectively. Our results suggest that the protective effect of zinc is likely due to an inhibition of the toxin incorporation and aggregation into the plasma membrane, thus preventing calcium influx through the toxin pores. Our findings raise the possibility that treatments with zinc may help to prevent debilitating otological sequelae from pneumococcal infection.

Ryanodine receptors and BK channels act as a presynaptic depressor of neurotransmission in cochlear inner hair cells.

Ryanodine receptors (RyRs) are known to contribute to the regulation of free cytosolic calcium concentration. This family of intracellular calcium channels plays a significant role in calcium-induced-calcium-release (CICR), and have been implicated in calcium-dependent processes requiring exquisite spatio-temporal regulation. In order to characterize the importance of these intracellular calcium channels in cochlear physiology, we perfused the guinea pig cochlea with antagonistic concentrations of ryanodine. The distortion products of the cochlear microphonic and the compound action potential of the auditory nerve were reversibly inhibited by ryanodine (IC(50)=27.3 microm, Hill coefficient=1.9), indicating an action at the cochlear amplifier. Single auditory nerve fibre recordings showed that ryanodine slightly increased spontaneous firing rates by 22%, suggesting an excitatory effect of ryanodine. This paradoxical effect could be explained by an inhibitory action of ryanodine on presynaptic BK channels of inner hair cells (IHC). Indeed, perfusing iberiotoxin also increased the spontaneous firing activity of the auditory nerve fibres. Furthermore, whole-cell patch-clamp recordings demonstrated that ryanodine inhibits BK currents at the IHC level. Conversely, immunohistochemistry demonstrated a strong expression of RyR in IHCs and, more particularly, below the cuticular plate where membranous BK channels are highly expressed. Overall, the study demonstrated a key role for RyR and CICR in signal transduction at the IHCs. We therefore propose that coupled RyR--BK channels act to suppress the fast neurotransmission in IHCs.

Detection of bone marrow micrometastases in the rib marrow of head and neck cancer patients: a prospective pilot study.

Flow cytometry has been validated as an objective method of demonstrating and quantifying micrometastases. Micrometastases within bone marrow indicate a poor prognosis in patients with upper gastrointestinal, colorectal and breast epithelial tumours. We prospectively sought to assess the feasibility of testing rib marrow for bone marrow micrometastases in head and neck cancer and to report their frequency in a cohort of patients. Nine patients were enrolled in the study. Bone marrow was obtained before manipulation of the primary tumour. Micrometastatic cells were detected by staining contaminant cytokeratin-18 positive cells and using the twin techniques of immuncytochemistry and flow cytometry. Cellular marrow was retrieved in 100% of cases. Micrometastases were detected in one out of nine epithelial tumours on both flow cytometry and immunocytochemistry. The detection rate appeared to be independent of TN staging. We were unable to culture the cells. Preoperative detection of bone marrow micrometastases may reflect transient shedding of cells, metastatic potential or residual disease. This prospective study confirms the feasibility of using rib marrow in future studies investigating micrometastases in head and neck cancer.

Intracochlear perfusion of pneumolysin, a pneumococcal protein, rapidly abolishes auditory potentials in the Guinea pig cochlea.

OBJECTIVE: Bacterial meningitis and chronic suppurative otitis media caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae are associated with considerable otological morbidity. Specifically, sensorineural hearing loss is a permanent sequela in a third of those who contract pneumococcal meningitis. Pneumolysin, a pneumococcal protein, has been implicated as one of the main virulence/cytotoxic factors. Its pathogenicity is intimately dependent on an ability to form transmembrane pores on binding with cholesterol in target tissues. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We perfused wild-type pneumolysin, at a number of different concentrations, into the guinea pig cochlea and used electrocochleography to characterize the effects of this cytolytic exotoxin in the organ of Corti. RESULTS: Intracochlear perfusion of pneumolysin (10 microg/50 microl) reduced the compound action potential of the auditory nerve within seconds. The cochlear microphonics (f1=8 kHz, f2=9.68 kHz) and their distortion product (2f1-f2) were also reduced, albeit in a slightly less dramatic fashion. At lower concentrations (1 microg/50 microl), a selective and earlier effect on inner hair cells was observed. CONCLUSIONS: These results clearly show that significant ototoxicity ensues when sensory cells of the organ of Corti are exposed to pneumolysin (and complete cochlear death when the concentration is high enough). Toxicity is dose-dependent and appears to be site-sensitive. This may have implications for any possible future protective strategies against pneumococcal disease in the ear.

Argon plasma coagulation in the treatment of tonsil remnants.

Tonsil remnants are a problematic outcome in a subset of patients undergoing tonsillectomy. Treatment options are rarely discussed in the literature. This is the first description of the use of argon plasma coagulation (APC) in this setting. APC is based on the principle of ionised argon gas creating a conductive plasma between an activating electrode and a tissue surface. We describe the usability and clinical efficacy of this modality in a group of six patients.

Randomized controlled trial comparing argon plasma coagulation tonsillectomy with conventional techniques.

Argon plasma coagulation (APC) is based on the principle of ionized argon creating a conductive plasma between an activating electrode and a tissue surface. To date, its use in tonsillectomy has not been extensively examined. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the clinical efficacy of APC as a tool for this common surgical procedure. Forty patients were randomized into two groups--treatment A (conventional tonsillectomy, n = 20) and treatment B (APC tonsillectomy, n = 20). Trial end-points included a) operative time, b) intra-operative blood loss, and c) objective assessment of post-operative pain, by completion of a visual analogue pain score chart, over a two-week period. Thirty-one patients were available for analysis. There was a statistically significant reduction in the intra-operative blood loss with treatment B (p = 0.02). There was no statistical difference between both groups for the other outcome measures. First clinical experience with this treatment modality shows that it is an attractive alternative to conventional tonsillectomy and may offer possible benefits.

Contribution of BK Ca2+-activated K+ channels to auditory neurotransmission in the Guinea pig cochlea.

Large-conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels are known to play a prominent role in the hair cell function of lower vertebrates where these channels determine electrical tuning and regulation of neurotransmitter release. Very little is known, by contrast, about the role of BK channels in the mammalian cochlea. In the current study, we perfused specific toxins in the guinea pig cochlea to characterize the role of BK channels in cochlear neurotransmission. Intracochlear perfusion of charybdotoxin (ChTX) or iberiotoxin (IbTX) reversibly reduced the compound action potential (CAP) of the auditory nerve within minutes. The cochlear microphonics (CM at f1 = 8 kHz and f2 = 9.68 kHz) and their distortion product (DPCM at 2f1-f2) were essentially not affected, suggesting that the BK specific toxins do not alter the active cochlear amplification at the outer hair cells (OHCs). We also tested the effects of these toxins on the whole cell voltage-dependent membrane current of isolated guinea pig inner hair cells (IHCs). ChTX and IbTX reversibly reduced a fast outward current (activating above -40 mV, peaking at 0 mV with a mean activation time constant tau ranging between 0.5 and 1 ms). A similar block of a fast outward current was also observed with the extracellular application of barium ions, which we believe permeate through Ca2+ channels and block BK channels. In situ hybridization of Slo antisense riboprobes and immunocytochemistry demonstrated a strong expression of BK channels in IHCs and spiral ganglion and to a lesser extent in OHCs. Overall, our results clearly revealed the importance of BK channels in mammalian cochlear neurotransmission and demonstrated that at the presynaptic level, fast BK channels are a significant component of the repolarizing current of IHCs.

Complete vascular ring detected by barium esophagography.

The diagnosis of a vascular ring can be made on the basis of characteristic findings on barium esophagography. We report a case of a double aortic arch in a 9-month-old girl that was diagnosed in this manner, and we briefly review the anatomic characteristics of vascular rings.