The efficacy of OK-432 sclerotherapy on thyroglossal duct cyst and the influence on a subsequent surgical procedure.

Background: Although there are studies regarding the efficacy of OK-432 sclerotherapy on thyroglossal duct cyst (TDC), its effects on surgical procedure following this therapy have not been properly described. Objectives: The present study aimed to delineate the prognostic factors of OK-432 sclerotherapy in patients with TDC and investigate its influence on subsequent surgical procedure and the histological characteristics in patients with poor response to OK-432 sclerotherapy. Material and methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the medical records of 20 TDC patients treated with OK-432 sclerotherapy. Results: Of the 20 patients, OK-432 sclerotherapy was effective in 5 patients (25.0%). OK-432 showed a lower effective rate in multilocular cysts (9.1%) than in unilocular cysts (44.4%), although not significantly. Five cases were treated with surgery following OK-432 sclerotherapy. There was no significant difference in the operating time and the amount of bleeding between patients with and without OK-432 sclerotherapy. From the results of the histological examination of the cyst wall, two cases had stratified squamous epithelium and two cases showed the absence of lymphocyte infiltration. Conclusion and significance: OK-432 sclerotherapy is an acceptable initial treatment for TDC, especially in unilocular cysts, because of lack of influence on surgical procedure.

Spontaneous closure of traumatic tympanic membrane perforation following long-term observation.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic tympanic membrane perforation (TTMP) is usually managed conservatively because most close spontaneously within a few months. Nevertheless, spontaneous closure of TTMP during long-term observation has not been well described in the literature. OBJECTIVES: The present study investigated factors associated with spontaneous closure of TTMP, and the characteristics of cases exhibiting spontaneous closure following long-term observation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records of 40 patients with TTMP who visited the authors' hospital were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Spontaneous closure was observed in 27 (67.5%) patients. The healing period was <2 weeks in 6 cases, <4 weeks in 9, <3 months in 5, <6 months in 3, and ≥6 months in 4. All four cases in which spontaneous closure took ≥6 months exhibited a sign of spontaneous closure at 6 months following injury. Perforation in contact with the malleus was associated with a lower frequency of spontaneous closure. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: In TTMP, surgery should be considered in patients who exhibit perforation in contact with the malleus. However, it has also been suggested that long-term observation may be a viable treatment option when a sign of spontaneous closure is observed within 6 months following injury.

Factors that prolong the duration of recovery in acute rhinosinusitis with orbital complications.

BACKGROUND: Regarding prognostic factors of acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) with orbital complications, there are few studies including adult cases. OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to delineate prognostic factors of ARS with orbital complications. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of medical records of 21 patients (6 pediatric and 15 adult patients) with ARS with orbital complications. The duration of recovery was defined as the time from initial diagnosis to complete resolution of local findings and all symptoms. Orbital complications due to postoperative cysts or mycosis were excluded. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients comprised 11 males and 10 females. Chandler's classification showed group I in 4, group II in 8, and group III in 9. None of six pediatric patients required any surgical intervention, whereas five adult patients (23.8%) underwent surgical intervention. The average period of recovery was 8.1 days. In univariate analysis, the duration of recovery was significantly longer among adult cases (p < .01) and cases with Chandler's groups II-III (p = .019). In multivariate analysis, adult patients had a significantly longer duration of recovery than pediatric patients (p = .027). CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: The present study suggested that ARS with orbital complications may have prolonged clinical course in adults.

Canal wall-down procedure with soft posterior meatal wall reconstruction in acquired cholesteatoma: focus on postoperative middle ear status.

OBJECTIVES: We reviewed surgical results of canal wall-down tympanoplasty (CWDT) with soft posterior meatal wall reconstruction (SWR) for acquired cholesteatoma (AC), and identified factors associated with surgical outcomes. METHODS: Results from 119 ears with AC (pars flaccida, n = 99; pars tensa, n = 20) that underwent CWDT with SWR were retrospectively reviewed. We defined postoperative balloon-like retraction (PBR) with web formation, which needed reoperation to clean accumulated cerumen, as postoperative deep retraction pocket (PDRP). RESULTS: Residual cholesteatoma was found in 11 ears (9.2%). Seven residual cholesteatomas were treated with outpatient operation. Seven ears (5.9%) showed PDRP. A transcanal approach was applied to all PDRPs. Postoperative mastoid reaeration was observed in 57 ears (47.9%). No factors significantly associated with residual cholesteatoma or PDRP were identified. The frequency of postoperative mastoid reaeration was significantly higher among cases with young age (<50 years), stage I cholesteatoma, or type I ossiculoplasty. CONCLUSION: CWDT with SWR showed low rates of residual cholesteatoma or postoperative deep retraction pocket (PDRP). Most residual cholesteatomas and PDRPs could be dealt with using a minimally invasive procedure. Young age, stage I cholesteatoma, and type I ossiculoplasty were associated with postoperative mastoid reaeration. This procedure seems fully feasible for surgical treatment of AC.

The role of bacteriological studies in the management of peritonsillar abscess.

OBJECTIVE: Since most patients with peritonsillar abscess (PTA) can be successfully treated with surgical drainage and empirical antibiotic therapy, routine bacteriologic studies for all patients with PTA may be unnecessary. This study tried to evaluate which patients with PTA should certainly undergo bacteriologic studies. METHODS: Hundred consecutive patients with PTA were treated and underwent culture tests of purulent contents obtained by surgical drainage between April 2008 and December 2013. RESULTS: In 62 of the 100 patients, 71 pathogenic bacteria were identified; 61 (86%) were Gram-positive cocci (GPC), 8 (11%) were Gram-negative rods (GNR), and 6 (8%) were anaerobes. Normal flora were isolated in 27 patients, and culture results were negative in 11 patients. Although not significant, primary (without prior antibiotic therapy) case (odds ratio (OR)=2.19; 95% CI, 0.95-5.05) and laryngeal edema (OR=2.04; 95% CI, 0.82-5.03) showed a tendency of associations with detection of pathogenic bacteria. After taking into account interactions between smoking habit and laryngeal edema, the covariate-adjusted OR for non-smokers with laryngeal edema was significant and showed a strong relationship (OR=7.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-52.73) compared to non-smokers without laryngeal edema. CONCLUSION: Although empirical antibiotic therapy was effective for most of the PTA patients, bacteriologic studies might be indispensable for the patients with laryngeal edema considering the failure of the first treatments. Particularly, the culture tests may be useful for non-smokers with laryngeal edema.

[A Clinical Study on 64 Cases of Laryngeal Granuloma].

Vocal process granulomas are mainly associated with vocal abuse, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or endotracheal intubation. In the present study, we evaluate the prognostic factors and the usefulness of a grading system in 64 patients with vocal process granulomas. We classified the granuloma which limited the vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage as grade I, and which originated from the vocal process but extended beyond the vocal process of the arytenoid cartilage as grade II, according to the grading system proposed by Wang CP, et al. First, we treated this disease with conservative treatments including a proton pump inhibitor, steroid inhalation, or voice therapy. Surgical treatment was reserved for failures of conservative treatments or when the diagnosis was in doubt. The overall post-surgical recurrence rate was 65.7%, and it was significantly higher in male than female patients, and in younger than older patients. The overall remission rate was 79.7%. A multivariate analysis revealed that Grade II was a significantly poor prognostic factor and the patients with BMI ≥23 or Age <60 had a tendency to have a poor remission rate. The grading system is useful for anticipating the prognosis in cases of vocal process granuloma.

Time-lag between symptom onset and laboratory findings in patients with subacute thyroiditis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to delineate the frequency of delayed diagnosis in cases of subacute thyroiditis (SAT) and intervals between onset of clinical symptoms and appearance of abnormal laboratory findings. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 27 patients (7 men and 20 women) with SAT who visited our hospital between 2007 and 2013. RESULTS: On presentation to the hospital, 5 of 27 SAT cases (18.5%) showed normal laboratory findings. Among these 5 cases, the mean interval between symptom onset and thyrotropin (TSH) suppression was 6.3 weeks, and the mean interval to elevation of fT4 was 6.7 weeks. The longest interval from symptom onset to appearance of an abnormal laboratory finding was 11 weeks. CONCLUSION: Sometimes time-lag exists between onset of clinical symptoms and the appearance of abnormal laboratory findings in patients with SAT. The possibility of this disease should not be excluded from the differential diagnoses for patients with clinical symptoms consistent with SAT but showing normal laboratory findings.

Factors that make it difficult to diagnose cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis.

Cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis is mainly diagnosed by analyzing tissue samples obtained by fine-needle aspiration (FNA). However, some cases remain diagnostic challenges even after polymerase chain reaction analysis of FNA specimens. To delineate differences between cases that are relatively easy to diagnose and those for which diagnosis is difficult, 22 patients with cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis were studied retrospectively. FNA tissues were used to diagnose 14 cases (group A), whereas excisional biopsy was required for accurate diagnosis of 8 cases (group B). These two groups were compared with regard to results of blood examinations, ultrasound appearance, and various other procedures required to reach the final diagnosis. The results indicated that diagnosis of cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis was more difficult for patients with lower white blood cell counts, lower serum C-reactive protein levels, and absence of lymph node fusion or abscess formation on ultrasonography. The possibility of tuberculosis as a cause of cervical lymphadenopathy should always be considered, even when the presenting symptoms are not typical of this disease.

[Gamma knife radiosurgery for temporal bone chondroblastoma: case report].

A case with chondroblastoma arising from the right temporal bone was reported. A 52-year-old woman demonstrated residual tumor growth after surgical excision. The patient presented continuous right temporalgia and right facial twitch while opening her mouth. The tumor was an expansile mass (tumor volume: 12.8 cm3) and showed homogeneous hypo-intensity on T1 and T2-weighted images, but little contrast enhancement. The patient underwent gamma knife radiosurgery (GKR: marginal dose: 12 Gy, maximum dose: 24 Gy). One month later, her symptoms improved completely. The size of the tumor was reduced to 6.4 cm3 twenty months after GKR. The patient has been free of recurrence and side effects for four years since GKR. GKR may be useful to control residual chondroblastoma of the skull after surgery.