Correlation between neural response telemetry measurements and fitting levels.

INTRODUCTION: The neural response telemetry (NRT) is a standard procedure in cochlear implantation mostly used to determine the functionality of implanted device and to check auditory nerve responds to the stimulus. Correlation between NRT measurements and subjective threshold (T) and maximum comfort (C) levels has been reported but results are inconsistent, and it is still not clear which of the NRT measurements could be the most useful in predicting fitting levels. PURPOSE: In our study we aimed to investigate which NRT measurement corresponds better to fitting levels. Impedance (IMP), Evoked Action Potential (ECAP) threshold and amplitude growth function (AGF) slope values were included in the study. Also, we tried to identify cochlear area at which the connection between NRT measurements and fitting levels would be the most pronounced. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-one children implanted with Cochlear device were included in this retrospective study. IMP, ECAP thresholds and AGF were obtained intra-operatively and 12 months after surgery at electrodes 5, 11 and 19 as representative for each part of cochlea. Subjective T and C levels were obtained 12 months after the surgery during cochlear fitting. RESULTS: ECAP thresholds obtained 12 months after surgery showed statistically significant correlation to both T and C levels at all 3 selected electrodes. IMP correlated with C levels while AGF showed tendency to correlate with T levels. However, these correlations were not statistically significant for all electrodes. CONCLUSION: ECAP threshold measurements correlated to T and C values better than AGF slope and IMP. Measurements obtained twelve months after surgery seems to be more predictive of T and C values compared to intra-operative measurements. The best correlation between ECAP threshold and T and C values was found at electrode 11 suggesting NRT measurements at mid-portion cochlear region to be the most useful in predicting fitting levels.

ACTIVE MIDDLE EAR VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE SOUND IMPLANT.

The Vibrant Soundbridge represents a new approach to hearing improvement in the form of active implantable middle ear hearing device. Unlike conventional acoustic hearing aids, which increase the volume of sound that goes to the eardrum, the Vibrant Soundbridge bypasses the ear canal and eardrum by directly vibrating the small bones in the middle ear. Because of its design, no portion of the device is placed in the ear canal itself. The Vibrant Soundbridge has been approved by the FDA as a safe and effective treatment option for adults with moderate to severe sensorineural, conductive or mixed hearing losses who desire an alternative to the acoustic hearing aids, for better hearing. The paper presents a review of the active middle ear implant Vibrant Soundbridge, which has been also implanted at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, which is the Referral Center for Cochlear Implantation and Surgery of Hearing Impairment and Deafness of the Ministry of Health, Republic of Croatia.

A Rare Case of Recurrent Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Nasal Vestibule.

We report a rare case of a large recurrent mucoepidermoid carcinoma (RMEC) in an 81-year-old female smoker, which has originated in the right nasal vestibule. The recurrent tumour was inadequately treated for 6 years. It was a slow-growing tumour for 3 years and then began to enlarge at a higher pace. In the next three years it has covered a large part of the face. The patient had refused any medical treatment. The tumour caused breathing and swallowing difficulties. Because of the profuse bleeding from the tumour, the patient underwent emergency surgery. Surgical treatment consisted of rhinectomy and resection of the central upper lip and part of the right cheek. The facial defect was reconstructed immediately. Recovery from surgery was fast with no complications. Postoperative Multislice Computed Tomography scan showed no metastases so the patient did not receive any chemotherapy or radiotherapy. During a 2.5 years' follow-up period there was no recurrence of the disease.

Significance of intraoperative findings in revision tympanomastoidectomy.

PURPOSE: The study was designed to assess correlations between intraoperative findings in revision tympanomastoidectomy as predictors of cholesteatoma recurrence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective single-institution cohort of 101 patients who underwent surgical treatment for recurrent chronic otitis media in a tertiary referral otology centre. RESULTS: Out of 101 patients, 65 had canal wall up and 36 canal wall down revision surgery. There were 35 cholesteatoma recurrences. Sites most commonly associated with recurrent disease were residual facial ridge cells in 46 (45.5%), ossicular chain sites in 46 (45.5%) patients, posterior external auditory canal wall erosions in 38 (37.6%) patients and mastoid apex recurrence in 35 (34.7%) patients. Ossicular and posterior external auditory canal wall erosion and incomplete removal of mastoid apex cells correlate well with cholesteatoma recurrence accompanied by canal wall up surgery (p=0.009). Residual mastoid apex cells, posterior external auditory canal wall erosion and presence of residual facial ridge cells were identified as the strongest positive predictors of cholesteatoma recurrence, identifying high risk patients associated with canal wall down procedures (p=0.0036). CONCLUSIONS: Correlations between intraoperative findings and cholesteatoma recurrence could improve preoperative and intraoperative planning and reduce the rates of postoperative failures1 due to mismanagement of high risk areas.

Primary Ameloblastoma of the Temporal Bone.

Ameloblastoma is a locally aggressive tumor derived from odontogenic epithelium. Although benign, its clinical behavior can often exhibit malignant characteristics. It is marked by slow and persistent growth with infiltration of adjacent tissues. Almost 70% occur in the mandible in patients older than 30 years. Recurrence of ameloblastoma from inadequate treatment is frequent. Because of its slow growth, recurrences can present decades after primary surgery. A primary ameloblastoma in an area outside the mandibular, maxillary, and infratemporal fossa regions has not been described in detail to date, with only 1 possible case mentioned in the literature. The authors present a case of primary temporal bone ameloblastoma in a 17-year-old boy. The tumor originated in the left mastoid, infiltrated the lateral semicircular canal, facial nerve, and cochlea, and adhered to the sigmoid sinus and posterior cranial fossa dura. Although invasion of multiple structures in the infratemporal fossa and temporal bone leads to variable disease presentation, this case is unique because the first symptom of disease was sudden and recurring unilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Surgery required transection of the facial nerve. Histopathology confirmed primary temporal bone ameloblastoma. The difficulties in achieving wide surgical margins, diagnostics, and further management are addressed.

Therapeutic efficacy of azithromycin and acetylcysteine in chronic otitis media with effusion.

Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a common disease in childhood. There is no consensus on the optimal therapeutic option for OME. Considering the known efficacy of acetylcysteine (AC) and azithromycin (AZ) in the treatment of middle ear mucosa, the aim of the study was to assess their efficacy in the management of chronic OME. The study included 90 children with OME, both ears. They are divided into three groups of 30 children. Group 1 (AC) patients were treated with acetylcysteine per os, 3 × 100 mg, for 3 weeks; group 2 (AZ) with body weight adjusted dose of azithromycin for 3 days; and group 3 (AC + AZ) with a combination of acetylcysteine and azithromycin at doses described above. Three measurements were performed. On second measurement, tympanogram improvement was recorded in 45% of 60 ears in group I, 53.3% of 60 ears in group II, and 61.7% of 60 ears in group III. The percentage of improvement was highest in group III. Although between-group differences did not reach statistical significance, the results obtained appear to be clinically relevant. In conclusion, conservative therapy for chronic OME is reasonable. Although study results don't have a strong statistical differences and may not refer clinical improvement results suggest that this combination of drugs (antibiotics, bronchosecretolytics) can be useful in the treatment of OME.

Radiotherapy-induced hearing loss in patients with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinomas.

The purpose of this study was to investigate a hypothesized correlation of development of a sensorineural hearing loss and radiotherapy in patients with laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma. This prospective study included a total of 50 patients, which after strict exclusion critera (audiologic problems before RT primary tumors of the auditory system, spread of the primary tumor to any part of the auditory system) resulted in 23 analyzed patients, ranging between 50 and 76 years of age, with a mean age of 60. Audiometry measuring frequency-specific thresholds was performed in three time points: one month before radiotherapy, one and six months after radiotherapy. A significant statistical difference in hearing tresholds after radiotherapy was found in 6 out of 23 patients. An obvious tendency towards hearing loss without statistical significance at 250 and 4000 Hz was found for a whole tested population (p < or = 0.3 with Bonferroni correction). Observed tendency towards hearing loss after radiotherapy of laryngeal carcinoma was related to side of the tumor and less severe when chemotherapy was not added as adjuvant therapy. These results should help to decrease a rate of hearing loss by careful planing of ear protection, by using observed frequencies as relevant markers of hearing loss and by reconsidering adjuvant chemoterapy during radiotherapy of laryngeal carcinoma.

The developmental characteristics of mastoid pneumatisation in cleft palate children: the genetic influence.

Physiologic and developmental role of mastoid pneumatisation in children with otitis media with effusion (OME) is still controversial. For measuring mastoid pneumatisation and examine developmental characteristics, we used children with orofacial malformation of high risk for long term negative pressure in the middle ear and are expected to have lower rate of size and growth of pneumatisation. Mastoid were measured on Schuller's mastoid X-ray pictures planimetrically in study group of 146 children with bilateral (BCLP), unilateral (UCLP) and isolated (ICP) cleft palate, and control group of non-cleft 52 children, both groups with confirmed otitis media with effusion and no previous otological surgery. The lowest pneumatisation found in BCLE, BCLP and UCLP showed no growth of mastoid with age and lower mastoid size than OME controls. ICP is the only cleft type with growth of mastoid with aging. OME patients has the highest size of mastoid and growth rate with aging.

Long-term functional outcomes after 10 years of bilateral cochlear implantat use.

The aims were to determine the benefit of bilateral cochlear implantation in a 20 years old patient implanted in Croatia on hearing and speech development. The male patient, after 10 years of deafness, got cochlear implants Med-EL Combi 40+ on both sides in one-stage surgery. The etiology of his deafness was posttraumatic meningitis. Auditory capacity and speech recognition tests were performed for both ears separately and together Average hearing level on the right ear with right cochlear implant switched on started at 62 dB 1 month after the cochlear implantation and was on 55 dB after 10 years. Average hearing level on the left ear with left cochlear implant switched on started at 55 dB 1 month after the cochlear implantation and was on 32 dB after 10 years. Average hearing level on the both ears with 2 cochlear implants switched on started at 35 dB 1 month after the cochlear implantation and was on 27 dB after 10 years. Long-term functional outcomes with bilateral cochlear implantation provides advantages over unilateral implantation including improved hearing level, speech perception in noise and improved sound localization.

Hidradenoma of the external auditory canal: clinical presentation and surgical treatment.

The aim of this article is to present clinical features, diagnostic procedures and surgical treatment of a rare ear tumor. We report a case of 78 year old female with hidradenoma of the external auditory canal. Patient had a sensation of pain and fullness with permanent ottorhea from the right ear for one year Temporal bone computed tomography showed a tumor of the external ear, 6 centimeters in diameter, without bone, temporomandibular joint or intracranial invasion; the tumor was limited medially by the tympanic membrane. Biopsy was performed and pathohistology finding was: hydradenoma nodulare atypicum. Surgical intervention and wide tumor removal in general endotracheal anesthesia was performed. One year after the surgery there was no sign of tumor recurrence. Hidradenoma is rare ear tumor arising from the epithelial cells of sweat glands of the external auditory canal. Radiological evaluation and pathohistology confirmation of hidradenoma is necessary and wide excision of the tumor is the treatment of choice.

Primary malignant melanoma of the stomach.

We report a 54-year-old patient with a complaint of weakness, abdominal pain and weight loss. During the clinical examination a palpable tumor resistance in the abdomen was found as well as iron deficiency anemia. Gastroscopy showed an exulcerated, dark brown, fungiform tumor about 4 cm in diameter at the great curve of stomach. Endoscopic biopsy revealed the diagnosis of malignant melanoma by demonstrating the presence of melanin containing tumor cells in gastric mucosa. The patient underwent subtotal gastrectomy, appendectomy and splenectomy. The diagnosis of gastric melanoma with regional lymph node metastases, as well as metastases in appendix adjacent tissue was confirmed by histology and immunohistochemistry. In three years follow up period patient developed cerebral and retroauricular subcutaneous metastases that were treated by surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Finally, an explorative laparatomy was revealed advanced intraabdominal tumor dissemination with dark pigmented ascites. Concerning that all available diagnostic procedures failed to prove other site of melanoma, presented case was considered as primary gastric melanoma as a possible rare site of tumor.