Olfactory dysfunction in Japanese children with moderate-to-severe allergic rhinitis.

OBJECTIVE: Detailed quantitative studies on olfaction remain inadequate in patients with paediatric allergic rhinitis (AR). This study examined olfactory dysfunction in children with AR. METHODS: From July 2016 to November 2018, children aged 6-9 years were recruited and grouped as AR (n = 30) or without AR (control group, n = 10). Odour identification was evaluated by the Universal Sniff (U-Sniff) test and the Open Essence (OE). The results were compared between the AR and control groups. Intranasal mucosa findings, nasal smear eosinophil counts, blood eosinophil counts, total immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, Japanese cedar-specific IgE and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus-specific IgE were evaluated in all participants. Additionally, the presence of sinusitis and adenoid hypertrophy in patients with AR was also evaluated by sinus X-ray examinations. RESULTS: The median U-Sniff test scores were not significantly different between the AR and control groups (9.0 vs. 10.0, respectively; p = 0.107). The OE score was significantly lower in the AR group than in the control group (4.0 vs. 8.0; p = 0.007, respectively), especially in the moderate-to-severe AR group versus the control group (4.0 vs. 8.0; p = 0.004). Furthermore, in the OE, the correct answer rates for 'wood', 'cooking gas' and 'sweaty socks' were significantly lower in the AR group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Paediatric AR patients can reduce olfactory identification ability, and the degree may be associated with the severity of AR in nasal mucosal findings. Furthermore, olfactory dysfunction may slow down the response to 'emergency situations', such as gas leak.

[Endoscopic sinus surgery complications a prospective multicenter study].

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine the rate of complications in endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) and associated risk factors. METHODS: We prospectively studied 1,382 subjects undergoing ESS for rhinosinusitis and cystic sinus disease at 16 hospitals during 2007 and 2008. Surgeons provided information on peri-and postoperative complication occurrence. RESULT: Results of complications were seen in 80 subjects (5.8%), the most frequent was perioperative lamina papyracea injury. Analysis showed the complication rate to be linked to gender, and anesthesia type, but not the grade of surgeon. CONCLUSIONS: While care should be taken to avoid them, complications should be identified and treated in a timely and accurate manner.

Study of hemostasis procedures for posterior epistaxis.

OBJECTIVE: Hemostasis is difficult in patients with bleeding emanating from the deep regions in the nasal cavity; however, there is no standard treatment method. We studied hemostasis procedures in patients who visited our outpatient department and presented with idiopathic epistaxis extending from the posterior nasal cavity to Kiesselbach's area. METHODS: The subjects were patients with epistaxis who visited our hospital between June 2008 and May 2010. We asked specific questions at the time of the hospital visit and examined patients using a nasal speculum, a flexible endoscope, and a rigid endoscope (0 or 70 degree) to identify bleeding sites. Hemostasis using electrocoagulation was selected as the first-line therapy for patients in whom a bleeding point had been identified, whereas hemostasis using a gauze tampon was performed in patients in whom the bleeding point was unknown. The subjects were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The bleeding point was unknown in most cases of recurrent posterior epistaxis. Electrocoagulation was the best hemostasis procedure. Identifying the bleeding points as much as possible and performing electrocoagulation at these sites was the preferred procedures. CONCLUSION: We propose the treatment procedure for refractory epistaxis. When it is difficult to identify a bleeding point in a patient with refractory epistaxis due to a deviated nasal septum, a bleeding point should be identified after septoplasty; for bleeding from the sphenopalatine artery region, electrocoagulation or endoscopic cauterization of the sphenopalatine artery should be performed.

Risk factors for recurrent epistaxis: importance of initial treatment.

OBJECTIVE: A retrospective study of risk factors for recurrent epistaxis and initial treatment for refractory posterior bleeding was performed. Based on the results, proposals for appropriate initial treatment for epistaxis by otolaryngologists are presented. METHODS: The data of 299 patients with idiopathic epistaxis treated during 2008-2009 were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Treatment data for 101 cases of posterior bleeding were analyzed using the chi-square test. RESULTS: Recurrent epistaxis occurred in 32 cases (10.7%). Unidentified bleeding point (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 5.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.83-17.55, p=0.003) was predictive of an increased risk of recurrent epistaxis, and electrocautery (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03-0.17, p=0.000) was predictive of a decreased risk of recurrent epistaxis. In terms of initial treatment for posterior bleeding, the rate of recurrent epistaxis was significantly lower for patients who underwent electrocautery as initial treatment compared with those who did not (6.4% vs. 40.7%, p<0.01), and it was significantly higher for those who underwent endoscopic gauze packing compared with those who did not (39.5% vs. 15.9%, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: In the present study, the risk factors for recurrent epistaxis were unidentified bleeding point. Thus, it is important to identify and cauterize a bleeding point to prevent recurrent epistaxis. The present results also suggest the effectiveness of electrocautery and the higher rate of recurrent epistaxis for patients who underwent gauze packing as initial treatment for posterior bleeding. Electrocautery should be the first-choice treatment of otolaryngologists for all bleeding points of epistaxis, and painful gauze packing may be inadvisable for posterior bleeding. More cases of posterior bleeding are needed for future studies involving multivariate analyses and appropriate analyses of factors related to hospitalization, surgery, and embolization.