Rhinofibroscopic and Rhinomanometric Evaluation of Patients with Maxillary Contraction Treated with Rapid Maxillary Expansion. A Prospective Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate through nasal fiber optic endoscopy and rhinomanometry the patency of upper nasal airways in patients treated with rapid palatal expansion Study design: 30 patients (12 males and 18 females) aged 7-11 years with transverse maxillary constriction underwent rhinomanometric and fiberoptic examination before (T0) and after rapid palatal expansion (T1).The amount of nasopharynx obstruction was quantified with reference to the full choanal surface. Nasal resistance was recorded separately for right and left sides, and combined for both sides. The differences in nasopharynx obstruction and in nasal resistance between T0 and T1 were statistically evaluated. RESULTS: The amount of nasopharynx obstruction significantly decreased after palatal expansion (p<0.001). Total nasal inspiration and expiration resistance significantly decreased at T1 (p<0.001). The reduction ranged between 0. 23 and 0. 66 Pa/cm3/s for inspiration and between 0. 20 and 0,.58 Pa/cm3/s for expiration. A statistically significant positive correlation existed between the T1-T0 differences in the amount of nasopharynx obstruction and the T1-T0 differences in expiration nasal airway resistance (Spearman's correlation coefficient rho = 0.38; p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Rapid maxillary expansion has an influence on nasal resistance and improves the patency of upper airways in patients with minor or moderate breathing problems.

Heterologous Materials Are Really Better than Autologous in Tympanoplasty Mastoid Obliteration? A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

The aim is to analyze Literature concerning mastoid obliteration in adults with either autologous or heterologous grafts in the last 10 years. Data Source: Databases such as NIH PubMed, Bookshelf, NLM Catalog, Cochrane Library, and Embase were consulted. Thirty-seven studies were selected (22 concerning autologous materials, 15 about heterologous ones). Only studies with more than 12 months of follow-up were considered. A statistical analysis with random-effects models was performed to allow the true effect sizes to differ from study to study. The present literature review and meta-analysis does not allow to establish the supremacy of one technique over the other, but underlines the advantages of each reconstructive choice and the importance of mastoid obliteration in cholesteatoma surgery. The total number of obliterated ears was 2882. Overall otorrhea rate was 5% (5.2% for heterologous grafts; 4.9% for autologous materials; P < .05). Recurrent and residual cholesteatoma rate was 4.5% (3.4% in heterologous materials; 5.2% in autologous grafts; P < .05). Recurrent cholesteatoma rate was 1.8% (1.6% when using heterologous grafts, 1.9% with autologous; P < .05). Residual cholesteatoma rate was 1.5% (1.6% with heterologous materials, 1.5% with autologous; P < .05). TM (tympanic membrane) retraction pockets rate was 5.3% (3.6% with heterologous materials; P >.05; 7% with autologous materials; P < .05). TM perforations rate was 2.9% (4.3% with heterologous materials, 2.5% with autologous; P < .05). Infection rate was 2.3% (2.3% with heterologous materials, 2.2% with autologous; P < .05). Heterologous materials are associated with significantly lower rates of recurrent and residual cholesteatoma and retraction pockets development, although they are associated with higher rates of otorrhea and TM perforation.

The Semont-Plus Maneuver or the Epley Maneuver in Posterior Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: A Randomized Clinical Study.

Importance: Questions remain concerning treatment efficacy for the common condition of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). Objective: To compare the effectiveness of the Semont-plus maneuver (SM-plus) and the Epley maneuver (EM) for treatment of posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (pcBPPV) canalolithiasis. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective randomized clinical trial was performed at 3 national referral centers (in Munich, Germany; Siena, Italy; and Bruges, Belgium) over 2 years, with a follow-up to 4 weeks after the initial examination. Recruitment took place from June 1, 2020, until March 10, 2022. Patients were selected randomly during routine outpatient care after being referred to 1 of the 3 centers. Two hundred fifty-three patients were assessed for eligibility. After consideration of the exclusion criteria as well as informed consent, 56 patients were excluded and 2 declined to participate, with 195 participants included in the final analysis. The analysis was prespecified and per-protocol. Interventions: After being randomized to the SM-plus or the EM group, patients received 1 initial maneuver from a physician, then subsequently performed self-maneuvers at home 3 times in the morning, 3 times at noon, and 3 times in the evening. Main Outcome and Measures: Patients had to document whether they could provoke positional vertigo every morning. The primary end point was the number of days until no positional vertigo could be induced on 3 consecutive mornings. The secondary end point was the effect of the single maneuver performed by the physician. Results: Of the 195 participants included in the analysis, the mean (SD) age was 62.6 (13.9) years, and 125 (64.1%) were women. The mean (SD) time until no positional vertigo attacks could be induced in the SM-plus group was 2.0 (1.6) days (median, 1 [range, 1-8] day; 95% CI, 1.64-2.28 days); in the EM group, 3.3 (3.6) days (median, 2 [range, 1-20] days; 95% CI, 2.62-4.06 days) (P = .01; α = .05, 2-tailed Mann-Whitney test). For the secondary end point (effect of a single maneuver), no significant difference was detected (67 of 98 [68.4%] vs 61 of 97 [62.9%]; P = .42; α = .05). No serious adverse event was detected with both maneuvers. Nineteen patients (19.6%) in the EM group and 24 (24.5%) in the SM-plus group experienced relevant nausea. Conclusions and Relevance: The SM-plus self-maneuver is superior to the EM self-maneuver in terms of the number of days until recovery in pcBPPV. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05853328.

The incidence of vestibular neuritis in Italy.

Objective: This study aims to estimate the incidence of Vestibular neuritis (VN) in three different districts in Italy, its epidemiological features, and the prevalence of comorbidities associated with it. Methods: An observational prospective study of 198 patients referred to ENT departments in Siena, Grosseto, and Cuneo was carried out over a 2-year period. Each patient underwent a complete otoneurologic examination in the first 48 h from the onset of symptoms and a brain MRI in the early stages of the disease. The follow-up lasted for 1 year. Results: The total VN incidence rate of the three municipalities was 48.497 (95% CI: 48.395-48.598) and its standardized value was 53.564 (95% CI: 53.463-53.666). The total VN incidence rate for the whole sample (municipality and district of the three centers) was 18.218 (95% CI: 18.164-18.272), and its standardized value was 20.185 (95% CI: 20.129-20.241). A significant difference was highlighted between patients living in the city compared to those living in the surrounding area (p < 0.000), this may be due to the ease of reaching the otoneurological referral center. Conclusion: The total incidence rate for the three municipalities was 48.497. This result is higher than previously reported studies.

Turbinate surgery: which rhinitis are most at risk.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Allergic rhinitis (AR) and non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) belong to field of vasomotor rhinitis, characterized by nasal hyper-reactivity. Since AR and NAR are two separate nosological entities, these rhinopaties can coexist in the same patient in up to 15-20% of cases. Overlapped rhinitis (ORs) are associated with intense and persistent symptoms and are often misdiagnosed. Typically, when medical treatment fails, patients undergo turbinate surgery. We evaluated which rhinopaties are most at risk of undergoing turbinate surgery and established the percentage of ORs.  Methods: The study included 120 patients undergoing turbinate surgery for turbinate hypertrophy. Anterior rhinoscopy, nasal endoscopy, nasal cytology, skin prick tests (SPT) and/or specific IgE serum assays (CAP-RAST) were performed preoperative on all patients. RESULTS: Among patients with indication for turbinate surgery, 75% suffered from AR, whereas 25% of them had NAR. On closer analysis, only 7 (8%) of allergic patients presented a "pure" allergy.  NAR with eosinophils and mast cells (NARESMA) represented the most common type of superimposed rhinitis (62.5%), while NAR with mast cells (NARMA) and with eosinophils (NARES) represented 25% and 12.5% of the superimposed forms, respectively. CONCLUSION: Most of the patients undergoing turbinate surgery actually have complex forms of rhinitis. The non-allergic component of ORs often causes therapeutic failure. NARESMAs overlapping ARs are at most risk of undergoing turbinate surgery. Correctly framing a rhino-allergological patient is essential in order to guarantee the most adequate treatment. Hence the importance of introducing in clinical practice investigations, including allergy tests and nasal cytology.

Cross-Sectional Study on Lateral Skull Radiographs to Design a New Nasopharyngeal Swab for Simplified COVID-19 and Respiratory Infections Diagnostic Testing in Children.

Nasopharyngeal swab sample collection is the first-line testing method for diagnosing COVID-19 infection and other respiratory infections. Current information on how to properly perform nasopharyngeal swabbing in children is largely defective. This study aimed at collecting nostril to nasopharynx distance measurements on lateral skull radiographs of children and adolescents to design a nasopharyngeal swab meant to standardize and facilitate the sample collection procedure. A total of 323 cephalograms of 152 male and 171 female children aged 4-14 years taken for orthodontic reasons were selected. On each cephalogram, the shortest distance between the most anterosuperior point of the nostril contour and the nasopharynx outline was measured in mm parallel to the palatal plane. Descriptive statistics of the measurements were calculated for each age group. The lower limit of the 95% confidence intervals of the measurements was taken as a reference to design a swab shaft with marks that, at each age, delimitate a safety boundary for swab progression up to the posterior nasopharyngeal wall. The simplification of the procedure enabled by the newly designed nasopharyngeal swab is valuable to help healthcare providers perform specimen collection on children in a safe and effective way, perhaps under the less-than-ideal conditions possibly occurring in 'point-of-need' contexts.

Risk of falls, vestibular multimodal processing, and multisensory integration decline in the elderly-Predictive role of the functional head impulse test.

Age-related degeneration of the vestibular system, also known as presbyastasis, leads to unstable gait and higher risk of falls. These conditions affect lifestyle and may have non-negligible social repercussions due to fear-related states of anxiety and depression. In order to develop a model for predicting risk of falls, we assessed vestibulo-ocular function by video and functional Head Impulse Tests (vHIT and fHIT) and their possible correlations with Tinetti Balance Test score. Thirty-one patients over 65 years of age admitted with trauma due to falls were recruited. Vestibular evaluation (complete otoneurological assessment, vHIT, fHIT), cognitive tests (Mini Mental State Examination), anxiety and depression evaluation and Tinetti Balance Test were performed. The possibility of a correlation between the head impulse tests (vHIT, fHIT) and the Tinetti Balance Test was investigated by logistic regression analysis (Nagelkerke r 2 and Wald test). A linear correlation was found between the Tinetti Balance Test score and fHIT, whereas no correlation was found for vHIT. Functional HIT is an effective test for predicting the risk of falls in elderly patients.

A Retrospective Evaluation to Assess Reliability of Electrophysiological Methods for Diagnosis of Hearing Loss in Infants.

Background: An electrophysiological investigation with auditory brainstem response (ABR), round window electrocochleography (RW-ECoG), and electrical-ABR (E-ABR) was performed in children with suspected hearing loss with the purpose of early diagnosis and treatment. The effectiveness of the electrophysiological measures as diagnostic tools was assessed in this study. Methods: In this retrospective case series with chart review, 790 children below 3 years of age with suspected profound hearing loss were tested with impedance audiometry and underwent electrophysiological investigation (ABR, RW-ECoG, and E-ABR). All implanted cases underwent pure-tone audiometry (PTA) of the non-implanted ear at least 5 years after surgery for a long-term assessment of the reliability of the protocol. Results: Two hundred and fourteen children showed bilateral severe-to-profound hearing loss. In 56 children with either ABR thresholds between 70 and 90 dB nHL or no response, RW-ECoG showed thresholds below 70 dB nHL. In the 21 infants with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss receiving a unilateral cochlear implant, no statistically significant differences were found in auditory thresholds in the non-implanted ear between electrophysiological measures and PTA at the last follow-up (p > 0.05). Eight implanted children showed residual hearing below 2000 Hz worse than 100 dB nHL and 2 children showed pantonal residual hearing worse than 100 dB nHL (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The audiological evaluation of infants with a comprehensive protocol is highly reliable. RW-ECoG provided a better definition of hearing thresholds, while E-ABR added useful information in cases of auditory nerve deficiency.

BPPV: Comparison of the SémontPLUS With the Sémont Maneuver: A Prospective Randomized Trial.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of the Sémont maneuver (SM) with the new "SémontPLUS maneuver" (SM+) in patients with posterior canal BPPV canalolithiasis (pcBPPVcan). Methods and Patients: In a prospective trinational (Germany, Italy, and Belgium) randomized trial, patients with pcBPPVcan were randomly assigned to SM or SM+; SM+ means overextension of the head by 60+° below earth horizontal line during the movement of the patient toward the affected side. The first maneuver was done by the physician, and the subsequent maneuvers by the patients 9 times/day on their own. Each morning the patient documented whether vertigo could be induced. The primary endpoints were: "How long (in days) does it take until no attacks can be induced?" and "What is the efficacy of a single SM/SM+?" Results: In the 194 patients analyzed (96 SM, 98 SM+), it took 2 days (median, range 1-21 days, mean 3.6 days) for recovery with SM and 1 day (median, range 1-8 days, mean 1.8 days) with SM+ (p = 0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test). There was no difference in the second primary endpoint (chi2-test, p = 0.39). Interpretation: This prospective trial shows that SM+ is more effective than SM when repeated therapeutic maneuvers are performed but not when a single maneuver is performed. It also supports the hypothesis of the biophysical model: overextension of the head during step 2 brings the clot of otoconia beyond the vertex of the canal, which increases the effectivity. Classification of Evidence: This study provides Class I evidence that SM+ is superior to SM for multiple treatment maneuvers of pcBPPVcan.

Double-Blind Randomized Trial on the Efficacy of the Forced Prolonged Position for Treatment of Lateral Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The need for class I and II studies on the efficacy of liberatory maneuvers in the treatment of lateral canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (LC-BPPV) motivated the present double-blind randomized trial on the short-term efficacy of the forced prolonged position (FPP). STUDY DESIGN: Double-blind, randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Two hundred twenty-one patients with unilateral LC-BPPV met the inclusion criteria for a multicentric study. Patients were randomly assigned to treatment by FPP (116 subjects) or sham treatment (105 subjects). Subjects were followed up at 24 hours with the supine roll test by blinded examiners. RESULTS: Among the sample, 67.4% and 32.6% of the patients showed respectively geotropic and apogeotropic variant of LC-BPPV. At the 24-hour follow-up, the effectiveness of FFP compared to the sham maneuver was, respectively, 57.8% versus 12.4% (P < .0001) in the total sample, 76.9% versus 11.3% (P < .0001) in the geotropic variant group, and 60.5% versus 17.6% (P = .0003) in the apogeotropic variant group, including resolution or transformation to geotropic variant. CONCLUSIONS: FPP proved highly effective compared to the sham maneuver. The present class 2 study of the efficacy of the FPP changes the level of recommendation of the method for treating LC-BPPV into a strong one. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Laryngoscope, 131:E1296-E1300, 2021.

Ingested foreign bodies causing complications and requiring hospitalization in European children: results from the ESFBI study.

BACKGROUND: In young children, particularly those aged 1-3 years, aerodigestive tract foreign bodies (FB) are a common pediatric problem. The aim of the present study was therefore to characterize the risk of complications and prolonged hospitalization due to FB in the upper digestive tract in terms of the characteristics of the injured patients (age, gender), typology and features of the FB, the circumstances of the accident and hospitalization details. METHODS: A retrospective study was done in 19 hospitals in 19 corresponding European countries of 186 cases of injury due to the presence of an FB in the mouth, esophagus and stomach (ICD935), out of the 2103 overall cases of FB reported in other locations. RESULTS: Complications arose in 14 cases and hospitalization was required in 164 cases. No deaths were observed. A higher incidence of hospitalization in male patients (61%) was observed. Median age for children who experienced complications was 2 years old. The most common FB removal technique was esophagoscopy. In the majority of cases the children were treated by the ENT Department. The most common FB were coins, batteries and fish bones among food. CONCLUSION: Because batteries, as well as coins and fish bones among food were the most common type of FB encountered, and because recent development of technology has accelerated broad use of disk-type batteries, parents should be aware of this hazard, and an educational campaign for public education for this serious problem is advisable.

Case Report: Local Anesthesia Round Window Plugging and Simultaneous Vibrant Soundbridge Implant for Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence.

The aim of the present study is to report the outcomes of round window reinforcement surgery performed with the application of a Vibrant Soundbridge middle ear implant (VSB; MED-EL) in a patient with superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD) who presented with recurrent vertigo, Tullio phenomenon, Hennebert's sign, bone conduction hypersensitivity, and bilateral moderate to severe mixed hearing loss. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) confirmed bilateral superior semicircular canal dehiscence while this was not seen in magnetic resonance imaging. The surgical procedure was performed in the right ear as it had worse vestibular and auditory symptoms, a poorer hearing threshold, and greatly altered HRCT and VEMPs findings. With local-assisted anesthesia, round window reinforcement surgery (plugging) with perichondrium was performed with simultaneous positioning of a VSB on the round window niche. At the one and 3 months follow-up after surgery, VSB-aided hearing threshold in the right ear improved to mild, and loud sounds did not elicit either dizziness or pain in the patient.

Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo Treatment: a Practical Update.

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: To define the best up-to-date practical approach to treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). RECENT FINDINGS: Both posterior and horizontal canal BPPV canalith repositioning maneuvers (Semont, Epley, and Gufoni's maneuvers) are level 1 evidence treatment for evidence-based medicine. The choice of maneuver (since their efficacy is comparable) is up to the clinician's preferences, failure of the previous maneuver, or movement restrictions of the patient. Maneuvers for controversial variants, such as anterior canal and apogeotropic posterior canal BPPV, have weaker evidence of efficacy. Despite this, these variants are increasingly diagnosed and treated. Maneuvers also play a role in the differential diagnosis with central vestibular disorders. Chair-assisted treatment may be of help if available while surgical canal plugging should be indicated in selected same-canal, same-side intractable severe BPPV. The primary evidence-based treatment strategy for BPPV should be physical therapy through maneuvers. Despite the high success rate of liberatory maneuvers, there is a low percentage of subjects who have unsatisfactory outcomes. These patients need to be investigated to identify recurrences, multiple canal involvement, associated comorbidities (migraine, persistent postural perceptual dizziness), or risk factors for recurrences (low vitamin D serum level). Future research should also identify the optimum maneuvers for variants whose diagnosis and treatment are still a matter of some debate.

Foreign bodies in the nose causing complications and requiring hospitalization in children 0-14 age: results from the European survey of foreign bodies injuries study.

INTRODUCTION: The occurrence of foreign bodies (FB) in otorhinolaryngological practice is a common and serious problem among pediatric patients. The aim of this work is to characterize the risk of complications and prolonged hospitalization due to FBs in the nose in terms of the characteristics of the injured patients (age, gender), typology and features of the FBs, the circumstances of the accident and the hospitalization's details. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study of FB associated injuries, assessing the characteristics of the injured child and the FB, the circumstances of the accident and finally the hospitalization details took place on children aged 0-14 in major hospitals of 19 European countries. RESULTS: In total 688 cases were assessed. Complications and hospitalization occurred in 59 and 52 cases, respectively. Over 51% of patients were females. The median age of children who experienced a complication was four years. In the majority of cases FB removal was accomplished by means of a non-invasive technique (rhinoscopy with a nasal speculum or rigid fiberoptic endoscope. The majority of children were directly referred to the ENT department. The most common FBs associated with complications and hospitalization were nuts, seeds, berries, corn and beans, batteries and other inorganic objects such as broken parts of pens, paper clips and pearls. Over 38% of the injuries occurred under adults' supervision. DISCUSSION: FB injuries in the nose are commonly encountered in clinical practice. Even if the presence of a FB is not usually life threatening, it may result in long-term complications such as perforation of the septum. Because the risks associated with FB injuries, public education about this problem is recommended.

Surgical treatment of nasal septal perforations: SIR (Italian Society of Rhinology) experts opinion.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The aim of our study has been to investigate the perception of aspects related to nasal perforation among experts in Rhinology and ENT surgeons. Our aim was reporting the situations in different Countries to improve the knowledge of colleagues interested in this topic. METHODS: A panel of experts prepared a 20-question questionnaire regarding nasal perforations and their surgical repair, that were emailed to all the members of SIR (Società Italiana di Rnologia - Italian Society of Rhinology). RESULTS: Data obtained from their answers showed that Cottle technique (64%) is the most common technique to perform septoplasty worldwide. 37% of the sample reported an occurrence of nasal septal perforation in less than 1% of patients and 75% attributed this occurrence to the skill of the surgeon, to infections, to drug use and to septal deformity. Trauma, pressure and Wegener's granulomatosis were also mentioned. The most common closure technique is the mucosal flap (75%), followed by the cartilage grafts (11%). Much less common were oral flaps, septal buttons and others. The majority agreed not to suggest septal perforation surgery in minimal (less than 3-4mm) perforations (73.5%), or limiting it to symptomatic patients (43.5%). The contraindications to repair surgery were reported to be: Wegener's granulomatosis, drug abuse, non-symptomatic perforation, its dimension and age of the patient. Septal deviation, atrophic rhinitis, smoke epistaxis and systemic diseases were also claimed. Failure in repair surgery has been observed to occur in less than 30% of cases. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Given the great difficulty to make random studies about controversial topics and obtain statistically significant data related to that, expert opinion shall be of great value (expert opinion, level of evidence 5).

Prevalence of M75 Streptococcus pyogenes Strains Harboring slaA Gene in Patients Affected by Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome in Central Italy.

Recently we reported an association between pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and Group A streptococcus (GAS) sub-acute chronic tonsil colonization. We showed that GAS may contribute to tonsil hyperplasia via a streptolysin O (SLO)-dependent cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) production, which can trigger T and B cell proliferation. In the present study, we characterized the GAS strains isolated from pediatric OSAS patients in comparison with a panel of age and sex matched GAS strains unrelated to OSAS, but isolated in the same area and during the same period ranging from 2009 to 2013. We found that slaA gene, previously reported to be associated to CysLTs production pathway, was significantly associated to GAS OSAS strains. Moreover, the most numerous group (32%) of the GAS OSAS strains belonged to M75 type, and 6 out of 7 of these strains harbored the slaA gene. Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) experiments demonstrated that the clone emm75/ST49/ smeZ, slaA was associated to OSAS cases. In conclusion, we found an association between slaA gene and the GAS OSAS strains, and we showed that the clone emm75/ST49 harboring genes smeZ and slaA was exclusively isolated from patients affected by OSAS, thus suggesting that this genotype might be associated to the pathogenesis of OSAS, although further studies are needed to elucidate the possible role of SlaA in tonsil hypertrophy development.

Radioactive Merano SPA Treatment for Allergic Rhinitis Therapy.

Allergic rhinitis is a common nasal disorder with a high impact on quality of life, high social costs in therapies, and a natural development towards asthma. Pharmacological therapy is based on several genres of medications, of which intranasal corticosteroids are currently the most widespread. Thermal water treatment has traditionally been used as adjunctive treatment for chronic rhinitis and sinusitis. The present study was carried out to assess the clinical efficacy of nasal inhalation of radioactive oligomineral water vapours from the Merano hot spring and to compare it with the clinical efficacy of mometasone furoate nasal spray. A comparative prospective study was performed in 90 allergic patients treated at Merano hot springs: a group of 54 subjects treated with radioactive thermal oligomineral water and a control group of 36 subjects treated with mometasone nasal spray. Patients of both groups were assessed before and after treatment by Sino-Nasal Outcome Test questionnaire, active anterior rhinomanometry with flow and resistance monitoring, measurement of mucociliary transport time, and cytological examination of nasal brushing/scraping. The study showed that inhalation treatment with radioactive hydrofluoric thermal water for two weeks produces an objective clinical and cytological improvement in allergic patients, similar to that obtained with mometasone furoate nasal spray.

Paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with tonsil colonisation by Streptococcus pyogenes.

The involvement of pathogenic bacteria in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) has yet to be elucidated. We investigated the possible role of group A streptococcus (GAS) in OSAS pathogenesis. In 40 tonsillectomized patients affected by OSAS and 80 healthy controls, significant (p < 0.0001) association of GAS with paediatric OSAS was found. Supernatant from streptolysin O (SLO)-producing GAS induced production of cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) in tonsil mononuclear cells (TMCs). CysLTs-treated TMCs showed significant (p < 0.05) proliferation of CD4+ T, CD19+ and CD19+CD27+CD38+ B lymphocytes. We discovered a SLO-dependent activation of CysLTs production through a pathway involving TOLL-like receptor 4 (TLR4), TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-ß (TRIF), Myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88), and p38 MAP Kinase. In conclusion, we hypothesise that GAS may contribute to paediatric tonsillar hyperplasia through CysLTs production induced by SLO, and this might explain its association with OSAS.

Effects of a Mask on Breathing Impairment During a Fencing Assault: A Case Series Study.

BACKGROUND: Fencers often complain of progressive difficulty in breathing during matches, which is generally attributed to restricted air, light and heat circulation from wearing a mask. Physiologically, the nasal structure generates airflow resistance that can reach -50% of the total respiratory resistance. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the presence of nasal obstruction in fencers and the relationship with the use of mask. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational study on 40 fencers (18 males, 22 females) was conducted. Fencers perform a usual assault, wearing the mask and standardized physical exercises (running, sprints and obstacles) without the mask. ENT examination with a nasal flexible fiberscope, Anterior Active Rhinomanometry (AAR) and Peak Nasal Inspiratory Flow (PNIF) measurement before and after physical activity with or without the mask was recorded. RESULTS: Before physical exercise, the total nasal airway resistance mean value for AAR was 0.33 ± 0.17 Pa/cm(3)/s at 150 Pa. After a match with the mask, the mean value was 0.28 ± 0.16 Pa/cm(3)/s. After normal physical exercises without mask, the mean value was 0.24 ± 0.15 Pa/cm(3)/s. Using t tests, statistically significant difference between nasal resistance before and after physical activity (P < 0.05) was observed, but no significant difference in nasal resistance between the basal value and that taken after a match wearing the masks (P = 0.1265). PNIF values significantly increase with exercise (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that wearing the mask causes increased breathing impairment in fencers, when compared with similar physical activity without the mask.