Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and Vitamin D Deficiency: A Singaporean Perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the primary vestibular disorder causing peripheral vertigo. Given the role of vitamin D in maintaining otoconia homeostasis, its deficiency may elevate the risk of BPPV. Our study seeks to evaluate the correlation between vitamin D deficiency and clinical outcomes of patients with BPPV in the local Asian population. METHODOLOGY: We performed a retrospective analysis of 149 consecutive adult patients referred to a tertiary center's Otolaryngology dizziness clinic between 2018 and 2021. All of these patients had both BPPV and vitamin D deficiency. RESULTS: The mean serum vitamin D level was 19.4 ± 5.5 ng/mol. Approximately 51.7% (77/149) of patients experienced recurrent episodes of BPPV. Univariate Chi-square analyses demonstrated vitamin D levels (P < 0.001) and history of migraine (P = 0.04) were related to BPPV recurrence. On multivariate analyses, patients with higher serum vitamin D levels were 16.7% less likely to develop recurrent BPPV (odds ratio [OR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76-0.90, P < 0.001). However, migraine history was not significantly related to BPPV recurrence (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.14-1.00, P = 0.050). There was no statistically significant difference in the duration of BPPV episodes based on vitamin D levels (P = 0.327). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with vitamin D deficiency are at higher risk of recurrent BPPV. Future research directions that would be beneficial include conducting a randomized controlled trial to evaluate both the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation and its optimal dosage.

Meta-analysis of multi-modality therapies in sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma-A timely update.

OBJECTIVES: Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) is a rare but aggressive tumour with very poor prognosis. There are currently no well-established clinical trials to guide therapy and the impact of various treatment modalities on survival is not well defined. We aim to provide an updated systematic review on current treatment modalities on survival outcomes. DESIGN AND SETTING: Individual patient data were extracted, and survival data pooled in a one-stage meta-analysis. Descriptive statistics were analysed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Patient-level comparisons stratified by treatment modalities, adjusted for demographics, were conducted using shared-frailty Cox regression. PARTICIPANTS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants include all patients diagnosed with SNUC based on histological evidence. We looked at the overall cumulative survival outcome for different treatment modalities and overall survival by treatment modality in low versus high stage SNUC patients. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Seventeen studies were identified, comprising 208 patients from 1993 to 2020. There was no significant difference in cumulative overall survival in low versus high stage patients, and no significant difference in outcomes by treatment modality. The overall cumulative survival of SNUC is 30% at 95 months. Among patients treated with various combinations of treatment modalities, patients with chemoradiotherapy had the highest cumulative survival of 42% at 40 months. Definitive chemoradiotherapy was associated with improved disease survival rate. Regardless of tumour stage, patients should be treated early and aggressively, with no superiority of one treatment regimen over another. Trimodality treatment does not confer survival advantage over bimodality treatment.

Lupus Erythematous Profundus: An Unusual Manifestation in the Otolaryngological Setting.

Lupus erythematous profoundus (LEP) is an uncommon manifestation of chronic lupus erythematous (CLE) involving inflammation of the subcutaneous fat and deep dermis. It is rarely seen in the otolaryngological practice. We describe a case of a 33-year-old female who presented with bilateral acute onset cheek swelling, which led to the unexpected diagnosis of LEP. We describe the diagnostic pitfalls that may potentially bias the surgeon towards the management of such patients.

A clinical conundrum: Temporal bone metastases from lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Metastatic disease to the temporal bone is rare. Even more uncommonly, it can be the first manifestation of an underlying malignancy. Patients typically present late in the disease process with non-specific symptoms of hearing loss, facial nerve palsy and otorrhea. CASE: A 62-year-old Chinese female presented with right facial weakness, which had near-complete improvement in response to pulse prednisolone. On examination, she had a right temporal swelling and right mild-severe conductive hearing loss. A computed tomography scan showed a destructive lesion centred in the squamous temporal bone, with an associated soft tissue component. Positron emission tomography scan revealed bony and lung metastases, but no distinct hypermetabolic primary site. An incisional biopsy unexpectedly returned as metastatic lung adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: Although rare, it is important for otolaryngologists to be aware of the insidious nature of temporal bone metastases and possible atypical clinical and radiological features, to facilitate timely workup and initiation of treatment.

Novel use of precipitating hydrophobic injectable liquid (PHIL) in pre-operative angioembolisation of a large posterior auricular arteriovenous malformation.

BACKGROUND: Large arteriovenous malformations are often managed via endovascular embolisation followed by surgical resection. We describe the use of a new liquid embolic agent (LEA) - precipitating hydrophobic injectable liquid (PHIL) and its advantages over existing LEAs. CASE: A 60-year-old male presented with a progressively enlarging right post-auricular arteriovenous malformation. He underwent successive angioembolisation with PHIL and subsequent surgical resection on post-embolisation day 1. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of PHIL being used in pre-operative embolization of a large extra-cranial head and neck AVM. Its excellent penetration into small calibre vessels, decreased glare artefact on imaging and decreased skin pigmentation render it a compelling alternative to existing LEAs.

Severe dysfunctional tear syndrome patients and resolution of central corneal staining: retrospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Severe dry eye is widely prevalent yet difficult to treat. This study aims to evaluate for improvement in epithelial status and the risk factors for lack of improvement in a cohort of patients in Singapore with severe dry eye. METHODS: We retrospectively identified 1712 patients with severe dry eye (≥grade 3 Delphi) in at least one eye, referred to a tertiary centre dry eye clinic from 2006 to 2017. We included patients with central corneal staining grade of ≥2 at referral and minimum follow-up duration of 6 months (n=407). An epithelial staining grade of <2 at the last visit was considered a significantly improved outcome. RESULTS: The mean follow-up duration was 4.0±2.4 years, with 88.0% (358/407) of patients achieving significant improvement. Various treatment modalities including topical corticosteroids (32.4%), cyclosporine (52.8%) and punctal plugs (24.1%) were used. Risk factors for non-improvement of staining grade include autoimmune disease (OR 3.2, 95% CI: 1.7 to 6.1), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (OR 3.4 (1.8 to 6.6)), graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (OR 3.4 (1.0 to 11.7)), reduced baseline Schirmer's test (OR 2.1 (1.2 to 3.9)) and reduced tear break up time (OR 2.0 (1.0 to 3.8)). On multivariate analyses, RA and GVHD were still significant risk factors. Gender, age and meibum viscosity were not significantly associated with epithelial staining grade improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, a high rate of corneal epithelial improvement was achieved. Nevertheless, there is an unmet need for more effective measures to reduce epitheliopathy in severe dry eye, especially in patients with systemic immune-mediated disease.