Olfactory disorders in coronavirus disease 2019 patients: a systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: Recent scientific literature has widely described a possible major role of smell dysfunction as a specific symptom of coronavirus disease 2019. This systematic review may provide a more holistic approach to current knowledge of the disease. METHODS: A systematic review was completed using Embase, PubMed and Web of Science databases that considered original articles focused on olfactory evaluation in coronavirus disease 2019 patients, published between March and May 2020, in English language. RESULTS: From the 483 research papers initially identified, 32 original studies were selected, comprising a total of 17 306 subjects with a laboratory confirmed diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019. Individual study sample sizes ranged from 6 to 6452 patients. This comprehensive analysis confirmed that olfactory disorders represent an important clinical feature in coronavirus disease 2019, with a prevalence of 11-100 per cent in included patients, although there was heterogeneity in terms of assessment tools and population selection criteria. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that an accurate clinical evaluation should be carried out using structured questionnaires and tests with olfactory substances.

Numerical simulation of thermal water delivery in the human nasal cavity.

This work describes an extensive numerical investigation of thermal water delivery for the treatment of inflammatory disorders in the human nasal cavity. The numerical simulation of the multiphase air-droplets flow is based upon the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) technique, with droplets of thermal water described via a Lagrangian approach. Droplet deposition is studied for different sizes of water droplets, corresponding to two different thermal treatments, i.e. aerosol and inhalation. Numerical simulations are conducted on a patient-specific anatomy, employing two different grid sizes, under steady inspiration at two breathing intensities. The results are compared with published in vivo and in vitro data. The effectiveness of the various thermal treatments is then assessed qualitatively and quantitatively, by a detailed analysis of the deposition patterns of the droplets. Discretization effects on the deposition dynamics are addressed. The level of detail of the present work, together with the accuracy afforded by the LES approach, leads to an improved understanding of how the mixture of air-water droplets is distributed within the nose and the paranasal sinuses.

Transnasal endoscopic microfractured fat injection in glottic insufficiency.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated a novel treatment for glottic insufficiency involving the injection of autologous material with direct glottic visualisation in an outpatient setting. METHODS: Three patients with vocal cord palsy underwent laryngoplasty under local anaesthesia using only a flexible endoscope with a working canal for Microfractured Fat Fibre-endoscopic Injection (MFFI). Adipose tissue was processed using the Lipogems device, which allows optimal purity, fluidity, and mesenchymal stem cell content in the resultant emulsion. RESULTS: According to the preliminary data, MFFI was well tolerated and no complications were observed. During the 12-month follow-up period, voice improvement was constant in all three patients, hinting at the stem cell-related regenerative potential of the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: MFFI was proven to be a useful and straightforward tool, combining all of the relevant advantages of other known treatments for glottic insufficiency, and is an efficacious and innovative treatment that can be performed on an outpatient basis using only autologous material.

Extensive rhabdomyoma of the head and neck region: a case report and a literature review.

Rhabdomyomas are rare mesenchymal benign tumors of striated muscle origin that can be classified into cardiac and extracardiac types. Cardiac rhabdomyomas are considered as hamartomatous lesion because of their association with phacomatosis. Extracardiac type is further classified into adult, fetal and genital form, depending on the individual tumor's degree of differentiation. Adult head and neck rhabdomyomas are rare pathologies of adult patients, with a male predominance. The occurrence of multifocality is a rare manifestation of this uncommon lesion. Presenting symptoms are related to the location and dimension of the tumors and they include upper airway obstruction, Eustachian tube dysfunction, dysphagia and mucosal and neck mass. Because of their high rate of recurrence, radical resection is the treatment of choice of this kind of tumors. In this article is reported a rare and particularly large case of head and neck adult rhabdomyoma, presenting with an history of sleep apnea and night-time stridor.

Endoscopic expanded endonasal approach: preliminary experience with the new 3D endoscope.

The recent introduction of the 3D endoscope for endonasal surgery has been welcomed because of its promise to overcome the main limitation of endoscopy, namely the lack of stereoscopic vision. This innovation particularly regarded the most complex transnasal surgery of the skull base. We therefore discuss our early experience as ENT surgeons with the use of a purely 3D endoscopic expanded endonasal approach for supradiaphragmatic lesions in 10 consecutive patients. This article will focus on the surgical technique, the complications, the outcome, and more importantly the advantages and limitations of the new device. We believe that the new 3D system shows its main drawback when surgery is conducted in the narrow nasal spaces. Nevertheless, the improved knowledge of the three-dimensional nasal anatomy enabled the ENT surgeon to perform a more selective demolition of the nasal structures even in the anterior part of the nose. The depth perception obtained with the 3D system also permitted a better understanding of the plasticity of the surgical defects, increasing the confidence to perform successful skull base plasties. We believe that, for both the ENT surgeon and the neurosurgeon, the expanded endonasal approach is the main indication for this exciting tool, although larger prospective studies are needed to determine the equality to the 2D HD endoscope in oncological terms.

Transnasal 3D endoscopic skull base surgery: questionnaire-based analysis of the learning curve in 52 procedures.

In the past decade, surgical treatment of skull base pathologies has greatly advanced through the advent of the endoscope and later of the high definition endoscope. Recently a new type of three dimensional (3D) scope has been introduced to permit the surgeon a real stereoscopic vision of the operating field and to overcome the limitations of the 2D endoscopic set up. As with all new technologies a formalized adaptation period is essential for the surgeon to secure steady outcomes and low complications. To determine the subjective difficulties that one may encounter during this sensitive period we therefore devised and analyzed a questionnaire that evaluated the first ten procedures with the 3D device of junior and senior ENT and neurosurgeons. 52 consecutive patients were treated with purely 3D transnasal endoscopy for skull base pathologies. Sensation of strain or dizziness, difficulties in anatomical orientation and difficulties in performing the surgical gesture were assessed for each surgeon. The learning curve and difficulties of junior and senior surgeons are discussed and strategies to overcome the initial problems are devised. Our results confirm that after only few procedures, the advantages of the 3D endoscopic system including better visualization and depth perception are able to outweigh the inconveniences that go hand in hand with the learning of a new skill set.

The treatment of sinusitis following maxillary sinus grafting with the association of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) and an intra-oral approach.

AIM OF THE STUDY: To present the results of a prospective study on the management of infectious complications following maxillary sinus floor elevation procedures with a combined endoscopic (FESS) and intra-oral approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2005 to 2009, twenty consecutive patients were diagnosed for sinusal chronic infectious complications refractory to medical treatment following maxillary sinus floor elevation and grafting procedures. All patients were treated with a combination of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) through a transnasal approach and an intra-oral approach, performed by an ear, nose, and throat team and an oral and maxillofacial team, respectively, in the same surgical session under general anesthesia. RESULTS: In 16 of 20 patients, the 4-week endoscopic control demonstrated a complete clinical healing and recovery of the normal sinus ventilation and drainage. In two patients, the persisting sinusitis at the 4-week control was successfully treated (8th week) with an antibiotic therapy based on the antibiogram carried out on the bacterial culture obtained by the aspiration of the sinusal content. In one patient, the persisting sinusitis (3 months after surgery) was successfully treated with the aspiration of the infectious material from the maxillary sinus. In one patient, finally, it was necessary to perform a second combined surgical treatment to treat the persisting sinusitis. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a relevant number of cases of chronic infectious complications following sinus floor elevation procedures are presented. To the authors' knowledge, it is the first time that well-defined treatment protocols based on a combined endoscopic (FESS) and intra-oral surgical approach are proposed. The positive, albeit preliminary, results obtained in this study seem to validate this treatment modality.

Primary extra-cranial meningioma of head and neck: clinical, histopathological and immunohistochemical study of three cases.

Extracranial meningiomas of the head and neck region are rare neoplasms, the majority being a secondary location of a primary intracranial tumour. We herewith report three rare cases of extracranial meningiomas, located in the temporal muscle, parotid gland and nasal cavity, together with complete pathological, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies. Prognosis of this tumour is generally excellent. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice, with no need for further treatment; nevertheless, differential diagnosis must consider other more common tumours of the head and neck and be based on histopathologic examination and relative techniques, including examination of frozen sections. This procedure is particularly useful assessing surgical treatment and should be performed whenever possible to exclude the malignant nature of the lesion and avoid over-treatment. All three patients underwent surgery and are alive and disease-free.

Late diagnosis of a solitary fibrous tumour of the parapharyngeal space in a continuous positive airway pressure-treated patient.

Solitary fibrous tumours of the parapharyngeal space are a very rare finding and have been described less than 10 times in the English literature. The Authors discuss a clinical case of a solitary fibrous tumour in the parapharyngeal space in a 77-year-old male, who had begun treatment for a newly discovered obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome with a continuous positive airway pressure - device one year prior to diagnosis. This rare location of an uncommon lesion often gives rise to difficulty in diagnosis or to misdiagnosis and the Authors, therefore, made a review of the scientific literature and analysed the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures used. The importance of this report lies mainly in two aspects: on the one hand, the discussion concerning the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and on the other, the need of a thorough evaluation in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome patients before treating them with a chronic device like the continuous positive airway pressure device.

The masticator space. Value of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging in localisation and characterisation of lesions.

Aim of the study was to assess the different roles of magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography in the evaluation of anatomical origin and pathological nature of lesions involving the masticator space. Overall 41 cases (31 computed tomography and 14 magnetic resonance imaging) of lesions involving masticator space were retrospectively reviewed by two experienced radiologists in consensus. Reference standards were histopathological results and clinical-radiological follow-up after one year. Both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were performed with and without intravenous injection of contrast. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were correct in identifying the space of origin of lesions respectively in 96% and 92% of cases. Computed tomography correctly diagnosed the nature of lesions in 81% of cases and magnetic resonance imaging in 93% of cases; computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging correctly characterized, respectively, 88% and 100% of malignant lesions and, respectively, 73% and 83% of benign lesions. In conclusion both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were effective in the identification of the origin of non-extensive lesions involving masticator space. Computed tomography was more precise in depicting lesions originating from masticator space, while magnetic resonance imaging was more correct in depicting lesions originating from contiguous spaces and involving secondarily the masticator space. Magnetic resonance imaging should always be preferred to characterise lesions, nevertheless computed tomography should be chosen in cases with suspected inflammatory involvement of mandible bone.

Migraine and vertigo: two diseases with the same pathogenesis?

Vertigo and migraine are known to be frequently associated. However, only recently, the etiological links between the two diseases are being investigated and explained. More and more interest is being attracted by migrainous vertigo, an isolated entity that might deserve inclusion in the International Classification of Headache Disorders. The authors briefly review the main links between migraine and vertigo.

Maxillary sinus elevation in conjunction with transnasal endoscopic treatment of rhino-sinusal pathoses: preliminary results on 10 consecutively treated patients.

A one-step surgical procedure is presented, including maxillary sinus floor elevation in association with functional endoscopic sinus surgery to remove rhino-sinusal malformations or pathoses that might contraindicate sinus floor elevation. Over a 2-year period, 10 patients requiring a sinus floor augmentation procedure to restore the missing dentition with endosseous implants, but presenting with local and reversible rhinologic contraindications to the augmentation procedure were consecutively treated with a surgical approach that included simultaneously functional endoscopic sinus surgery and a sinus floor elevation procedure through an intra-oral approach. Then 4-6 months after this procedure, oral implants were inserted and after a further waiting period, ranging from 3 to 6 months, patients were restored with prostheses and followed for 1 to 3 years after the completion of prosthetic restoration. In all 10 patients, complete recovery of para-nasal sinuses function was demonstrated and occurred in all cases within one month. All cases showed good integration and consolidation of the graft material used for maxillary sinus floor augmentation. None of the implants placed were lost during the follow-up period after completion of prosthetic loading. In conclusion, despite the limits of this study (which included only 10 patients), the combination of maxillary sinus augmentation procedures and functional endoscopic sinus surgery, to treat local contraindications to sinus augmentation has proven to be both effective and safe and has allowed the patient to avoid a second surgical procedure and a longer waiting period before final prosthetic rehabilitation. No sinusal complications related to sinus floor augmentation were encountered and the survival rate of implants placed in the augmented areas was consistent with those reported in cases of sinus floor augmentation performed in patients presenting with a healthy rhino-sinusal system.

Does sphenopalatine endoscopic ganglion block have an effect in paroxysmal hemicrania? A case report.

The authors report the case of a 69-year-old woman suffering from paroxysmal hemicrania (PH), intolerant to indomethacin and resistant to multiple therapies, in which sphenopalatine endoscopic ganglion block (SPG) dramatically modified the clinical outcome. SPG blockade could be considered a reasonable alternative in drug-resistant PH cases where indomethacin is contraindicated.

The management of complications following displacement of oral implants in the paranasal sinuses: a multicenter clinical report and proposed treatment protocols.

This study retrospectively analyses paranasal sinus complications following displacement of oral implants in the maxillary sinus treated according to clinical situation by functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), an intraoral approach, or a combination of both procedures. Over 5 years, 27 patients (13 male; 14 female), aged 27-73 years (mean 53.9 years), underwent treatment for postoperative complications involving the paranasal sinuses following displacement of oral implants in the maxillary sinuses. According to the complication (implant displacement, implant displacement with or without reactive sinusitis and/or with or without associated oro-antral communication), patients were treated with FESS, intraoral approach to the sinus, or FESS associated with an intraoral approach. Follow up lasted for at least 1 year with clinical and radiographic controls. 26 patients recovered completely; one patient underwent re-intervention with FESS and an intraoral approach 2 years after implant removal, due to persistent signs and symptoms of maxillary sinusitis and oro-antral communication. Postoperative recovery after the second procedure was followed by complete recovery. The results demonstrate that a rational choice of surgical protocol for the treatment of complications involving the paranasal sinuses following displacement of implants in the maxillary sinuses may lead to reliable results.