Cluster Analysis to Identify Clinical Subtypes of Ménière's Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To identify distinct clinical subtypes of Ménière's disease by analyzing data acquired from a UK registry of patients who have been diagnosed with Ménière's disease. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. METHODS: Patients with Ménière's disease were identified at secondary/tertiary care clinics. Cluster analysis was performed by grouping participants sharing similar characteristics and risk factors into groups based on a defined measure of similarity. RESULTS: A total of 411 participants were recruited into this study. Two main clusters were identified: participants diagnosed with ear infections (OR = 0.30, p < 0.014, 95% CI: 0.11-0.78) were more likely to be allocated in Cluster 1 (C1). Participants reporting tinnitus in both ears (OR = 11.89, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 4.08-34.64), low pitched tinnitus (OR = 21.09, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 7.47-59.54), and those reporting stress as a trigger for vertigo attacks (OR = 14.94, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 4.54-49.10) were significantly more likely to be in Cluster 2 (C2). Also, participants diagnosed with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (OR = 13.14, <0.001, 95% CI: 4.35-39.74), autoimmune disease (OR = 5.97, p < 0.007, 95% CI: 1.62-22.03), depression (OR = 4.72, p < 0.056, 95% CI: 0.96-23.24), migraines (OR = 3.13, p < 0.008, 95% CI: 1.34-7.26), drug allergy (OR = 3.25, p < 0.029, 95% CI: 1.13-9.34), and hay fever (OR = 3.12, p < 0.009, 95% CI: 1.33-7.34) were significantly more likely to be clustered in C2. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the hypothesis that Ménière's disease is a heterogeneous condition with subgroups that may be identifiable by clinical features. Two main clusters were identified with differing putative etiological factors. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Laryngoscope, 134:3286-3292, 2024.

Risk Factors for the Development of Bilateral Ménière's Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To identify key risk factors for the development of bilateral Ménière's disease. STUDY DESIGNS: Observational study. SETTING: Four NHS Trusts and four independent hospitals or clinics, within three distinct urban and rural regions within the United Kingdom (Norfolk, Leicestershire, and London). METHODS: Patients with Ménière's disease were identified at ENT or audiovestibular medicine secondary/tertiary care and specialist private clinics. A range of patient-reported data, questionnaire data, and clinical data (audiometric, radiological, and specialist balance testing data) was inputted into a bespoke database. A logistic regression model was used to identify potential risk factors for bilateral Ménière's disease compared with unilateral Ménière's disease. RESULTS: A total of 411 participants were recruited into this study, 263 from NHS Trusts and 148 from independent hospitals or clinics. In our cohort of patients, 22% of individuals were identified as having bilateral Ménière's disease. Two statistically significant independent variables were identified as risk factors for the development of bilateral Ménière's disease: the presence of psoriasis and a history of ear infections. CONCLUSIONS: Psoriasis and a history of ear infection have been identified as key risk factors for the development of bilateral Ménière's disease. It is anticipated that further work based on this finding will allow a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms that predispose to the development of Ménière's disease symptoms.

Altered visual conscious awareness in patients with vestibular dysfunctions; a cross-sectional observation study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with vestibular dysfunctions often experience visual-induced symptoms. Here we asked whether such visual dependence can be related to alterations in visual conscious awareness in these patients. METHODS: To measure visual conscious awareness, we used the effect of motion-induced blindness (MIB,) in which the perceptual awareness of the visual stimulus alternates despite its unchanged physical characteristics. In this phenomenon, a salient visual target spontaneously disappears and subsequently reappears from visual perception when presented against a moving visual background. The number of perceptual switches during the experience of the MIB stimulus was measured for 120 s in 15 healthy controls, 15 patients with vestibular migraine, 15 patients with benign positional paroxysmal vertigo (BPPV) and 15 with migraine without vestibular symptoms. RESULTS: Patients with vestibular dysfunctions (i.e., both vestibular migraine and BPPV) exhibited increased perceptual fluctuations during MIB compared to healthy controls and migraine patients without vertigo. In VM patients, those with more severe symptoms exhibited higher fluctuations of visual awareness (i.e., positive correlation), whereas, in BPPV patients, those with more severe symptoms had lower fluctuations of visual awareness (i.e., negative correlation). IMPLICATIONS: Taken together, these findings show that fluctuations of visual awareness are linked to the severity of visual-induced symptoms in patients with vestibular dysfunctions, and distinct pathophysiological mechanisms may mediate visual vertigo in peripheral versus central vestibular dysfunctions.

Sex-disease dimorphism underpins enhanced motion sickness susceptibility in primary adrenal insufficiency: a cross-sectional observational study.

Environmental motion can induce physiological stress and trigger motion sickness. In these situations, lower-than-normal levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) have been linked with increased susceptibility to motion sickness in healthy individuals. However, whether patients with primary adrenal insufficiency, who typically have altered ACTH levels compared to the normal population, exhibit alterations in sickness susceptibility remains unknown. To address this, we recruited 78 patients with primary adrenal insufficiency and compared changes in the motion sickness susceptibility scores from 10 years prior to diagnosis (i.e. retrospective sickness rating) with the current sickness measures (post-diagnosis), using the validated motion sickness susceptibility questionnaire (MSSQ). Group analysis revealed that motion sickness susceptibility pre-diagnosis did not differ between controls and patients. We observed that following treatment, current measures of motion sickness were significantly increased in patients and subsequent analysis revealed that this increase was primarily in female patients with primary adrenal insufficiency. These observations corroborate the role of stress hormones in modulating sickness susceptibility and support the notion of a sexually dimorphic adrenal cortex as we only observed selective enhancement in females. A potential mechanism to account for our novel observation remains obscure, but we speculate that it may reflect a complex sex-disease-drug interaction.

Ten-year prevalence of acute hospital ENT infections and the impact of COVID: A large population study.

BACKGROUND: Acute ear, nose and throat (ENT) infections were the commonest referrals from accident and emergency to ENT services. The referral rate changed dramatically with season, year, national outbreaks and during the COVID pandemic. METHOD: Retrospective longitudinal study of the epidemiology of seven acute ENT infections in secondary care over 10 years. A mixed city and rural population of over 650 000 in central England was studied. The risk factors for each wave of infection during the surge of infection were sought. A statistical analysis of their significance was undertaken. This included analysis and correlation of group A-beta haemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) in hospital and community. Seasonal variations, hospital admissions and the impact of the COVID were analysed. RESULTS: There were 16 883 reported cases of the seven index ENT infections during the 10-year period. Great seasonal and year-to-year variations were recorded. There was an incremental rise in 2018. Spring had the highest season of acute ENT infections. An outbreak of GABHS was noted in the community in 2014. The mean duration of hospital admission was 1.5 days. There was no statistical ethnic or gender predominance. A dramatically lower number of acute ENT infections were recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this continued after lifting of lockdown restrictions. CONCLUSION: A resurgence in scarlet fever directly and indirectly contributed to an incremental rise in acute ENT infections in the following years. Both hospital and community B-haemolytic cultures have declined during the COVID-19 pandemic due to a reduction in infections as opposed to reduced case ascertainment.

Safety of Otological Operating During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Prospective Audit of 1130 Cases from 79 Centers.

BACKGROUND: To assess compliance with guidance produced by the UK body representing all ENT Surgeons (ENT UK) and the British Society of Otology (BSO) on restarting otological surgery after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Safety was assessed by recording surgical complica- tions and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during this period. METHODS: A prospective multicenter audit of otological surgery was conducted over a 12-week period, from June 15, 2020, to September 6, 2020. RESULTS: One thousand one hundred thirty cases from 79 hospital sites across Great Britain were involved in the study; 91.1% were tested for SARS-CoV-2 pre-operatively, none of whom tested positive; 70.4% were isolated for 7-14 days prior to surgery; 28.2% of surgeons wore full personal protective equipment, compared with 66.6% of anesthetists and 68.2% of scrub staff. The endoscope was used in 75 (6.7%) of all proce- dures, operations were changed to be performed under local rather than a general anesthetic in 3 cases (0.3%) and the "double drape" to protect against aerosol was used in 321 (27.4%) of cases. Trainees were present in 80.3% of cases. Complications occurred in 4% of cases. No patients or staff contracted SARS-CoV-2 during the audit. CONCLUSION: ENT UK and BSO guidance was variably followed, with the highest compliance for the use of an FFP3 mask, a negative SARS-CoV-2 swab, and trainee presence in theater. Surgeons did not use full personal protective equipment as frequently as their anesthetic and scrub team colleagues. There were only minimal changes in surgical and anesthetic techniques. Otological operation after the first wave of the SARS- CoV-2 pandemic was performed safely with no reported COVID transmission or increase in major complications despite changes in operating practice.

Acute paediatric mastoiditis in the UK before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the impact of COVID-19 on the management and outcomes of acute paediatric mastoiditis across the UK. DESIGN: National retrospective and prospective audit. SETTING: 48 UK secondary care ENT departments. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive children aged 18 years or under, referred to ENT with a clinical diagnosis of mastoiditis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cases were divided into Period 1 (01/11/19-15/03/20), before the UK population were instructed to reduce social contact, and Period 2 (16/03/20-30/04/21), following this. Periods 1 and 2 were compared for population variables, management and outcomes. Secondary analyses compared outcomes by primary treatment (medical/needle aspiration/surgical). RESULTS: 286 cases met criteria (median 4 per site, range 0-24). 9.4 cases were recorded per week in period 1 versus 2.0 in period 2, with no winter increase in cases in December 2020-Febraury 2021. Patient age differed between periods 1 and 2 (3.2 vs 4.7 years respectively, p < 0.001). 85% of children in period 2 were tested for COVID-19 with a single positive test. In period, 2 cases associated with P. aeruginosa significantly increased. 48.6% of children were scanned in period 1 vs 41.1% in period 2. Surgical management was used more frequently in period 1 (43.0% vs 24.3%, p = 0.001). Treatment success was high, with failure of initial management in 6.3%, and 30-day re-admission for recurrence in 2.1%. The adverse event rate (15.7% overall) did not vary by treatment modality or between periods 1& 2. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant change in the presentation and case mix of acute paediatric mastoiditis in the UK.

Universal newborn hearing screening in South Africa: a single-centre study.

Hearing screening for newborn babies is an established protocol in many high-income countries. Implementing such screening has yielded significant socioeconomic advantages at both an individual and societal level. This has yet to permeate low/middle-income countries (LMIC). Here, we illustrate how newborn hearing screening needs to be contextually adapted for effective utilisation and implementation in an LMIC. Specifically, this advocates the use of auditory brainstem testing as the first-line approach. We propose that such adaptation serves to maximise clinical efficacy and community participation at a reduced cost.

Strategic Planning for the Chest Clinician.

Having a strategic plan is important to reach organizational goals. Equally important is knowing how to develop and execute that plan. Also, such plans evolve and are executed in the context of the organization's culture, which is another critical success element. Using a garden metaphor, the arrangement of the plants in the garden is like the strategy. With a good strategy, the arrangement of the plants will be appealing. But the soil in the garden is the organizational culture. If the soil is fouled, no plants will grow, regardless of how appealing the garden plan. This "How We Do It" paper addresses the issue of developing and executing a strategy and then, in a companion piece, the related process of envisioning and cultivating an organizational culture. The strategic planning discussion invokes a "real-win-worth" paradigm to address the real-world case of assuring uniform, best-in-class ICU outcomes across multiple ICUs in a large academic medical center system.

A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the diagnostic accuracy of initial RT-PCR and CT scan in suspected COVID-19 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CT and initial reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detecting COVID-19 infection. METHODS: We searched three databases, PubMed, EMBASE, and EMCARE, to identify studies reporting diagnostic accuracy of both CT and RT-PCR in detecting COVID-19 infection between December 2019 and May 2020. For accurate comparison, only those studies that had patients undergoing both CT and RT-PCR were included. Pooled diagnostic accuracy of both the tests was calculated by using a bivariate random effects model. RESULTS: Based on inclusion criteria, only 11 studies consisting of 1834 patients were included in the final analysis that reported diagnostic accuracy of both CT and RT-PCR, in the same set of patients. Sensitivity estimates for CT scan ranged from 0.69 to 1.00 and for RT-PCR varied ranging from 0.47 to 1.00. The pooled estimates of sensitivity for CT and RT-PCR were 0.91 [95% CI (0.84-0.97)] and 0.84 [95% CI (0.71-0.94)], respectively. On subgroup analysis, pooled sensitivity of CT and RT-PCR was 0.95 [95% CI (0.88-0.98)] and 0.91 [95% CI (0.80-0.96), p = o.ooo1]. The pooled specificity of CT and RT-PCR was 0.31 [95% CI (0.035-0.84)] and 1.00 [95% CI (0.96-1.00)]. CONCLUSION: CT is more sensitive than RT-PCR in detecting COVID-19 infection, but has a very low specificity. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: Since the results of a CT scan are available quickly, it can be used as an adjunctive initial diagnostic test for patients with a history of positive contact or epidemiological history.

Creating an Organizational Culture for the Chest Physician: Creating an Organizational Culture for the Chest Physician.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE MATTERS: Culture is a key driver of organizational performance and underpins strategy. As previously discussed, if the strategy is the plants and the garden plan for a garden, the culture is the soil. Without a healthy culture, nothing will grow, irrespective of how well planned the garden or how beautiful the individual flowers. Using the case of establishing the culture in an institute at the Cleveland Clinic, the article examines an approach to establishing and maintaining an organizational culture. Anchors for this process are a situational assessment of the current culture as a new leader steps in and mindfulness by the leader of how members of the institute should experience the organization. Critical success factors include open communication and establishing psychological safety as well as modeling integrity. Fundamentally, when cultures are grounded in the seven classical virtues-trust, compassion, courage, justice, wisdom, temperance, and hope-they are best positioned to unleash the discretionary effort of its members. When people expend discretionary effort, they do the right thing when nobody is watching and the performance drivers are internal motivation and alignment with mission rather than external drivers to seek reward (carrots) or to avoid punishment (sticks).

Delays in surgery for cholesteatoma due to COVID-19: is there an impact on rates of recidivism and major complications?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the relationship between the waiting time for surgery, and cholesteatoma recidivism rates and major complications. The secondary aims were to identify any other prognostic factors for cholesteatoma recidivism. METHODS: A retrospective single-centre study of 312 patients who underwent cholesteatoma surgery under the care of a single-surgeon, between 2004 and 2018, was performed. Waiting times for surgery were categorised into ≤ 90 days, 91-180 days, 181-270 days and > 271 days. The outcome measures were cholesteatoma recidivism and major complications (facial nerve palsy or intracranial complications). RESULTS: The mean age was 36.1 years ± 21.5 with 242 adults (77.6%) and 70 children (22.4%). The mean waiting time for surgery was 126.2 days (4.1 months) ± 96.0 days and the overall rate of recidivism was 11.2% (35/312 patients). No instances of facial nerve palsy or intracranial complications were identified. Rates of recidivism by waiting time for surgery were: 15.3% for 118 patients who waited ≤ 90 days, 9.7% for 134 patients who waited 91-180 days, 6.7% for 30 patients who waited 181-270 days and 4.3% for 23 patients who waited > 271 days. There was no significant difference amongst the different waiting time groups for rates of recidivism (p = 0.266). CONCLUSION: Increased waiting times for cholesteatoma surgery do not appear to be associated with increased rates of recidivism or major complications. Clinical judgement will always be required for complicated disease or patients with additional risk factors. The other prognostic factors for recidivism identified in this study were age (< 15 years) and congenital cholesteatoma.

Stress and the vestibular system.

In this chapter we review the existing literature regarding the interactions between stress and the mechanisms that maintain balance. Evidence suggests that the interplay between neuro-endocrine and psychological factors may have a significant role in balance function. For example, in healthy individuals vestibular stimulation has been shown to trigger the stress response as indicated by increased blood cortisol levels, whereas in patients with vestibular pathology factors such as resilience and anxiety may be the key focus of interactions with stress. Critically, factors such as anxiety are known to influence clinical outcomes, despite our mechanistic understanding of these processes remaining in their infancy.

HIV, Tuberculosis, and Otogenic Intracranial Sepsis: A Devastating Disease With a Subtle Presentation.

OBJECTIVES: To undertake a large-scale review of otogenic intracranial sepsis in an area of highly prevalent HIV and tuberculosis (TB) to re-examine and inform early diagnosis and treatment efforts. METHODS: Seventy-seven consecutive cases of otogenic intracranial sepsis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa were reviewed for demographics, presentation, imaging, HIV status, culture results, and outcomes. RESULTS: The most common intracranial complications were intracranial abscess (46.8%), hydrocephalus (31.2%), subdural empyema (28.6%), and epidural empyema (26.0%). Ear discharge (87.0%), postauricular abscess (29.9%), and hearing loss (29.9%) were notable presenting symptoms. Overall mortality was 15.6%. Of the 45.5% of patients with HIV testing, 54.2% were HIV+, Mortality among HIV+ patients was 15.8% but only 6.3% in HIV- patients (p = 0.61, OR = 2.8). Eight patients (10.4%) had culture or histological evidence of TB infection. CONCLUSIONS: Otogenic intracranial complications continue to present late and are associated with significant mortality and morbidity, despite advances in diagnostic and treatment modalities. This study represents one of the largest case-series in the literature, and the first to specifically evaluate the effects of HIV and TB infection.Patient presentation and severity of illness varied; however, a majority of patients presented with ear discharge and no focal neurological signs. An effect size for higher mortality among HIV+ patients compared with HIV- patients was noted but was not significant. Tuberculosis infection was prevalent compared with previous studies.This study reinforces the need for enhanced screening and early treatment of ear disease to minimize associated mortality and morbidity, particularly in immunocompromised patients.

Systemic Disease Considerations in the Management of the Dizzy Patient.

Patients with symptoms of dizziness may present to a wide range of medical services. Awareness of the full breadth of possible diagnoses is thus helpful in managing dizzy patients. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of systemic diseases that may contribute to the complex symptom of dizziness and provide a review of recent advances in each field.

Clinical Subtyping of Ménière's Disease.

Fundamentally, Ménière's disease is a constellation of symptoms and, as such, may represent the final common pathway for a number of disease processes, as opposed to being the consequence of a single isolated pathology. Within this type of consideration, much can be learned regarding the etiology, presentation, prognosis, and treatment of these individual conditions by applying subtyping techniques currently employed to better understand similar disease processes that are encountered in other allied fields of medicine. This commentary proposes the principles, required processes, and benefits of subtyping for Ménière's disease.