Ten-year outcomes of recurrent laryngeal nerve reinnervation for thyroidectomy-related unilateral vocal fold paralysis: A single-surgeon, prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the long-term outcomes of intraoperative recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) reinnervation for managing thyroidectomy-related unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) over a period of 10 years and assessed the long-term efficacy of this technique. METHODS: This study was conducted between March 2006 and July 2022 at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital. We enrolled 25 patients who underwent RLN reinnervation via direct neurorrhaphy or ansa cervicalis-to-RLN anastomosis and completed subjective and objective voice measurements over 5 years period. Among these, 10 patients completed voice measurements over 10 years period. RESULTS: Six months post-RLN reinnervation, most subjective voice parameters and some of objective voice parameters showed significant improvement (p < 0.05). Twelve months after the procedure, most parameters demonstrated significant voice improvements. These improvements remained stable in follow-up examinations 10 years post-RLN reinnervation (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: With stable voice outcomes over a decade, primary intraoperative RLN reinnervation provides satisfactory voice outcomes for 10 years postoperatively. Concerning the long-term survival of thyroid cancer patients, primary intraoperative RLN reinnervation is the first recommended voice rehabilitation technique for thyroidectomy related permanent UVFP.

Efficacy of steroid treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss in patients with vestibular schwannoma.

BACKGROUND: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) has several aetiologies and may be a presenting symptom of vestibular schwannoma (VS). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the recovery rate after steroid treatment and the prognostic factors of SSNHL with VS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study wherein 32 patients with VS who presented with SSNHL were analysed at a tertiary referral centre. Hearing gain and prognostic factors were the main outcome measures for steroid treatment intervention. RESULTS: Among the 1698 patients presenting with SSNHL, VS was found in 43 (2.5%) patients. Eleven cases (34.3%) showed good recovery, with significant improvements in the pure-tone audiometry values. Even though age was a significant factor, there were no associations between steroid response and initial hearing level, presence of vertigo, tumour size, and tumour extension. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Our study showed that hearing recovery of SSNHL does not exclude a VS diagnosis. We suggest that steroid treatment be considered in patients with VS presenting SSNHL.

Protective efficacy of commercial inactivated Newcastle disease virus vaccines in chickens against a recent Korean epizootic strain.

Despite the intensive vaccination policy that has been put in place to control Newcastle disease virus (NDV), the recent emergence of NDV genotype VII strains in Korea has led to significant economic losses in the poultry industry. We assessed the ability of inactivated, oil-emulsion vaccines derived from La Sota or Ulster 2C NDV strains to protect chickens from challenge with Kr-005/00, which is a recently isolated Korean epizootic genotype VII strain. Six-week-old SPF chickens were vaccinated once and challenged three weeks later via the eye drop/intranasal route. All vaccinated birds were fully protected from disease, regardless of the vaccine strains used. All vaccinated and challenged groups showed significant sero-conversion 14 days after challenge. However, some vaccinated birds, despite being protected from disease, shed the challenge virus from their oro-pharynx and cloaca, albeit at significantly lower titers than the unvaccinated challenged control birds. The virological, serological, and epidemiological significance of our observations with regard to NDV disease eradication is discussed.