Age related changes in ocular motor testing in healthy subjects.

The aim of the present study was the investigation of age influenced changes in ocular motility testing in healthy subjects. Two hundred and fifty subjects between 18 and 70 years old were enrolled in a prospective study. Study population was divided in 5 groups of 50 subjects each (group A: 18-30 years old, group B: 31-40 years old, group C: 41-50 years old, group D: 51-60 years old and group E: 61-70 years old). Ocular motility was recorded by video-oculography and age related normative data were obtained with respect to: a) gain and slow phase velocity of smooth pursuit tracking, b) latency, velocity and accuracy of saccade eye movements and c) gain and slow phase velocity of optokinetic eye movements. The influence of age on all parameters was examined by one-way ANOVA. A statistically significant difference was found in all parameters analyzed for smooth pursuit test, saccade eye movements and optokinetic eye movements in between groups. In conclusion, aging influences the majority of the parameters in ocular motility testing, carried out by means of video-oculography. Elderly healthy subjects showed a deterioration of performance in all parameters of the eye tracking tested. Age must be taken into account during interpretation of the eye tracking tests, especially in patients with central nervous system lesions.

Comparison of acoustic rhinometry and nasal inspiratory peak flow as objective tools for nasal obstruction assessment in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a disease with increasing incidence, characterized by persistent symptoms and negative impact on patient`s quality of life. Nasal inspiratory peak flow (NIPF) and acoustic rhinometry (AR) were studied and compared as assessment tools for CRS with or without nasal polyps (NP), as well as, in follow up monitoring of conservative medical treatment. OBJECTIVES: Seventy-eight patients were prospectively studied. Objective assessment included NIPF and AR at baseline and at 4 and 8 weeks after onset medical treatment. Measurements were studied in correlation with Sinonasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and endoscopic appearance score (EAS). RESULTS: Both NIPF and AR improved significantly, after medical treatment. NIPF score reflected CRS symptoms` improvement according to SNOT-22 total score at the end of treatment protocol, showing moderate to strong correlation with nasal obstruction VAS grading during the treatment period. AR measures were associated with EAS in all sets of examinations and correlated moderately with VAS scoring at 8 weeks. CONCLUSION: NIPF and AR were proven to be promising methods for objective evaluation and monitoring of nasal obstruction based on different aspects of nasal physiology in patients with CRS.

SNOT-22 validation in greek patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with or without nasal polyps is a frequent and significant health problem. The 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) is a valid, disease-specific health status instrument translated into several languages. The translation into Greek has been considered essential for the individual assessment of the patients' symptoms and a reliable tool for quality of life evaluation. METHODS: Our study included 40 patients with CRS without nasal polyps and 40 healthy individuals as control group recruited from the ENT Allergy and Endoscopy Clinic of Chania General Hospital. Assessment included full ENT examination and nasal endoscopy. In the study, we compared the patients' examination and reexamination results with the results of the control group, and thus estimated test-retest reliability, internal consistency (determined by Cronbach's alpha) and validity. RESULTS: The statistical significance level calculated by the paired t test was p < 0.05 for all questions, which proves the questionnaire's consistency. The kappa value was estimated for each symptom, with an average value of 0.94. Cronbach's alpha was 0.934 in the test and 0.856 in the retest. The p value was <0.05 between both the control group and the test group and between the control group and the retest group. CONCLUSION: Our study certifies the existence of a valid, reproducible Greek version of SNOT-22, which overcomes limitations of use, allows to answer the questionnaire in Greek, and thus makes it highly recommended for Greek clinicians.