Amphotericin B and lysine acetylsalicylate in the combined treatment of nasal polyposis associated with mycotic infection.

BACKGROUND: Fungal infection may be secondary to nasal polyposis or represent a real etiopathogenic factor in the infection itself. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a combined treatment with lysine acetylsalicylate (LAS) and amphotericin B in preventing recurrence in patients with nasal polyposis with accompanying mycotic infection in comparison with a control group with nasal polyposis and fungal infection who did not receive antifungal therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 115 patients with nasal polyposis were randomly assigned to 4 different groups and treated as follows: (1) group A, 25 patients were first surgically treated and then treated with LAS; (2) group B, 25 patients received 40 mg of triamcinolone retard intramuscularly 3 times every 10 days (total dose 120 mg) and then they were treated with LAS; (3) group C, 16 patients were surgically treated and then treated with LAS and amphotericin B; (4) group D: 23 patients were treated with a medical polypectomy and steroids (as in the group B) and then with LAS and amphotericin B. RESULTS: We found no significant differences between groups C and D, groups C and A, or groups B and D. However, the recurrence of nasal polyps in the groups treated with amphotericin B plus LAS (C and D) was significantly lower (P = .018) than in the 2 groups treated only with LAS (A and B). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that long term topical treatment with LAS and amphotericin B may be clinically effective in the treatment of patients with nasal polyposis associated with fungal infection.

Allergic fungal sinusitis. A naso-sinusal specific hyperreactivity for an infectious disease?

Allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS) is a rare disease of naso-sinusal complex affecting mainly young, immunocompetent adults who complain of chronic rhinitis and/or recurrent nasal polyposis despite medical and/or surgical treatment. Aim of the study is to analyse, from an allergological and otorhinolaryngological point of view, patients affected by the so-called "allergic fungal sinusitis" in order to better define the relationship between fungi present in naso-sinusal secretions and the host's immunoreactivity. From February 2001 to January 2002, 24 selected patients (13 male 11 female) age range 25-65 years (mean 45), with chronic rhinosinusitis, with a positive fungal examination of nasal secretion, underwent allergological evaluation. All patients were positive for diagnostic criteria of allergic fungal sinusitis and, in all patients, nasal lavage was performed for microscopic examination by fluorescence. Samples were then cultured on Sabouraud growth media for identification of the fungus. Skin prick tests (SPT) were then performed with the 15 main inhalant allergens and twelve fungal allergens (Bracco). The total IgE serum level (PRIST), the specific fungal IgE and the eosinophilic cationic protein were then investigated by means of an immuno-fluorine enzymatic method. Finally, a nasal provocation test was carried out with diluted solutions (1/100, 1/10) and with a pure solution of fungal allergens, selected according to microbiological examination of nasal secretion of each subject. Prick tests were positive for seasonal and perennial allergens in 5 patients (21%), while prick tests with fungi were positive in only 4 patients (16.6%). Total IgE levels were higher than in normals (200 KU/l) in 6 patients (25%) (mean 364.74 KU/l). In another 18 patients, total IgE were normal. Specific IgE levels for the tested fungi and eosinophilic cationic protein levels were within normal range in all patients. Nasal provocation test was negative in all patients. Presence of fungi in nasal secretions of patients with AFS does not appear to be correlated with an allergic status to the isolated fungus. A role for IgE in either the aetiology or the pathophysiology of allergic fungal sinusitis in unlikely, and probably the diagnostic criteria for allergic fungal sinusitis should not include type I hypersensitivity, since no confirmed evidence exists that IgE-mediated type I hypersensitivity is involved in the pathophysiology of allergic fungal sinusitis.

Demonstration of an IgE-mediated immunological pathogenesis of a severe adverse reaction to gadopentetate dimeglumine.

In this case report, the authors, after reviewing the literature data about contrast agents in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and correlated problems, investigate the immunological mechanism of an adverse reaction to gadopentetate dimeglumine (Gd-DTPA), in order to demonstrate an IgE-mediated immunological pathogenesis. The case of a patient who underwent MR imaging in our hospital was studied. During, and after, the MR examination with Gd-DTPA the patient showed local warmth/pain to the external genitalia and to the face, tachycardia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, uterine cramps, and diffuse cutaneous rash. Skin tests (intradermal) and the passive transfer test according to Prausnitz and Küstner were positive, suggesting the involvement of an I-type allergy (IgE-mediated) mechanism. In this paper, we demonstrate that the adverse reactions to Gd-DTPA can be supported by an immunological mechanism.

Oral desensitisation in cow milk allergy: immunological findings.

In the literature there are several reports dealing with the possibility of a desensitising treatment in food allergy, but there are very few studies about the immunological mechanisms of oral desensitisation. We studied the immunological modifications in four children who underwent oral desensitisation with cow milk. Four children with cow milk allergy underwent oral desensitisation according to a standardized protocol. Total IgE, eosinophilic cationic protein in serum, and specific IgE and IgG4 to α-lactalbumin, to β-lactoglobulin and to casein were determined at the beginning of the treatment and after 6, 12 and 18 months in the 4 children treated. All the 4 treated patients successfully completed the treatment. Specific IgE to casein showed a significant reduction (p<0.01), while specific IgG4 to α-lactalbumin (p<0.02), to β-lactoglobulin (p<0.01) and to casein (p<0.01) showed a significant increase. Total IgE, eosinophilic cationic protein, and specific IgE to α-lactalbumin and to β-lactoglobulin did not show any significant modification. Control patients did not show any immunological modification and still had a positive double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge. These results make us think that oral desensitisation in food allergy happens with the same mechanisms of traditional desensitising treatments for respiratory and insect sting allergies.

Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions and selective sensorineural loss in IDDM.

OBJECTIVE: To provide information about possible subclinical damage of the cochlear outer hair cells (OHCs) by means of transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) and distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in subjects with IDDM. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: TEOAEs and DPOAEs were recorded in 47 IDDM patients with normal hearing and in age- and sex-matched nondiabetic subjects. Peripheral neuropathy was diagnosed by nerve conduction velocity (NCV) at the peroneal and surral nerves. RESULTS: A subclinical peripheral neuropathy was found in 15 diabetic patients. Mean TEOAE amplitude was found to be significantly reduced in diabetic patients with a reduced NCV (7.6 +/- 3.2 dB; Scheffé's test: P = 0.03), but not in those without neuropathy (9.5 +/- 4.3 dB), with respect to control subjects (11 +/- 3.1 dB). Neuropathic patients also showed mean reduced DPOAE amplitude values in the region of middle and high frequencies from 1,306 to 5,200 Hz (P < 0.05), whereas no difference was found at the lowest-frequency amplitudes. A frequency-selective reduction of DPOAEs was also found in non-neuropathic patients (P < 0.05) in the region of higher frequencies at 3,284, 4,126, and 5,200 Hz compared with control subjects. No correlations were found among duration of diabetes, HbA1c values, TEOAEs and DPOAEs. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that IDDM patients show an early abnormality of the micromechanical properties of the OHCs. In IDDM patients without a subclinical peripheral neuropathy, damage is limited to the higher frequencies and can be detected only by DPOAEs, whereas in IDDM patients with neuropathy, damage also involves the middle range of frequencies and can be detected by TEOAEs and DPOAEs. Therefore, DPOAEs seem to be able to detect the earliest cochlear selective-frequency dysfunction in IDDM patients without peripheral neuropathy. DPOAEs appear to be of greater clinical interest than TEOAEs; the former seem to be frequency specific and can be recorded at any chosen frequency, including high frequencies.

[Otogenic cerebral abscess: description of 3 cases, clinical and therapeutic considerations]. / Ascesso cerebrale otogeno: descrizione di tre casi, considerazioni cliniche e terapeutiche.

The authors use the 3 cases of otogenous cerebral abscess which came under observation as starting point for a discussion of the main etiopathogenetic, microbiological, clinical-diagnostic and therapeutic aspects of this disorder. After a brief presentation of the data regarding incidence, preferential localization and age of onset, they discuss the means for intracranial spread of infection and the related symptoms. As regards diagnosis, the authors assert that clinical examination and imaging techniques--CT and especially MRI--enable one to determine the dimension and site of the abscess cavity, differentiating it from other intracranial lesions and to monitor clinical evolution and response to therapy. After mentioning the principle bacteria involved in infection, they deal with the various means of treatment. The authors favor surgical removal of the auricular phlogistic focus and medical treatment of the intracranial abscess. They resort to neurosurgery only in those cases which do not respond to drug treatment or when the size and particular location of the abscess threaten the patient's life. In conclusion, the authors underline the problems seen today in diagnosis and therapy, comparing the quoad vitam and quoad valetudinem prognosis for the affected patients.

Facial nerve paralysis in acute otomastoiditis as presenting symptom of FAB M2, T8;21 leukemic relapse. Case report and review of the literature.

Granulocytic sarcoma (chloroma) is a rare solid, extramedullary tumour composed of immature granulocytes, occurring during granulocytic leukemia. Leukemic involvement of the temporal bone is not uncommon and may present in a variety of ways. Symptomatic facial nerve paralysis is one of these. The authors report a case of facial nerve paralysis as the presenting symptom of leukemic relapse in a 16-year-old white male, affected by acute myelogenous leukemia FAB M2, karyotype 46xy, T8;21.