Ototoxicity of Topical Castellani Solution and Boric Acid in Alcohol: an Experimental Study on Rats.

The aim of this study is to determine the ototoxicities of boric acid in alcohol (BAA) and Castellani solutions by means of distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE). A total of 28 rats were randomly divided into four groups, each group consisting of 7 animals. Then, 0.1 mL Castellani solution, 0.1 mL BAA (4% boric acid solution prepared with 60% alcohol), 0.2 mL (40 mg/mL) gentamicin and 0.2 mL saline were dropped to right outer ear canals of rats in groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively, twice a day, for 14 days. DPOAE values obtained on days 0 and 14 were statistically compared for the values obtained at 750-8000 Hz frequencies. A statistically significant decrease was found on day 14 compared to day 0 values in Castellani group at all frequencies (p < 0.05). In BAA group, there was a statistically significant decrease between frequencies 1500 and 8000 Hz on day 14 (p < 0.05).We found that Castellani and BAA were ototoxic. BAA and Castellani solutions should be avoided in patients with tympanic membrane perforations, ventilation tubes and open mastoid cavities.

Comparison of various bone cement ossiculoplasty techniques and functional results.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, functional results of different bone cement ossiculoplasty techniques are compared. METHODS: Retrospective case review at a tertiary referral center. Patients who underwent middle ear surgery and bone cement ossiculoplasty between 2006-2012 were included. A total of 52 patients, including 30 patients with 'Incus to stapes' (Group 1) and 13 patients with 'malleus to stapes' (Group 2), five patients with 'incudoplasty + stapedotomy' (Group 3), and four patients with 'malleus to incus' (Group 4) ossiculoplasty were enrolled in the study. Pre-operative and post-operative audiological findings of each group were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean hearing gain (the difference between pre-operative and post-operative air bone gap (ABG)) was 13 dB for Group 1, 30 dB for Group 2, 24 dB for Group 3, and 9 dB for Group 4. The pre-operative air pure tone averages (PTA) of groups 1, 2, and 3 improved significantly in the post-operative period (p < 0.05). Closure of post-operative ABG of patients to less than 20 dB and 10 dB were as follows: ∼70% and 43% in group 1; 86% and 76% in group 2; 100% and 60% in group 3; and 75% and 50% in group 4, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that glass ionomer cement is a simple and effective method for reconstruction of ossicular discontinuity in various ossicular chain pathologies and can be an alternative to conventional rebridging techniques such as sculpted incus interposition or partial ossicular replacement prosthesis (PORP).

Infiltration with lidocaine and adrenaline instead of normal saline does not improve the septoplasty procedure.

The aim of this study was to determine whether infiltration of local anesthetics with adrenaline improved septoplasty procedure when compared to normal saline. Eight-two patients undergoing septoplasty were randomized into two groups. In group 1, septal mucoperichondrium was infiltrated with lidocaine with adrenaline, and normal saline was used in group 2. Presence of intra-operative septal mucosal injuries, the amount of bleeding, arterial blood pressure, operation time as well as the quality of the surgical field and the convenience of finding the correct surgical plane as determined by the surgeon using a 5-point scale were compared between two groups. There were no significant differences for the amount of blood loss, mean arterial pressure, operation time, or scores for convenience of finding the correct surgical plane between the two groups. There was no significant difference for intra-operative simple (P = 0.631) and total (simple+severe) (P = 0.649) septal mucoperichondrial injuries between groups 1 and 2, either. However, severe mucoperichondrial injury rate was higher in the patients infiltrated with lidocaine and adrenaline (P = 0.026), and the quality of the surgical field was worse in the patients injected with normal saline (P = 0.0179). Infiltration of septal mucoperichondrium with lidocaine and adrenaline instead of normal saline was not advantageous in terms of objective parameters tested, including bleeding amount and duration of surgery as well as the of the total mucosal injury rate in septoplasty procedure.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma of the accessory parotid gland.

Accessory parotid gland is a small salivary gland tissue separated from main part of parotid gland. It is located on the masseter muscle anterior to the Stensen's duct. Tumors of accessory parotid gland are rare. In this article, we report an unusual case of adenoid cystic carcinoma involving accessory parotid gland. The patient presented with a progressively growing mass in the middle portion of her cheek. She underwent a partial parotidectomy including both the superficial and accessory lobes. The histopathologic diagnosis was adenoid cystic carcinoma of cribriform type.

Drug-induced sleep endoscopy versus Müller maneuver in patients with retropalatal obstruction.

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: This study aimed to compare application of the Müller maneuver (MM) and application of drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) prior to surgery, in addition to MM, to further ascertain the location of an obstruction in the upper airway and whether the location would change the surgical treatment plan in patients with retropalatal obstruction. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, clinical trial at a tertiary referral hospital. METHODS: This study included 39 obstructive sleep apnea patients who were recommended for surgical treatment. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: The first group (DISE plus MM) underwent a DISE (19 patients), in addition to the planned procedure according to MM. Meanwhile, the second group (MM only) underwent surgery based only on their MM evaluation (20 patients). Patients with retrolingual-localized obstructions were excluded, whereas patients with ≥ third-degree obstructions at the retropalatal level, according to DISE and/or MM, were included in the study. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement between pre- and postoperative polysomnography findings in both groups. However, the postoperative improvements between the groups were not statistically different. Because there was a significant change in the planned surgical procedures in the first group, there were significantly more combined surgeries followed by the DISE procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Although the DISE resulted in more changes in the surgical treatment plan and higher rate of combined treatment compared to MM, we determined that this difference did not result in a significant difference in treatment success. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

Elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in Bell's palsy and its correlation with facial nerve enhancement on MRI.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of inflammation and atherothrombosis in Bell's palsy (BP) by using neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and mean platelet volume (MPV), respectively, and to study their relations with the facial nerve enhancement on temporal gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (TGd-MRI). STUDY DESIGN: Case control study. SETTING: Tertiary health institution. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study was performed on 65 patients who were diagnosed with BP and a control group of 35 healthy individuals. The BP patients were also divided into 2 groups, those with facial nerve enhancement on TGd-MRI and those without enhancement. The NLR and MPV of each group were compared. RESULTS: The NLRs of the BP patients were significantly higher than control group (P = .001). The NLRs of patients with facial nerve enhancement on TGd-MRI were significantly higher than patients without enhancement (P = .001). There was a positive and significant correlation between NLR and House-Brackmann (HB) grade of the patients (r = 0.641; P < .05). MPV did not show any significant correlation with any of the parameters studied (P > .05). CONCLUSION: NLR can be used as a new and important marker in BP since it is high in BP patients and significantly correlated with HB grade and facial nerve enhancement on TGd-MR. On the other hand, MPV does not have such correlations. These results offer evidence to support an inflammatory theory rather than microvascular response theory in the etiopatogenesis of BP.

A new suggestion for the Epworth Sleepiness Scale in obstructive sleep apnea.

The aim of this study was to suggest a new cutoff score for the Turkish version of Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) in the patients with obstructive sleep apnea. In this study, the data of 483 patients who were admitted to our clinic with the complaints of daytime sleepiness and witnessed sleep apnea were reviewed retrospectively. The correlation between ESS and polysomnography (PSG) findings were assessed, and cutoff score of the Turkish version of the ESS was investigated. The mean apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 27.71 ± 26.69 eV/h, the mean ESS score was 8.42 ± 4.88. According to AHI, a statistically significant difference between ESS scores was detected (p = 0.001; p < 0.01). According to AHI (AHI ≥ 5, AHI ≥ 15 and AHI ≥ 30) the best cutoff score for ESS score was found as 8. The answers that were given to the ESS questions differ according to their sociocultural and economic condition. These results indicate that a score of 8 or higher on the ESS would seem a more appropriate cutoff score to suspect clinically relevant sleepiness in the Turkish population.

Elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in squamous cell carcinoma of larynx compared to benign and precancerous laryngeal lesions.

BACKGROUND: Laryngeal carcinogenesis is a multifactorial process that has not been fully elucidated. Despite extensive research, reliable markers with diagnostic and prognostic value are still lacking. It was recently reported that an elevated preoperative neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) may correlate with an increased risk of recurrence, tumor aggressiveness and poorer prognosis in various malignancies. The aim of this study was to examine whether NLR could be used as an inflammatory marker to differentiate laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) patients from benign laryngeal lesion (BLL) and precancerous laryngeal lesion (PLL) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was performed on 209 patients admitted to a tertiary referral center with laryngeal lesions and undergoing biopsies to establish their histopathological diagnosis. We reviewed the patient files for their clinical, histopathological and laboratory data. The patients were divided into three groups according to their histopathological findings, as BLL, PLL and LSCC groups. The patients in the PLL group were also divided into three subgroups as mild, moderate and severe dysplasia/ carcinoma in situ (CIS) subgroups. The groups were compared for NLR and the other laboratory data. RESULTS: The mean NLRs of the BLL, PLL and the LSCC groups were 2.12 ± 0.86, 2.32 ± 0.68 and 3.46 ± 1.51, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.001). The mean NLRs of the patients with PLL and LSCC were significantly higher than the patients with BLL (p = 0.031 and p = 0.001, respectively). The mean NLRs were similar among mild dysplasia, moderate dysplasia and severe dysplasia / CIS groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating NLR in BLL, PLL and LSCC. NLR is an inexpensive, reproducible and widely available blood test, and could be a useful inflammatory marker to differentiate LSCC from BLL and PLL.

The Relation of the Obstruction Site on Muller's Maneuver with BMI, Neck Circumference and PSG Findings in OSAS.

We investigated relation of the site of obstruction detected on Muller maneuver (MM) with polysomnography (PSG) and physical examination findings. Data of 703 patients admitted to Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital Sleep Laboratory between 2008 and 2013 were analyzed retrospectively; 394 patients with apnea-hypopnea indexes (AHI) ≥5/h were included. Site of collapse on MM was determined at retrolingual level at anteroposterior (M1) and lateral-lateral (M2) directions; at retropalatal level at anteroposterior (M3) and lateral-lateral (M4) directions. There were 125 (31.7 %) females and 269 (68.3 %) males. BMI had significant positive correlations with M2 (p < 0.001) and M4 (p = 0.002) scores, ESS (p = 0.013) and AHI (p = 0.001). AHI had significant positive correlations with ESS (p = 0.003), M2 (p < 0.001), M3 (p = 0.037) and M4 (p < 0.001) scores and NC (p = 0.001). Minimum oxygen saturation had significant reverse correlations with M1 (p = 0.046), M2 (p < 0.001), M3 (p = 0.003), M4 (p < 0.001), AHI (p < 0.001), ESS (p = 0.003) and BMI (p = 0.001). In OSAS patients, increased BMI, NC and AHI are correlated with lateral pharyngeal wall (LPW) collapse in retropalatal and retrolingual levels on MM. LPW collapse is more valuable to predict OSAS compared to anteroposterior collapse. LPW collapse on MM may be used as a selection criterion for ordering PSG. Further studies are needed to better clarify importance of LPW in OSAS surgery.