Topographic relationship; sinusitis and paranasal sinus computed tomography.

Topographic relationship; sinusitis and paranasal sinus computed tomography. BACKGROUND: The association between the symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and computed tomography (CT) findings is controversial, especially the topography of the symptoms and CT findings. OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between topographic and overall paranasal CT findings with topographic and overall symptoms. METHODS: This was a two-center study comprising 166 patients diagnosed with chronic sinusitis. All patients underwent CT scans and completed a questionnaire. The symptom scores and CT findings were compared. RESULTS: A correlation between anterior ethmoid sinusitis and hyposmia was found. Blockage of the osteomeatal complex and posterior ethmoid sinusitis was associated with halitosis. There were also correlations between maxillary and sphenoid sinusitis and tooth pain. The total visual scale score was not associated with any of the symptoms. No association was seen between facial pain or facial pressure and paranasal sinus CT scores. No correlation was found between the topographic correlation of sinus pain and topographic paranasal sinus CT findings. CONCLUSIONS: No relationship exists between symptoms and paranasal sinus CT findings in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Prognostic value of mean platelet volume on tinnitus.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine whether there was any relationship between tinnitus and mean platelet volume. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted between January 2013 and January 2014 in Ankara Atatürk Hospital and Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital, Turkey, on a study group of 86 patients with tinnitus and a control group of 84 healthy subjects. Mean platelet volume was recorded and comparisons were made between the two groups. RESULTS: Mean (± standard deviation) platelet volume was 7.67 ± 0.83 µm(3) in the study group and 7.28 ± 0.56 µm(3) in the control group. There was a statistically significant difference in mean platelet volume between the tinnitus patients and the healthy subjects (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The clinical findings indicated that tinnitus patients had a higher mean platelet volume than the healthy control subjects; however, the pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear.

Does systemic clarithromycin therapy have an inhibitory effect on tympanosclerosis? An experimental animal study.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the inhibitory effects of clarithromycin on in vitro tympanosclerosis. METHOD: Twenty-eight rats were divided into three groups: a clarithromycin group, a non-clarithromycin group and a negative control group. Those in the first two groups were injected with Streptococcus pneumoniae following a myringotomy, and tympanosclerosis was experimentally induced. Oral clarithromycin therapy was administered in the clarithromycin group. The other groups received no medical treatment. RESULTS: All eardrums in the clarithromycin and non-clarithromycin groups developed myringosclerosis, but there was only one eardrum, in the clarithromycin group, with very severe myringosclerosis. In the clarithromycin group, 11 ears showed no inflammation and there were no ears with severe inflammation. In the non-clarithromycin group, there were 11 ears with severe inflammation. The mean eardrum thickness in the clarithromycin group was 20.93 µm and in the non-clarithromycin group it was 42.71 µm. CONCLUSION: Acute otitis media and myringotomies induced tympanosclerosis, but clarithromycin reduced the severity of tympanosclerosis.