Quantification of Heavy Metals in the Nasal Turbines of Smokers and Nonsmokers.

OBJECTIVES: Cigarette smoke is known to contain toxic heavy metals. In this study, heavy metal levels in the nasal turbinate tissues of smokers and nonsmokers were measured and compared with Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). METHODS: Forty patients who come to the Otorhinolaryngology outpatient clinic due to nasal obstruction and are given an appointment for partial turbinate reduction operation due to inferior turbinate hypertrophy, according to their smoking status, were divided into two groups: those who had smoked one pack/day for at least 10 years and those who had never smoked. The levels of heavy metals (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, Se, and Ag) were compared by ICP-MS in nasal turbinate tissues. RESULTS: Al (p = 0.002), Cr (p < 0.001), Co (p < 0.001), Ni (p = 0.001), Cu (p < 0.001), As (p < 0.001), Se (p < 0.001), Ag (p < 0.001), Cd (p = 0.001), Ba (p = 0.008), Hg (p < 0.001), and Pb (p < 0.001) values in the smoker group were found to be significantly higher than the values of nonsmokers. Although the Mn level was high in smokers, no significant difference was observed (p = 0.299). CONCLUSIONS: Smoking can cause nasal and sinus problems. In this study, we observed that the smoking group had significantly higher levels of almost all the heavy metals investigated in the nasal turbinate tissues. As smoking damages, the mucociliary system and the mucosa, heavy metals from cigarettes may accumulate further and cause harm to the nasal tissues. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3 Laryngoscope, 2024.

The role of upper airway obstruction and snoring in the etiology of monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis in children.

This study evaluated the necessity of examining the upper airway in children with nocturnal enuresis. 225 children (aged 5-16 years), who were referred from the urology outpatient clinic between May 2015 and May 2016 and who had completed toilet training, were included in this study. Participants were separated into monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (MNE) (group 1) and without MNE (group 2) groups. Tonsil hypertrophy, adenoid vegetation, septal deviation, turbinate hypertrophy, allergic rhinitis, upper airway obstruction, and snoring etiology were assessed. In total, 112 children with MNE (group 1) participated in addition to 113 children selected randomly without MNE (group 2). Adenoid score (p = 0.016), septal deviation (p = 0.017), and snoring (p = 0.007) were significantly different between the groups. No differences in tonsil score (p = 0.618), turbinate hypertrophy (p = 0.424), and allergic rhinitis (p = 0.544) were detected between the groups. Possible causes of upper airway obstruction and snoring which is a symptom of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing in the pediatric population, including adenoid hypertrophy and septal deviation, should be considered as possible etiological factors in children with MNE.

Measuring Oxidative DNA Damage With 8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine Levels in Patients With Laryngeal Cancer.

OBJECTIVES: 8-Hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine is a biomolecule associated with DNA damage. We evaluated oxidative stress and DNA damage in patients with laryngeal cancer by measuring 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels. METHODS: This study enrolled 117 subjects, including 64 controls and 53 patients who had benign vocal cord lesions or laryngeal cancer. The benign excised lesions, tumor tissue, noncancerous laryngeal tissue, blood, and urine were subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels were compared between groups. RESULTS: Blood and urine 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels in patients with laryngeal carcinoma were significantly higher than in the controls ( P = .00002, P = .00001). The 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine level was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in non-tumor tissue and benign vocal cord lesion tissues ( P = .00002, P = .000001). CONCLUSIONS: We determined that laryngeal cancer was associated with oxidative stress, which may be quantified by measuring 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine. For a patient with a suspicious laryngeal lesion, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels in blood and urine can provide advance information about the likely diagnosis.

Excellent Result With the Use of Single-Dose OK-432 in Cervical Macrocystic Lymphangioma.

Though the lymphangioma is a benign neoplasm, it may make an invasion to vital structures by progressively growing. For lymphangioma, which progressed in such a way, surgical treatment has high morbidity and recurrence risk. On these cases, OK-432 is a frequently used sclerotherapy agent. The authors report the result they obtained by the use of single-dose OK-432 on an inoperable pediatric cervical macrocystic lymphangioma case and also their experiences.

Estimation of the efficacy of chemo-radiotherapy on tumor regression in the patients with laryngeal cancer via computerized tomography using the Cavalieri method.

CONCLUSION: Calculating tumor volume using the Cavalieri method in laryngeal tumors before and after treatment may be useful to optimize the treatment and to minimize the side-effects of radiotherapy. PURPOSE: This study aimed to estimate the pre-treatment and post-treatment tumor volumes of the patients to whom radiotherapy or radio-chemotherapy was applied as a treatment using Cavalieri's Principle as a stereological method and to assess tumor regression rates in the patients with Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (LSCC) statistically. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Sixteen patients (eight patients with stage T3 and eight patients with stage T4) diagnosed with LCCC bearing the appropriate characteristics to criteria in the otorhinolaryngology clinic were included. Patients had computerized tomography (CT) scans in the axial plane before treatment and 2 months after the treatment. Pre-treatment and post-treatment tumor volumes on CT images were calculated using Cavalieri's principle as a stereological method and then compared. FINDINGS: Average tumor volumes in patients with stage T3 before and after treatment were 10.12 ± 3.58 cm(3) and 1.33 ± 1.74 cm(3), respectively (p = 0.008). These volumes were 11.92 ± 4.61 cm(3) and 2.17 ± 2.34 cm(3) (p = 0.008) for patients with stage T4, respectively. Post-treatment tumor volumes were statistically reduced compared to pre-treatment volumes in all stages.