Mechanism of ear canal button battery injury and strategies for mitigation of damage.

Objectives: In this study, the damage caused by button batteries (BB) trapped in the ear canal (EC) and strategies to reduce this damage before their removal were investigated in vitro. Methods: After four EC models prepared from freshly frozen cadaveric bovine ears were thawed, 3 V lithium BBs were placed in the channels. After a three-hour period of preliminary damage, nothing was applied to the first EC model, the second EC model underwent saline administration, the third EC model underwent boric acid administration, and the fourth EC model underwent the administration of 3% acetic acid. The voltage, tissue temperature, and pH of the BBs were measured. The BBs were removed at the end of the 24th hour, and the EC models were examined by a pathologist. Results: The greatest decrease in pH was detected in the fourth EC model in which acetic acid was administered. The depth of necrosis was 854 µm in the first EC model, 1858 µm in the second EC model, and 639 µm in the third EC model at the end of the 24th hour. No necrosis was detected in the fourth EC model. Conclusions: Lithium BBs can cause alkaline tissue damage in a short time in cadaveric EC models. pH neutralisation strategies appear to be experimentally successful under in vitro conditions.

Injury Mechanism of Button Batteries in the Nasal Cavity and Possible Mitigation Strategies During Impaction.

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: Button batteries (BBs) impacted in the nasal cavity can cause several complications. Understanding the injury mechanism and developing possible mitigation strategies can reduce these complications. STUDY DESIGN: Cadaveric sheep nasal septum model. METHODS: Lithium, alkaline, silver oxide, and zinc-air BBs were placed on segments of the nasal septum of cadaveric sheep. The BB voltage, tissue temperatures, and pH were measured every 30 minutes for 6 hours. Subsequently, 5 drops of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, tea, Coke (Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, GA), tap water, and normal saline were applied separately to the other segments with the lithium BBs every 10 minutes for 3 hours. The visible injuries and the necrosis depths were assessed through the tissue temperatures, pH, and the voltage changes. RESULTS: Both nonlithium and lithium BBs increased tissue pH without significant temperature changes. The 3V lithium BBs led to the greatest depth of necrosis, with a voltage loss of approximately 50% within the first 2 hours. Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar were the most effective liquids for reducing visible injury, pH, and necrosis without increasing the temperature during pre-removal time period. CONCLUSION: Nonlithium and lithium BBs caused alkaline tissue injury in a nasal septal model. Given the hazard severity, expedited BB removal is critical. For situations when removal cannot be immediately performed, further in vivo study is needed prior to considering human use of any pre-removal mitigation strategies in the nasal cavity. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA Laryngoscope, 130:2487-2493, 2020.

The Prognostic Value of Circulating Inflammatory Cell Counts in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss and the Effect of Cardiovascular Risk Factors.

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies suggest that elevated neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are poor prognostic factors in sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). We aimed to investigate the accuracy of this hypothesis by taking into account the effect of cardiovascular risk (CVR) factors. METHODS: Medical records of 122 patients with SSNHL were reviewed retrospectively and grouped into 2 as; patients without CVR (group 1; n = 68) and patients having CVR (group 2; n = 54). Moreover, 60 control cases who did not have SSNHL were also included and grouped into 2 as; group 3 (n = 30) with CVR and group 4 (n = 30) healthy controls without having SSNHL or CVRs. Neutrophil (N), lymphocyte (L), platelet (Plt), NLR, and PLR between the groups and their relationship with the severity of hearing loss, recovery rates, and audiogram configurations were analyzed. RESULTS: The highest N and NLR values were in group 1 and were significantly higher than the values of group 4 (P < .05, P < .01). There was no significant relationship between the groups in terms of L, Plt, or PLR values. The highest NLR and PLR values were determined in SSNHL patients with mild hearing loss, complete recovery, and up-sloping audiogram configuration (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of N and NLR may be considered as strong laboratory findings showing an inflammatory response in the diagnosis of SSNHL, but the presence of CVR factors does not seem to increase the inflammatory response in SSNHL as expected. In patients with SSNHL, NLR and PLR elevation may indicate better prognosis.

A potential post-removal pH neutralization strategy to mitigate nasal button battery injuries.

OBJECTIVE: Button batteries (BBs) impacted in the nose of children can cause septal perforation, synechia, atrophy, necrosis and deformities such as saddle nose. Developing mitigation strategies that can reduce tissue damage after BB removal can decrease these complications. METHODS: 3 V lithium BBs were placed on the cadaveric sheep nasal septum model segments. After 3, 6, 12 and 24 h, BB on each segment was removed and intermittent irrigation was performed with 0.25% acetic acid solution. Irrigation with saline was performed as the control. Visual tissue damage that occurred just before and after irrigation was photographed. BB voltage, temperature and pH changes in the tissue were recorded. Each segment was examined after irrigation for the depth of necrosis and presence of cartilage necrosis. RESULTS: The voltage of 3 V lithium BB was observed to drop to about half at the end of the 3rd hour. It was observed that full-thickness mucoperichondrial necrosis occurred in the nasal septum segments at all time points. Although 0.25% acetic acid irrigation significantly decreased tissue pH compared to saline without increasing temperature, it did not show a significant superiority compared to saline in reducing neither visually nor histologically damage. While cartilage necrosis was not observed for the first 12 h, it was measured 105 µm in the segment irrigated with 0.25% acetic acid at the end of 24 h, and 518 µm in the segment irrigated with saline. CONCLUSIONS: The pH neutralization strategy with post-removal 0.25% acetic acid irrigation to mitigate nasal BB injury appears to be ineffective in reducing the full-thickness mucoperichondrial necrosis starting within 3 h. Although this strategy seems to decrease the progression of cartilage necrosis starting after 12 h, the development of pre-removal strategies for the first 3 h may be more effective and superior in reducing mucoperichondrial damage.

Does Postauricular Incision Cause Auricula Protrusion After Tympanoplasty?

BACKGROUND: An ear surgery can be performed via transcanal, endaural, or postauricular approach according to the surgeon's desicion. The postauricular one is the most commonly performed approach. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate whether preferring postauricular approach during ear surgery cause auricular protrusion in over time. METHODS: Thirty-six patients who underwent tympanoplasty operation with postauricular incision were included in this study. Any patient who was under 18 years of age, those with auricular deformity and patients who underwent tympanoplasty operation with mastoidectomy were excluded from this study. The distances from mastoid area to superior and mid-point of helix were measured preoperatively and 1 year postoperatively. RESULTS: A total of 36 patients' data were analyzed. There were 13 males and 23 females. The mean age was 28.2 ±â€Šyears (18-59). The preoperative mean distance from mastoid area to superior point of helix was 15.03 ±â€Š2.86 mm, whereas it was 17.92 ±â€Š2.96 mm at mid-helix level. At postoperative 1 year, the same distances were measured 14.67 ±â€Š3.12 mm and 17.25 ±â€Š3.17 mm, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between preoperative and postoperative measures. CONCLUSION: Although the structures that provide the stability of the auricle are cut during postauricular sulcus incision, long-term follow-up of patients did not show any protrusion of auricula.

Comparison of two modern and conventional tonsillectomy techniques in terms of postoperative pain and collateral tissue damage.

PURPOSE: To compare the tonsillectomy operations performed with bipolar radiofrequency clamp (BRC), plasma blade (PB), and cold dissection (CD) techniques in terms of postoperative pain and collateral tissue damage. METHODS: This is a prospective randomized comparative cohort study conducted in a tertiary hospital. A total of 50 patients who underwent tonsillectomy in our institution met the inclusion criteria. Based on the tonsillectomy technique, patients were randomly divided into 3 groups as BRC (CURIS®) (n:20), PB (PEAK Surgical) (n:20), and CD (n:10). The patients were given a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain evaluation on the 1st postoperative day (3rd h) and on the 3rd and 6th days after discharge. The deepest and the most superficial necrosis depths were examined under the light microscope (Olympus BX53, Japan) by the same single blinded pathologist. RESULTS: The age of the patients included in the study ranged from 5 to 45 years. The mean age was 14.5 years. Twenty-four of the patients were female, 26 were male. Mean 3rd h and 3rd day VAS scores for pain in the BRC group were significantly higher than the other two groups (p < 0.001). Although PB group had higher VAS scores compared with CD group, the difference was not significant (p > 0.05). The deepest necrosis depths (dND) in patients who were operated with BRC was significantly greater compared to patients operated with PB (p < 0.01), whereas no significant difference was observed between the techniques regarding the most superficial necrosis depth (msND) (p > 0.05). For patients operated with CD technique, only ischemic fields were observed. CONCLUSION: Both BRC and PB techniques seem to not provide significant advantage compared with conventional CD technique in terms of postoperative pain. Necrosis depths in tonsillectomy specimens due to thermal damage positively correlate with the postoperative pain level.

Possible prediction of patterns of cervical lymph node spread based on primary tumor location in papillary thyroid carcinomas

Backround/aim: Papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) frequently metastasize to regional lymph nodes. Our purpose was to investigate the predictive role of tumor location for lymph node metastasis pattern in PTCs. Materials and methods: Medical records of 110 PTC patients were reviewed retrospectively. Tumor location was determined as upper, middle, and lower pole according to ultrasonography (USG) findings. The effects of age, sex, tumor size, and location on lymph node metastasis were investigated. Results: The series comprised 87% females (n = 96) and 13% males (n = 14). Forty-three patients had central neck metastasis (CNM) and 14 had lateral neck metastasis (LNM). Upper pole tumors (UPT) metastasized to the central neck (CN) at a lower rate (17.6%) than middle (40.0%) or lower (48.5%) poles overall (P = 0.104), while it was at a significantly lower rate (13.3%) in the PTC group (P < 0.05). UPTs (n = 17) metastasized to the lateral neck (LN) almost 2-fold more. It was observed that 3 of 4 UPTs spread directly to the LN without CNM. Conclusion: In our opinion, UPTs have propensity to demonstrate metastasis to LN rather than the CN in PTCs. Therefore, UPTs should be evaluated meticulously in terms of LNM. New studies could suggest that CN dissection is not performed for low-risk PTCs in UPTs.

Safety of outpatient admission and comparison of different surgical techniques in adult tonsillectomy.

PURPOSE: To investigate the safety of outpatient admission and the effects of surgical technique in tonsillectomy operations of adult patients. METHODS: The digital database was scanned for patients aged ≥ 15 years that underwent tonsillectomy in our institution between years 2014 and 2018. Demographic and clinical characteristics, the surgical technique, length of stay (LOS) in hospital, re-admissions after discharge, complications and interventions performed were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 276 patients met the inclusion criteria, comprising 139 (50.4%) females and 137 (49.6%) males with a mean age of 27.17 ± 9.41 years. The most common indication was recurrent tonsillitis (n = 223, 80.8%), and surgical techniques used were bipolar scissors (CURIS®, Sutter Medizintechnik, Germany) (n = 137, 49.6%), cold dissection (n = 75, 27.2%) and/or plasma blade (PEAK Surgical, Medtronic, USA) (n = 64, 23.2%). A total of 43 (15.5%) re-admissions from 37 (13.4%) patients were recorded because of bleeding (n = 33, 70.2%) and/or odynodysphagia (n = 13, 27.7%). Non-surgical interventions were sufficient in 32 (74.4%) cases, while surgical interventions were required in 11 (25.6%) patients. In patients where "hot" techniques (bipolar scissors, plasma blade) were used and in patients with complaints in the first 24 h postoperatively, significantly increased rates of elongated LOS values for more than 1 day were determined (p < 0.01, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Adult tonsillectomy is a safe surgical procedure with low complication, re-operation and mortality rates. Significantly increased rates of elongated LOS values for more than 1 day and re-admissions after discharge were determined in those patients having complications in the first 24 h postoperatively. Cold dissection seems to be more advisable than hot techniques for outpatient tonsillectomy among adult patients.

Protective/restorative Role of the Adipose Tissue-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on the Radioiodine-induced Salivary Gland Damage in Rats.

BACKGROUND: To analyze protective/regenerative effects of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSC) on 131I-Radioiodine (RAI)-induced salivary gland damage in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study population consisted of controls (n:6) and study groups (n:54): RAI (Group 1), ADMSC (Group 2), amifostine (Group 3), RAI+amifostine (Group 4), concomitant RAI+ADMSC (Group 5) and RAI+ADMSC after 48 h (Group 6). We used light microscopy (LM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and salivary gland scintigraphy (SGS), and analyzed data statistically. RESULTS: We observed the homing of ADMSC in salivary glands at 1st month on LM. RAI exposure affected necrosis, periductal fibrosis, periductal sclerosis, vascular sclerosis and the total sum score were in a statistically significant manner (P < 0.05). Intragroup comparisons with LM at 1st and 6th months revealed statistically significant improvements in Group 6 (P < 0.05) but not in Groups 4 and 5. Intergroup comparisons of the total score showed that Groups 4 and 5 in 1st month and Group 6 in 6th month had the lowest values. TEM showed vacuolization, edema, and fibrosis at 1st month, and an improvement in damage in 6th month in Groups 5 and 6. SGSs revealed significant differences for the maximum secretion ratio (Smax) (P = 0.01) and the gland-to-background ratio at a maximum count (G/BGmax) (P = 0. 01) at 1st month, for G/BGmax (P = 0.01), Smax (P = 0.01) and the time to reach the maximum count ratio over the time to reach the minimum count (Tmax/Tmin) (P = 0.03) at 6th month. 1st and 6th month scans showed differences for Smax and G/BGmax (P = 0.04), but not for Tmax/Tmin (p > 0.05). We observed a significant deterioration in gland function in group 1, whereas, mild to moderate deteriorations were seen in protective treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that ADMSC might play a promising role as a protective/regenerative agent against RAI-induced salivary gland dysfunction.

The effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on tympanosclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) on tympanosclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two male Sprague Dawley rats were separated into 4 groups as CAPE (n = 10), alcohol (n = 10), control (n = 8) and normal (n = 4) groups. All tympanic membranes except normal group were myringotomised and type 3 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains was injected into their middle ears. Myringotomies were repeated for 5 weeks. Intraperitoneal (i.p) CAPE were administrated to the CAPE group at 10 µmol/kg/day and 10% ethyl alcohol administrated to the alcohol group for 5 weeks. The control group were left untreated. Findings of myringosclerosis were recorded by otomicroscope at sixth week. Then, all rats were sacrificed and tympanic membrane thickness and severity of middle ear mucosal inflammation evaluated histopathalogically. RESULTS: Severity of myringosclerosis was significantly higher in the alcohol and control groups compared to the CAPE group (p < 0.001), but was not significant when alcohol and control groups were compared (p = 0.17). The tympanic membrane thickness measured in the alcohol and control groups were significantly higher compared to the CAPE group (p < 0.001), but was not significant when alcohol and control groups were compared (p = 0.17). The severity of inflammation in the middle ear mucosa was significantly higher in the alcohol and control groups compared to the CAPE group (respectively, p < 0.001, p = 0.03). The severity of inflammation in the middle ear mucosa was not significant between alcohol and control groups (p = 0.30). CONCLUSION: CAPE has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on the development of MS in myringotomized rats, so reduces the severity of tympanosclerosis.