RESUMO
Allergic rhinitis (AR) refers to an IgE-mediated inflammation following exposure to allergen. Often deemed as a minor inconvenience rather than a disease, AR impairs the QOL. Medical treatment has a beneficial effect. To evaluate the QOL in patients of AR. Patients of AR with ≥ 18 years age, receiving treatment in our department are included. Pre and Post treatment VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) and RSDI (Rhinosinusitis Disability Index) are compared to know the effect of disease and treatment on QOL. The patients of PAR (Persistent Allergic Rhinitis) had a greater impact on QOL. In PAR, a combination of INCS (Intranasal Corticosteroids) + oral antihistaminics result in significant reduction in VAS & RSDI scores. In IAR (Intermittent Allergic Rhinitis), Oral antihistaminics monotherapy was most effective in reducing itching while Oral antihistaminics + 1 week of intranasal decongestant was most effective in reducing sneezing, running nose and nasal blockage. Oral antihistaminics + LTRA (Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist) was most effective in reducing physical RSDI score. Oral antihistaminics + 1 week of intranasal decongestantwas most effective in reducing functional and emotional RSDI score. Functional RSDI scores had improved much higher than emotional and physical scores. All these observations were statistically significant. AR does affect the QOL while pharmacotherapy helps in improving the overall QOL. Oral antihistaminic alone or in combination with local decongestant/LTRA in IAR cases while INCS + oral antihistaminic in PAR cases are significantly effective in controlling symptom scores and QOL.
RESUMO
Head injury is the leading cause of morbidity, mortality and disability in India. Many such cases present with ENT injuries. ENT manifestations are often associated with varying degree of physical and functional damage. The aim of the study is to determine proportion of ear, nose and throat manifestations in head injury patients and its impact on Quality of Life (QOL). This is an observational prospective study of 98 patients with head injury. Most commonly involved site of injury is nose (38.8%). In ear most commonly affected site is external ear (16.3%). Facial palsy is observed in 5.1% patients. The most common type of injury is abrasion (29.6%). The most commonly fractured facial bone is maxilla (13.3%). At 1 month post injury, 6.5% patients feel their routine activity is limited while 54.4% patients feel depressed. 41.3% patients feel their external appearance has changed and 6.5% patients reported limitations in doing heavy activity. After 3 months limitation in routine activity, feeling of depression and feeling of change in external appearance of face has improved in most patients. Limitation of doing heavy activity has persisted even after 3 months in 6.5% cases. Young male adults are most commonly involved in head injury with nose being the most common site involved and maxilla is the most common bone fractured in ENT manifestations. QOL is affected in almost 50% cases as reported at the end of 1 month which improve in many by 3rd month.
