Music in noise recognition: An EEG study of listening effort in cochlear implant users and normal hearing controls.

Despite the plethora of studies investigating listening effort and the amount of research concerning music perception by cochlear implant (CI) users, the investigation of the influence of background noise on music processing has never been performed. Given the typical speech in noise recognition task for the listening effort assessment, the aim of the present study was to investigate the listening effort during an emotional categorization task on musical pieces with different levels of background noise. The listening effort was investigated, in addition to participants' ratings and performances, using EEG features known to be involved in such phenomenon, that is alpha activity in parietal areas and in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), that includes the Broca's area. Results showed that CI users performed worse than normal hearing (NH) controls in the recognition of the emotional content of the stimuli. Furthermore, when considering the alpha activity corresponding to the listening to signal to noise ratio (SNR) 5 and SNR10 conditions subtracted of the activity while listening to the Quiet condition-ideally removing the emotional content of the music and isolating the difficulty level due to the SNRs- CI users reported higher levels of activity in the parietal alpha and in the homologous of the left IFG in the right hemisphere (F8 EEG channel), in comparison to NH. Finally, a novel suggestion of a particular sensitivity of F8 for SNR-related listening effort in music was provided.

Reductive rhinoplasty principles applied to the curative treatment of different nasal diseases.

PURPOSE: Reductive rhinoplasty is generally intended as a facial plastic procedure aiming for functional and aesthetic outcomes in patients affected by nasal dysmorphism and/or obstruction. However, when applied to different pathologies of the nasal pyramid it holds great potentialities, beyond the solo cosmetic and functional objectives. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed preoperative conditions, surgical charts, and postoperative results of patients who underwent reductive rhinoplasty for different nasal diseases at our Institution. RESULTS: Principles and techniques of reductive rhinoplasty were described in the different possible applications to the treatment of nasal disease, from nasal septal perforation to benign and malignant diseases of the nose. CONCLUSIONS: Reductive rhinoplasty showed to play a crucial role in the curative purpose of different nasal diseases, representing a versatile tool in the expert hand of rhinoplasty surgeons who approach them. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: N/A.

Translation, Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) in Italian.

BACKGROUNDS: Rhinoplasty necessarily concerns functional and cosmetic aspects, and outcomes of both should be assessed in each patient. There has been a lack in the literature in Italian for a comprehensive tool for assessing both aspects of rhinoplasty. The objective is to translate and validate the Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) into Italian. METHODS: Forward and back-translation was used. Content validity was evaluated by experts and by patient interviews. Internal consistency was assessed by a Cronbach's alpha. The structure validity was assessed by an exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS: Cognitive interviews of 10 rhinoplasty patients resulted in a good overall comprehension of the SCHNOS. Of the 411 respondents, 281 (32%) were women, and the average age was 33.6 (11.3) years. The alpha was excellent for both the obstruction domain (SCHNOS-O) (0.90) and the cosmetic domain (SCHNOS-C) (0.94). All the correlations between repeated measures were moderate to very strong. The exploratory factor analysis demonstrated unidimensionality of both the SCHNOS-O and the SCHNOS-C scores. CONCLUSIONS: The SCHNOS was successfully translated and validated in Italian and can be recommended for a clinical use among rhinoplasty patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in COVID 19 Pandemic: Related Symptoms and Adverse Reactions in Healthcare Workers and General Population.

OBJECTIVES: To assess prevalence of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)-related symptoms and adverse reactions during Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemics. METHODS: We conducted an observational study among people exposed to various degree of infectious risk. Data were collected with a self-administered online questionnaire. RESULTS: The entire cohort complained about a wide range of adverse reactions: respiratory symptoms affected 80.3% of respondents, 68.5% referred pressure-related skin lesions, fewer manifested a dermatosis of different grade or ocular symptoms. Most of the affected individuals belonged to healthcare staff and manifestations were predicted by wearing time (more than 6 h/d). Moreover, symptoms were higher in the healthcare staff wearing N95/FFP2 respirator mask. CONCLUSIONS: Given the crucial role of PPE to contain the pandemic infection, more attention has to be paid to exposed categories, establishing preventive measure of side effects to ensure total safety.

Fine needle aspiration cytology for parotid neoplasms: risk of malignancy through inconclusive results and lower grade tumors.

PURPOSE: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a commonly performed procedure for parotid masses, although its accuracy in detecting malignancies widely varies through different series. We evaluated our single-center cohort of parotidectomies to highlight possible limitations of preoperative FNAC. METHODS: Seven hundred and eighteen consecutive patients submitted to parotid surgery at San Raffaele Scientific Institute (Milan) were retrospectively evaluated (2002-2018). Five hundred and fifty four FNAC were analyzed. FNAC accuracy was assessed with and without inclusion of "inconclusive" results. The peculiar role of lower grade primary parotid cancers was investigated. RESULTS: FNAC reports were "diagnostic" in 502 cases (90.4%) and "inconclusive" in 52 (9.6%). Histopathology revealed 488 benign lesions (88.1%) and 66 malignancies (11.9%). FNAC sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy in detecting malignancies were 59%, 99%, 89%, 95%, and 95%, respectively. Sensitivity fell to 48%, when "inconclusive" FNAC was computed. Within 66 parotid cancers, FNAC could discriminate malignancy in 32 cases (48.5%), provide proper grading in 21 (31.8%), and precise histopathological diagnosis in 15 (22.7%). Malignancy was more likely in patients with "inconclusive" FNAC than in those with "diagnostic" cytologies (23.1% vs 10.8%, p = 0.003). Low-intermediate-grade primary parotid cancers were associated to a higher rate of FNAC failure in comparison with high-grade ones (86.4% vs 19.0%; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: FNAC is an important tool for preoperative assessment of parotid masses, though its sensitivity in detecting malignancy remains poor. "Inconclusive" FNAC results could further jeopardize FNAC accuracy and should elicit resorting to additional tests, especially when a lower grade parotid cancer is suspected.

A Multicenter Clinical Evaluation of Data Logging in Cochlear Implant Recipients Using Automated Scene Classification Technologies.

Currently, there are no studies assessing everyday use of cochlear implant (CI) processors by recipients by means of objective tools. The Nucleus 6 sound processor features a data logging system capable of real-time recording of CI use in different acoustic environments and under various categories of loudness levels. In this study, we report data logged for the different scenes and different loudness levels of 1,366 CI patients, as recorded by SCAN. Monitoring device use in cochlear implant recipients of all ages provides important information about the listening conditions encountered in recipients' daily lives that may support counseling and assist in the further management of their device settings. The findings for this large cohort of active CI users confirm differences between age groups concerning device use and exposure to various noise environments, especially between the youngest and oldest age groups, while similar levels of loudness were observed.

Ropivacaine peritonsillar infiltration for analgesia after adenotonsillectomy in children: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVES: Our randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluates the possible benefit of peritonsillar infiltration with 0.75% ropivacaine hydrochloride on the pain level after adenotonsillectomy in 3- to 7-year-old children. METHODS: We randomly administered intraoperative peritonsillar infiltration with 0.2 mL/kg ropivacaine 0.75% (group R) or 0.2 mL/kg saline 0.9% (group F) to sixty 3- to 7-year-old children (ASA 1 or 2) who were undergoing adenotonsillectomy. Postoperative pain was assessed 6 and 24 hours after surgery by a 6-face Faces Pain Scale that allowed quantification of pain on a 100-mm horizontal line (0 = no pain). The number of rectal doses of acetaminophen-codeine required during the first postoperative day was recorded. RESULTS: The pain scores did not differ between the groups, either 6 or 24 hours after surgery (group F, 43 +/- 26, versus group R, 29 +/- 23, and group F, 24 +/- 23, versus group R, 30 +/- 28, respectively). Acetaminophen-codeine doses were similarly required in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Peritonsillar infiltration with 0.75% ropivacaine does not provide any major postoperative analgesic effect in 3- to 7-year-old children after adenotonsillectomy. A possible clinically minor analgesia 6 hours after surgery is suggested.