A novel study on association between untreated hearing loss and cognitive functions of older adults: Baseline non-verbal cognitive assessment results.

BACKGROUND: Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is highly prevalent in older adults, and more than two-thirds above age of 70 years suffer from ARHL. Recent studies have established a link between ARHL and cognitive impairment; however, most of the studies have used verbally loaded cognitive measures to investigate the association between ARHL and cognition. It is possible that due to hearing impairment, the elderly may experience difficulty in following verbal instructions or completing tasks that heavily rely on hearing during cognitive assessments. This may result in overestimation of cognitive impairment in such individuals. This baseline cross-sectional study investigated the associations between untreated hearing loss and a number of cognitive functions using a battery of non-verbal cognitive tests. Further, association between hearing loss and psychological status of older adults was examined. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective case-controlled study. METHODS: A total of 119 participants (54 males, M=66.33±10.50 years; 65 females M=61.51±11.46 years) were recruited. All participants completed a hearing assessment, a computerised test battery of non-verbal cognitive functions and the depression, anxiety and stress scale. RESULTS: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis results revealed that hearing thresholds significantly associated with the working memory (P<0.05), paired associative learning scores (P<0.05), depression (P<0.001), and anxiety (P<0.001) and stress (P<0.001) scores. Analysis of covariance results revealed that participants with moderately-severe hearing loss performed significantly poorer in paired associative learning and working memory tasks and psychological function tests compared to those with normal hearing. CONCLUSION: Results of the current study suggest a significant relationship between ARHL and both cognition and psychological status. Our results also have some implications for using non-verbal cognitive tests to evaluate cognitive functions in post-lingually hearing impaired ageing adults, at least for those with more than moderately-severe levels of hearing loss.

Impact of multidisciplinary team management in head and neck cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: We analysed the outcomes of 726 cases of primary head and neck cancer patients managed between 1996 and 2008, including those managed in the multidisciplinary clinic or team setting (MDT) and those managed outside of an MDT by individual disciplines (non-MDT) in the same institution. METHODS: Data were collected from the Hospital Based Cancer Registry and a database within the Head and Neck Cancer Clinic. Univariable comparisons and multivariable analyses were performed using a logistic regression model. Survival by staging was analysed. Comparisons of management and outcomes were made between MDT and non-MDT patients. RESULTS: 395 patients (54%) had been managed in the MDT vs 331 patients (46%) non-MDT. MDT patients were more likely to have advanced disease (likelihood ratio χ(2)=44.7, P<0.001). Stage IV MDT patients had significantly improved 5-year survival compared with non-MDT patients (hazard ratio=0.69, 95% CI=0.51-0.88, P=0.004) and more synchronous chemotherapy and radiotherapy (P=0.004), and the non-MDT group had more radiotherapy as a single modality (P=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The improved survival of MDT-managed stage IV patients probably represents both the selection of multimodality treatment and chemotherapeutic advances that these patients received in a multidisciplinary team setting by head and neck cancer specialists as opposed to cancer generalists in a non-MDT setting.

Wound healing after tonsillectomy - a review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To summarise the available literature related to wound healing post tonsillectomy, including the stages of healing, experimental models for assessing healing (in animals and humans) and the various factors that affect wound healing. METHODS: A search of the English literature was conducted using the Ovid Medline database, with the search terms 'tonsillectomy' or 'tonsil' and 'wound healing'. Thirty-one articles that objectively assessed tonsillectomy wound healing were included for analysis. RESULTS: The majority of assessments in humans investigating tonsillectomy wound healing involve serial direct clinical examinations of the oral cavity. Many patient and surgical factors have been shown to affect wound healing after tonsillectomy. There is some research to suggest that the administration of adjunctive treatment in the post-operative period may be beneficial to tonsillectomy wound healing. CONCLUSION: Wound healing post tonsillectomy has been poorly researched. Having a better understanding of the process of wound healing would allow surgeons to potentially prevent, anticipate and manage complications from the surgery that arise as part of the healing process.

Newborn hearing screening in a South African private health care hospital.

OBJECTIVE: Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs are being established as part of the public health systems in increasing numbers of countries. In developing countries, however, little progress has been made towards implementing NHS programs and South Africa's public and private health care sectors is no exception. The current study presents the first report on a hospital-based UNHS program conducted in the South African private health care sector to provide preliminary results towards advocating for and guiding future programs. METHODS: A retrospective study of a UNHS program at a private hospital in urban Gauteng, South Africa over a 4 year period of time was performed. Screening was conducted with Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAE) with a rescreen recommended within 6 weeks if referred. Diagnostic audiological assessments were performed on those infants referring the rescreen. The discharge screening costs were subsidized through the hospital birthing package for the first 22 months of the program. RESULTS: Six thousand two hundred and forty-one newborns were screened from 13,799 hospital births during the first 4 years. Ninety-four percent of these infants were from the well-baby nurseries. During the initial 22 months, whilst the service was subsidized as part of the hospital birthing package, coverage of 75% was attained compared to 20% during the subsequent 26 months. The overall referral rate for the screening program across the 4 years was 11.1% but referral rates decreased by between 2 and 4% for each year of program existence with a 5% rate in year 4. Only 32% of the rescreens were completed at the hospital and no data was available for the remaining infants because parents were provided a choice of follow up centers. Referral for a diagnostic assessment after the rescreens at the hospital was predictive of sensorineural hearing loss in one-third of cases and the estimated prevalence was 3 in every 1000. CONCLUSIONS: Screening coverage in the current study was not adequately high and can be attributed to insufficient parental knowledge to make an informed decision. Improvements in program efficiency over time also suggest that pilot programs must be monitored over sufficiently long periods of time to allow observations of optimal efficiency. Initial referral rates and prevalence data indicate a large hearing loss burden and the capacity to implement increasingly efficient programs in South Africa.

Eosinophilic oesophagitis: an otolaryngologist's perspective.

Eosinophilic oesophagitis is a diagnosis that is being made more frequently in the assessment of dysphagia in both adults and children. It is unclear whether this is a result of increased prevalence or improved diagnostic methods. Children present commonly to paediatric institutions with foreign body impaction. Research indicates that food impaction may predispose to eosinophilic oesophagitis. This article presents eosinophilic oesophagitis from an otolaryngologist's point of view. It details the clinical features present in the disease as well as how it is diagnosed and managed. It illustrates early signs of eosinophilic oesophagitis so that primary physicians and emergency physicians know when to refer on to otolaryngologists.

The role of subtotal petrosectomy in cochlear implantation.

BACKGROUND: Subtotal petrosectomy combined with cochlear implantation is a procedure required in specific situations. METHODS: A retrospective review of all cases of subtotal petrosectomy in cochlear implant surgery over a five-year period was performed. The indications, complications and outcomes for this procedure are outlined. RESULTS: Sixteen patients underwent cochlear implantation in combination with subtotal petrosectomy and blind sac closure of the external auditory meatus from 2008 to 2013. Seventy-five per cent of these were completed as a two-stage procedure and 25 per cent as a single-stage procedure. The most common indications for the procedure were chronic otitis media, previous radical cavity, and for surgical access in challenging anatomy or in drill-out procedures. Mastoids were obliterated with fat or musculoperiosteal flaps. The complication rate relating to blind sac closure was 6 per cent. Cochlear implants were successfully placed in all cases and there was no incidence of device failure. CONCLUSION: For patients with chronic suppurative otitis media or existing mastoid cavities, subtotal petrosectomy with blind sac closure of the external auditory canal, closure of the eustachian tube, and cavity obliteration is an effective technique to facilitate safe cochlear implantation.

Bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss: review.

INTRODUCTION: Unilateral and bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss represent different disease entities. The unilateral condition is more common and predominantly idiopathic, and up to 65 per cent of patients spontaneously recover hearing. Conversely, the bilateral condition is rare, mostly associated with serious systemic conditions, and has a higher prevalence of morbidity and mortality. METHODS: A literature search using the PubMed database was conducted using the MeSH terms 'sudden', 'bilateral' and 'sensorineural hearing loss'. RESULTS: One hundred and three reported cases of bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss were identified. The condition is most often associated with toxic, autoimmune, neoplastic and vascular conditions. A younger age of onset, with a bimodal age distribution, was seen for bilateral sudden sensorineural hearing loss, compared with the unilateral condition. Patients with the bilateral condition had more profound hearing loss, with poorer recovery and a 35 per cent mortality rate. Vestibular symptoms were also less common than in the unilateral condition. CONCLUSION: The presentation of bilateral sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss is a medical emergency requiring thorough and urgent investigation to exclude life-threatening and reversible conditions.

Pott's puffy tumour and intracranial complications of frontal sinusitis in pregnancy.

INTRODUCTION: A Pott's puffy tumour is a subperiosteal abscess and osteomyelitis of the frontal bone secondary to frontal sinusitis. Intracranial complications are seen in approximately 40 per cent of cases and are potentially life-threatening; such complications have not previously been reported in pregnancy. CASE REPORT: A 21-year-old woman at 35 weeks' gestation presented with a history of frontal headaches and swelling, periorbital oedema, pain and chemosis. Imaging confirmed Pott's puffy tumour with right-sided epidural empyema and periorbital cellulitis. A multidisciplinary team was involved in the patient's management. Intravenous antibiotics were commenced and initial percutaneous drainage through the frontal sinus skin was performed, followed by endoscopic sinus drainage. A caesarean section was performed 3 days later. Complete resolution of the sinus and intracranial collections was noted on imaging performed six weeks later. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the challenges of managing rare intracranial complications of sinusitis in pregnancy, and the importance of multidisciplinary care.

Surgical anatomy of the anterior supralabyrinthine air cell tract.

INTRODUCTION: In order to safely explore the medial wall of the attic, a working knowledge of the anatomy of the anterior supralabyrinthine air cell tract is required. AIM: To clarify the surgically relevant anatomical relationships that comprise the anterior supralabyrinthine air cell tract. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Surgical dissection of 10 fresh cadaveric temporal bones was undertaken, including measurement of distances between the key anterior supralabyrinthine anatomical landmarks. RESULTS: The following mean distances were calculated: the labyrinthine segment between the geniculate ganglion and the ampullated end of the superior semicircular canal, 2.33 mm (range 1.75-2.75); the tympanic segment between the anterior margin of the oval window niche and the geniculate ganglion, 3.58 mm (range 3.25-4); and from the tympanic segment adjacent to the anterior margin of the oval window niche to the labyrinthine segment adjacent to the superior semicircular canal, 3.48 mm (range 3-4.25). CONCLUSION: The key anatomical landmarks of the anterior supralabyrinthine air cell tract define a distinct triangular segment of bone, knowledge of which is helpful in surgical dissection.

Knowledge-based simulation of genetic regulation in bacteriophage lambda.

We have developed a general-purpose computer program for the functional simulation of regulatory genetics. This simulator is knowledge-based and was developed using the Unit System, a software tool for the acquisition, representation, and manipulation of hierarchically organized knowledge. The advantages of a knowledge-based design are presented, and the simulator's architecture is described. Its performance on the decision between lytic and lysogenic growth in Bacteriophage Lambda is reported.

Intelligent computational assistance for experiment design.

We have developed an automated system for the design of laboratory experiments in molecular biology. The system uses a planning method known as skeletal plan refinement that attempts to emulate the human cognitive task of experiment design. This paper describes the theory, history, and implementation of the design system and illustrates its function in the domain of DNA cloning experiments.

MAXAMIZE. A DNA sequencing strategy advisor.

The MAXAMIZE advisory system determines from user-provided restriction maps an optimal strategy to do nucleotide sequencing by methods involving end-labeled fragments. The maps may be either simple linear restriction maps of fragments or complex circular maps including restriction sites of a vector. The whole system is interactive and is written in the Genetic English language provided by the GENESIS System, a molecular genetics knowledge representation and manipulation package. In addition, MAXAMIZE provides bookkeeping facilities for sequencing and offers advise on how to verify the newly obtained sequence data.

SEQ: a nucleotide sequence analysis and recombination system.

SEQ is an interactive, self-documenting computer program that contains procedures for the analysis of nucleotide sequences and the manipulation of such sequences to allow the simulation and prediction of the results of recombinant DNA experiments.

BIONET: national computer resource for molecular biology.

This paper describes briefly the BIONET National Computer Resource for Molecular Biology. This presentation is intended as information for scientists in molecular biology and related disciplines who require access to computational methods for sequence analysis. We describe the goals, and the service and research opportunities offered to the community by BIONET, the relationship of BIONET to other national and regional resources, our recent efforts toward distribution of the resource to BIONET Satellites, and procedures for investigators to gain access to the Resource.

GENESIS, a knowledge-based genetic engineering simulation system for representation of genetic data and experiment planning.

We have built a knowledge-based genetic engineering simulation system-- GENESIS-- capable of representing both domain-specific and general knowledge. Information is stored within a hierarchically-organized framework composed of structures called units. A series of sophisticated editors enables no-computer specialist molecular geneticists to construct a knowledge base through direct interaction with the computer. Three types of knowledge specific to the domain of molecular genetics, MAPS, sequences and RULES are discussed in detail with examples.