[Adaption of the "Empty Nose 6 Item Questionnaire" (ENS6Q) into German language]. / Erstellung einer deutschen Version des "Empty Nose Syndrome 6 Item Questionnaire" (ENS6Q).

OBJECTIVE: The English "Empty-Nose-6-Item-Questionnaire" (ENS6Q) is a validated tool to assess subjective and disease-specific complaints of patients suffering from empty nose syndrome. The aim of this study was to create a validated German adapted version (GAV) of the ENS6Q. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The ENS6Q was translated into German language using a multistage process. Subsequently the translated questionnaire was completed twice by a group of patients suffering from empty nose syndrome (n = 36), a healthy control group (n = 77) and a group of patients with a symptomatic pathology of the nasal septum (n = 78). Additionally, the NOSE© questionnaire was completed twice by all groups. The ENS6Q was then examined regarding internal consistency, test-retest reliability, discriminant validity, sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: The ENS6Q-GAV shows high internal consistency with Cronbachs α = 0,760 and α = 0,795. It also shows good test-retest reliability with an interclass correlation coefficient of 0,947 [0,930 - 0,961]. The ENS6Q-GAV discriminated significantly between empty nose syndrome patients and the control group. The receiver-operating characteristics curve showed a sensitivity of 83,3 % and a specificity of 88,3 % using a cut-off point of 8,5. The area-under-the-curve threshold score was 0,914 ± 0,029 [0,856 - 0,971]. CONCLUSIONS: The ENS6Q-GAV is the first validated disease-specific questionnaire in German to help identify patients suspected of developing ENS more reliably.

[Importance of machine blood count in the diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis by EBV]. / Stellenwert des maschinellen Blutbildes bei der Diagnose der infektiösen Mononukleose durch EBV.

INTRODUCTION: EBV serology is recommended for serological diagnosis of mononucleosis. As results of an automated differential blood count is available more quickly, possible differences between an EBV primary infection and a bacterial tonsillitis were investigated. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of absolute and relative lymphocyte and monocyte counts of n = 140 patients > 16 years from 01/2008 to 01/2019 (mean age 21.4 years, 51 % ♀, 49 % ♂) with suspected EBV infection was performed. The groups of a serologically confirmed or excluded EBV infection were compared. RESULTS: An automated differential blood count was available in n = 42 patients with primary EBV infection. Average lymphocyte count was 5.5 ±â€Š2.6 giga/l. Patients with acute bacterial tonsillitis (n = 36) had significantly lower values with 1.6 ±â€Š1.3 giga/l, p < 0.05. Equal results were found in relative lymphocyte counts (47.4 ±â€Š17.9 vs. 12.8 ±â€Š9.1 %, p < 0.05). For monocyte counts, neither absolute (1.2 ±â€Š0.8 vs. 1.2 ±â€Š0.6 giga/l, p = 0.617) nor relative (8.8 ±â€Š3.6 vs. 9.8 ±â€Š5.2 %, p = 0.746) monocyte counts showed significant differences. CONCLUSION: Increased lymphocyte counts in an automated differential blood count can be a first indication of primary EBV infection. Perhaps up to 30 % morphologically altered lymphocytes are increasingly counted correctly with modern hematology analyzers and no longer counted as monocytes. These results could be used to make decisions about further diagnosis (abdominal ultrasonography, ECG) and antibiotic therapy before results of EBV serology are available.