Prevalence of chronic maxillary atelectasis: a radiological study.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic maxillary atelectasis is an infrequent entity and data on its prevalence are lacking. This study investigated the prevalence of chronic maxillary atelectasis and aimed to determine the bilaterality of this entity. METHODS: The data for 5835 patients who underwent paranasal sinus computed tomography from 2016 to 2020 were retrospectively analysed. RESULTS: Fifty-four patients were diagnosed with chronic maxillary atelectasis; its prevalence was 0.92 per cent. The mean age of these 54 patients was 42.98 ± 18.89 years (range, 18-85 years); 17 of the patients were female and 37 were male. Chronic maxillary atelectasis was unilateral in 42 patients and bilateral in 12 patients (22.2 per cent). Eight patients were found to have enophthalmos with apparent facial asymmetry. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of bilateral chronic maxillary atelectasis may be higher than previously reported and bilaterality may increase as the number of diagnosed cases increases. A unified classification is also proposed, which describes the silent sinus syndrome as chronic maxillary atelectasis IIIS.

Polymorphic variants of MnSOD Val16Ala, CAT-262 C < T and GPx1 Pro198Leu genotypes and the risk of laryngeal cancer in a smoking population.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between development of laryngeal cancer and the presence of polymorphisms of the MnSOD Val16Ala, CAT-262 C < T and GPx1 Pro198Leu genes in a smoking population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Single nucleotide polymorphisms were determined in DNA from the peripheral blood erythrocytes of 48 heavy smokers (25 patients with laryngeal cancer and 23 cancer-free controls), using polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, smoking duration or smoking intensity, comparing the two groups. The homozygous AA genotype of MnSOD Val16Ala was significantly more prevalent in the cancer group than the control group (92 vs 13 per cent, respectively), while the heterozygous AV genotype of MnSOD Val16Ala was more prevalent in the control group than the cancer group (87 vs 8 per cent, respectively) (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between the cancer and control groups regarding GPx1 Pro198Leu or CAT-262 C < T polymorphisms. CONCLUSION: Polymorphism of the MnSOD Val16Ala gene may contribute to susceptibility to laryngeal cancer among smokers.

Predictive role of Carhart's notch in pre-operative assessment for middle-ear surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the predictive role of the audiometric Carhart's notch for the assessment of middle-ear pathology prior to surgical intervention. METHOD: In this retrospective analysis, a total of 315 operated ears of 305 patients were evaluated regarding their pre-operative pure tone audiograms and peri-operative findings. The probable relationship between the middle-ear pathologies found and the Carhart's notch found on pre-operative pure tone audiometry was investigated. Patients with conductive hearing loss who obtained at least a 10 dB improvement (at 1 and 2 kHz frequencies) in their bone conduction threshold post-operatively were included in the Carhart's notch group. The pathologies underlying Carhart's notch were compared. RESULTS: Three hundred and fifteen ears of 305 consecutive patients with conductive hearing loss were operated on due to middle-ear pathology. In patients with otosclerosis and tympanosclerosis, a Carhart's notch was seen at 2 kHz in 28 (93 per cent) patients but at 1 kHz in only two (7 per cent). However, in patients with chronic otitis media, a Carhart's notch was seen at 1 kHz in 10 (55 per cent) patients and at 2 kHz in eight (45 per cent) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Otitis media with effusion, tympanosclerosis and congenital malformations should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient with a Carhart's notch seen on pure tone audiometry. A Carhart's notch at 2 kHz indicates stapes footplate fixation, whereas one at 1 kHz indicates a mobile stapes footplate; the footplate mobility can thus be predicted pre-operatively.

Incus and stapes necrosis associated with diabetes mellitus.

Chronic otitis media is often associated with ossicular defects, the most frequent being necrosis of the long process of incus. Except for infection and cholesteatoma; trauma and local pressure by chorda tympani are uncommon causes leading to incus erosion. In the literature, no case of incus necrosis has been reported associated with type II diabetes mellitus (DM). A patient is presented in this report with incus and stapes suprastructure necrosis and associated type II DM who was admitted to the out-patient clinic with complaints of conductive hearing loss.