Association of Helicobacter pylori infection with olfactory function using smell identification screening test.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of Helicobacter pylori in olfactory function. Thirty-six patients (mean age 38.5) aged between 18 and 55 years who were diagnosed with H. pylori by gastric biopsies and age- and sex-matched 30 healthy adults (mean age 33.6) were included in the study. All participants underwent a detailed ear-nose-throat examination including endoscopic examination of the nasal cavity and laryngeal area, and olfactory tests were performed using the Sniffin' Sticks, a 12-item screening test (Sniffin'Sticks; Burghart, Wedel, Germany) and odor scores were recorded. The mean odor score was 7.9 ± 1.7 (range 2-10) in the patient group and 10.3 ± 1.4 (range 6-12) in the control group. There were significant lower scores in the patient group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, it is apparent that there is an association of H. pylori infection with olfactory dysfunction. H. pylori infection should be considered as possible etiological factors in patients with olfactory dysfunction.

Relation Between the Type of Hospitals and the Decision of Adenotonsillectomy Indication.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to apply tonsillectomy criteria, symptoms and outcomes proposed in earlier studies to investigate patients who were given tonsillectomy indications at different clinical centers but were treated in our clinical center. METHODS: The prospective sample of patients at the ear, nose, and throat clinic within our hospital consisted of 855 male patients and 684 female patients (1539 in total) with ages between 3 and 16 years old who had been given a tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy indication. The patients were allocated to 1 of 3 groups, depending on whether they had been treated in a public hospital, a private hospital, or a university/training research hospital. RESULTS: Of the total of 1539 patients, tonsillectomy indication criteria were exhibited by 966 of them (62.8%) but were absent in the rest of 573 patients (37.2%). Most of the 966 patients with tonsillectomy indication criteria had been treated in private hospitals (n = 546; 56.5%), while the others were treated in public hospitals (n = 309; 31.9%) or in university/training research hospitals (n = 111; 15.9%). Furthermore, the majority of the 966 patients (84.1%) received the tonsillectomy indication in just 1 examination, while some of them (n = 154; 15.9%) received it after follow-up appointments. CONCLUSION: Tonsillectomy decisions can pose difficulties for ear, nose, and throat specialists. Therefore, such decisions should be made based on assessment of clinical evaluation and follow-up, information from patients' parents, and the results of examination against the criteria outlined in the literature.

Why do infants pull their ears?

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the diagnoses of the infants who were admitted to our outpatient clinic with the complaint of pulling on the ear and to identify the related factors which may contribute to the diagnosis. METHODS: This prospective study included a total of 102 infants who were admitted to our hospital with the complaint of tugging and pulling on, touching, and rubbing the ears on the shoulder or pillow and shaking the head between July 2016 and July 2017. The complaints were evaluated throughout the day, and the application seasons, the person referred the patient to the ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, the child development specialist and child psychiatrist, allergy and atopy histories, and the relationship between the results and diagnoses were evaluated. RESULTS: 46.1% of the patients had normal examination findings, while the second most common finding was cerumen in 37.2%, and the third one was otitis media with effusion (OME) in 16.7%. In infants who were directly referred by the family, normal and serological diagnosis were found to be statistically significantly higher than that of OME diagnosis, whereas in the infants referred by the family physicians and pediatrist, the OME was found to be statistically significantly higher than normal and cerumen levels. The presence of additional complaints in the OME group was found to be higher than normal and cerumen group. In those with complaints during the day, the most common finding was OME, while it was cerumen in those with complaints a few times in a day and normal examination finding in those tugging on their ears only, when they were falling asleep, indicating statistical significance. Of 47 infants with normal physical examination findings, 37 were assessed by the child psychiatrist, and depression was found in six of one of the parents during the family interviews. CONCLUSION: In this study, the majority of the infants referred to the ENT outpatient clinic had normal examination findings, while the rate of OME diagnosis was high. Considering the negative consequences of EOM in infants, the diagnosis of the EOM becomes extremely important. If there are no otologic pathologies in the majority of infants who were admitted with ear pulling and tugging, the possibility of different factors in etiology gives rise to thought. Therefore, further studies are required to prove this condition.