A comparative double blind study of nasal dressing sponge® versus merocel® as nasal pack after nasal surgery

Introduction: Nasal packing is a common procedure used to ensure haemostasis after nasal surgery. Materials and Methods: A prospective, randomized, controlled and double-blinded study was conducted on 80 consecutive subjects to investigate whether using Nasal Dressing Sponge® (NDS) instead of simple Merocel® might improve patients' postoperative experience of nasal packing. Results: During the stay of the tampons no differences were noticed between the two groups as regards the postoperative pain. When it comes to pain during the packing removal, patients complained of worse symptoms in the side packed with Merocel. There was no bleeding after the removal of Merocel, whereas 5,6% patients w…

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Police Officers: Systematic Review.

Introduction: Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is defined as the sensorineural hearing loss caused by acute acoustic trauma or chronic exposure to high-intensity noises. Exposure to noises can lead to irreversible damage to the inner ear and, consequently, to a permanent shift of the hearing threshold. Police officers are particularly at risk of acute or chronic hearing damages. The aim of this study is to evaluate the hearing loss of police officers in relation to the occupational risk factors and clinical-anamnestic characteristics by collecting and analyzing existing data and evidence available in public databases. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to th…

Pleomorphic adenoma of the nasal septum: A rare case report of a 14 year-old patient

Pleomorphic adenoma is the most common benign tumor of the salivary glands. It arises mainly from the parotid, less frequently from the minor salivary glands of the oral cavity and, exceptionally, from the accessory glands widespread in the upper aero-digestive tract. Intranasal localization is rare and mainly affects the glands sited in the nasal septal mucosa. There are isolated case reports in literature regarding adult patients. We report a rare case of a young 14-year-old girl with pleomorphic adenoma arising from the nasal septum.

Acute pneumolabyrinth: a rare complication after cochlear implantation in a patient with obstructive sleep apnoea on CPAP therapy

Pneumolabyrinth is a condition characterised by the presence of air within the inner ear and is a rare complication after cochlear implant surgery. One of the causes of pneumolabyrinth may be the increase in pressure in the middle ear. The use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is an effective treatment strategy for obstructive sleep apnoea. According to a recent study, the use of CPAP should be delayed by 1 or 2 weeks in subjects undergoing middle ear surgery; however, there is currently no indication to delay the CPAP in subjects undergoing cochlear implant surgery. We report the case of a patient on CPAP who underwent left cochlear implantation and, in the early postoperative …

Otosclerosis associated with type B-1 inner ear malformation

Malformations of bony inner ear are rare anomalies occurring in approximately 20% of patients with congenital sensorineural hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss is usually associated with abnormalities of the external and middle ear. Recent reports of patients with lateral semicircular canal malformations indicate inner ear malformations to be associated with sensorineural or conductive hearing loss. Differential diagnosis of conductive hearing loss should include otosclerosis, isolated ossicular deformities, inner ear anomalies or a combination of these. In this report, a case is described with right vestibule-lateral semicircular canal dysplasia presenting at our centre with bilateral ot…

Preface

SWALLOWING, SPEECH AND OROFACIAL DISORDERS IN CHILDREN WITH ADENOTONSILLAR HYPERTROPHY

A prospective observational study was conducted to evaluate the presence of swallowing, speech and orofacial muscle imbalance (OMI) disorders in patients with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and their regression after surgery. ENT, speech therapist and dentistry examination were conducted before and 12 months after surgery in 78 children between the ages of 2 and 12 with dysphagia, speech disorders and OMI adenotonsillar hypertrophy related with sleep-disordered breathing. Of the 78 patients enrolled, 62 underwent adenotonsillectomy, 9 adenoidectomy and 7 volume reduction of the palatine tonsils with a 12-month post-operative increase in SWAL-QOL score, weight gain, correction of ogival palate, …

Treatment with a new nutraceutical compound on patients suffering from balance disorders: Dizziness handicap inventory scores

Objective: Purpose: To investigate whether treatment with citicoline, in association with vitamin B6, ginger, melissa and ViNitrox, could improve Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) scores in patients affected by dizziness and vertigo. Materials and methods: Fifty-five consecutive subjects (ranging from 49 to 71 years of age) who complained of dizziness and vertigo of unknown origins were treated with citicoline (500 mg) along with ginger (200 mg), vitamin B6 (2.1 mg), melissa (300 mg) and ViNitrox (150 mg) twice per day for a two-month period. Patients underwent pure tone audiometry (PTA) and a neurotological visit including spontaneous nystagmus testing, bedside examination and the Romberg…

Cause, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and treatment of meniere's disease and endolymphatic hydrops

Meniere's disease (MD) is characterized by the triad of fluctuating hearing loss, episodic vertigo and tinnitus, and by endolymphatic hydrops found on postmortem examinations. Since the description of endolymphatic hydrops by Hallpike and Cairns all the physiopathology of Meniere's symptoms have been based on assumption that the pathologic lesion was the cause of the symptoms. Paparella came out term and concept towards understanding of a disease was, "pathogenesis," which applies to all otological diseases, in general and in particular within this context of MD, which allows us to better understand this disease. After Schuknecht proposed the theory of membranous rupture causing the mixing …

Meniere's disease: Therapeutic options

Meniere's disease (MD) is characterized by the triad of fluctuating hearing loss, episodic vertigo and tinnitus, and by endolymphatic hydrops found on postmortem examinations. Since the description of endolymphatic hydrops by Hallpike and Cairns, the physiopathology of Meniere's symptoms has been based on assumption that the pathologic lesion was the cause of the symptoms. Schuknecht proposed the theory of membranous rupture causing the mixing up of endolymph and perilymph leading to the occurrence of Meniere's symptoms. Lawrence confirmed this theory with research on experimental animals. In 1995 the AAO-HNS criteria defines "Possible MD (Grade D), Probable MD (Grade C), Definite MD (Grade…

Survey on the demand of sicilian physicians for a specific training on human cadavers and animals

Currently, surgical training of physicians in Italy has limited possibilities.Surgical training can be performed on dissection of human bodies as well as in animal laboratories, but experience is very poor. We conducted a survey through an anonymous questionnaire in order to evaluate the opinions of post-graduate physicians on their need for experience training on both human and animal bodies during their medical studies. A total of 165 young Sicilian physicians responded to the survey. Only 14 of them (8.5%) declared they had specific training on a live animal, while 46 (27.9%) reported they already attended cadaver labs. Over 70% assigned the maximum score to the utility of such courses a…

Sensorineural hearing loss: Pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment

Hearing loss is one the commonest disabling diseases affecting populations of all ages worldwide. The impairment of hearing may be the cause of impaired language development in children, the cause of scholarly issues in adolescents, the cause of worsening of quality of life in the adults, and the cause of isolation of aged people. In this book, the authors present the hearing loss in all its facets, starting from the basis of pathophysiology and anatomy, passing through the clinical and instrumental diagnosis and, finally, describing the most important diseases causing hearing loss with reasonable treatment options. A section was dedicated to the imaging of the ear with about 100 original f…