Olfactory dysfunction in primary Sjogren's syndrome and its correlation with dry eye

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Olfactory dysfunction in primary Sjogren's syndrome and its correlation with dry eye Via Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2021 Oct;41(5):443-449. doi: 10.14639/0392-100X-N1344. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the olfactory function in primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) patients and investigate its correlation with dry eye parameters. METHODS: Thirty-eight pSS patients (49.47 ± 10.06 years) and 20 healthy volunteers (47.40 ± 8.92 years) were enrolled in the study. All participants underwent ENT and eye examinations including a modified Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center (CCCRC) test, tear break-up time (TBUT), ocular surface staining (OSS) and Schirmer test. The parameters were compared between the two groups using Student-t test, and Pearson test was used to evaluate the correlations. RESULTS: Mean Schirmer and TBUT values were 2.39 ± 1.48 mm/5 min and 3.66 ± 1.5 sec in pSS and 18.30 ± 6.16 mm/5 min and 14.60 ± 3.64 sec in healthy subjects (p < 0.001, both). There was a significant decrease in mean odour threshold, odour identification, CCCRC and VAS scores in the pSS group (p < 0.001). Dry eye parameters showed moderate correlations with CCCRC parameters (r = 0.4-0.6, p < 0.001) and olfaction VAS score (r = 0.4-0.75, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There is a mild clinical impairment in smell sense in patients with pSS which seems to be correlated with dry eye parameters. Therefore, smell complaints should be queried in pSS patients suffering from severe dry eye. PMID:34734580 | DOI:10.14639/0392-100X-N1344 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

VITOM-3D-assisted retroauricular neck surgery (RANS-3D): preliminary experience at Candiolo Cancer Institute

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader VITOM-3D-assisted retroauricular neck surgery (RANS-3D): preliminary experience at Candiolo Cancer Institute Via Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2021 Oct;41(5):419-431. doi: 10.14639/0392-100X-N1293. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: The recent introduction of 3D exoscopic surgery has engendered interesting technical improvements in head and neck surgery. The main goal of this study was to describe the application of 3D exoscopic technology on a wide range of pathologies of the neck, benign and malignant, through a minimally invasive retroauricular approach. METHODS: In the period January-December , 2019, 40 consecutive patients underwent neck surgery with a retroauricular approach, enhanced by using a 3D exoscope at the Head and Neck Oncological Unit of Candiolo Cancer Institute. RESULTS: Data regarding time to drain removal, length of hospitalisation, degree of pain experienced, need for opioid drugs during hospitalisation and after discharge, and intra-operative and post-operative complications were collected. All patients were followed for a minimum of 90 days with possible complications evaluated at each post-operative visit. Post-operative outcomes were evaluated at 3 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The current study indicates that VITOM-3D-assisted retroauricular neck surgery (RANS-3D) may be an interesting approach for neck surgery. The hybrid execution of neck dissection under direct and exoscopic vision represents a valid alternative to video-assisted endoscopic- and robot-assisted techniques. PMID:34734577 | DOI:10.14639/0392-100X-N1293 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Reconstruction of Large Tissue Defects After the Resection of Brain Tumors Using a Skin Flap With Vascular Pedicle

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Reconstruction of Large Tissue Defects After the Resection of Brain Tumors Using a Skin Flap With Vascular Pedicle Via leak of cerebrospinal fluid J Craniofac Surg. 2021 Nov-Dec 01;32(8):2692-2694. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000007610. ABSTRACT The reconstruction of large tissue defects after the resection of brain tumors is challenging for every neurosurgeon. The authors describe the benefits of a skin flap with vascular pedicle in the reconstruction of large tissue defects after the resection of brain tumors. In this retrospective analysis, a skin flap with vascular pedicle reconstruction was used in 5 patients who underwent intracranial tumor resection, accompanied by tissue defects, cerebrospinal fluid leakage and scalp infection. The surgical techniques are described, and the outcomes were discussed. The harvested flaps showed well-vascularized healing of the transplanted skin without partial necrosis in all 5 patients. One patient had cerebrospinal rhinorrhea, which was successfully treated by endoscopic repair. Another patient had cerebrospinal fluid leakage, which was successfully treated by continuous lumbar drainage. A skin flap with vascular pedicle is an effective choice for the reconstruction of large tissue defects after the resection of brain tumors. PMID:34727473 | PMC:PMC8549454 | DOI:10.1097/SCS.0000000000007610 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Construction of an automatic score for the evaluation of speech disorders among patients treated for a cancer of the oral cavity or the oropharynx: The Carcinologic Speech Severity Index

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Construction of an automatic score for the evaluation of speech disorders among patients treated for a cancer of the oral cavity or the oropharynx: The Carcinologic Speech Severity Index Via Head & Neck Abstract Background Speech disorders impact quality of life for patients treated with oral cavity and oropharynx cancers. However, there is a lack of uniform and applicable methods for measuring the impact on speech production after treatment in this tumor location. Objective The objective of this work is to (1) model an automatic severity index of speech applicable in clinical practice, that is equivalent or superior to a severity score obtained by human listeners, via several acoustics parameters extracted (a) directly from speech signal and (b) resulting from speech processing and (2) derive an automatic speech intelligibility classification (i.e., mild, moderate, severe) to predict speech disability and handicap by combining the listener comprehension score with self-reported quality of life related to speech. Methods Eighty-seven patients treated for cancer of the oral cavity or the oropharynx and 35 controls performed different tasks of speech production and completed questionnaires on speech-related quality of life. The audio recordings were then evaluated by human perception and automatic speech processing. Then, a score was developed through a classic logistic regression model allowing description of the severity of patients' speech disorders. Results Among the group of parameters subject to extraction from automatic processing of the speech signal, six were retained, producing a correlation at 0.87 with the perceptual reference score, 0.77 with the comprehension score, and 0.5 with speech-related quality of life. The parameters that contributed the most are based on automatic speech recognition systems. These are mainly the automatic average normalized likelihood score on a text reading task and the score of cumulative rankings on pseudowords. The reduced automatic YC2SI is modeled in this way: Y C2SIp = 11.48726 + (1.52926 × Xaveraged normalized likelihood reading) + (−1.94e-06 × Xscore of cumulative ranks pseudowords). Conclusion Automatic processing of speech makes it possible to arrive at valid, reliable, and reproducible parameters able to serve as references in the framework of follow-up of patients treated for cancer of the oral cavity or the oropharynx. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Cerebrospinal fluid leak post COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab for a patient with idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a case report

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Cerebrospinal fluid leak post COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swab for a patient with idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a case report Via leak of cerebrospinal fluid J Surg Case Rep. 2021 Oct 28;2021(10):rjab456. doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjab456. eCollection 2021 Oct. ABSTRACT Coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is an infectious disease that led to a global pandemic. In this article, we reported a case of a young women who is known to have idiopathic intracranial hypertension, with iatrogenic skull base injury from a nasopharyngeal swab. Her case was complicated by meningitis. PMID:34729169 | PMC:PMC8557649 | DOI:10.1093/jscr/rjab456 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Radioactive iodine dose and survival in cats with hyperthyroidism (2015-2020)

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Radioactive iodine dose and survival in cats with hyperthyroidism (2015-2020) Via radioactive iodine J Feline Med Surg. 2021 Nov 3:1098612X211056837. doi: 10.1177/1098612X211056837. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES: Radioactive iodine (131I) is the preferred treatment for feline hyperthyroidism but neither the optimal 131I dose nor consistent predictors of post-treatment azotaemia have been determined. The aims of the study were to evaluate the relationships between: (1) 131I dose and survival; and (2) pretreatment and post-treatment seru m creatinine concentration. METHODS: Medical records of hyperthyroid cats treated with 131I at a single referral hospital were reviewed. Information regarding signalment, body weight, pretreatment and post-treatment serum total thyroxine concentration (TT4), serum creatinine concentration, 131I dose and survival were determined. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to identify variables associated with survival. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to identify variables associated with post-treatment serum creatinine concentration. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-eight (79 male, 119 female) cats were treated for hyperthyroidism with 131I (median dose 138 MBq; interquartile range 92-168). Median survival time was 1153 days (range 16-1871). Post-treatment serum creatinine (P <0.001) and age (P = 0.049) were significantly associated with survival. Every 10 µmol/l increase in post-treatment s erum creatinine concentration and every year increase in age was associated with a 1.07 fold (confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.11) and 1.17-fold (CI 1.00-1.37) increase in the daily hazard of death, respectively. Pretreatment serum creatinine concentration was directly, and post-treatment serum TT4 concentration was inversely, associated with post-treatment serum creatinine concentration. Every 1 μmol/l increase in pretreatment serum creatinine concentration was associated with an increase in post-treatment serum creatinine concentration of 0.7 μmol/l (SE 0.17; P <0.001). Conversely, every 1 nmol/l decrease in post-treatment serum TT4 concentration was associated with a 1.2 μmol/l (SE 0.61; P <0.001) increase in post-treatment serum creatinine concentration. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Post-treatment serum TT4 concentration was associated with post-treatment azotaemia, which was associated with survival. Although 131I dose was not directly assoc iated with survival, dosing strategies that minimise post-treatment hypothyroidism and azotaemia could improve patient survival. PMID:34730466 | DOI:10.1177/1098612X211056837 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

New Drug Approvals

• Scemblix (asciminib) Tablets

  Date of Approval: October 29, 2021
  Treatment for: Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
  Press Release | Approval History

• Vuity (pilocarpine hydrochloride) Ophthalmic Solution

  Date of Approval: October 28, 2021
  Treatment for: Presbyopia
  Press Release | Approval History

• Susvimo (ranibizumab) Injection for Intravitreal Use via Ocular Implant

  Date of Approval: October 25, 2021
  Treatment for:
  Press Release | Approval History

• Xipere (triamcinolone acetonide) Injection

  Date of Approval: October 22, 2021
  Treatment for: Macular Edema, Uveitis
  Press Release | Approval History

• Zimhi (naloxone hydrochloride) Injection

  Date of Approval: October 15, 2021
  Treatment for: Opioid Overdose
  Press Release | Approval History

• Seglentis (celecoxib and tramadol hydrochloride) Tablets

  Date of Approval: October 15, 2021
  Treatment for: Pain
  Press Release | Approval History

• Tyrvaya (varenicline) Nasal Spray

  Date of Approval: October 15, 2021
  Treatment for: Dry Eye Disease
  Press Release | Approval History

• Rethymic (allogeneic processed thymus tissue-agdc) for Surgical Implantation

  Date of Approval: October 8, 2021
  Treatment for: Congenital Athymia
  Press Release | Approval History

• Tavneos (avacopan) Capsules

  Date of Approval: October 7, 2021
  Treatment for: ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
  Press Release | Approval History

Association between diabetes mellitus and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: a population‐based cross‐sectional study

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Association between diabetes mellitus and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: a population‐based cross‐sectional study Via Clinical Otolaryngology ABSTRACT Objective To investigate the association between physician-diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) phenotypes in a national population-based study. Study Design Retrospective cross-sectional study. Setting Population-based survey data collected by the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey between January 2008 and December 2012. Participants and Methods A total of 34,670 participants aged over 19 years were enrolled in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 2008 to 2012. The relationship of CRS prevalence, with and without nasal polyps, with physician-diagnosed DM and non-DM were assessed. Differences in sinonasal symptoms between patients with and without DM were analyzed in this cross-sectional study. Results A significant association was observed between DM and CRS with nasal polyps after adjustment for multiple variables. No substantial association was observed between DM and CRS without nasal polyps. Among patients with CRS, olfactory dysfunction for >3 months was significantly more frequent in the DM group than in the non-DM group. Conclusion We demonstrated significant associations between DM and CRS with nasal polyps and olfactory dysfunction among patients with CRS in a large national clinical cohort study. The direct mechanism of the association between DM and CRS with nasal polyps should be further investigated to clarify the pathogenesis of CRS with nasal polyps. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Anterior cruciate ligament innervation in primary knee osteoarthritis

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Anterior cruciate ligament innervation in primary knee osteoarthritis Via Cellular and Molecular Biology Histol Histopathol. 2021 Nov 2:18389. doi: 10.14670/HH-18-389. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To relate the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) innervation and histologic degeneration status to the knee osteoarthritis radiologic and functional status. DESIGN: Prospective observational study including 30 consecutive patients affected by primary knee osteoarthritis undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). All patients suffering secondary knee osteoarthritis, an antecedent of an infectious process, malignant process, autoimmune disorder, or previous knee surgery were excluded. We recorded biodemographic, clinical, and radiologic variables of all participants previous to the TKA procedure. ACL tissue was harvested during TKA standard procedure and the obtained sample was fixed in 4% formalin and paraffin-embedded. ACL cross-sections were stained by haematoxylin-eosin and Gallego staining for elastic and collagen fibers, and Sevier-Munger silver staining for nervous tissue. RESULTS: ACL samples histologic degeneration classification reported 15.4% normal, 23.1% slight, 26.9% mild, 11.5% moderate and 23.1% marked. We noted 46.2% large nervous fascicles, 15.4% medium fascicles, 3.8% small fascicles, and no nerve fibers were found in 34.6% ACL samples. No significant correlation was found between the histologic degeneration and the nervous fiber quantification (p>0.05, in all cases). We noted a significant histologic degeneration inverse correlation with the VAS scale (p=0.016), and nervous fiber quantification correlation with Lequesne maximum distance walked punctuation (p=0.043). We also noted greater nervous fiber quantification with minor radiological knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade II). CONCLUSIONS: ACL degeneration and innervation deficit may play a role in primary knee osteoarthritis onset, but the lack of a defining relationship among the different parameters assessed justifies further research in greater populations. PMID:34725806 | DOI:10.14670/HH-18-389 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Cutoff Age Between Pediatric and Adult Thyroid Differentiated Cancer: Is 18 Years Old Appropriate?

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Cutoff Age Between Pediatric and Adult Thyroid Differentiated Cancer: Is 18 Years Old Appropriate? Via liebertpub1 Thyroid, Ahead of Print. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Posttraumatic Vernet syndrome without fracture: A case report and short literature review

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Posttraumatic Vernet syndrome without fracture: A case report and short literature review Via swallowing exercises Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 Oct 29;100(43):e27618. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000027618. ABSTRACT RATIONALE: The aim of this case is to emphasize the need to include nerve traction in the differential diagnosis of nerve deficits associated with Vernet syndrome. This mechanism of injury has been described only once, but must not be overlooked and should be considered and included as a possible cause in diagnostic algorithms. PATIENT CONCERNS: A patient presenting with dysphagia, ex treme hoarseness, and limited shoulder movement after head injury was admitted to the emergency department. DIAGNOSES: Multidisciplinary evaluation was performed, and nerve traction-induced Vernet syndrome was established as a running diagnosis. INTERVENTIONS: Intensive swallowing and speech exercises, assisted by a specialist, were performed. OUTCOMES: Swallowing and speech exercises significantly and objectively improved the patient's swallowing and voice, with mild hoarseness of voice remaining as the main symptom. Spectral acoustic analysis went from a voice pitch of 163.77 Hz to normal (187.77 Hz), jitter improved from 17.87% to 0.86% and shimmer values decreased from 39.86% to 19.60%. Breathiness during phonation measuring 2.91% was reduced to 1.08% and appropriate average intensity of voice (63.95 dB) was achieved. Initial dysphagia and fluid retention in the right piriform sinus, along with tracheal aspiration, were not observed in control fiberoptic endosc opic evaluation of swallowing. LESSONS: According to our knowledge and literature data, this is the second reported case of posttraumatic Vernet syndrome without radiologically confirmed jugular foramen fracture, induced by nerve traction. Such patients need a prompt multidisciplinary approach in diagnosis and timely posttraumatic rehabilitation therapy for favorable clinical evolution and retrieval of nerve function. PMID:34713846 | DOI:10.1097/MD.0000000000027618 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.