Conclusion. Endoscopic transethmoidal sphenoidotomy performed mainly in the early stages of the pathology and by expert hands is WX1very effective in treating isolated sphenoid sinus disease. ...Objective. This study aimed to investigate the causes of isolated sphenoid sinus disease identified in 109 patients and report on the most appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic patterns for an earlier diagnosis and a successful treatment of the disease. Subjects and methods. A total of 109 subjects with various isolated sphenoid pathologies were first examined by general objective examination, nasal sinus endoscopy, CT scan of paranasal sinuses, and in some cases with MRI. Then, they underwent medical and/or surgical treatment. Results. Nineteen patients (17.43%) had isolated sphenoiditis, 6 (5.5%) fungal sinusitis, 30 (27.52%) mucocele, 6 (5.5%) fibrous dysplasia, 6 (5.5%) meningoencephalocele, 5 (4.58%) inverted papilloma, 4 (3.66%) epidermoid carcinoma, 10 (9.17%) liquor fistula, 1 (0.9%) rhabdomyosarcoma, 1 (0.9%)chordoma, and 1 (0.9%) had carotid pseudoaneurysm. Evidence of definitive diagnosis by endoscopy was obtained in less than half of the cases. CT scan, however, sometimes in combination with MRI, determined the pathology in all the cases. A follow-up of at least 4 years post-surgery showed good results in all the patients who underwent endoscopic transethmoidal sphenoidotomy.
Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) includes two main phenotypes: without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) and with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). CRSwNP may be associated with comorbidity, mainly concerning asthma, aspirin ...intolerance, and allergy. CRSwNP patients may also be evaluated by clinical-cytological grading (CCG). The current study investigated the prevalence and characteristics of the different CCG and phenotypes in CRSwNP outpatients examined in clinical practice. This retrospective cross-sectional study enrolled 791 consecutive CRSwNP outpatients (424 males, mean age 48.8 years). In the total population, asthma was a common comorbidity (30.8%) as well as aspirin intolerance (24.8%), and allergy (50.8%). As concerns CCG-grading, 210 (26.5%) outpatients had low-grade, 366 (46.3%) medium, and 215 (27.2%) high. As regards cytological phenotypes, 87 (11%) had neutrophilic type, 371 (46.3%) eosinophilic, 112 (14.2%) mast cell, and 221 (27.9%) mixed. High-grade CCG was significantly associated with more frequent asthma, aspirin intolerance, allergy, recurrent surgery, and mixed cytological phenotype. Low-grade CCG was characterized by fewer comorbidities and operations, and neutrophilic phenotype. Therefore, the present study confirmed that CCG is a useful tool in the management of outpatients with CRSwNP. CRSwNP is frequently associated with asthma, aspirin intolerance, and allergy comorbidity. High-grade CCG is frequently characterized by a mixed cytological phenotype, thus, by more severe progress. These real-world outcomes underline that CRSwNP deserves adequate attention for careful management and optimal identification of the best-tailored therapy; CCG and cytological phenotyping could be fruitful tools in clinical practice. Asthma and aspirin intolerance should be adequately investigated in all CRS patients.
The aim of this study is to report our new endoscopic technique for the repair of nasal septal perforations, called the "slide and patch" technique because it combines a mucoperiosteal free graft of ...the inferior turbinate with a mucosal rotational or advancement flap from the nasal septum.
Twenty-two patients with symptomatic septal nasal perforation of various sizes underwent our method of repair.
At the last follow-up, 21 (95.4%) perforations were closed. There was a partial closure in only 1 patient with a large perforation (3.5 cm in diameter). After surgery, 19 (86.3%) patients were asymptomatic, 2 (9%) showed persistence of crusting, and 1 (4.5%) showed the appearance of nasal obstruction 1 month postoperatively.
The method described herein has shown to be effective in nasal septal perforation repair and in nasal symptoms relief with the advantage of not requiring grafts from outside the nose.
The aim of the present study was to understand if the course of the disease of patients suffering from dust mite allergy could have been negatively affected by the COVID‐19 restrictions, which have ...been certainly important to fight the pandemic, but forced patients to stay at home for a long time.
Diabetes mellitus is associated with impairment in cognitive functions which can complicate adherence to self-care behaviors. We evaluated the incidence of cognitive impairment in patients with ...diabetes mellitus to determine the strength of the association between diabetic foot (a complication that occurs in about 10% of diabetic patients), adherence to the clinician's recommendations, glycemic control, and cognitive function. A prospective study was carried out in a probabilistic sample of older patients with diabetic foot living in three nursing homes. Cognitive functions were evaluated by the MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination), the Trail Making test (TMT), and the Michigan neuropathy screening instrument (MNSI). There were no significant associations between cognitive function and neuropathy or foot alterations, although glycated hemoglobin (HB1Ac > 7%) significantly (
< 0.05) associated with MMSE and adherence to treatment in the 1 month follow-up visit. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that both HB1Ac and the MNSI score significantly (
< 0.05) discriminate subsequent adherence to treatment for foot complication, with a sensitivity of 80.0-73.3% and specificity 70.6-64.7%, respectively. Proper control of foot complications in diabetic patients involves appropriate glycemic control and less severe neuropathy, and seems to be unrelated to cognitive dysfunction, and warrants further studies in order to tailor appropriate treatments to central and peripheral nervous system disorders. Poor glycemic control (Hb1Ac level > 7%) and a neuropathy score of 5.5 in the MNSI are the best-cut off points to discriminate poor adherence to the clinician's recommendations for self-care behaviors in people with diabetic foot complication. In this study, we observed that foot disorders were associated with impaired global cognitive function in elderly patients (aged ≥ 65). Podiatrists and physicians should consider cognitive dysfunction as an important chronic complication in the management of diabetic foot.
Abstract Purpose Extensive nasal polyposis could involve the middle turbinate inducing the surgeon to partially remove it. We initiated this retrospective study to evaluate the effect of a partial ...middle turbinectomy (PMT) on postoperative epistaxis and if sphenopalatine artery ligation (SPAL) could reduce the risk of bleeding in patients without nasal packing. Material and Methods Twenty-seven patients with extended bilateral nasal polyposis and submitted to primary functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) with PMT on 40 sides were retrospectively selected. Postoperative bleeding and other complications were evaluated and compared with those of a control group of 27 patients who underwent FESS with middle turbinate preservation on 40 sides. The study group was furthermore divided into 2 groups according to the execution of SPAL. The incidence of postoperative bleeding of both groups and of the 2 parts of the study group was compared using the Fisher exact test. Results A SPAL was necessary to stop intraoperative bleeding in 21 (52.5%) sides of the study group patients and in 7 (17.5%) of the control group patients. After surgery, epistaxis occurred in 8 cases (20%) in the PMT group (1 submitted to SPAL) and in 2 (5%) of the control group. The comparison with the Fisher exact test confirmed the major tendency of postoperative bleeding in the study group and in those not submitted to SPAL ( P < .05). Conclusions Partial middle turbinectomy causes a higher incidence of postoperative bleeding in patients who are not packed during the FESS operation. The execution of SPAL greatly reduces this risk.
Temporal bone dissection has important role in educating and training oto and skull base surgeons. Mounting of a temporal bone laboratory is expensive. A dedicated magnifying system, such as a ...surgical microscope or an endoscopic equipment, represents one of the most significant costs. The aim of this study is to test and demonstrate the utility of a commercial USB as a low-cost solution to equip the laboratory with a good magnifying system and illumination.
Mast cells (MCs) are involved in several biological processes, such as defense against pathogens, immunomodulation, tissue repair after injury, and angiogenesis. MCs have been shown to change from ...protective immune cells to potent pro-inflammatory cells, influencing the progression of many pathological conditions, including autoimmune diseases and cancers. The role of MCs in the pathogenesis of rhinopathies has often been underestimated, since previous studies have focused their attention on eosinophils and neutrophils, while MCs were considered involved exclusively in allergic rhinitis. However, recent nasal cytology findings have shown the involvement of MCs in several rhinopathies, such as NARMA, NARESMA, and CRSwNP. These recent evidences highlight the crucial role that MCs play in orchestrating the inflammation of the nasal mucosa, through complex biological mechanisms, not yet fully understood. In this context, a better understanding of these mechanisms is fundamental for practicing Precision Medicine, which requires careful population selection and stratification into subgroups based on the phenotype/endotype of the patients, in order to guarantee the patient a tailored therapy. Based on this background, further studies are needed to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms involving MCs and, consequently, to develop targeted therapies aimed to obtain a selective inhibition of tissue remodeling and preventing MC-mediated immune suppression.
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