Drainage of subperiosteal orbital abscesses complicating pediatric ethmoiditis: comparison between external and transnasal approaches.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the external (EA), transnasal endoscopic (TEA), and combined (CA) external and transnasal approaches to drain orbital subperiosteal abscesses complicating pediatric ethmoiditis.

Methods: This retrospective study included 38 children consecutively operated in our center for an orbital subperiosteal abscess complicating an acute ethmoiditis. The distribution of surgical approaches used for our patients was the following: 12 TEA (32%), 21 EA (55%) and 5 CA (13%).

Retropharyngeal infections in children. Treatment strategies and outcomes.

Objective: To optimize the treatment of retropharyngeal infections in children.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of 101 consecutive pediatric cases of retropharyngeal infections referred to our center from January 2006 to July 2009.

Results: Two-thirds of patients were males.

Acute mastoiditis in children: a retrospective study of 188 patients.

Objective: The aim of this study is to define the clinical and bacteriological characteristics of acute mastoiditis (AM) in children in order to optimize diagnostic work-up and treatment.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 188 children between 3 months and 15 years of age (15±24 months; median±SD) were referred to our pediatric ENT emergency center for AM during a 7-year period (December 2001-January 2008).

Results: Fifty seven percent were male and 43% were female.

Questionnaire and nocturnal oxymetry in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy.

Objectives: Draw up an evaluative approach to the diagnostic contribution of nocturnal oximetry associated with a parental questionnaire in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH).

Patients And Methods: Analysis of a parental questionnaire on sleep patterns and oximetry recording made in children with ATH. The results of the oximetry were compared to the data gathered from the questionnaire.

Review of performance assessment and improvement in ambulatory medical care.

Health care plans often consider quality of care as a means of containing rising health costs. The assessment of physician and group practice performance has become increasingly widespread in ambulatory care. This article reviews the three main methods used to improve and assess performance: practice audits, peer-review groups and practice visits.

Long-term follow-up and mechanisms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and related syndromes through infancy and childhood.

Background: Although tonsil and adenoid (T&A) enlargement in children is a leading cause of it, Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) may occur at any age. But even after T&A surgery, some children experience recurrent apneic episodes. The reasons for possible recurrence are unclear.

Cartilage tympanoplasty for posterosuperior retraction pockets of the pars tensa in children.

Objective: To assess the functional and anatomic results of cartilage grafting in children with a severe retraction pocket of the posterosuperior part of the pars tensa and operated on by pocket excision and cartilage grafting.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Dual-probe pH monitoring for the assessment of gastroesophageal reflux in the course of chronic hoarseness in children.

The purpose of our study was to assess gastroesophageal reflux (GER) by dual-probe pH monitoring in children suffering from chronic hoarseness for more than six months. Seventeen children (aged between 2 and 12 years, 10 boys and 7 girls) were enrolled. All children underwent a laryngoscopy and a 24-hour dual-probe pH monitoring.

Iatrogenic pharyngoesophageal perforation in premature infants.

Background: Premature infants are particularly at risk of iatrogenic pharyngoesophageal perforation. It is a rare occurrence but when it does occur it often mimics esophageal atresia. In the light of 10 patients treated in our service and those reported in the literature we have highlighted the diagnostic difficulties and discussed the appropriate management.

Nasal fossae dimensions in the neonate and young infant: a computed tomographic scan study.

Objective: To determine normal values in the size of nasal fossae to better delineate the concept of nasal stenosis in young infants with nasal obstruction and without choanal atresia.

Design: Case series.

Setting: Referral center.

[Chronic laryngitis in children: the role of gastroesophageal reflux].

Unlabelled: Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) is associated with a number of inflammatory ENT disorders in the adult and is correlated with recurrent croup in the child.

Aim: To estimate the frequency of GOR in a population of children consulting for chronic laryngotracheal symptoms.

Method: The study included 17 children, aged between 2 and 14 years (mean: 7 years) all of whom suffered from dysphonia or a chronic cough.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea in an infant: a case report.

Primary malignant tumours of the trachea are extremely rare in infants. This report describes an 11-month-old boy suffering from severe dyspnea with a 5-month history of stridor and 'bronchitis'. A hard mass could be palpated below the right lobe of the thyroid gland.

Hoarseness and gastroesophageal reflux in children.

The importance of a hoarse voice or voice change in children has not been stressed in the literature in the same way as it has been in adults. We present 21 children who had been suffering from chronic hoarseness for more than three months and had on fibre-optic laryngoscopy findings suggestive of gastroesophageal reflux. None of them had complained of gastroesophageal symptoms.

Non-endoscopic techniques for the evaluation of the pediatric airway.

In children with stridor, a detailed evaluation of the airway is often required to assess precisely its anatomical and functional status. Various methods of assessment have been developed and airway management may include, as well as rigid and flexible endoscopy, the use of imaging techniques such as plain X-rays, a barium oesophagogram, ultrasound, a CT scan, a magnetic resonance image (MRI) and an angiogram, as well as respiratory function tests including acoustic rhinometry and flow volume loops or even pH monitoring. This article aims to highlight the valuable information these alternative techniques can provide.

[Gastroesophageal reflux and dysphonia in children].

Unlabelled: With the exception of congenital anomalies, the aetiology of dysphonia in children is often unknown. Yet, in adults, GOR has been shown to play an important role. 22 children (aged between 2 and 14 years, 14 boys and 8 girls), who had been suffering from a chronic dysphonia for more than six months were seen at consultation.

[Recurrent thyroid abscess in children and malformations of the pyriform sinus].

Recurrent "abscesses" occurring in the thyroid area in children are due to branchial anomalies. Their origin is located close to the oesophageal inlet at the apex of the lateral hypopharyngeal process: the pyriform sinus. The key for the diagnosis comes from laryngohypopharyngoscopy.

Is nasal polyposis in cystic fibrosis a direct manifestation of genetic mutation or a complication of chronic infection?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common autosomal recessive disease among Caucasians. It is characterized by abnormal transepithelial sodium and chloride transport. The clinical expressions of the disorder are highly variable including nasal polyposis.

Gastroesophageal reflux and ENT disorders in childhood.

Among controversies in pediatric otorhinolaryngology, the role of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) in inflammatory disorders of the upper airway remains of major concern. A laryngeal involvement by GER was demonstrated in adults and a correlation with GER has been found in pediatric populations with recurrent croup. However, although considered statistically significant, these results concern a few patients only and are inconclusive for a causal relationship.

[Tonsillectomy in a day care hospital. A socioeconomic study at the Robert Debré Hospital in Paris].

Tonsillectomy as an outpatient procedure in children is a common practice in the United States and many other countries. In French public hospitals, it remains quite rare. A 6-month prospective study was conducted in order to check the procedure's feasibility in a large Paris university children's hospital, to describe the involved population and to search for the possible benefits which could be made by a public hospital from an increase in day surgery practice for tonsillectomy.

Size of endotracheal tube and neonatal acquired subglottic stenosis. Study Group for Neonatology and Pediatric Emergencies in the Parisian Area.

Objective: Risk factors for acquired laryngotracheal stenosis in newborn infants are poorly known. The extreme scarcity of acquired laryngotracheal stenosis in young infants in France, compared with the published rate in the English literature, suggested that these patients may be treated in a different way in France. A prospective study was performed to analyze local features.

Gastropharyngeal reflux in infants and children. A pharyngeal pH monitoring study.

Gastroesophageal reflux has been shown to play an important role in chronic and acute inflammatory disorders of the airway. In particular, gastroesophageal reflux has been suggested to be the cause of pharyngolaryngeal problems, according to the literature, at any age. However, to our knowledge, the presence of acid in the pharynx in pathological cases has not yet been proved.