Salivary cortisone as potential predictor of occupational exposure to noise and related stress.

Salivary cortisone strongly correlates with serum cortisol, and since it is less invasive to measure salivary cortisone than serum cortisol and easier than to measure cortisol in saliva, as its concentrations are much lower, we wanted to compare salivary cortisone and cortisol levels as markers of noise-induced stress reaction. The study included 104 participants aged 19-30 years, 50 of whom were exposed to occupational noise ≥85 dB(A) and 54 non-exposed, control students. All participants took samples of their saliva with Salivette Cortisol synthetic swabs on three consecutive working days first thing in the morning.

Dedifferentiated Primary Parosteal Osteosarcoma of the Temporal Bone in a 19-Year-Old Patient: A Case Report.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant tumor affecting the bone but is a rare occurrence in the head and neck region. Complete surgical resection with wide surgical margins is currently the main treatment strategy for osteosarcoma but can be hard to achieve due to the complex anatomy of the head and neck. We report the first case of primary high-grade dedifferentiated parosteal osteosarcoma arising from the temporal bone in published literature.

Impact of Intraoperative Findings on Hearing in Revision Ear Surgery.

Introduction: Hearing results after chronic ear surgery encompass recurrence, localization and extent of cholesteatoma, type of surgery, ossiculoplasty methods, but rarely interpret intraoperative findings. This study aimed to analyze the impact of intraoperative findings in revision tympanomastoidectomy in predicting postoperative hearing.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective non-randomized cohort of 101 patients treated for recurrent chronic otitis media by tympanomastoidectomy.

COMPARISON OF HEARING OUTCOMES AFTER STAPES SURGERY DEPENDING ON PROSTHESIS TYPE: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS.

Stapes surgery is generally performed to treat otosclerosis, and there are numerous surgical techniques and prosthesis materials available. Critical evaluation of postoperative hearing outcomes is crucial for identification and further improvement of treatment options. This study is a non-randomized retrospective analysis of hearing threshold levels before and after stapedectomy or stapedotomy in 365 patients during a twenty-year period.

RHINOGENIC MENINGITIS CAUSED BY CONGENITAL PETROUS APEX CHOLESTEATOMA: SIMULTANEOUS SURGICAL TREATMENT THROUGH TRANSOTIC AND TRANSSPHENOIDAL APPROACH.

A 66-year-old male patient was admitted due to high fever, severe headaches and disturbance of consciousness. Meningitis was confirmed by lumbar puncture and intravenous antimicrobial therapy was started. Since he had undergone radical tympanomastoidectomy 15 years before, otogenic meningitis was suspected, so the patient was referred to our department.

The usefulness of wideband absorbance in the diagnosis of otosclerosis.

To compare wideband absorbance (WBA) patterns between ears with otosclerosis and normal hearing ears and to investigate if WBA findings could be useful in the diagnosis of otosclerosis. WBA was obtained at 107 frequency samples ranging from 0.226 to 8 kHz (24 per octave).

ACTIVE MIDDLE EAR VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE SOUND IMPLANT.

The Vibrant Soundbridge represents a new approach to hearing improvement in the form of active implantable middle ear hearing device. Unlike conventional acoustic hearing aids, which increase the volume of sound that goes to the eardrum, the Vibrant Soundbridge bypasses the ear canal and eardrum by directly vibrating the small bones in the middle ear. Because of its design, no portion of the device is placed in the ear canal itself.

Remission of Recurrent Cochlear Hydrops Associated With Bromocriptine Treatment for Macroprolactinoma.

Objective Current recommendations for cochlear hydrops treatment include systemic glucocorticoids and diuretics. Cochlear cells express dopamine receptors, although their role is unknown in the pathophysiology of cochlear hydrops. Case Description We report the case of remission of recurrent right-sided cochlear hydrops in a young male patient treated with bromocriptine due to pituitary macroprolactinoma.

Recovery From Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss May Be Linked to Chronic Stress Levels and Steroid Treatment Resistance.

Purpose This article investigates the possible connections between the level of chronic stress and success of steroid therapy in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL). Method A single-center, retrospective, longitudinal cohort study on 55 patients in a tertiary referral otology center was examined. Patients diagnosed with SSNHL between 2014 and 2017 were asked to complete a Measure of Perceived Stress (Brajac, Tkalcic, Dragojević, & Gruber, 2003 ) questionnaire.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as Salvage Therapy for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Objective: To measure the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy as salvage therapy after the failure of steroid therapy for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

Materials And Methods: Ninety-three patients with SSNHL were unsuccessfully treated with systemic steroid therapy. Following steroid therapy, 43 patients received additional HBO therapy while 50 did not.

Significance of intraoperative findings in revision tympanomastoidectomy.

Purpose: The study was designed to assess correlations between intraoperative findings in revision tympanomastoidectomy as predictors of cholesteatoma recurrence.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective single-institution cohort of 101 patients who underwent surgical treatment for recurrent chronic otitis media in a tertiary referral otology centre.

Results: Out of 101 patients, 65 had canal wall up and 36 canal wall down revision surgery.

Primary Ameloblastoma of the Temporal Bone.

Ameloblastoma is a locally aggressive tumor derived from odontogenic epithelium. Although benign, its clinical behavior can often exhibit malignant characteristics. It is marked by slow and persistent growth with infiltration of adjacent tissues.

Nasopharyngeal bacterial flora in healthy preschool children during winter-spring months.

The paper aimed to determine the incidence of colonization of Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b and Neisseria meningitidis in the nasopharynges of healthy children in two preschool institutions during winter and spring months, without using antimicrobial treatment or serotyping of these bacteria. In addition to colonization of the above bacteria, the research that continued for 3 months monitored the length of their persistence in and disappearance from children's nasopharynges, children's health statuses, and provision of adequate medical interventions in children demonstrating clinical signs of disease. The ultimate aim of the paper was based on contributing to clearer and more accurate determination of a medical procedure in case of a positive result for bacteria intended to be found in the nasopharynx of a healthy child who spends time in a preschool institution.

Hidradenoma of the external auditory canal: clinical presentation and surgical treatment.

The aim of this article is to present clinical features, diagnostic procedures and surgical treatment of a rare ear tumor. We report a case of 78 year old female with hidradenoma of the external auditory canal. Patient had a sensation of pain and fullness with permanent ottorhea from the right ear for one year Temporal bone computed tomography showed a tumor of the external ear, 6 centimeters in diameter, without bone, temporomandibular joint or intracranial invasion; the tumor was limited medially by the tympanic membrane.

Regulatory T cells in children undergoing rush venom immunotherapy.

Venom immunotherapy (VIT) induces immune tolerance to Hymenoptera venom but the underlying mechanisms are not clarified. Regulatory T cells are thought to play an important role in tolerance induction during specific immunotherapy. Our objective was to determine the effects of rush VIT on the percentage of regulatory T cells and immunosuppressive cytokines interleukin (IL)-10 and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) in children.

Long-term functional outcomes after 10 years of bilateral cochlear implantat use.

The aims were to determine the benefit of bilateral cochlear implantation in a 20 years old patient implanted in Croatia on hearing and speech development. The male patient, after 10 years of deafness, got cochlear implants Med-EL Combi 40+ on both sides in one-stage surgery. The etiology of his deafness was posttraumatic meningitis.

[Clinical and pathophysiological patterns of otitis externa and overview of problematic cases].

Otitis externa can sometimes present itself as a difficult clinical problem, in cases such as unsuccessful outcome of usual therapy, prolonged duration of symptoms or frequent recurrencies with local or systemic complications. In these cases more attention should be focused on possible errors made in establishing the right diagnosis, incorrect sequence of applying therapeutical measures, or presence of unrecognized problems, including individual patient factors, characteristics of the pathogen, or other. In this article we present a case report of a 84-year-old patient with complicated otitis externa, together with a short review of physiology, patophysiology, diagnostic and therapeutical measures in external otitis, and suggest a possible clinical approach in the management of problematic cases.

Etiology of deafness in children cochlear implant candidates in Croatia.

The aim of this study was to provide more information on the causes of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in children cochlear implant candidates in Croatia. The retrospective study included 270 children candidates for cochlear implantation between January 1997 and January 2005 at our institution. The medical assessment of the candidates included the history, physical examination, radiologic evaluation of the temporal bone and audiologic assessment.

Effect of house dust mite immunotherapy on transforming growth factor beta1-producing T cells in asthmatic children.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that regulatory T cells (Treg cells) and immunosuppressive cytokines, such as transforming growth factor BETA1 (TGF-BETA1) and interleukin 10 (IL-10), may have a role in clinically effective allergen specific immunotherapy (SIT).

Objective: To evaluate the effect of SIT on the induction of Treg cells in house dust mite-allergic children and on the expression of specific Treg cell markers (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 [CTLA-4], IL-10, and TGF-BETA1).

Methods: In this uncontrolled open-label study, the percentage of peripheral blood CD4+ Treg cells (CD69 CD45RO+CTLA-4+ and CD3+CD4+CD25+FOXP3+) and the expression of molecules associated with their functions (CTLA-4, TGF-BETA1, and IL-10) were analyzed using flow cytometry in 16 children allergic to house dust mites before and at 3 and 12 months of subcutaneous SIT.