Significant influence of prelingual deafness but less impact of elderly age at implantation on long-term psychoacoustic CI programming parameters.

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate the long-term impact of prelingual deafness and elderly age at cochlear implantation on cochlear implant (CI) programming parameters and CI thresholds METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent cochlear implantation less than 5 years (Prelingual group) and equal and more than 18 years in our institute. The latter group was further divided into Adult and Elderly groups according to whether the patient was younger or older than 65 at implantation. From 152, 69, and 55 patients in the Prelingual, Adult, and Elderly groups, 242, 92, and 58 ears were included.

Intraoperative EABR Testing Predicts Strength of Cochlear Implant Stimulation Optimized After Long-Term Use in Pediatric Malformation Ears.

Objective: This study focused on the intensities of cochlear implant (CI) stimulation in pediatric CI users with inner ear malformation or cochlear nerve deficiency (CND). In this population, CI programming is difficult because a large intensity of CI stimulation is required to achieve sufficient hearing, but the excess CI stimuli often induce facial nerve stimulation. We aimed to assess whether the results of intraoperative electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses (EABRs) testing predict maximum current levels of CI stimuli (cC levels) optimized by a behavioral-based method after long-term CI use.

Management of Already Inserted Ventilation Tubes During Pediatric Cochlear Implantation: To Remove or Leave the Tube?

Objective: Ventilation tube (VT) insertion is usually recommended before cochlear implantation (CI) in pediatric cochlear implant candidates with recurrent acute otitis media (AOM) or chronic otitis media with effusion (OME). However, there is no consensus on whether the VT is beneficial even after CI, that is, whether the tube should be removed or left in place during CI. This study aimed to assess the effect of tube placement after CI, especially on the incidence of post-CI AOM, in pediatric cochlear implant recipients who had undergone VT insertion before CI because of recurrent AOM or chronic OME.

Etiology of hearing loss affects auditory skill development and vocabulary development in pediatric cochlear implantation cases.

Background: Cochlear implantation (CI) is an effective treatment for severe-to-profound hearing loss patients and is currently used as the standard therapeutic option worldwide. However, the outcomes of CI vary among patients.

Aims/objectives: This study aimed to clarify the clinical features for each etiological group as well as the effects of etiology on CI outcomes.

Prognostic impact of incisional or excisional biopsy of cervical lymph node metastases of solid tumors.

Objectives: In performing an open biopsy of a neck mass, an incisional biopsy may increase the risk of cancer cell seeding and dissemination that, ultimately, worsens a patient's survival. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of incisional and excisional biopsies of cervical lymph node metastases of solid tumors on patients' survival.

Methods: A retrospective review was made of patients with cervical metastases of solid tumors who underwent an open biopsy for a diagnosis between 2005 and 2015.

Facial flushing after alcohol intake as a predictor for a high risk of synchronous or metachronous cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Background: In Japan, there has been a lot of reports showing an association between facial flushing after light alcohol consumption and heterozygosity for inactive aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2). Persons with inactive ALDH2 may have a higher risk of alcohol-related oral, pharyngeal and esophageal cancers, compared with those with wild-type ALDH2. The purpose of this study was to examine whether flushers with oral or pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma have an increased risk of synchronous or metachronous cancer of the upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract.

Audio-visual speech perception in prelingually deafened Japanese children following sequential bilateral cochlear implantation.

Objectives: An effect of audio-visual (AV) integration is observed when the auditory and visual stimuli are incongruent (the McGurk effect). In general, AV integration is helpful especially in subjects wearing hearing aids or cochlear implants (CIs). However, the influence of AV integration on spoken word recognition in individuals with bilateral CIs (Bi-CIs) has not been fully investigated so far.

Prognostic impact of salvage treatment on hearing recovery in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss refractory to systemic corticosteroids: A retrospective observational study.

Objective: To determine the prognostic factors for hearing recovery in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) refractory to systemic corticosteroids following salvage treatment.

Methods: This is a retrospective observational study at nine tertiary referral hospitals. A total of 120 patients with sudden deafness refractory to systemic corticosteroids were enrolled.

Audio-visual integration during speech perception in prelingually deafened Japanese children revealed by the McGurk effect.

Objective: To investigate the McGurk effect in profoundly deafened Japanese children with cochlear implants (CI) and in normal-hearing children. This was done to identify how children with profound deafness using CI established audiovisual integration during the speech acquisition period.

Methods: Twenty-four prelingually deafened children with CI and 12 age-matched normal-hearing children participated in this study.

Bilateral duplication of the internal auditory canal: a case with successful cochlear implantation.

We report a case of bilateral duplication of the internal auditory canal (IAC). An 11-month-old girl with congenital profound hearing loss was referred to our hospital. Imaging evaluations revealed bilateral IAC duplication, which contained the facial and cochleovestibular nerves in one canal, but no nerves in the other.

[A case of intraorbital solitary fibrous tumor resected successfully with preoperative arterial embolization].

The solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare spindle cell neoplasm derived from mesenchymal cells. It sometimes recurs clinically, and is categorized as an 'intermediate malignancy' tumor under the WHO (World Health Organization) classification of soft tissue tumors. Several studies have reported on intraorbital SFTs, but none of them has pointed out the utility of preoperative arterial embolization in the case of an intraorbital SFT.

Detection of subclinical recurrence or second primary cancer using (18) F-FDG PET/CT in patients treated curatively for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The efficacy of posttreatment surveillance (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18) F-FDG PET)/CT was evaluated in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: The subjects were 158 patients with HNSCC who underwent PET/CT after definitive treatment. PET/CT detection of subclinical recurrence or a second primary cancer and the effect of timing of PET/CT scans on survival were analyzed.

A case of angiosarcoma arising from internal jugular vein.

Primary angiosarcoma is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. It most commonly arises in the head and neck region; localization in the deep soft tissue of the neck is extremely rare. We herein present a case of angiosarcoma derived from the right internal jugular vein.

SLC26A4 p.Thr410Met homozygous mutation in a patient with a cystic cochlea and an enlarged vestibular aqueduct showing characteristic features of incomplete partition type I and II.

Mutations of SLC26A4 are associated with incomplete partition type II (IP-II) and isolated enlargement of the vestibular aqueduct (EVA). We experienced a congenitally deaf 6-year-old boy with a rare p.Thr410Met homozygous mutation in SLC26A4 who underwent bilateral cochlear implantation.

A randomized controlled clinical trial of topical insulin-like growth factor-1 therapy for sudden deafness refractory to systemic corticosteroid treatment.

Background: To date, no therapeutic option has been established for sudden deafness refractory to systemic corticosteroids. This study aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of topical insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) therapy in comparison to intratympanic corticosteroid therapy.

Methods: We randomly assigned patients with sudden deafness refractory to systemic corticosteroids to receive either gelatin hydrogels impregnated with IGF-1 in the middle ear (62 patients) or four intratympanic injections with dexamethasone (Dex; 58 patients).

Risk factors for retropharyngeal cellulitis in Kawasaki disease.

Objective: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute multisystemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that occurs in infants and children. Retropharyngeal cellulitis has been reported as a rare manifestation of KD. This study investigated the frequency and characteristics of patients with KD manifesting as retropharyngeal soft-tissue swelling.

Electrically evoked auditory brainstem response-based evaluation of the spatial distribution of auditory neuronal tissue in common cavity deformities.

Objective: In a common cavity (CC) deformity, the cochlea and vestibule are confluent to form a single cavity without internal architecture, and distribution of auditory neuronal tissue is unclear. The purposes of this study are to reveal the spatial distribution of auditory neuronal tissue in CC deformity using electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR) during cochlear implantation.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Intra-arterial administration of antibiotics for refractory skull base osteomyelitis.

We report two cases of elderly diabetic men with skull base osteomyelitis (SBO) originating from malignant external otitis (MEO). In both, a devastating infection and neural paralysis deteriorated after conventional therapy, including long-term intravenous administration of culture-directed antibiotics with strict control of blood sugar levels and surgical debridement of infectious granulation tissue. Since poor perfusion of antibiotics in the lesion may be associated with serious nature of MEO/SBO, we administered antibiotics intra-arterially via a retrograde catheter with the tip set at the proximal point of the external carotid artery to increase the tissue drug concentration in the maxillary artery (MA) and ascending pharyngeal artery (APA) supply areas, in which intense inflammation was observed.

Evaluation of cortical processing of language by use of positron emission tomography in hearing loss children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Objective: To predict cochlear implant efficacy and investigate the cortical processing of the visual component of language in profoundly deafened patients with asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection.

Methods And Cases: The cortical activity of two children with CMV-related hearing loss was evaluated with fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) with a visual language task before cochlear implantation. Total development and auditory perception ability were assessed one year after implantation.

Predictive value of middle ear aeration before second-stage operation in staged tympanoplasty with soft-wall reconstruction.

Conclusion: The extent of middle ear aeration before second-stage canal wall-down (CWD) tympanoplasty was correlated with postoperative middle ear stability.

Objective: To evaluate middle ear aeration before second-stage CWD tympanoplasty as a predictor of postoperative re-aeration potential and external auditory canal (EAC) stability in staged CWD tympanoplasty with soft-wall reconstruction (SWR).

Methods: Middle ear aeration was evaluated before and at 1 year after the second-stage operation in patients who underwent staged CWD tympanoplasty with SWR for middle ear cholesteatoma.

Clinical features of rapidly progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.

Conclusion: Rapidly progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) often develops as a symptom of intracranial diseases or systemic vasculitis. For early diagnosis and treatment of these potentially fatal diseases, a history of hearing deterioration within 2 months and associated symptoms may be important.

Objectives: To reveal clinical features and causative diseases for rapidly progressive bilateral SNHL.

[Preoperative diagnosis and surgical strategy in congenital auditory ossicular malformation of 26 ears].

We retrospectively analyzed 26 ears of 21 subjects having auditory ossicular malformation and who had undergone auditory reconstruction between April 2004 and December 2010 at our clinic. We checked preoperative condition, pathological classification, surgical procedure, and hearing improvement. We could predict pathological conditions precisely from preoperative computed tomography (CT), including incudostapedial disconnection (9/12, 75%) and malleus and/or incus fixation (7/12, 58%), which tended to be present in external ear malformation, and stapes footplate fixation (0/12, 0%).

Cochlear implantation in children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection accompanied by psycho-neurological disorders.

Conclusion: Cochlear implantation was effective for deaf children with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection, but their cochlear implant (CI) outcomes were often impaired, depending on the types of CMV-associated psycho-neurological disorders. Evaluation of cognitive development and autistic tendency of implantees might be useful to predict their CI outcomes.

Objectives: To reveal the influence of CMV-associated psycho-neurological disorders on CI outcomes.

Early evaluation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy response using FDG-PET/CT predicts survival prognosis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of early survival prediction after completion of one cycle of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) by positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG).

Methods: Fifty-seven patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) underwent FDG-PET/CT scans twice, before and after one cycle of NAC. We calculated the maximal standardized uptake value (SUV(max)) for a primary tumor and/or metastatic lymph nodes and defined %decrease as the %difference in SUV(max) between the two scans divided by that of the initial scan.