Topical upper airway anaesthesia with lidocaine increases airway resistance by impairing glottic function.

Objective: To assess if two different forms of upper airway topical anaesthesia induce similar changes in airway flow resistance (Rrs).

Design: Serial measurements of Rrs before and after topical anaesthesia with acqueous or paste lidocaine.

Setting: Lung function test laboratory.

Smell dysfunction and related factors in diabetic patients.

Objective: To analyze smell function in diabetic patients and healthy control subjects, with reference to individual characteristics and major complications of the disease.

Research Design And Methods: A cross-sectional study of smell recognition in 68 diabetic patients and 30 control subjects without known cause of smell impairment was conducted. Smell was studied using a kit of flavors that patients were asked to recognize, leading to a smell recognition score ranging from 0 (no recognition) to 20 (perfect recognition).

[Value of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of malignant otitis externa. Apropos of a case].

The authors report the case of a 75 years old insulin dependent diabetic man presenting a malignant otitis externa with facial nerve paralysis. Despite prolonged, adequate parenteral antibiotic therapy, the patient's clinical status did not improve. The addition of hyperbaric oxygen as a complementary treatment was followed by the regression of clinical signs and the resolution of infection.

Early detection of diabetic patients at risk of developing degenerative complications using electric gustometry: a five-year follow-up study.

Objectives: Taste impairment has been reported during the course of diabetes. Although a degenerative mechanism has been suspected, the natural history of taste disorders in diabetes remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to describe the five-year evolution of electric gustometry in diabetic patients compared to healthy control subjects and with reference to degenerative complications of the disease.