Factors affecting axillary lymph node retrieval and assessment in breast cancer patients.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in North America. Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is important for staging, prognosis, and adjuvant treatment decisions. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affect the number of lymph nodes (LN) retrieved in ALND for breast cancer.

Are older cancer patients being referred to oncologists? A mail questionnaire of Ontario primary care practitioners to evaluate their referral patterns.

Purpose: Understanding why older patients are frequently underrepresented in cancer services use and clinical research may help to increase their participation in clinical trials and eventually result in better cancer care for this vulnerable population.

Methods: To identify potential barriers that may prevent older cancer patients from being referred from a primary care physician (PCP) to an oncology specialist, a self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 9,312 PCPs throughout Ontario.

Results: With a one-time mailing, 2,240 questionnaires were returned (response rate, 24%) of which 2,089 (93%) were assessable.

[Cystic tumor of the mediastinum of digestive origin. Apropos of a new case. Diagnostic and pathogenic hypotheses].

An incidental discovery of a posterior and inferior mediastinal cyst-like opacity allowed us to diagnose a pulmonary sequestration in a 45-year old woman. The operative findings showed an hour-glass tumor of the inferior mediastinum with an abdominal prolongation attached by a stalk onto the top of the stomach. These findings made us change our diagnosis in favour of an abdomino-thoracic gastric duplication.

Human temporary threshold shift (TTS) and damage risk.

Information regarding the relation of human temporary threshold shift (TTS) to properties of steady-state and intermittent noise published since the 1966 appearance of the CHABA damage risk contours is reviewed. The review focuses on results from four investigative areas relevant to potential revision of the CHABA contours including effects of long-duration exposure and asymptotic threshold shifts (ATS); equivalent quiet and/or safe noise levels; effects of intermittency; and use of noise-induced temporary threshold shift (NITTS) to predict susceptibility to noise-induced permanent threshold shift (NIPTS). These data indicate that two of three major postulates on which the original contours were based are not valid.

Hearing compensation evaluation.

Compensation claims for hearing loss are increasing. Physicians and audiologists supply necessary information regarding probable cause and amount of loss for evaluating these claims. Compensable hearing loss can arise from several sources.

A clinically feasible method for determining frequency resolution.

Psychophysical tuning curves were generated by normally hearing and hearing-impaired subjects using two methods; a detailed laboratory method and a Bekesy method proposed as suitable for clinical use. The two methods were compared for stability, the amount of masking produced and the pattern of the masking functions. The two measures of frequency resolution were found to be equally reliable and showed the same range of repeatability as simple pure tone thresholds.

Auditory brain stem response testing in anesthetized horses.

Auditory brain stem response testing, using insert earphones, was performed in 10 healthy horses given general anesthesia. The procedure involved clicks of alternating polarity delivered at a rate of 25 clicks/s. Wave forms, including five peaks, were commonly identified.

Medicinal therapy for hearing loss resulting from noise exposure.

A large-scale review of the literature concerning the effects of noise on hearing, published primarily during the 1970s, was initiated by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke in 1981. This review demonstrated a continuing search for medicinal treatment for the adverse effects of noise on hearing. The present article focuses on the results of investigations of human subjects.

Evaluation of industrial hearing conservation programs: a review and analysis.

In 1981, a large scale reviews of the literature concerning the effects of noise on hearing was initiated by the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke. This review concentrated on the information published in the decade of the 1970's and underscored the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of industrial hearing conservation programs. Published information on this topic was scanty prior to 1970.

Auditory brain stem response and audiologic tests in idiopathic facial nerve paralysis.

Idiopathic facial nerve paralysis is believed by some to represent one aspect of a polyneuropathy. Conventional audiologic tests have not demonstrated involvement of the auditory portion of the eighth cranial nerve in this disorder. A case history is given of a patient with this disorder and an associated abnormal auditory brain stem response (ABR).

Effects of prolonged noise exposure in chinchillas with severed middle ear muscles.

Using the round window-recorded cochlear microphonic as the index of acoustic reflex activity, we noted a decay in the strength of middle ear muscle contraction in the chinchilla following an eight hour exposure to octave band noise (500 Hz. center frequency, 95 dB. sound pressure level).

The effects of frequency modulation on middle ear reflex.

The effect of frequency modulation on acoustic middle ear muscle reflex persistence was studied. Changes in impedance at the tympanic membrane were used as an indirect indication of reflex activity. Signals were a 2-kHz pure tone, a narrow band of noise centered at 2-kHz, and FM signals centered at 2-kHz modulated 70, 140, and 280 times per second.

Acoustic reflex decay in chinchillas during a long-term exposure to noise.

Reflex decay to 0.5 kHz octave-band noise at 95 dB SPL was measured in chinchillas during four 2-hr exposure periods separated by 11-min quiet intervals. Round window electrodes were implanted in six animals.

Reflex threshold shift in chinchillas following a prolonged exposure to noise.

The acoustic reflex is considered to reduce transmission across the middle ear and thereby protect the inner ear from intense sounds. The dynamic properties of this reflex seem to be a function of the duration of the eliciting stimulus. Assessment of the protective action afforded by middle-ear muscle contractions for long-term noise exposures requires the knowledge of how these dynamic properties change under such conditions.

Temporary threshold shift following 24-hour noise exposure.

Nine men were exposed to 24 hours of continuous noise in a sound field. The noise was an octave band centered at 4 kHz at levels 80 and 85 dB. Hearing thresholds were measured monaurally at 11 test frequencies ranging from 250 to 10000 Hz before, during, and after exposure.

Asymptotic threshold shift in people with sensorineural hearing loss.

Twelve men with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss in the frequency range of 3 to 6 kHz were exposed to 24 hours of continuous noise. The noise was an octave band centered at 4 kHz at a level of 85 dB. Hearing thresholds were measured monaurally at 11 test frequencies ranging from 250 to 10,000 Hz prior to exposure and at selected intervals during and after exposure.