Influence of Metabolic Syndrome on the Recovery from Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

 Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) is a disabling otologic urgency whose ethiopathogenesis is still controversial. Only in recent years metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been implicated as a possible aggravating factor in the prognosis of recovery from ISSHL.  To assess whether the preexistence of MetS interferes on hearing recovery levels.

Is pediatric cholesteatoma more aggressive in children than in adults? A comparative study using the EAONO/JOS classification.

Introduction: chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma (COMC) is a serious condition that may cause severe complications. According to the literature, in pediatric patients this entity can have a more aggressive behavior, leading to higher rates of morbidity. Consensus regarding the definition of aggressive and extensive cholesteatoma was lacking until recently.

Infectious complications in head and neck surgery: Porto Oncology Centre retrospective analysis.

Objective: To analyze the impact of infectious complications and microbiology in the postoperative period after major oncologic neck surgeries.

Methods: A retrospective study conducted in an oncology center, including all the consecutive patients who developed infectious complications after major neck cancer surgery, from October 2012 to May 2016 (44 months). Among other data, we collected TNM stage, ASA score, body mass index, comorbidities and habits, pre and postoperative hemoglobin levels, albumin serum levels, pre-surgical treatments, length of inpatient stay, isolated microbiological agents and the recorded complications and mortality rate.

Vertebro-vertebral fistula presenting as a pulsatile tinnitus.

Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of a corresponding external acoustic stimulus, resulting in an estimated prevalence of 10% to 15% in adults. Tinnitus may be classified as pulsatile (PT) or continuous (non-PT), and may be subjective (heard only by the patient) or objective (also audible to the examiner). PT is usually related to vascular causes and is pulse synchronous (coinciding with the patient's heartbeat).