Prognosis Prediction of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Using Ensemble Artificial Intelligence Learning Models.

Objective: We used simple variables to construct prognostic prediction ensemble learning models for patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

Study Design: Retrospectively study.

Setting: Tertiary medical center.

Normal Weight Central Obesity is a Poor Prognostic Factor for Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

Objectives: To investigate the role of normal weight central obesity (NWCO) in the prognosis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

Methods: We retrospectively investigated 807 cases of SSNHL from January of 2008 to August of 2019 from the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital in southern Taiwan. We analyzed the association between overweight and obesity, NWCO, and the prognosis of SSNHL.

Predictive Factors and Audiometric Outcome Comparison Between Titanium Prosthesis and Autologous Incus in Traumatic Ossicular Injury.

Objectives: To investigate the etiology and ossicular pathology of traumatic ossicular injury in Taiwan and examine the hearing outcomes and predictive factors between the titanium prosthesis and autologous incus groups.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with traumatic ossicular injury from 2011 to 2020 in Taiwan. Patients were divided into the titanium or autologous group according to the surgical materials used.

Glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1) genetic polymorphisms and the outcomes of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Background: The glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) encodes the receptor to which cortisol and other glucocorticoids bind. Steroids in either oral, intratympanic, or intravascular forms are the treatment of choice for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), but the outcome varies. The outcomes of SSNHL have been investigated for related factors, including age, initial hearing loss severity and pattern, vertigo, genetic variations, and the time between onset and treatment.

Facial canal dehiscence, dural exposure, and labyrinthine fistula in middle ear cholesteatoma and mastoiditis.

Purpose: To analyze the prevalence and associations of facial canal dehiscence (FCD), dural exposure, and labyrinthine fistula in chronic otitis media (COM) with and without cholesteatoma.

Methods: This was a retrospective study performed in an academic medical center. Patients who received tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy for COM with and without cholesteatoma were included.

Downregulation of Calreticulin and Annexin A2 Expression in Acquired Middle Ear Cholesteatoma by 2-DE Analysis.

Background: Many factors are thought to be associated with the development of cholesteatoma, while the mechanisms of its formation remain unclear. This study aimed to identify the potential mechanisms of the proliferation and growth of cholesteatoma by analysis of the differential expressions of proteins in cholesteatoma and retroauricular skin tissue collected from the same patients.

Methods: The present study is a retrospective study performed in an academic medical center.

Safety Parameters of Quantum Molecular Resonance Devices During Thyroid Surgery: Porcine Model Using Continuous Neuromonitoring.

Objectives: Quantum molecular resonance (QMR) devices have been applied as energy-based devices in many head and neck surgeries; however, research on their use in thyroid surgery is lacking. This study aimed to investigate the safety parameters of QMR devices during thyroidectomy when dissection was adjacent to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN).

Methods: This study included eight piglets with 16 RLNs, and real-time electromyography (EMG) signals were obtained from continuous intraoperative neuromonitoring (C-IONM).

The association of genetic polymorphisms in interleukin-1 receptors type 1 and type 2 with sudden sensorineural hearing loss in a Taiwanese population: a case control study.

Background: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a disease with an unknown etiology; damage to the auditory nerve from inflammation due to viral infection or vascular incidents has been implicated. According to several studies, cytokines, including interleukins, are associated with SSNHL in terms of serum expression and genetic polymorphisms. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) plays a key role in inflammation and may be associated with SSNHL.

The association of heat shock protein genetic polymorphisms with age-related hearing impairment in Taiwan.

Background: Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) is a major disability among the elderly population. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) were found to be associated with ARHI in animal studies. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of HSP genes with ARHI in an elderly population in Taiwan.

Comparative Study of Endoscopic and Microscopic Type I Tympanoplasty in Terms of Delayed Facial Palsy.

Objective: Delayed facial palsy is a complication of otologic surgery. Tympanoplasty is commonly employed in chronic otitis media. We compared the incidence and characteristics of delayed facial palsy and hearing restoration between endoscopic and microscopic tympanoplasty for the treatment of simple chronic otitis media.

Autophagy Is Deficient and May be Negatively Regulated by SERPINB3 in Middle Ear Cholesteatoma.

Hypothesis: Whereas autophagy has been linked to various human diseases, whether it also plays a role in cholesteatoma is virtually unknown. This study aimed to investigate the activity and regulation of autophagy in cholesteatoma.

Background: The treatment of middle ear cholesteatoma has been challenging due to an insufficient understanding of the underlying disease mechanism.

The association of genetic polymorphisms in interleukin-1 receptors type 1 and type 2 with age-related hearing impairment in a Taiwanese population: a case control study.

Background: Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) is a major disability among the elder population. Chronic inflammation is an important factor in the development of ARHI. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) plays a key role in inflammation and may be associated with ARHI.

Higher NAFLD fibrosis score is associated with impaired eGFR.

Background/purpose: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a worldwide health problem, leading to high morbidity and mortality, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered a risk factor for CKD. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and identify possible risk factors related to the NFS among Taiwanese subjects.

Methods: Subjects were enrolled from the database of the Department of Preventive Medicine of Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital.

The Association of GRM7 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms with Age-Related Hearing Impairment in a Taiwanese Population.

Objectives: Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) is a major disability among the elderly. This study aimed to analyze the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (GRM7) gene with ARHI in an elderly population in Taiwan.

Materials And Methods: This was a community-based study performed in a metropolitan hospital.

Fasting sugar, blood pressure, and uric acid are factors related to positive proteinuria and an impaired eGFR.

Background: The aim of this study was to ascertain the relationships of blood pressure, fasting sugar level, triglyceride (TG) level, uric acid level, and body mass index (BMI) with proteinuria and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in a population from southern Taiwan.

Methods: The 20,900 subjects enrolled in this study had undergone a free adult health examination under the National Health Insurance scheme between September 2005 and June 2011. Factors such as blood pressure, blood sugar, TG, uric acid and BMI were examined in terms of their relationships with the eGFR (calculated according to the Taiwanese Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (Taiwanese-MDRD)) and proteinuria.

Glutathione peroxidase 3 gene polymorphisms and the risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

The glutathione peroxidase 3 gene (GPX3) is reported to be a risk factor for arterial ischaemic stroke and cerebral venous thrombosis. GPX3 may be one of the aetiologies of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), which might be attributed to the genetic effect of GPX3 by influence reactive oxygen species (ROS). Unbalanced ROS have been associated with susceptibility to SSNHL.

Surgical Treatment of External Auditory Canal Cholesteatoma - Ten Years of Clinical Experience.

Objective: To describe the clinical manifestations of external auditory canal (EAC) cholesteatoma and evaluate the surgical outcomes of reconstruction using an inferior pedicled soft-tissue periosteum flap.

Materials And Methods: A total of 28 patients were enrolled in this retrospective study conducted at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital in Taiwan between January 2004 and December 2013. EAC cholesteatoma was classified according to the disease extent.

Perception of hearing impairment and the willingness to use hearing aids in an elderly population in southern Taiwan: A community-based study.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and severity of hearing impairment (HI), the self-perception of HI, and the willingness to use a hearing aid (HA) in the elderly population in southern Taiwan.

Design: This community-based study was performed in a metropolitan hospital. A questionnaire about the perception of HI and the willingness to use a HA was used.

Phosphodiesterase 4D gene polymorphisms in sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

The phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) gene has been reported as a risk gene for ischemic stroke. The vascular factors are between the hypothesized etiologies of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), and this genetic effect might be attributed for its role in SSNHL. We hypothesized that genetic variants of the PDE4D gene are associated with susceptibility to SSNHL.

Metabolic Syndrome Increases the Risk of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Taiwan: A Case-Control Study.

Objective: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss has been reported to be associated with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia in previous studies. The aim of this study was to examine whether metabolic syndrome increases the risk of sudden sensorineural hearing loss in Taiwan.

Study Design: A case-control study.

Squamous papilloma in the external auditory canal: A common lesion in an uncommon site.

Squamous papillomas (SPs) are common benign neoplastic lesions, usually affecting the skin, oral mucosa, upper aerodigestive tract and genital organs. However, SPs of the external auditory canal (EAC) are rarely reported in the English literature. In this report, we present a 19-year-old female with left EAC SP.

Upregulation of phosphorylated HSP27, PRDX2, GRP75, GRP78 and GRP94 in acquired middle ear cholesteatoma growth.

Cholesteatoma is a destructive and expanding growth of keratinizing squamous epithelium in the middle ear or petrous apex. The molecular and cellular processes of the pathogenesis of acquired middle ear cholesteatoma have not been fully understood. In this study, comparative proteomic analysis was conducted to investigate the roles of specific proteins in the pathways regarding keratinocyte proliferation in cholesteatoma.

Waist circumference, body mass index, serum uric acid, blood sugar, and triglyceride levels are important risk factors for abnormal liver function tests in the Taiwanese population.

Several studies have found that metabolic syndrome and uric acid level are related to abnormal liver function test results. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of risk factors [including blood pressure, blood sugar, total cholesterol, triglyceride, uric acid, waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) measurements] with abnormal liver function in the Taiwanese population.In total, 11,411 Taiwanese adults were enrolled in this study.