Perceptual, aerodynamic and acoustic outcomes of surgical technique for sulcus vocalis patients: A systematic review and meta analysis.

Background: Sulcus Vocalis (SV) is a voice disorder characterized by the parallel invagination of the vocal fold epithelium that adheres to the vocal ligament. This condition disrupts the vibratory function, leading to glottal incompetence, hoarseness, and vocal impairment. Despite various proposed surgical techniques, a standardized treatment approach remains elusive.

High-Definition 3D Exoscope in Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology: A Systematic Literature Review.

Unlabelled: This PRISMA-compliant systematic review aimed to investigate the use of and the most common procedures performed with the novel 3D 4K exoscope in surgical pediatric head and neck settings.

Methods: Search criteria were applied to PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane Review databases and included all studies published up to January 2023 reporting 3D 4K exoscope-assisted surgeries in pediatric patients. After the removal of duplicates, selection of abstracts and full-text articles, and quality assessment, we reviewed eligible articles for number of patients treated, age, surgical procedures, and outcomes.

Trends for Percutaneous Tracheostomy in Italian Acute Care Setting over a 5-Year Period.

: Tracheostomy is a widespread procedure usually performed with a percutaneous approach for prolonged mechanical ventilation. Little is known about the population-based trends for percutaneous tracheostomies (PT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the order to analyze the characteristics, rates, and costs of PTs performed in Italy from 2009 to 2014.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric otolaryngology: a nationwide study.

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly modified the work routine in healthcare; however, its impact on the field of paediatric otorhinolaryngology (ORL) has been rarely investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on paediatric ORL.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed by the Young Otolaryngologists of the Italian Society of ORL-Head and Neck Surgery (GOS).

Hyplane: a single-stage suborbital aerospaceplane.

This paper has the aim to report the status of the HYPLANE project to date. HYPLANE is a horizontal take-off and landing bizjet-size aerospaceplane conceived by Trans-Tech and University Federico II of Naples and under study within the industrial-academic ecosystem of the Campania Aerospace District (DAC). HYPLANE has the aim to offer very fast suborbital flight for space tourism, microgravity experimentation and training, and also shortening time to connect two distant airports within a door-to-door scenario.

Barbed palatal surgery: single stage or multilevel setting-a systematic review by the Young Otolaryngologists of the Italian Society of Otolaryngology.

Purpose: This systematic review aims to compare the efficacy and safety of multilevel and single level surgery, including barbed pharyngoplasties, in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Methods: The study followed PRISMA guidelines and searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Ovid databases for studies evaluating the effect of barbed pharyngoplasties on adults with OSA. Prospective and retrospective cohort studies were included with pre- and post-treatment comparisons of sleep tests and self-reported clinical outcomes.

Systematic review of international guidelines for head and neck oncology management in COVID-19 patients.

Purpose: The coronavirus pandemic has redefined the practice of head and neck surgeons in the management of oncology patients. Several countries have issued practice recommendations in that context. This review is a collaboration of the YO-IFOS (Young Otolaryngologists of the International Federation of Otolaryngological Societies) group in order to summarize, in a systematic way, all available guidelines and provide clear guidelines for the management of head and neck cancer patients in the COVID-19 pandemic.

IVORY Guidelines (Instructional Videos in Otorhinolaryngology by YO-IFOS): A Consensus on Surgical Videos in Ear, Nose, and Throat.

Objectives/hypothesis: Otolaryngology instructional videos available online are often of poor quality. The objective of this article was to establish international consensus recommendations for the production of educational surgical videos in otolaryngology.

Study Design: DELPHI survey.

Validation of "(fr)AGILE": a quick tool to identify multidimensional frailty in the elderly.

Background: Several tools have been proposed and validated to operationally define frailty. Recently, the Italian Frailty index (IFi), an Italian modified version of Frailty index, has been validated but its use in clinical practice is limited by long time of administration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to create and validate a quick version of the IFi (AGILE).

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Italian Otolaryngology Units: a nationwide study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide an accurate picture of the changes which have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the contributions given by Italian Otolaryngology Units.

Methods: A 29-item questionnaire was completed and returned by 154 Otorhinolaryngology Units across Italy that investigated geographic distribution, the main changes which occurred in workload management and in clinical and surgical activities and screening procedures for COVID-19 in healthcare personnel and patients.

Results: Nearly half of the Otolaryngology Units that responded to the questionnaire were merged with other units, while 22% were converted into COVID-19 units or temporarily closed.

Modified percutaneous tracheostomy in COVID-19 critically ill patients.

Background: Percutaneous tracheostomy (PT) in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) included several critical steps associated with increased risk of aerosol generation. We reported a modified PT technique aiming to minimize the risk of aerosol generation and to increase the staff safety in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: PT was performed with a modified technique including the use of a smaller endotracheal tube (ETT) cuffed at the carina during the procedure.

Mini-Mental State Examination: new normative values on subjects in Southern Italy.

Objective: The aims of the present study were: (a) to obtain new normative data of the Italian version of the Mini-Mental Examination State (MMSE) (Measso et al. in Dev Neuropsychol 9:77-85, 1993) by administering the tool to a sample of normal Italian individuals more representative of the current Italian population; (b) to compare the sensitivity of this tool in detecting patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD according to NIA-AA), as compared to the those reported in previous normative Italian studies.

Methods: MMSE was administered to 314 normal subjects recruited among individuals (and/or their relatives) attending the Offices of General Practitioners (GP) or Memory Clinics in Campania (Italy) by convenience sampling.

Permanent atrial fibrillation and pulmonary embolism in elderly patients without deep vein thrombosis: is there a relationship?

Background And Aim: Permanent Atrial Fibrillation (pAF) is associated with increased risk of embolic complications. The relationship between pAF and pulmonary embolism (PE) has not been extensively investigated in elderly patients. Here, we aim at verifying whether pAF is associated to an increased risk of PE in a cohort of elderly patients with and without Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

Depression and chronic heart failure in the elderly: an intriguing relationship.

Chronic heart failure and depressive disorders have a high prevalence and incidence in the elderly. Several studies have shown how depression tends to exacerbate coexisting chronic heart failure and its clinical outcomes and vice versa, especially in the elderly. The negative synergism between chronic heart failure and depression in the elderly may be approached only taking into account the multifaceted pathophysiological characteristics underlying both these conditions, such as behavioural factors, neurohormonal activation, inflammatory mediators, hypercoagulability and vascular damage.

Impact of SPRINT results on hypertension guidelines: implications for "frail" elderly patients.

In the last years, guidelines for the treatment of hypertension recommended individualized blood pressure goals for geriatric population because of elderly susceptibility to adverse outcomes and higher mortality rate deriving from the excessive blood pressure lowering, especially in "frail" elderly. Recent findings from the SPRINT study, which demonstrated that intensive blood pressure lowering was associated with lower rates of cardiovascular events and mortality in both hypertensive fit and frail elderly subjects compared to standard treatment, heavily influenced the recent US guidelines. In SPRINT sub-study analysis of adults aged ≥75 years, the most controversial issue appears the method of blood pressure measurement, the selection of patients and related-frailty degree that appears to be very light.

The Italian version of the quick mild cognitive impairment (Qmci-I) screen: normative study on 307 healthy subjects.

Objective: To devise an Italian version of the quick mild cognitive impairment screen (Qmci) and to obtain normative data.

Methods: An Italian version of the Qmci screen (Qmci-I) was administered to 307 subjects free from cognitive impairment. The normative sample was divided into three age levels (50-59; 60-69 and 70-80 years) and four education levels (3-5; 6-8; 9-13; >13 years of school attendance).

Orthostatic Hypotension in the Elderly: A Marker of Clinical Frailty?

Background: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) has high prevalence in frail older adults. However, its effect on mortality, disability, and hospitalization in frail older adults is poorly investigated. Thus, we assessed the relationship between the prevalence of OH and its effect on mortality, disability, and hospitalization in noninstitutionalized older adults stratified by frailty degree.

Sarcopenia: assessment of disease burden and strategies to improve outcomes.

Life expectancy is increasing worldwide, with a resultant increase in the elderly population. Aging is characterized by the progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength - a phenomenon called sarcopenia. Sarcopenia has a complex multifactorial pathogenesis, which involves not only age-related changes in neuromuscular function, muscle protein turnover, and hormone levels and sensitivity, but also a chronic pro-inflammatory state, oxidative stress, and behavioral factors - in particular, nutritional status and degree of physical activity.

Oxidative stress, aging, and diseases.

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) are produced by several endogenous and exogenous processes, and their negative effects are neutralized by antioxidant defenses. Oxidative stress occurs from the imbalance between RONS production and these antioxidant defenses. Aging is a process characterized by the progressive loss of tissue and organ function.

Acute care hospital at different levels of intensity: the role of Geriatrician.

The traditional model of care is based on "disease-centered" management that requires the organization of the hospital in specialized wards, to which the patient is assigned for the main disease. The growing need to optimize economical and human resources and to promote a global approach to the patient has led to the setting up of the intensity of care model. It is a health system based on a "patient-centered" approach, where the hospital is organized in departments dedicated to patients with homogenous needs of care.