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Relevance: Nasal congestion is one of the most common complaints in otolaryngology practice and can significantly impact the quality of life for patients. Objective and subjective assessments provide different information, but objective assessment of nasal obstruction is crucial for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. This review demonstrates that peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) is a reproducible and reliable measure of objective nasal patency. It is inexpensive, easy to use, suitable for serial measurements, and can be applied to patients of different age groups. PNIF is recommended for use in every outpatient clinic that treats patients with nasal congestion., Objective: To summarize the data on the application of PNIF in diagnosing conditions of the nasal airways., Material and Methods: Publications (articles and relevant abstracts) available in the PubMed and eLibrary databases were analyzed., Conclusion: PNIF offers an objective and non-invasive assessment of nasal airflow, aiding in diagnosis, therapy monitoring, and preoperative planning. Further research, standardization, and establishment of normative data will enhance the informative value of peak nasal inspiratory flow in assessing nasal obstruction.

The article is a systematic review of the literature data summarizes to date on the issue of COVID-19-associated anosmia. We mainly used full-text and abstract electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science). The paper discusses hypothetical mechanisms of development, clinical features, as well as methods of diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19-associated anosmia.

The purpose : to compare the types of cytograms of exudate from the middle ear between patients with exudative otitis media (EOM) with congenital clefts of the lip/palate (CCLP) and without CCLP, determining the stages of chronic disease and the significance of surgery on the middle ear., Patients and Methods: Two clinics was parallel conducted a cytological examination of exudate of the middle ear in children. The first group consisted of 30 patients aged 2 to 17 years with EOM without CCLP (n=54 ears). The 2nd group included 17 patients aged 1 year 4 months to 10 years with EOM with CCLP (n=34 ears)., Results: In the 1st group, in 61% of cases (n=33), an inflammatory-regenerative type of cytogram was detected, in 39% (n=21) - a regenerative, inflammatory type of cytogram was not detected. In the 2nd group, in 82.4% of cases (n=28), an inflammatory type of cytogram was observed, in 14.7% (n=5) - an inflammatory-regenerative type, in 2.9% (n=1 ear) - a regenerative type., Conclusion: With CCLP, the inflammatory nature of the cytogram of the resulting exudate from the middle ear is more common, which is characterized by signs of destruction of the mucous membrane, decay and degradation of the basal and cell membranes. Patients with CCLP often suffer from EOM. They are more likely to development of chronic purulent otitis media, including with cholesteatoma. Destructive changes in the mucous membrane of the middle ear are found in children of different ages. Taking into account the analysis of cytograms of the exudate of the middle ear with CCLP, the imposition of long-term ventilation tubes is justified.

Introduction: Otitis media with effusion (OME) accounts for 15-17% of the total number of recorded diseases of the middle ear. Surgical methods have become much more common. One of the factors affecting the tactics and effectiveness of treatment OME is the degree of viscosity of the effusion. Modern diagnostic methods do not allow to reliably identify cases of OME with high effusion viscosity., Objective: To study the possibilities of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in the diagnosis of OME and a non-invasive study of effusion viscosity., Material and Methods: An analysis of the results of the examination of 29 patients who underwent surgical treatment for OME - tympanostomy. A control group of 30 patients without middle ear pathology. The study used a spectral OCT with a non-contact probe designed specifically for studies of the structural middle ear. Quantitative analysis of the results using open source ImageJ. Objectification of the degree of viscosity of the effusion was carried out by means of viscometry. A comparative analysis of the intensity of the optical signal in the external auditory canal (EAC) and in the tympanic cavity (TC) was performed, as well as a comparison of the signal from viscous and fluid effusion., Results: In all patients with OME, during the OCT study, an optical signal with a higher intensity was recorded in TC than in the EAC. In all cases, in the control group in the TC, an optical signal was recorded that was identical in intensity with the signal in the EAC. When measuring the degree of viscosity of the effusion, 17 cases of OME were characterized as effusion of a low degree of viscosity, 12 cases - effusion of extreme viscosity. When comparing the average intensity of the optical signal of the OCT images of viscous and liquid effusion, a statistically significant difference was revealed, p <0.001., Discussion: OCT makes it possible to detect light scattering from large scatterers - cell structures characteristic of low viscosity effusion. In addition, OCT allows you to register an optical signal from small scatterers - high molecular weight structures that are present in large quantities in viscous effusion. A correlation was found between the intensity of the optical signal in the TC and the degree of viscosity of the middle ear effusion., Conclusions: Based on OCT data, it is possible to determine the indications for surgical treatment of OME by detecting viscous exudate.

Modern methods for diagnosis of exudative otitis media (EOM) have great potential, however, the problem of diagnosis of EOM is still relevant. The article describes the methods of modern diagnostics that are widely used in the daily practice of an otolaryngologist. The basic principles, advantages and disadvantages of generally accepted diagnostic methods for EOM are presented. The method of optical coherence tomography (OCT) is described as a method of studying biological tissues, which is used in many fields of medicine. Information is provided on the possibilities of OCT in the diagnosis of diseases of the ENT organs and, in particular, of the middle ear. The results of studies of the tympanic cavity structures in various inflammatory conditions, the possibilities of intrasurgery use of OCT, as well as the possibilities and perspectives of introducing OCT into the practice of an otorhinolaryngologist in the diagnosis of exudative otitis media are described.