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Objectives: To review functional outcomes in children undergoing cochlear implantation for single-sided deafness after meningitis. Material and Methods: A 7 year old boy developed unilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss after Group A Streptococcus meningitis and septicemia secondary to sinusitis. Hearing in the contralateral ear was normal. Reduced signal intensity in the affected cochlea was noted on T2 weighted MRI images. Cochlear implantation was performed within 5 weeks of the onset of meningitis. Significant fibrosis of the basal turn adjacent to the round window was encountered. There was no ossification of the basal turn of the cochlea. As a depth gauge could be fully inserted into the cochlea, a MedEl Synchrony implant with a Flex28 electrode was placed. Excellent waveforms were obtained intraoperatively on Auditory Nerve Response Telemetry (ART). Discussion: A comprehensive review of the literature supports consideration of cochlear implantation in children for unilateral profound hearing loss after meningitis. Unilateral cochlear implantation has the potential to improve speech understanding in background noise and provide localization ability. Conclusion: Cochlear implantation has the potential to improve overall auditory function in children with single- sided deafness after meningitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS)" is typically diagnosed using radiologic images like computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with the "Hounsfield unit (HU)" in CT scans and T2-weighted images (T2WI) in MRI serving as reliable objective parameters. However, diagnosing AFS might be difficult because of possible signal changes and densities caused by variations in the secretion concentration in the sinus. Few studies have compared the diagnostic performance of MRI and CT scans. This study aimed to investigate the value of MRI signal intensity in evaluating AFS compared with CT HUs. This retrospective study included 111 patients with pathologically confirmed AFS who underwent CT imaging followed by MRI evaluation at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from January 2012 to December 2022. Radiographic densities of sinus opacities on CT scan, including the mean HU values, and MRI findings, including signal voids on T1-weighted images and T2WI, were gathered and analyzed. To determine the efficacy of these radiographic characteristics in predicting the disease and the best cutoff value, we employed receiver operator characteristic curves. The mean age was 31.9 ± 15.6 years, and most patients were 74 females (66.7%). The main symptom was nasal obstruction in 73 patients (65.8%). In comparison, between HU and signal void on T2WI, there was moderate predictive performance [area under the curve: 0.856, P = .001]. An ideal HU cutoff value of 69.50 HU was obtained with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 44.7%. However, the receiver operator characteristic for T1-weighted images could not be plotted, as no signal was avoided to predict AFS and it was not statistically significant (area under the curve: 0.566; P = .287). The study found a CT HU of 69.5 can predict MRI T2WI signal values with a void signal, aiding in diagnostic workup and evaluation for AFS., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Objective: To report a reliable method in obtaining optimal cochlear basal turn and cross-section (c/s) of internal auditory canal (IAC) supporting Cochlear implantation (CI) procedure., Materials and Methods: Computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans of potential CI candidates from 2018 to 2022 from the tertiary center were considered for analysis. Slicer software was used in three-dimensional (3D) segmentation of inner ear and for capturing the cochlear basal turn., Results: A total of 1932 head scans were made available for the analysis and out of which 1866 scans had normal anatomy (NA) inner ear. Incomplete partition (IP) type-I was identified in 19 ears, IP type-II in 27 ears, IP type-III in 6 ears, cochlear hypoplasia (CH) type-I in 6 ears, CH type-II in 1 ear, CH type-III in 3 ears, and CH type-IV is 3 ears, and enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome in 1 ear. 3D segmented inner ear helped in successfully obtaining the cochlear basal turn and the c/s of IAC in all anatomical types. Time taken to capture the cochlear basal turn with the help of 3D segmented inner ear was <1 min. Within the NA category, five cases showed scalar ossification, and its extent was identified in the cochlear basal turn., Conclusion: The identification and the extent of ossification in the scala tympani, shape of the basal turn, and the cochlear size measurement in cochlear basal turn has high clinical relevance as this helps in surgical planning and in choosing appropriate electrode length. Level of evidence: Level 2 to the best of our understanding., Competing Interests: Andras Kedves and Anandhan Dhanasingh are full‐time employees of a hearing implant organization (MED‐EL) within research and development department with no marketing activities. All the other authors declare no conflict of interest and this study was performed truly for educational purpose., (© 2023 The Authors. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Triological Society.)

Objective: We hypothesize that visualizing inner-ear systematically in both cochlear view (oblique coronal plane) and in mid-modiolar section (axial plane) and following three sequential steps simplifies, identification of inner-ear malformation types., Methods: Pre-operative computer-tomography (CT) scans of temporal bones of 112 ears with various inner ear malformation (IEM) types were taken for analysis. Images were analyzed using DICOM viewers, 3D slicer, and OTOPLAN®. The inner-ear was captured in the oblique-coronal plane for the measurement of length and width of cochlear basal turn which is also called as A-, and B-values respectively (Step 1). In the same plane, the angular-turns of lateral-wall (LW) of cochlear basal turn were measured (Step 2). As Step 3, the mid-modiolar section of inner ear was captured in the axial plane by following the A-value and perpendicular to cochlear view. From the mid-modiolar section, the outer-contour of inner ear was captured manually by following contrasting gray area between fluid filled and bony promontory and was compared to known resembling objects to identify IEM types (Step 3)., Results: Following reference values have emerged from our analysis: A-, and B-values (Step 1) on average are >8 mm and >5.5 mm respectively, in normal cochleae (NA), enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome (EVAS), incomplete partition (IP) type-I and -II, whereas it is <8 mm and <5.5 mm respectively, in IP type-III and cochlear hypoplasia (CH). Angular-turn of LW is consistently observed in cochlear basal turn (Step 2), is 540° in NA and EVAS, 450° in IP-II, and 360° in IP types I & III. In subjects with CH type, angular-turn of LW is either 360° or 450° or 540°. In true mid-modiolar section, outer-contour of inner-ear (Step-3), other than in CH and cystic inner-ear malformations, resembles recognizable shapes of known objects. Absence of EVA is an additional characteristic that confirms diagnosis of CH when the A-, B-values, and angular-turn of LW can be similar to other anatomical types. Drawing a straight line along posterior edge of internal auditory canal (IAC) in axial view can differentiate a true common cavity (CC) from cochlear aplasia-vestibular cavity (VC)., Conclusion: Three-step process proposed in this study captures inner-ear in cochlear view as well in mid-modiolar sections visualizing key features of inner-ear in identification of IEM types., Level of Evidence: Level 1., Competing Interests: The authors Anandhan E. Dhanasingh and Varachaya Erhard are employed at MED‐EL GmbH. This study did not carry any promotional content. All the other authors have declared no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Triological Society.)

Background: Since the underlying cause of idiopathic short stature can indeed be undiagnosed mucopolysaccharidosis type I, it is critical to identify patients with mucopolysaccharidosis type I among screened patients with idiopathic short stature., Objective: The primary objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of mucopolysaccharidosis type I disease in a high-risk group (ie, patients with idiopathic short stature)., Methods: We plan to perform a multicenter, cross-sectional screening study to primarily assess the prevalence of mucopolysaccharidosis type I disease in patients with idiopathic short stature. All eligible patients will be tested after obtaining written informed consent from their parents and guardians. Eligible patients will be recruited over 18 months from specialty care centers for pediatrics and genetics., Results: This protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of King Fahd Medical City and funded by Sanofi Genzyme Saudi Arabia. We expect to collect data from ≥800 patients, as determined by our sample size calculation., Conclusions: Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Arabian Peninsula; it has a population of more than 28 million people. To date, there are no reliable data regarding the incidence and prevalence of mucopolysaccharidosis type I in Saudi Arabia; therefore, future multicenter studies will be needed. Further, the prevalence of an attenuated form of mucopolysaccharidosis type I is largely underestimated in Saudi Arabia due to the absence of an effective newborn screening program. Therefore, the implementation of a nationwide newborn screening program is essential for the accurate estimation of the burden of mucopolysaccharidosis and the early diagnosis of patients., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): PRR1-10.2196/28619., (©Danyah Alsafadi, Aly Ezzat, Fatima Altamimi, Marwan ElBagoury, Mohammed Olfat, Mohammed Saleh, Sherif Roushdy, Yahia Aktham. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 31.08.2021.)

Optimization of methane production rate can potentially decrease the operational lifetime of the landfill site and assist with better management of methane harvesting from the landfill cells. Increased moisture content in landfill cells is known to increase the rate of methane production. Several natural biopolymers can sustain moisture content in a solid matrix while providing a scaffolding for microbial communities to grow. This research examined the effect of the biopolymer, produced by Rhizobium tropici, on bench-scale methane generation from municipal solid waste. The addition of the R. tropici biopolymer increased the rate of methane production from 27% to 78% when compared to the control study for low and high concentrations of biopolymer amendment, respectively. R. tropici biopolymer shortened the lag phase by up to six days over the control, depending on the level of biopolymer amendment added to the solid waste. The mechanism appears to be facilitating biofilm formation through the combination of increased moisture retention and surface modification of the solid waste. Incorporation of biopolymer amendment in the alternative daily cover activities at commercial landfills could provide a viable approach for full scale application., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Published by Elsevier B.V.)

[No Abstract Available].