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This study aimed to analyze pharyngeal reflux episodes in patients with suspected LPR versus healthy subjects using 24-h MII-pH monitoring. One hundred twenty-one patients who visited our clinic with a chief complaint of LPR-related symptoms and underwent 24-h MII-pH monitoring were enrolled prospectively. Also, 27 healthy subjects were enrolled and underwent 24-h MII-pH monitoring during the same period. We analyzed sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy comprehensively to determine appropriate cut-off values of pharyngeal reflux episodes in 24-h MII-pH monitoring to diagnose patients with LPR. Twenty-nine of 121 patients with suspected LPR showed no pharyngeal reflux episodes, while 92 showed more than one pharyngeal reflux event. In contrast, the 22 healthy subjects showed no pharyngeal reflux episodes, three showed one reflux event, and two showed two reflux events. A cut-off value of ≥ 1 showed best accuracy reflected by combined sensitivity and specificity values, while ≥ 2 demonstrated better specificity with slight loss of sensitivity and slightly lower overall accuracy, suggesting cut-off value of ≥ 1 pharyngeal reflux episodes is a good clinical indicator. A cut-off value of ≥ 1 in pharyngeal reflux episodes on 24-h MII-pH monitoring in patients with suspected LPR might be an acceptable diagnostic tool for LPR.

Few studies have investigated pharyngeal intraluminal baseline impedance (BI) levels in patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). The aim of this study was to compare intraluminal BI levels between patients with LPR and healthy controls.Retrospective case series.Tertiary care medical center.We conducted a retrospective analysis of 24-hour multichannel intraluminal impedance (MII)-pH monitoring results from patients with suspected LPR complaining of reflux symptoms. Patients with suspected LPR were divided into 2 groups according to the 24-hour MII-pH monitoring (LPR group: patients with symptoms with reflux events ≥1, symptom but no reflux [SNR] group: patients with symptoms but no reflux event). Healthy controls were recruited and also underwent 24-hour MII-pH monitoring. We compared the esophageal and pharyngeal BI levels and ratios between 3 groups.Pharyngeal BI levels in the LPR group were significantly higher than in the healthy controls. In addition, the pharyngeal BI levels in the SNR group were significantly higher than in the healthy controls. All ratios of pharyngeal to distal esophageal BI levels in the LPR and SNR group were significantly higher than in the healthy controls. However, there were no significant differences in esophageal BI levels and ratios between the 3 groups.We found that the pharyngeal BI levels were higher in patients with LPR than in healthy controls. In addition, the pharyngeal BI levels measured by 24-hour MII-pH monitoring in patients with LPR symptoms, but without a reflux episode, were higher than in the healthy controls.

Basal cell adenomas (BCA) arising from the nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses are very rare. A 64-year-old male patient was suspected of having a malignant tumor after undergoing preoperative computed tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging. The intraoperative frozen section showed a malignant tumor; however, the final diagnosis revealed BCA with atypia, tubular pattern.

Objective The effectiveness of the combination of steroids and antiviral agents in the treatment of Bell’s palsy remains unclear. This study evaluated the therapeutic effect of combination therapy in severe Bell’s palsy patients and assesses specific conditions under which combination therapy is more effective than steroids alone. Methods From January 2005 to December 2019, the records of 1710 Bell’s palsy patients who visited Kyung Hee University Hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Of these, 335 (19.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe Bell’s palsy, with 162 patients treated with steroids alone and 173 patients treated with combinations of steroids and antiviral agents. The outcomes of treatment were assessed using the House–Brackmann (H-B) grade according to age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Results The favorable recovery rate was significantly higher in severe Bell’s palsy patients who were treated with combinations of steroids and antiviral agents than with steroids alone (78.0% vs. 66.7%, p = 0.020). Subgroup analysis showed that combination therapy resulted in significantly higher recovery rates than steroids alone in patients aged ≥40 years (77.5% vs. 64.1%, p = 0.023) and in those without hypertension (75.8% vs. 63.3%, p = 0.044) and diabetes (79.7% vs. 65.5%, p = 0.007). Conclusion Combination therapy with steroids and antiviral agents resulted in significantly higher favorable recovery rates than steroids alone in severe Bell’s palsy patients. Combination therapy was particularly more effective than steroids alone in patients aged ≥40 years and in patients without hypertension and diabetes.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a medical emergency, making detailed examination to determine possible causes and early treatment important. However, etiological examinations in SSNHL do not always reveal a cause, and several factors have been found to affect treatment outcomes. Various studies are being performed to determine the prognosis and effects of treatment in patients who experience sudden hearing loss, and to identify biomarkers associated with this condition. Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane database were searched using the key words SSNHL, prognostic, and biomarker. This search identified 4 articles in Embase, 28 articles in PubMed, and 36 in the Cochrane database. Of these 68 articles, 3 were duplicates and 37 were unrelated to the research topic. After excluding these articles, the remaining 28 articles were reviewed. Factors associated with SSNHL were divided into six categories: metabolic, hemostatic, inflammatory, immunologic, oxidative, and other factors. The associations between these factors with the occurrence of SSNHL and with patient prognosis were analyzed. Low monocyte counts, low neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and monocyte/high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol ratio (MHR), and low concentrations of fibrinogen, platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIIa, and TNF-α were found to be associated with good prognosis. However, these factors alone could not completely determine the onset of and recovery from SSNHL, suggesting the need for future basic and clinical studies.

Intraoral removal of submandibular sialoliths is a surgical technique for the treatment of sialolithiasis and is reported to have excellent outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors leading to complications of this procedure.The medical records of 200 patients who had undergone intraoral removal of sialoliths from January 2006 through June 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. A telephone survey was used to check postoperative symptoms. Dry mouth, wound infection, lingual nerve dysfunction, and recurrence were considered complications. Computed tomograms of the neck were reviewed for location, shape, number, and size of the stone.Forty-four patients reported a complication. The incidence of complications was significantly higher in patients with stones in the proximal region of the salivary duct (proximal group) than in those with middle or distally located stones (middle/distal group; P .05). The average stone size was larger in the proximal group; the operation time and length of admission also were longer in the proximal group, with a statistically significant difference (P .05). Complaints of lingual nerve dysfunction were significantly higher in the proximal group than in the middle/distal group (P .05).Patients with proximally located stones had more complications, especially lingual nerve dysfunction, than those with middle or distally located stones. The former group also required a longer operation time and hospital stay.

Objectives: This study investigated whether the biomarkers present in nasal fluid reflect the severity of symptoms in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis (PAR). Methods: We enrolled 29 PAR patients complaining of nasal symptoms and testing positive to skin prick test. Patients’ total nasal symptom score (TNSS) was measured and their nasal lavage fluid (NALF) was collected. The levels of biomarkers including Clara cell protein 16 (CC16), tryptase, and interleukin 5 (IL-5) in NALF were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: PAR patients were classified into persistent mild and persistent moderate-to-severe groups according to the Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines. The CC16 alone was significantly negatively correlated with TNSS ( P Conclusions: The levels of CC16 alone among several NALF biomarkers showed an inverse correlation with symptoms of PAR patients.

C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) are a family of pattern recognition receptors (PRPs). The expression of CLRs has been analyzed in other diseases but has not yet been compared in patients with otitis media with effusion (OME), chronic otitis media (COM) and COM with cholesteatoma (Chole OM). This study therefore evaluated the levels of expression of mRNAs encoding Dectin-1, MR1, MR2, DC-SIGN, Syk, Card-9, Bcl-10, Malt-1, Src, DEC-205, Tim-3, Trem-1, and DAP-12 in patients with OME, COM, and Chole OM.CLR mRNA levels in patients with OME, COM, and Chole OM were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The level of expression of each mRNA was compared in patients with and without bacteria, and in patients with conductive hearing loss (CHL) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).The patterns of expression of CLRs differed in patients with OME, COM, and Chole OM. Galectin-1 mRNA level was significantly higher in the COM than in the Chole OM group (p0.05), and MR1 and Galectin-1 mRNA levels among patients with CHL were significantly higher in those with COM than with Chole OM (p0.05). Galectin-1 mRNA level among patients with SNHL was also significantly higher in the COM than in the Chole OM group (p0.05).The levels of expression of mRNAs encoding the CLRs Dectin-1, MR1, MR2, DC-SIGN, Syk, Card-9, Bcl-10, Malt-1, Src, DEC-205, Tim-3, Trem-1 and DAP-12 differ among patients with OME, COM, and Chole OM.