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Snow poles are inexpensive systems composed of a wooden mast with temperature sensors affixed at varying heights with the purpose of estimating the snow depth. They are frequently utilised in cold, remote regions where the maintenance of complex monitoring instruments becomes impractical. In this study, snow cover thickness is determined using different methods, based on the thermal behaviour of air temperature measured by a snow pole on Deception Island, Antarctica. The methods are compared to high-resolution measurements of snow depth obtained using an ultrasonic sensor at the same site. A new modified method is proposed and shown to give the best results. Errors and sensitivity to chosen thresholds of the various methods have been compared. Sensitivity tests have been also conducted to evaluate the impact of missing data from some of the sensors. Finally, the insulating effect on the thermal signal produced by the snow is used to obtain information on the snowpack density. Promising results have been found from this effort, opening new possibilities for the usage of snow poles and may lead to future studies., 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., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Emphysematous esophagitis is an extremely rare disease and there are very few previous reports in the literature. We report a case of emphysematous esophagitis and gastritis with complete affectation of the gastric and esophageal wall at diagnosis. Two surgical interventions were performed due to gastric perforation that was treated in both cases with primary closure. The post-operative recovery was satisfactory. Despite the large emphysematous esophago-gastritis affectation at diagnosis and the presence of gastric perforation, it is safe to perform the same management principles as with emphysematous gastritis. This should be as conservative as possible in case a surgical procedure is required.

Objectives: (I) To serve as a model for ENT services in the process of creating a voice unit and (II) to show the results obtained in our Voice Unit over the past 12 months., Methods: Sections on Voice Unit Functions, Organisation and Procedures are presented, as well as the study of 122 patients: an assessment of patient self-perception using the Voice Handicap Index, diagnostic category, Voice Unit diagnosis, previous treatments and treatments proposed by the Unit., Results: The results highlight that Voice Handicap Index scores tend towards mild and moderate evaluations; that the most frequent pathological group are exudative lesions affecting Reinke's space; that there are diagnostic discrepancies of more than 50% between the general ENT consultations and the Voice Unit; and that the most common treatment is speech and language therapy (45%), followed by phonosurgery (28%)., Conclusions: The main aim of the Voice Unit is to achieve maximum effectiveness and quality in its various functions. Correct diagnosis and treatment increases effectiveness and allows better use of resources; achieving this requires a minimal, essential setup: laryngostroboscope, a multidimensional protocol and interdisciplinary work., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.)

Goal: The aim of this study was to assess hearing improvement after myringoplasty., Material and Methods: We present a retrospective study with a total of 119 cases undergoing myringoplasty at our Department analyzing the air conduction thresholds before and 6 months after surgery. We conducted an analysis of variance for the different variables and contrasted hypotheses using Student's T-test., Results: We obtained a hearing improvement at all frequencies, except at 8.000 Hz, at which surgery noticeably worsens hearing. The lower the frequency, the higher the hearing improvement, with the best results at 250 Hz, where the mean hearing improvement reached 13.49 dB., Conclusions: Myringoplasty is an effective technique in the recovery of hearing thresholds secondary to a tympanic membrane perforation., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To identify and describe studies using the RAND/UCLA method to evaluate the appropriateness of health procedures. This method is a consensus technique that involves several phases to develop appropriateness criteria., Methods: We performed a literature search in 2005. OVIDMedline, ISI Web of Knowledge, IME and Highwire were consulted. Articles published between 1999 and 2004 and using the key words "appropriateness", "utilization review" and "physician practice patterns" were selected. Studies using the RAND method were included and those that did not explain the methodology in sufficient detail were excluded. Information on the procedure studied, the place and year of publication, and the characteristics of the journal were extracted from each article., Results and Discussion: A total of 5092 articles were identified and 205 were selected. Slightly more than half analyzed surgical or medical procedures, while 16.5% evaluated healthcare quality. More than 50% were published in journals of public health, general medicine, and gastroenterology and hepatology. The mean impact factor was 4.07. A quarter (25.4%) of the articles was published in 1999. CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVE: The RAND method is still widely used. Appropriateness criteria can be used to review utilization of procedures, to design guidelines, or to support for decision making. These tools should be reviewed to obtain evermore valid and reliable results.

Objective: To evaluate the benefits and disadvantages of the endoscopic endonasal versus transcanalicular approaches using diode laser, and to compare their clinical outcomes., Patients and Method: A total of 127 patients were operated on, 80 of them with the endonasal approach (Group I) and 47 with the transcanalicular technique (Group II)., Outcomes: Epiphora improved completely in 67 patients in Group I (83.7 %) while the other 13 (16.2 %) continued to present the same symptoms. In Group II, a successful result was achieved in 39 patients (82.9 %) and 8 (17 %) of them had to be re-operated because of the persistence of epiphora., Conclusions: The surgical outcomes are similar with both laser techniques. The main advantages of using diode laser are that it does not require general anaesthesia, the lower intra- and peri-operative morbidity, the lack of nasal packing and the greater ease of performing additional interventions if it fails. The only real disadvantage of laser procedures is the high cost.

Objective: To obtain the main responsible organisms, its sensitivity and resistances to antibiotics in tonsillitis., Material and Methods: We have studied the post-surgical tonsils, carrying out a microbiologic study, its culture and sensitivity., Results: The most frequent isolated organisms were Staphylococcus aureus (29.3%), followed by Streptococcus pyogenes (23.4%), and Haemophilus influenzae (12.1%). The highest resistances were for the S. aureus (penicillin 91%, erythromycin 18% and 5% to the rest of the beta-lactams), followed by H. influenzae (50% clarithromycin, 30% amoxyciIlin and 2% cephalosporins) and S. pyogenes (28% erytromycin, 10% clindamycin and 3% penicillin)., Conclusions: We noticed the minimal resistance found to cephalosporins, and for this reason they appear to be the safest option, except in children under five years old, in which amoxicillin is still the first line treatment, because the causative agent is S. pyogenes, sensitive to that antibiotic.

Objectives: To describe variations in the management of nasosinus disorders among the Autonomous Communities and hospitals of Spain., Methods: We analyzed the Minimum Basic Data Set of the public health system from 1998-2000 for the diagnoses of nasosinus polyps and chronic sinusitis. We studied the distribution by regions of the rate of hospitalizations and of 4 indicators of quality of care and efficiency: mean length of stay, percentage of discharges without surgery, percentage of functional endoscopic sinus surgery and surgical complications. A cluster analysis was performed to classify hospitals according to the values of these indicators., Results: We analyzed 13061 discharges from 263 hospitals. Marked differences were found in age-adjusted hospitalization rates by regions. Cluster analysis classified the centers with more than 10 annual discharges in 3 categories: a) 32 hospitals in which the 4 quality indicators were above average; b) 35 hospitals in which 3 of the indicators were below average, and c) 74 hospitals in which 2 indicators were above average and 2 indicators were below average., Conclusions: Marked interregional variations were found in hospitalization rates, as well as in the characteristics of management of nasosinus disorders in Spanish hospitals. The centers examined could be grouped into three clearly defined patterns according to indicators of quality of care and efficiency.

Our aim was to know the clinical performance and management results of Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) in Spanish hospitals. We sent a survey on the use and results of FESS to 160 Spanish public hospitals in June of 2002, obtaining a response rate of 69%. 82.9% of the interviewed hospitals carried out FESS and 17.1% of the remaining used the classic techniques of approaching the paranasal sinuses. The reported length of stay in hospital was 1.4 days for the FESS and 2.4 for the traditional surgery. The surgical time was 15 minutes shorter for the CENS, and the rate of recurrence was 16% less than for the classic surgery. As years of experience in the practice of the CENS go by, the surgical times tend to decrease, that didn't happen with the rate of recurrence. In conclusion, we consider that FESS seems to improve the analyzed clinical performance and assistential results.

The purpose of this study is to find out more about the implementation of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in our country. To do that, we designed a survey which was sent to 160 public hospitals (June 2002). We received the answers of 111 hospitals. 82.9% of hospitals and 58% of surgeons performed FESS, with some differences among autonomic regions. The percentage of surgeons who performed FESS was higher in small hospitals and their mean experience time was 6.2 years. We consider the implementation of endoscopic sinus surgery very high, this can reflect that there are evident advantages for those who specialists who use it.

A study of the objective evaluation of voice was made of 100 voices of healthy adults and 60 with disphonia (nodules and polyps). A laryngostroboscopy and an acoustic analysis was made to everyone. A sustained vowel "a" was carried out and digitalized with Dr. Speech Science software. These parameters were estimated: fundamental frequency (Fo, according to gender), Jitter, Shimmer and glottic noise (NNE, HNR, SNR). In the healthy group Fo was 139.72 in men and 267.33 in women, jitter 0.24 and shimmer 2.10. In disphonic patients (nodules) Fo was 126.96 in men and 240.72 in women, jitter 0.35 and shimmer 3.25. In disphonic patients (polyps) Fo was 119.75 in men and 218.26 in women, jitter 0.50 and shimmer 4.34. These difference were statistically significant. Glottic Noise in healthy group was: NNE -13.62, HNR 24.07 and SNR 24.49; in disphonic patients (nodules) was: NNE -10.65, HNR 25.21 and SNR 25.55; in disphonic patients (polyps) was: NNE -8.24, HNR 29.63 and SNR 28.22. Only the difference in the NNE was statistically significant. We highlight the importance of objective evaluation of voice disorders.

Extramedullary solitary plasmacytoma is a rare plasmatic cell tumor occurring in the head and neck. We report the case of a patient with a mass that arose from the sphenoidal base, extended toward the right paranasal sinuses, and invaded the orbit. The clinical characteristics, diagnostic criteria, and therapeutic problems are discussed and reviewed in the literature, with special attention to an alternative therapeutic approach, midfacial degloving.

Unlabelled: Cerebrospinal fluid (SCF) rhinorrea results from a breakdown of the dura and supporting structures of the skull base. Trauma is responsible for 81 to 90 percent of the cases of SCF rhinorrea, and it occurs in approximately 2 percent of all head injuries. This is a retrospective review of 5 patients who underwent endoscopic treatment of CSF rhinorrea during 1997 in our hospital. The aetiology of leaks was: iatrogenic in two cases (by transphenoidal hypophysectomies), traumatic in two cases (by head injuries) and spontaneous in one (nasal encephalocele)., Conclusion: we recommend endoscopic approach as the first line in managing CSF rhinorrea because it avoids an external incision, requires less cumbersome instrumentation and in our hands in the safest and most successful. Furthermore, we prefer the autogenous mocuperiosteum of the inferior turbinate glued over the fistula offers several advantages: it is readily available in sufficient size for the closure of most defects, only minor surgery for graft harvesting is necessary and, the texture of the mucoperiostium permits a good secure seal.