Search

Objective: Nasal obstruction is a common complaint. The Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation scale (NOSE) is a reliable validated tool used to assess the quality of life of patients with nasal obstruction. The purpose of this study is to validate the Hebrew version of the NOSE scale (He‐NOSE). Methods: A prospective instrument validation was conducted. The NOSE scale was translated primarily from English to Hebrew and then back from Hebrew to English according to the accepted guidelines of the cross‐cultural adaptation process. The study group included surgery candidates suffering from nasal obstruction due to a deviated nasal septum and/or inferior turbinate hypertrophy. The study group completed the validated He‐NOSE questionnaire twice prior to the surgery and once again, a month post‐surgery. A control group of individuals with no history of nasal complaints or surgeries was asked to complete the questionnaire once. Reliability, internal consistency, validity, and responsiveness to change of the He‐NOSE were evaluated. Results: Fifty‐three patients and 100 controls were included in this study. The scale showed excellent ability to discriminate between the study and the control group, exhibiting significantly lower scores in the control group (73.8 and 7 average scores respectively, p <.001). Good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha.71 and.76) and test–retest reliability (Spearman rank correlation r =.752, p <.0001) were measured. Moreover, the scale revealed remarkable responsiveness to change (p <.00001). Conclusion: The translated and adapted He‐NOSE scale can be a useful tool to be applied in both clinical and research fields when assessing nasal obstruction. Level of evidence: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoscopic examination of the nasal cavity is an integral part of the assessment of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. However, the benefit gained by performing endoscopy with respect to the patient's medical condition has not been completely assessed. We conducted a prospective cohort in an academic medical center. Thirty-nine patients diagnosed with chronic rhinosinusitis, without polyps, whose ailment was managed conservatively with no surgical intervention. All patients underwent nasal endoscopy, a computed tomography (CT) scan rated for Lund-MacKay score, and completed a sino nasal outcome test (SNOT)-20 questionnaire. This same evaluation was repeated 6 weeks following medical treatment. The CT scan and SNOT-20 questionnaire were independent parameters to evaluate the endoscopy score in each nasal passage. Thirty-nine (28 females) patients completed the follow-up period. A total of 156 endoscopic evaluations were performed, in which 74 nasal cavities were found to have significant pathology and 82 were either normal or displayed mild pathology. The correlation with the Lund-MacKay score was poor with a positive predictive value of 68.9% (31.1% false positive and 28% false negative). However, while looking at the SNOT-20 score, corrected for repeated measures, a higher endoscopy score was associated with a higher SNOT-20 score (odds ratio = 3.53, 95% confidence interval = 1.54-8.09, P =.003). Patients with higher endoscopy scores had a greater probability for exhibiting severe symptoms. However, we could not demonstrate a strong correlation between nasal endoscopy findings and CT scan scores. Therefore, with respect to patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without polyps, nasal endoscopy could be utilized as a beneficial objective tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) refers to the backflow of acidic stomach content into the larynx, pharynx, and upper aerodigestive tract. The diagnosis of LPR is based on the patient's history and findings of the laryngoscopy associated with LPR. Other possible manifestations consistent with LPR symptoms include laryngeal cancer, vocal fold granulomas, Reinke's space edema, and vocal polyps. In this study, we compared the characteristics of patients with LPR symptoms and incidental laryngeal findings (ILF) in the laryngoscopic evaluation to those without ILF (WILF)., Objectives: Determine the characteristics of LPR-symptomatic patients with ILF versus WILF., Methods: In this retrospective study, we examined 160 medical charts from patients referred to the otolaryngology clinic at Galilee Medical Center for LPR evaluation 2016-2018. The reflux symptoms index (RSI), reflux finding score (RFS), and demographics of the patient were collected. All patients with a positive RSI score for LPR (RSI > 9) were included, and the profiles of patients with versus without ILF on laryngoscopy examination were compared., Results: Of the 160 patients, 20 (12.5%) had ILF during laryngoscopy. Most had vocal cord findings such as leukoplakia (20%), polyps (15%), and nodules (20%). Hoarseness, throat clearing, swallowing difficulty, breathing difficulties, and total RSI score were significantly higher in patients with ILF., Conclusions: Evaluation of LPR symptoms may provide otolaryngologists with a tool to identify patients with other findings on fiberoptic laryngoscopy. A laryngoscopic examination should be part of the examination of every patient with LPR to enable diagnosis of incidental findings.

We report on an artificially intelligent nanoarray based on molecularly modified gold nanoparticles and a random network of single-walled carbon nanotubes for noninvasive diagnosis and classification of a number of diseases from exhaled breath. The performance of this artificially intelligent nanoarray was clinically assessed on breath samples collected from 1404 subjects having one of 17 different disease conditions included in the study or having no evidence of any disease (healthy controls). Blind experiments showed that 86% accuracy could be achieved with the artificially intelligent nanoarray, allowing both detection and discrimination between the different disease conditions examined. Analysis of the artificially intelligent nanoarray also showed that each disease has its own unique breathprint, and that the presence of one disease would not screen out others. Cluster analysis showed a reasonable classification power of diseases from the same categories. The effect of confounding clinical and environmental factors on the performance of the nanoarray did not significantly alter the obtained results. The diagnosis and classification power of the nanoarray was also validated by an independent analytical technique, i.e., gas chromatography linked with mass spectrometry. This analysis found that 13 exhaled chemical species, called volatile organic compounds, are associated with certain diseases, and the composition of this assembly of volatile organic compounds differs from one disease to another. Overall, these findings could contribute to one of the most important criteria for successful health intervention in the modern era, viz. easy-to-use, inexpensive (affordable), and miniaturized tools that could also be used for personalized screening, diagnosis, and follow-up of a number of diseases, which can clearly be extended by further development., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.