Parental smoking is a possible risk factor in the development of secretory otitis media (SOM) in children. This experiment was designed to determine, using rats as an experimental model, whether exposures to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) produce SOM and whether ETS exposure affects the rate of clearance of an experimentally induced effusion. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 3 different concentrations of aged and diluted sidestream smoke, a surrogate for ETS, from 1R4F research cigarettes for 6 hr per day for 5 days. Experimental SOM was induced bilaterally in subgroups of animals from each group, by cold air exposure to the external auditory canals. Ears of rats were examined during the in-life portion of the study. Histopathologic examination of the middle ear was conducted at the termination of the 5-day period. The production of SOM was not induced by ETS exposure, nor were there differences noted between the groups in the rates of clearance of the experimentally induced SOM. Short-term exposure to ETS did not affect the acquisition or clearance of SOM in the rat.

Basaloid-squamous carcinoma is a rare, nonsquamous cell tumor presenting in the head and neck that has recently been described. The clinical and histopathologic features of basaloid-squamous carcinoma derived from the 12 reported cases in the literature, including our case resembling an arteriovenous malformation, are described. The important interaction of the operating surgeon with the surgical pathologist in guiding the extent of the resection is emphasized.

Secretory otitis media is common in the winter, and the possible risk factors are numerous. This study examines the effect of low humidity on the middle ear using a Sprague-Dawley rat model: 23 test rats housed for 5 days in a low-humidity environment (10% to 12% relative humidity) and 23 control rats housed at 50% to 55% relative humidity. Microscopic ear examinations were graded for otitis media with effusion (OME) before testing and on test days 3 and 5. The mucosa of the middle ears and eustachian tubes was examined histopathologically. Significantly more effusions were observed in the low-humidity group on test days 3 (P = .003) and 5 (P = .01), but no intergroup histopathologic differences were noted. We conclude that a low-humidity environment contributed to the development of OME in the test animals, and that low-humidity warrants further investigation as a contributing factor in childhood middle ear disease.