No abstract

This study investigated the role of drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) in the surgical treatment planning of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). This study was conducted using patients diagnosed with OSAS between January 2007 and March 2009, who were scheduled for surgical treatment. DISE was performed using propofol in patients considered to have upper respiratory tract obstruction as indicated by Muller's maneuver. After completing the sleep endoscopy, the patient was intubated and surgery was performed (tonsillectomy and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty). A successful operation was defined as a decrease in the respiratory disturbance index to below 5 or a decrease of ≥50 % following the operation. The study included 20 patients (4 female and 16 male) aged 19-57 years. No statistically significant correlation between modified Mallampati class and operation success or between the polysomnographic stage of disease and operation success was identified. A significantly high operation success rate was found in the group with obstruction of the upper airway according to DISE (p < 0.05), whereas a significantly low operation success rate was found in the group with obstruction of the lower airway according to DISE (p < 0.01). DISE may be used to identify the localization of obstruction for diagnostic purposes, and it can be helpful in selecting the treatment method.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of intratympanic steroids in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss who did not respond to initial systemic steroid therapy. This retrospective study involved 51 patients, who did not respond to systemic steroids as a first-line treatment. Initial systemic steroid therapy consisted of administration of methylprednisolon intravenously (250 mg) at the first day and followed by orally (1 mg/kg) tapering for 14 days. Twenty-one patients accepted intratympanic treatment, and the remaining 30 patients who refused intratympanic treatment were evaluated as the control group. Steroids (dexamethasone drops, 1 mg/mL) were administered through a ventilation tube. Hearing was assessed immediately before treatment and 2 months after treatment. Recovery of hearing was defined as an improvement of >20 dB in the pure tone average. We tested 250, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, and 8,000 Hz frequencies for the pure tone audiometric evaluation. Statistically Student's t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests were used. The pure tone average improved in 47.6% of the intratympanic group and in 10% of the control group (p = 0.002), with pure tone average improvements of 19.9 ± 16.5 and 4.76 ± 9.6 dB in the intratympanic and control groups, respectively. When the hearing threshold at each frequency was analyzed, improvements at all frequencies were significantly greater in the intratympanic steroid group when compared with the control group (p < 0.01). Intratympanic steroid administration is an effective therapy for sudden sensorineural hearing loss in patients, who are refractory to primary systemic steroid therapy.

No abstract

In our study, we did not find an association between MS and sleep apnea in obese adolescents.