Rhinitis medicamentosa ("nose-drop-nose") is a term used for pathological condition of the nasal mucous membrane that results from long-term abuse with intranasal vasoconstrictors. The aim of this work was to examine what lead the patients with nosedropnose rhinitis to the initial usage of intranasal vasoactive drugs. In this prospective study, 92 patients with rhinitis medicamentosa were included. The evaluation of all study subjects comprised the history, ORL, microbiological and radiological examination, skin prick tests with a battery of routine respiratory and nutritive allergens and nasal cytology. The results of this study showed that the pathological conditions for initial use of intranasal vasoactive drugs were: acute upper respiratory infections in 29.3%, vasomotor rhinitis in 21.7%, allergic rhinitis in 16.3%, deviated nasal septum in 13.0%, nasal polyposis in 12%, rhinitis induced by mechanical trauma in 4.4%, and hormonal rhinitis in 3.3% of patients with rhinitis medicamentosa. In conclusion, the most common pathological conditions for developing rhinitis medicamentosa were chronic inflammatory and structural diseases manifested by permanent nasal obstruction as well as acute upper respiratory infections are.

This paper discusses the capacity of sound perception in 5 profoundly deaf subjects in whom a "fenestra" was previously formated on the lateral semicircular canal. The ability of sound and vibration perception after fenestra formation in profoundly deaf subjects with normal function of the vestibular apparatus has been described previously. The experiments for this procedure were done on pigeons by Wit & Bleeker. The subjects aged from 22 to 34 years. Causes of deafness varied. Their hearing threshold was bilaterally higher than 95 dB HL and their vestibular apparatus was of normal excitability bilaterally when tested with a caloric test. In all 5 patients the ear conduction hearing threshold remained the same, but the ability of vibration perception improved significantly, and ranged postoperatively between 30 and 45 dB HL. The frequency dynamic range was from 125 to 2,000 Hz in 4 subjects, and from 125 to 4,000 Hz in 1 subject. The patients claimed to have perceived higher intensities, but with a variable dynamic range from frequency to frequency. The intensity range amounted to between 15 and 40 dB. The obtained data of vibration perception ability are discussed.

The aim of this prospective study was to examine skin reactivity to four vasomotor agents and to determine whether non-eosinophilic rhinitis patients differ from patients with eosinophilic rhinitis. Nasal cytology enabled us to classify 74 rhinitis patients into a non-eosinophilic (n = 63) and an eosinophilic group (n = 11). Skin reactivity to intradermal tests with papaverine, metacholine, histamine and compound 48/80 was measured. No significant difference for papaverine, metacholine, histamine and compound 48/80, singly, was found between the non-eosinophilic and eosinophilic group. The frequency of the total pathological skin reactivity to vasomotor agents, singly and in combinations, was greater in the eosinophilic (91 per cent) then in the non-eosinophilic group (78 per cent) but intergroup difference was not significant. These findings suggest that pathologic skin reactivity to vasomotor agents is a feature of non-eosinophilic as well as eosinophilic non-allergic rhinitis patients and indicate that no difference is noticed in the skin reactivity between these groups.

Regardless unquestionable improvement of definite phonation, further function restitution requires individual vocal therapy and psychotherapy. Vocal therapy includes structural vocal techniques which reduce degree of vocal tension and rapid changes in the power and the height of voice. Further investigations are necessary for the scope of the definition of a standardized therapeutically procedure for spasmodic dysphonia treatment which comprises multidisciplinary approach in diagnosis, therapy and treatment efficacy evaluation.