Comparative assessment of tobacco use patterns and determinants among urban slum and non-slum dwellers in Vijayawada city: A community-based cross-sectional study.
Dr. Mokalla Venkateswara Rao, Dr. Kesagani Sujana Goud, Dr. Embadi Soujanya
Background: Tobacco use remains a major public health challenge, contributing significantly to morbidity and mortality, especially among urban slum populations where socio-economic disparities prevail. Understanding the determinants and patterns of tobacco consumption in diverse urban settings is critical for effective tobacco control strategies.
Objectives: To assess and compare the determinants and patterns of tobacco use among adult male slum and non-slum dwellers of Vijayawada city.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 2008 participants (1215 non-slum and 793 slum residents) in Vijayawada. A multistage random sampling technique was used. Data on socio-demographic profile, tobacco use habits, and influencing factors were collected through a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.0, with significance set at p < 0.05.
Results: The prevalence of ever tobacco users was 35.3%, with current tobacco use at 30.7%. Tobacco use was significantly higher among males (39.5%) than among females (21.5%) (p < 0.001). Slum residents exhibited a higher prevalence of current use (32.9%) compared to non-slum residents (29.3%). Smoking-only habits were predominant (58.5%), but dual use (15.7%) and smokeless tobacco use (26.0%) were notable among females. Illiteracy (50.2%), low socio-economic status (Class V, 44.5%), and occupation as labourers (58.8%) were strongly associated with higher tobacco use. Initiation of tobacco use before 20 years was common (59.2%). Social influence from family (63.2%) and peers (74.5%) was significant, though 85.9% of users were aware of health hazards.
Conclusion: Tobacco use patterns are deeply entrenched in socio-economic, educational, and cultural contexts, with slum dwellers and disadvantaged groups exhibiting higher prevalence. Early initiation and strong social influences underscore the need for targeted interventions.
Recommendations: Strengthen community-level education, enforce policy measures, and integrate tobacco cessation programs with socio-economic upliftment schemes for slum populations to reduce the tobacco burden.
General works, Infectious and parasitic diseases
Assessing the Vestibulo-ocular Reflex of Contralesional Sides According to Head Impulse Velocity Utilizing the Video Head Impulse Test in Patients with Vestibular Neuritis
Wonyong Baek , Young Jae Lee, Jeonghyun Oh
et al.
BACKGROUND: There is a lack of comparative studies examining changes in vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain with head velocity in the video head impulse test (vHIT) of patients with vestibular neuritis (VN). Thus, the purpose of present study was to identify the effect of head impulse velocity on the gain of the VOR during the vHIT in patients with VN.
METHODS: Head impulse velocities ranging from 100%-200°/s [158.08 ± 23.00°/s in the horizontal canal (HC), 124.88 ± 14.80°/s in the anterior canal (AC), and 122.92 ± 14.26°/s in the posterior canal (PC) were used during vHIT trials of 32 patients with VN. Differences in VOR gain on the ipsilesional and contralesional sides according to head velocity were analyzed.
RESULTS: The mean VOR gains in ipsilesional side were decreased to 0.47 in the HC and 0.56 in the AC, leading to marked asymmetry compared to the contralesional side; PC gain was relatively preserved at 0.82 in the ipsilesional side. The mean head impulse velocity applied during vHIT trials in each semicircular canal plane did not differ bilaterally. On the contralesional side, VOR gain was negatively correlated with head impulse velocity (R2=0.25, P=.004 in HC; R2=0.17, P=.021 in AC; R2=0.24, P=.005 in PC), while VOR gain on the ipsilesional sides of the HC and AC was not.
CONCLUSION: Head impulse velocity may have a differential impact on VOR gain, depending on the degree of deficit. Increasing head velocity in vHIT may be considered to identify subtle deficits on the contralesional side of patients with VN.
Label-Free SERS and MD Analysis of Biomarkers for Rapid Point-of-Care Sensors Detecting Head and Neck Cancer and Infections
Edoardo Farnesi, Silvia Rinaldi, Chen Liu
et al.
For the progress of point-of-care medicine, where individual health status can be easily and quickly monitored using a handheld sensor, saliva serves as one of the best-suited body fluids thanks to its availability and abundance of physiological indicators. Salivary biomarkers, combined with rapid and highly sensitive detection tools, may pave the way to new real-time health monitoring and personalized preventative therapy branches using saliva as a target matrix. Saliva is increasing in importance in liquid biopsy, a non-invasive approach that helps physicians diagnose and characterize specific diseases in patients. Here, we propose a proof-of-concept study combining the unique specificity in biomolecular recognition provided by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in combination with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which give leave to explore the biomolecular absorption mechanism on nanoparticle surfaces, in order to verify the traceability of two validated salivary indicators, i.e., interleukin-8 (IL-8) and lysozyme (LYZ), implicated in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and oral infection. This strategy simultaneously assures the detection and interpretation of protein biomarkers in saliva, ultimately opening a new route for the evolution of fast and accurate point-of-care SERS-based sensors of interest in precision medicine diagnostics.
Clinical correlates of different forms of endolymphatic hydrops
Hesham Mohammed Taha, Ihab Nada, Maha Mohammed Alagamy
et al.
Abstract Background The aim of this study is to explore the different kinds of endolymphatic hydrops and the sensitivity of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) and electrocochleography in their diagnosis. Three groups of patients were selected according to the diagnosis, definitive MD (DMD), cochlear MD (CMD), and recurrent vestibulopathy (RV) groups. A basic audiological evaluation was carried out. It included pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, acoustic immittancemetry testing and electrocochleography, cervical VEMP (c-VEMP), and ocular VEMP (o-VEMP). Results The overall sample was 40 cases, 13 with DMD, 10 with CMD, and 17 with RV. The mean age is variable between groups (p-value < 0.001) with the highest in the DMD group (38.3 ± 7.4 years) and the lowest in the CMD group (25.2 ± 4.6 years). The male to female ratio is variable between groups of the study (p-value = 0.03) with the highest ratio 9:4 in the DMD group. There was a significant difference between groups (p < 0.001) regarding dizziness. Asymmetric response of c-VEMP was seen in nine (69.2%) of DMD cases, in 14 (82.4%) of RV cases, and only in three (30%) of CMD cases (p-value < 0.001). Low amplitude of o-VEMP was seen in 11 (84.6%) of DMD cases, 9 (90%) of CMD cases, 15 (88.2%) of RV cases, and only two (25%) of normal cases (p-value = 0.002). A significant difference was found between definitive and cochlear Meniere’s as regards o-VEMP inter-aural amplitude difference (IAD) (p-value = 0.032) only. There was a significant positive strong correlation between age and EcochG SP/AP ratio left ear, o-VEMP IAD, and o-VEMP left ear n1. In addition, there is a significant positive weak correlation between duration and EcochG SP/AP ratio left ear and c-VEMP left ear n1. Conclusions Asymmetric response of c-VEMP can be used as a diagnostic tool to differentiate different kinds of MD: DMD, RV, and CMD.
Treatment of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: An Approach Considering Patients’ Convenience
D. Shim
Copyright © 2020 by Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol. 13, No. 4: 320-321, November 2020 https://doi.org/10.21053/ceo.2020.02082
Asthma in urban and rural pre‐ and primary schoolchildren according to the latest GINA definition
Pedro T. B. S. Branco, M. Alvim-Ferraz, F. G. Martins
et al.
1Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Research Unit, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head-Neck Surgery, University of Crete School of Medicine, Heraklion, Greece 3Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece 41st Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece 5Clinical Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium 6Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Correspondence Maria Doulaptsi, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 33, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Email: mdoulaptsi@gmail.com
Voice Outcomes After Laryngeal Microsurgery With Adjunctive Steroid Injection for Reinke Edema
J. Y. Jang, Dong Young Kim, G. Lee
et al.
Copyright © 2021 by Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol. 14, No. 3: 362-364, August 2021 https://doi.org/10.21053/ceo.2020.01746
The Efficacy of Ultrasonography-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation in Patients With Benign Thyroid Goiters With a History of Unilateral Lobectomy
H. Kim, K. Park, Seung-Won Lee
Copyright © 2020 by Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol. 13, No. 3: 312-314, August 2020 https://doi.org/10.21053/ceo.2020.00164
Optimal Treatment for the High-Risk Salivary Gland Cancer
J. Woo
Copyright © 2020 by Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol. 13, No. 1: 6-7, February 2020 https://doi.org/10.21053/ceo.2019.01907
Future Directions of Optical Coherence Tomography in Otology: A Morphological and Functional Approach
N. Cho, J. Jang
Copyright © 2020 by Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology Vol. 13, No. 2: 85-86, May 2020 https://doi.org/10.21053/ceo.2020.00031
Association between severity of the temporomandibular disorder, neck pain, and mandibular function impairment
Achilles Motta Nunes, Paulo Raimundo Rosário Lopes, Marcos Alan Vieira Bittencourt
et al.
ABSTRACT Purpose: to investigate the possible association between the severity of the temporomandibular disorder, cervical pain, and mandibular function impairment. Methods: is a cross-sectional, descriptive study, conducted with 32 individuals with temporomandibular disorder, categorized by degree of severity, according to the Fonseca Index. Using the diagnosis criteria for temporomandibular disorder, the likely etiological factors for the disorder were established, as well as the intensity of the functional disability, resulting from cervical pain and of the mandibular impairment. The data obtained were statistically treated, adopting the significance level of 5%. Results: the mean age was 33.8 years, 90.6% being females. As for the degree of disorder, 56.3% presented severe TMD, followed by 28.1% showing a moderate one. The myogenic etiology was present in 93.7% of the patients. Cervical pain was present in 90.6% of them, of which, 59.4% presented a mild disability, and 25%, a moderate one. Considering the mandibular function, 46.9% of the patients presented a low, 40.6%, a moderate, and 12.5%, a severe impairment. There was a statistically significant association between cervical pain and mandibular function (p = 0.011). However, although there was an increase in cervical disability and in mandibular impairment as the severity of the TMD also increased, these associations were not statistically significant (p = 0.178 and p = 0.102, respectively). Conclusion: it can be stated that there is a higher prevalence of severe TMD and of myogenic origin, and that cervical pain influences, directly, the mandibular function, which is not necessarily related to the severity of the temporomandibular alteration. Likewise, such severity does not present a relationship to mandibular function impairment either.
Philology. Linguistics, Otorhinolaryngology
Sudden Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss Secondary to Cerebral Venous Thrombosis
Muhammad-Nu’aim Ishak, Nik-Mohd-Syukra Nik -Abdul- Ghani, Irfan Mohamad
Introduction: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is an important otological emergency. Up to 90% of the cases are idiopathic. Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is an extremely rare identifiable cause as it only represents 0.5% of all strokes. Case Report: In this paper, an unusual case of bilateral SSNHL secondary to bilateral CVT with rapid and complete recovery is reported. The patient presented with sudden bilateral hearing loss associated with some neurological symptoms. Initial computed tomography (CT) venography revealed a CVT of bilateral transverse sinuses. The patient was started on an anticoagulant and imaging was repeated after five days, revealing the absence of the thrombosis. Serial pure tone audiometry (PTA) showed complete recovery of bilateral hearing within 10 days. Conclusion: Early detection and intervention may fasten hearing recovery and improve the quality of life. The immediate restoration of venous blood flow and intracranial pressure may lead to the complete recovery of bilateral hearing loss.
Efficacy of 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine against acute otitis media and nasopharyngeal carriage in Panamanian children – A randomized controlled trial
Xavier Sáez-Llorens, Stella Rowley, Digna Wong
et al.
We previously reported 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) efficacy in a double-blind randomized trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00466947) against various diseases, including acute otitis media (AOM). Here, we provide further analyses. In the Panamanian subset, 7,359 children were randomized (1:1) to receive PHiD-CV or control vaccine at age 2/4/6 and 15–18 months. Of these, 2,000 had nasopharyngeal swabs collected. AOM cases were captured when parents sought medical attention for children with AOM symptoms; surveillance was enhanced approximately 2 y into the study through regular telephone calls or home visits by study personnel, who advised parents to visit the clinic if their child had AOM symptoms. Mean follow-up was 31.4 months. Clinical AOM (C-AOM) cases were assessed by physicians and confirmed by otorhinolaryngologists. Middle ear fluid samples, taken from children with C-AOM after specific informed consent, and nasopharyngeal samples were cultured for pathogen identification. For 7,359 children, 2,574 suspected AOM cases were assessed by a primary healthcare physician; 649 cases were C-AOM cases as per protocol definition. From the 503 MEF samples collected, 158 resulted in a positive culture. In the intent-to-treat cohort (7,214 children), PHiD-CV showed VE against first C-AOM (24.0% [95% CI: 8.7, 36.7]) and bacterial (B-AOM) episodes (48.0% [20.3, 66.1]) in children <24 months, which declined thereafter with age. Pre-booster VE against C-AOM was 30.7% [12.9, 44.9]; post-booster, −6.7% [−36.4, 16.6]. PHiD-CV VE was 17.7% [−6.1, 36.2] against moderate and 32.7% [−20.5, 62.4] against severe C-AOM. VE against vaccine-serotype pneumococcal NPC was 31.2% [5.3, 50.3] 3 months post-booster, and 25.6% [12.7, 36.7] across all visits. NTHi colonization rates were low and no significant reduction was observed. PHiD-CV showed efficacy against C-AOM and B-AOM in children younger than 24 months, and reduced vaccine-serotype NPC.
Immunologic diseases. Allergy, Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Surgical Approaches to First Branchial Cleft Anomaly Excision: A Case Series
Lourdes Quintanilla-Dieck, Frank Virgin, Chistopher Wootten
et al.
Objectives. First branchial cleft anomalies (BCAs) constitute a rare entity with variable clinical presentations and anatomic findings. Given the high rate of recurrence with incomplete excision, identification of the entire tract during surgical treatment is of paramount importance. The objectives of this paper were to present five anatomic variations of first BCAs and describe the presentation, evaluation, and surgical approach to each one. Methods. A retrospective case review and literature review were performed. We describe patient characteristics, presentation, evaluation, and surgical approach of five patients with first BCAs. Results. Age at definitive surgical treatment ranged from 8 months to 7 years. Various clinical presentations were encountered, some of which were atypical for first BCAs. All had preoperative imaging demonstrating the tract. Four surgical approaches required a superficial parotidectomy with identification of the facial nerve, one of which revealed an aberrant facial nerve. In one case the tract was found to travel into the angle of the mandible, terminating as a mandibular cyst. This required en bloc excision that included the lateral cortex of the mandible. Conclusions. First BCAs have variable presentations. Complete surgical excision can be challenging. Therefore, careful preoperative planning and the recognition of atypical variants during surgery are essential.
Auditory brainstem responses for click and CE-chirp stimuli in individuals with and without occupational noise exposure
Zeena Venkatacheluvaiah Pushpalatha, Sreeraj Konadath
Introduction: Encoding of CE-chirp and click stimuli in auditory system was studied using auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) among individuals with and without noise exposure. Materials and Methods: The study consisted of two groups. Group 1 (experimental group) consisted of 20 (40 ears) individuals exposed to occupational noise with hearing thresholds within 25 dB HL. They were further divided into three subgroups based on duration of noise exposure (0–5 years of exposure-T1, 5–10 years of exposure-T2, and >10 years of exposure-T3). Group 2 (control group) consisted of 20 individuals (40 ears). Absolute latency and amplitude of waves I, III, and V were compared between the two groups for both click and CE-chirp stimuli. T1, T2, and T3 groups were compared for the same parameters to see the effect of noise exposure duration on CE-chirp and click ABR. Result: In Click ABR, while both the parameters for wave III were significantly poorer for the experimental group, wave V showed a significant decline in terms of amplitude only. There was no significant difference obtained for any of the parameters for wave I. In CE-Chirp ABR, the latencies for all three waves were significantly prolonged in the experimental group. However, there was a significant decrease in terms of amplitude in only wave V for the same group. Discussion: Compared to click evoked ABR, CE-Chirp ABR was found to be more sensitive in comparison of latency parameters in individuals with occupational noise exposure. Monitoring of early pathological changes at the brainstem level can be studied effectively by using CE-Chirp stimulus in comparison to click stimulus. Conclusion: This study indicates that ABR’s obtained with CE-chirp stimuli serves as an effective tool to identify the early pathological changes due to occupational noise exposure when compared to click evoked ABR.
Otorhinolaryngology, Industrial medicine. Industrial hygiene
Curcumin, Inflammation, and Chronic Diseases: How Are They Linked?
Yan He, Yuan Yue, Xi Zheng
et al.
It is extensively verified that continued oxidative stress and oxidative damage may lead to chronic inflammation, which in turn can mediate most chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, neurological, inflammatory bowel disease and pulmonary diseases. Curcumin, a yellow coloring agent extracted from turmeric, shows strong anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities when used as a remedy for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. How oxidative stress activates inflammatory pathways leading to the progression of chronic diseases is the focus of this review. Thus, research to date suggests that chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and most chronic diseases are closely linked, and the antioxidant properties of curcumin can play a key role in the prevention and treatment of chronic inflammation diseases.
The influence of tinnitus acceptance on the quality of life and psychological distress in patients with chronic tinnitus
David Riedl, Gerhard Rumpold, Annette Schmidt
et al.
Recent findings show the importance of acceptance in the treatment of chronic tinnitus. So far, very limited research investigating the different levels of tinnitus acceptance has been conducted. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of life (QoL) and psychological distress in patients with chronic tinnitus who reported different levels of tinnitus acceptance. The sample consisted of outpatients taking part in a tinnitus coping group (n = 97). Correlations between tinnitus acceptance, psychological distress, and QoL were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to calculate a cutoff score for the German "Tinnitus Acceptance Questionnaire" (CTAQ-G) and to evaluate the screening abilities of the CTAQ-G. Independent sample t-tests were conducted to compare QoL and psychological distress in patients with low tinnitus acceptance and high tinnitus acceptance. A cutoff point for CTAQ-G of 62.5 was defined, differentiating between patients with "low-to-mild tinnitus acceptance" and "moderate-to-high tinnitus acceptance." Patients with higher levels of tinnitus acceptance reported a significantly higher QoL and lower psychological distress. Tinnitus acceptance plays an important role for patients with chronic tinnitus. Increased levels of acceptance are related to better QoL and less psychological distress.
Otorhinolaryngology, Industrial medicine. Industrial hygiene
Pleomorphic Adenomas of the Parapharyngeal Space
İstemihan Akın, Tuğba Karagöz, Murad Mutlu
et al.
Background. Parapharyngeal space is one of potential facial planes for neoplasms and infections and represents less than 1% of all head and neck tumours. Occurrence of the pleomorphic adenoma in the parapharyngeal space is a rarity. Case Presentation. Here, three giant pleomorphic adenomas of different sizes occupying the parapharyngeal space in three patients are reported. Extensive preoperative diagnostic workup was done in order to verify the nature and size of the tumour and the proximity to the large vessels. Review of the literature, clinical features, pathology, radiological findings, and treatment of these tumours are discussed. Conclusion. The excision of the tumor through submandibular transcervical approach, without cutting the mandible, turned out to be a safe and radical approach in all three cases.
Who should manage acute periorbital cellulitis in children?
N. Upile, N. Munir, S. Leong
et al.
Prospective study of the risk of not using prophylactic antibiotics in nasal packing for epistaxis
C. Pepper, S. Lo, A. Toma