La surdité brusque résultats thérapeutique et facteurs pronostiques / Sudden sensorineural hearing loss: therapeutic outcome and prognostic factors

Objectifs: évaluer les résultats thérapeutiques et étudier les facteurs pronostiques de la surdité brusque.Patients et méthodes: Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective à propos de 61 patients (39 hommes et 22 femmes) pris en charge pour surdité brusque dans le service d'Otorhinolaryngologie et de Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale de l'hôpital Bourguiba de Monastir durant une période de 16 ans (2001-2016). Une analyse statistique a été réalisée afin d'identifier les facteurs influençant le pronostic de la surdité brusque. Le seuil de significativité retenu était de 5%. Résultats:L'âge moyen était de 43 ans [16-80 ans]. Le taux global de récupération auditive était de 45%. Les facteurs pronostiques selon l'analyse uni variée étaient: un antécédent d'hypoacousie controlatérale, la présence d'un vertige associé, la sévérité de la perte auditive initiale, une courbe audiométrique de type E, l'absence du réflexe stapédien et le recours à l'oxygénothérapie hyperbare (OHB). En analyse multivariée, les seuls facteurs retenus étaient une perte auditive initiale supérieure ou égale à 70 dB, la présence d'un vertige et l'absence d'un épisode infectieux précédant la survenue de la surdité. Conclusion: Notre étude a permis de retenir comme facteurs de mauvais pronostic indépendants la perte auditive initiale supérieure ou égale à 70 dB, la présence d'un vertige et l'absence d'un épisode infectieux précédant la survenue de la surdité. Ceci nous incite à une réflexion quant au protocole thérapeutique adopté dans notre service et à indiquer l'OHB, qui est normalement prescrite en cas de non réponse, en première intention, afin d'optimiser la récupération auditive.

Oxygen as a drug and scarce commodity: Do we use it rationally?

Medical grade oxygen is classified as a drug and needs to be prescribed by a qualified healthcare professional. Oxygen therapy is prescribed to people who cannot maintain normal blood oxygen saturation while breathing atmospheric air. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the importance of the rational use of this scarce commodity. This study investigated oxygen therapy practices in adult ward patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study design with an analytical component was used in the adults' wards at a National District Hospital and the Pelonomi Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein. Data were collected from patient files, interviews and oxygen measurements of adult patients that received oxygen. Results: One hundred and fifteen patients were included in the study, of whom 47.0% received oxygen without an oxygen prescription. Around 62.3% of the patients with prescriptions did not receive oxygen as prescribed. The prescriptions and oxygen administration for COVID-19 patients were better than for non­COVID-19 patients. A quarter of the patients possibly received oxygen therapy unnecessarily. Conclusion: Poor oxygen therapy practices were identified, including prescription errors, oxygen administration errors and oxygen wastage. A protocol should be developed and implemented for the prescription and administration of oxygen therapy. Training should occur to prevent oxygen wastage. Contribution: This study highlighted poor oxygen practices and prescriptions, as well as oxygen wastage in the absence of local oxygen therapy guidelines.

Comparison of Topical Oxygen with Vacuum Assisted Closure in Wound Healing in a Low Resource Setting

The aim of this pilot study is to obtain preliminary results comparing topical oxygen therapy (TOT) and vacuum assisted closure (VAC) in terms of its ability to accelerate wound healing. METHODS: This non-randomised prospective study included patients with age 16-50 years, wound size ≥ 16cm2 and present below knee joint within seven days of occurrence. Bates-Jensen wound assessment tool (BWAT) was used for evaluation at 8-day interval along with percent area reduction at final follow up. RESULTS: Mean number of cycles required in VAC and TOT group were 1.97 (range 1-3) and 2.1 (range 1-3) (each cycle of 5 days) per patient respectively. Percent area reduction was significantly higher in the VAC group (34±9.7%) than TOT (11.3±3.8%) group at final follow up (p<0.05). TOT patients had better improvement in epithelialization compared to VAC at last follow up. More extensive debridement was needed in patients of TOT than VAC. There was no significant difference between final score in both groups. CONCLUSION: TOT appears to be comparable to well-established VAC in treatment of fresh traumatic wounds below the knee joint. Further large scale, multicentric and randomised studies comparing both these modalities of treatment should be the way forward

The Influence of Hyperbaric Oxygenation Therapy on Recurrent Myocardial Infarction and Two-Year Survival Rate in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients

Background: Surgical methods of acute myocardial infarction (MI) treatment possess a high clinical effectiveness; but there are limitations; related to the patient's state; medical resources and organizational problems. The development of new medical technologies allows for a better and effective non-surgical treatment and increases long-term prognosis. Aim: To assess the influence of hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO) therapy on mortality rate and recurrent myocardial infarction (rMI) within a two-year monitoring. Methods: The study involved 129 patients who suffered from acute MI; having undergone the standard therapy. The patients were divided at random into 2 groups: Group 1 (reference group; n=65); Group 2 (test group; n=64). Group 2 patients were given the traditional treatment; accompanied with (HBO) standard therapy by BLKS-307 (Russia; Moscow) single-seat apparatus (isopression for 40 minutes at a working pressure of 0.03 MPa). HBO therapy was applied on the 4th- 10th day following MI. The treatment course included 6 cycles; once per day. The clinical assessment was focused on clinical outcome: repeated MI and cardiovascular related mortality. Monitoring duration was two years. Results: The study involved 129 MI patients. No complications were encountered with HBO therapy on post-MI patients. Use of HBO reduced rMI and increased survival especially in the first half year after MI. Conclusion: HBO application that accompanied the acute MI traditional pharmacotherapy proved to reduce rMI within 2 years following inpatient discharge (the rate of rMI was 19in the reference group and 5.3in the test group; ?2=5.0; ?0.05). The joint application of HBO and modern drug regimen in treating acute MI makes it possible to raise the 2-year survival rate from 86.2up to 94.7