Body dysmorphic disorder in aesthetic rhinoplasty candidates

Body Dysmorphic Disorder [BDD] is a psychiatric disorder defined as obsessive ideas about distorted physical appearance, leading to social, professional and personal dysfunction. Many of these patients seek aesthetic surgery and are generally dissatisfied with the outcome of their surgery. In the present study patients coming to the otolaryngology clinic of Thaleghani Hospital in Tehran seeking rhinoplasty were evaluated. Between October 2010 and October 2011, 130 patients seeking rhinoplasty were recruited in a cross-sectional study. These patients were consecutively interviewed in the otolaryngology clinic of Taleghani Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Questionnaires were filled containing demographic data. BDD was evaluated by a separate questionnaire. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS] questionnaire was filled to evaluate depression and anxiety. Data were analyzed by using SPSS software. The frequency and standard deviations were calculated. Differences between groups were evaluated by using the chi-square, and t-tests. Ninety nine [76.2%] of rhinoplasty candidates were female and thirty one [23.8%] were male. Eighty five [65.4%] were single and thirty eight [29.2%] were married while seven were divorced. About 63.8% were University students or University graduates. Mean age was 26.43 +/- 6.29 years old. 41 patients [31.5%] had BDD. Among BDD patients 12 [29.3%] had concurrent depression and 11 [26.8%] had concurrent anxiety. No statistically significant correlation was found between the presence or severity of BDD and age, gender, marital status, level of education and profession. Considering the high prevalence of Body Dysmorphic Disorder [BDD] among rhinoplasty candidates, psychiatric evaluation is advisable before surgery to avoid unnecessary operations and patient dissatisfaction

Association between hepatitis b and hearing status

Viral diseases are one of the common causes of hearing loss. The inner ear may be involved directly or by secondary reaction [e.g., polyarthritis nodosa]. This study was performed to investigate the relation between positive HBS-Ag [hepatitis B disease] and hearing loss. This case-study research was done on 95 hepatitis-B patients as the case group and 97 normal cases as the control group. They were selected sequentially and audiologic tests were performed on the participants. The hearing thresholds of the two groups were compared using the t-test. According to audiometry results, pure tone average [mean thresholds of 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz] were 22.1 dB for the left ear and 23.95 dB for the right ear in hepatitis-B group and 8.4 dB for the left ear and 8.95 dB for the right ear in the control group [HBS-Ag negative]. The difference between two groups was statistically significant with p-value less than 0.05. The results show that hepatitis-B patients are more prone to hearing loss and that hepatitis B disease can cause hearing loss. This study suggests that hepatitis B prophylaxis is important in decreasing hepatitis-B involvement and therefore, hearing loss

[ effect of preparation in preventing post-septoplasty infection]

Septoplasty is one of the most common and basic procedures in ear, nose and throat surgery. Due to the presence of several resident organisms and their proximity to vital regions of the head and neck, any infection in this region is of special importance. Implementation of optimal preparation [Prep] of the surgery site has been widely accepted as the most important inhibiting factor for post surgical infection in all branches of surgery including ENT, so we decided to study the effects of preoperative prep on the incidence of post operative infections. This study was conducted as a clinical trial on septoplasty candidates chosen among patients visiting the ENT clinic of Boo Ali and Taleghani hospitals during the years 1997 - 2005. 150 candidates were chosen [78 as cases and 72 as the control group] according to order of visit. Preoperative prep was omitted in all the subjects in the case group, while routine prep with Povidone -Iodine was implemented in controls. Both groups were examined for post surgical infections. Statistical analyses were done by SPSS and Fisher Exact Test. In the case group were 22 females and 56 male with average age of 24.6+/-5.1 years and in control group were 17 female and 55 male with average 25.3+/-6.4 years. Signs of infection were observed among one patient in each group [p<0.9]. The current study revealed no change in the incidence rate of post-op infection. It seems the sterilization and careful prep of the surgical site is not necessary for performing septoplasty and it is better to pay more attention to the surgical technique, reducing the duration of surgery, and optimizing pre and post operative care