Carotid-artery cochlear dehiscence

Changes in course of the internal carotid artery (ICA) are uncommon, and dehiscence of the carotid canal with cochlea may occur. A 48-year-old female individual with pulsatile tinnitus. No other otologic symptoms observed. Otolaryngologic examination and audiometric test with normal results. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the mastoid bones showed dehiscence of cochlea with ICA on the right side. An option for monitored observation was made after analysis of the risks and undefined results of surgery. Patient maintained clinical and audiometric profile. Carotid-artery cochlear dehiscence is a condition that must be known, remembered and investigated, because it may mimic other otologic pathologies. Knowledge about it prevents serious complications that can be difficult to reverse.

Reprodutibilidade do estadiamento endoscópico tridimensional da polipose nasal / Reproducibility of the three-dimensional endoscopic staging system for nasal polyposis

A polipose nasossinusal é um processo inflamatório crônico da mucosa nasal, caracterizado pela presença de pólipos nasais múltiplos e bilaterais. Vários tipos de medicações têm sido usados no seu tratamento. Para estudar o resultado de diferentes formas de tratamento, é preciso alguma forma de estadiamento. OBJETIVOS: Apresentar um novo método endoscópico de estadiamento, baseado na endoscopia nasal e na avaliação tridimensional dos pólipos, comparar sua reprodutibilidade entre outros dois métodos já difundidos. Forma de estudo: Estudo de coorte histórica com corte transversal. Material e método: Três examinadores avaliaram exames de 20 pacientes portadores de polipose nasossinusal em diferentes momentos, antes e 15 e 30 dias após o início de um tratamento com prednisona, na dose de 1 mg/kg/dia por 7 dias. Foi avaliado o grau de concordância entre os examinadores para cada método, utilizando-se o Kappa múltiplo para análise estatística. Resultados: Os três métodos mostraram-se reprodutíveis, sendo que o método proposto apresentou menor concordância entre os examinadores. Conclusão: O estadiamento proposto mostrou-se reprodutível, apesar de apresentar menor concordância do que os outros dois estadiamentos.

Nasal Polyposis is a chronic inflammatory process of the nasal mucosa, characterized by multiple and bilateral nasal polyps. Different drugs have been used in its treatment. In order to study the results of different treatment modalities it is necessary to have some kind of staging. AIM: to present a new endoscopic staging method, based on nasal endoscopy and on the three-dimensional nasal polyp assessment; and compare its reproducibility with that from two other systems already established in the literature. Study design: Cohort study. Material and methods: Three experts assessed the exams of 20 patients with nasal polyposis at different times, before, at 15 and at 30 days after the start of oral prednisone, 1 mg/kg/day, during 7 days. We assessed the agreement rate among the experts, using Kappa for statistic analysis. Results: The three methods were reproducible, and the method hereby proposed had the least agreement among the examiners. Conclusions: the three-dimensional staging system proposed proved reproducible, despite showing less agreement among the examiners than the other as the other two methods.