The effect of early radiofrequency turbinate reduction, intranasal steroid, and antihistamine H-1 on persistent allergic rhinitis: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effect of radiofrequency turbinate reduction as an initial treatment on clinical improvement, inflammatory mediators, and remodeling process. Methods: Between July 2018- February 2020, 32 patients with moderate-severe persistent AR were randomly divided into 2 groups. Intervention group received radiofrequency turbinate reduction followed by intranasal steroid and Antihistamine H-1 (AH-1), control group received intranasal steroid and AH-1. Both groups were evaluated for clinical improvement (using visual analogue scale based on total nasal symptoms score, peak nasal inspiratory flow, and turbinate size using imageJ) after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment. Inflammatory mediators (ELISA from nasal secretions was performed to measure ECP, IL-5, and HSP-70) and remodeling markers (nasal biopsy followed by immunohistochemistry examination was performed to evaluate MMP-9, TIMP-1, and PAI-1) were evaluated in week 4. Results: Three patients dropped out of the study, resulting in 16 patients in intervention group and 13 patients in control group. At week 4, clinical response improved significantly in the intervention group compared to control group (Chi-Square test, p<0.05). Compared to control, intervention group experienced a reduction of IL-5 and no significant change in ECP level (Mann Whitney test, p>0.05). Reduction in the ratio of MMP-9/TIMP-1 were significantly higher in intervention group (unpaired t-test, p< 0,05). Meanwhile, increase in HSP-70 in the intervention group was slightly lower than in control group, but the difference with control group was not significant (Mann Whitney test, p>0.05). Conclusion: Early radiofrequency turbinate reduction followed by pharmacotherapy given to persistent moderate-severe AR patients give more improvement only in early clinical symptoms and reduce MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio, thus it might be suggested as one of the adjuvant therapies for the management of moderate-severe persistent AR. However, further investigation with a larger sample size and longer follow-up period is needed. Level of evidence: 1B.

Diagnostic accuracy and cytomorphology analysis of fine-needle aspiration of salivary glands.

Background: Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is an effective and safe procedure for analyzing salivary gland lesions. Various morphological and overlapping cytomorphology features can bring difficulty in diagnosis of the salivary gland lesions. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology of salivary glands lesions. Methods: There were 107 cases of cytology and 39 cases of histopathology of salivary gland lesions collected and reviewed from the archives of Anatomical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia / Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital from 2005-2009. Seven cases of cytology were excluded, due to unsatisfactory specimens. Diagnostic test was applied to analyze the 39 pairs of cytology-histopathology cases. Results: There were 100 cases of salivary gland lesions cytology obtained, consisted of 27 negatives, eight cases inconclusive and 65 cases of neoplastic lesions. Of the 39 pair cases, fourteen cases showed result discrepancies between cytology and histopathology, with 3 false-negative cases and 1 false-positive case. The sensitivity and specificity of cytology analysis in differentiating malignant from non-malignant lesions were 82.35%, and 95.45% respectively, NPV 87.5% and PPV 93.34%. Conclusion: This study showed diagnostic accuracy of FNA cytology salivary gland lesions was varied, with 82.35% sensitivity and 95.45% specificity in differentiating malignant from non-malignant hence this information can still be used for case management.