prospective study of mobile phone user complaints in Saudi Arabia

To study the long-term effects of mobile phone exposure in regard to ear pain and pressure, facial pain, headache, hearing loss, tinnitus, vertigo, and hotness. Four hundred volunteer subjects who used mobile phones were recruited, 313 subjects completed 2 years follow up. The cheif complaints were ear pressure [42.0%], headache [38.1%], and hotness [36.2%]. Whereas only 17.9% of subjects had 1 complaint, 20.9% had 3 complaints. Forty-eight subjects [15.9%] had no primary complaints, but complained of a variety of minor symptoms, including anxiety, numbness, a heavy sensation, or itchiness. Six subjects had to reduce mobile phone usage and 9 had to stop using a mobile phone altogether. Bivariate correlation analysis of the 8 primary complaints revealed only 3 pairs that had a phi coefficient of above 0.3: headache and facial pain: 0.339, p < .000001; headache and hearing loss: 0.413, p <.000001; and headache and vertigo: 0.325, p <.000001. There was no evidence of a dose-response relationship between call duration and complaints

Computer-aided endoscopic sinus surgery: a retrospective comparative study

Endoscopic sinus surgery [ESS], markedly improved with the introduction of new preoperative imaging techniques, intraoperative visualization tools, and the use of surgical navigation systems. In this retrospective study we evaluated the usefulness of CT-guided endscopic sinus surgery and studied its advantages over conventional endscopic sinus surgery. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 60 randomly chosen patients with chronic rhinosinusitis [CRS] and moderate-to-severe sinonasal polyposis, undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery with surgical navigation [n=30] and without navigation [n=30]. Data on the operative note, time of surgery, complications, and recurrence rate were collected and analyzed. Of the 60 patients, 40 [66.7%] were diagnosed with CRS and 20 [33.3%] had allergic fungal sinusitis. Primary surgery was performed in 37 [61.7%] and revision surgery was performed in 23 [38.3%] cases. The computer-aided surgery [CAS] group included 28 [93.3%] patients with extensive disease and 12 [40%] with bone erosions, with intraorbital or extradural extension, while the non-CAS group included 24 [80%] patients with extensive disease and seven [23.3%] with bone erosions, with intraorbital or extradural extension. The average operative time was approximately 13 minutes greater in the navigation group, with significant improvement in the recurrence rate [n=11, 36.7% in the non-CAS group; n=5, 16.7% in the CAS group], and intraoperative complications were fewer in the CAS group [two exposures of orbital fat in the non-CAS group; no complications in the CAS group]. Computer navigational systems appear to serve as a valuable adjunct in preoperative planning and safe intraoperative dissection

Allergic fungal sinusitis: Radiological and microbiological features of 59 cases

Allergic fungal sinusitis [AFS] is a relatively newly recognized entity consisting of a pansinusitis with allergic mucinous infiltrates in all involved sinuses. Historically mistaken for a paranasal sinus tumor, AFS is believed to be an allergic reaction to aerolized environmental fungi, usually of dematiaceous and Aspergillus species, in an immunocompetent host. We determined the occurrence of AFS in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis [CRS] to identify accurate preoperative parameters for AFS, as well as to identify the common fungi causing AFS in Saudi Arabia. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 406 cases of CRS undergoing functional endoscopic sinus surgery from 2001 to 2005. Data regarding patient demographics, presenting symptoms, ENT examination, laboratory and radiological features, histopathological features and fungal culture was collected and analyzed. Fungal cultures were positive in 69 [16.9%] cases of CRS. Based on radiological features, histopathologic findings and culture results, AFS was diagnosed in 59 [14.5%] cases. Nasal polyposis was present in 56 [94.9%] cases; multiple sinuses were affected in all cases. Aspergillus species was the commonest causative fungal pathogen, being isolated in 40 [67.8%] cases, whereas dematiaceous fungi were isolated in 19 [32.2%] cases. AFS has been an underdiagnosed clinical entity. Only increased awareness among physicians of fungal involvement will increase accuracy of diagnosis

Allergic fungal sinusitis in children in Saudi Arabia

To report the allergic fungal sinusitis [AFS] in children in Saudi Arabia and to review the experience of King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital in diagnosis and management of AFS in children. Hospital charts of 45 children reviewed retrospectively. Clinical presentation, radiological and operative findings, management and outcomes studied. Only 25 patients had >/= 4 diagnostic criteria, treated endoscopically between January 2000 and December 2005 and followed at least 2 years in XAUR, Ifoyacm, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Twenty-five patients had at least 4 criteria for AFS. All patients underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery [FESS] with high recurrence rate, 44%. Twenty-eight percent needed revision surgery even with medical treatment post operatively. Moreover, no other complications were reported in this study. Aspergillus spp is the most common fungal type in our review. Allergic fungal sinusitis in children is underestimated and understudied associated with poor outcome and high recurrence rate because of difficulty m management. Therefore, the most effective approach of AFS management in children is to have a high index of suspicion, adequate preoperative evaluation, medical preparation preoperatively, meticulous surgery, medical management, postoperative including topical and systemic corticosteroids and close clinical follow-up with endoscopically guided debridement