Associations among High Risk for Sleep-disordered Breathing, Related Risk Factors, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Symptoms in Elementary School Children

Objective@#Habitual snoring is a common problem in children. We evaluated the association between a high risk for sleep-disordered breathing and attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms. @*Methods@#Parents of 13,560 children aged 6 to 12 years responded to questionnaires including items on habitual snoring and the Korean attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder rating scale. The snoring score comprised the number of “yes” responses to habitual-snoring items, and a high risk for sleep-disordered breathing was defined as a snoring score ≥ 2. @*Results@#The odds ratio (OR) of a high risk for sleep-disordered breathing was significantly higher in boys (OR = 1.47; p ＜ 0.001), overweight children (OR = 2.20; p ＜ 0.001), and children with current secondhand-smoking exposure (OR = 1.38; p ＜ 0.001). The Korean attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder rating scale score increased significantly with the snoring score (0 vs. 1, B = 1.56, p ＜ 0.001; 0 vs. 2, B = 2.44, p＜ 0.001; 0 vs. 3, B = 2.48, p＜ 0.001; 0 vs. 4, B = 3.95; p ＜ 0.001). @*Conclusion@#Our study confirms several risk factors of sleep-disordered breathing, namely male sex, overweight, and exposure to tobacco smoking, and found a positive association between habitual snoring and attention deficit/hyperactivity symptoms.

The Clinical and Component Analyses of Submandibular Sialolithes / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sialolithiasis occurs in the submandibular gland rather than in the parotid or sublingual gland. It was manifested by several biochemical and anatomical factors inducing saliva retension. There have been various clinical reports about sialolith, but only a few analytical reports. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was carried out for the period of July, 1998 to July, 2000 of 25 cases of the submandibular sialolithes, which was diagnosed and removed . We performed clinical and component analysis of sialolithes with a new method that uses the absorption band of an infrared spectrometer analysis. RESULTS: Calcium phosphate (16 cases) showed a strong band at 1000cm-1 and calcium phosphate and albumin (9 cases) showed a strong double band at 1700cm-1 and 1000cm-1. The incidence of submandibular sialolithiasis was predominant in females, accounting for the male to female ratio of 8:17. The age distribution of sialolithes was 15 to 62 years. Sialolithes were removed by the transoral approach under local anesthesia and external approach (submandibular gland resection) under general anesthesia. For most patients, sialolithes were brown in color (12 cases), 2~14mm in size, 2.1~1636.8ng in weight and located on the Wharton's duct orifice (17 cases). CONCLUSION: The most common types of sialolithes were calcium phosphate (16 cases, 64%). The rest of sialolithes (9 cases, 36%) were mixed calcium phosphate and albumin. Compared to all the other methods used in the sialolithes analysis, the infrared analysis furnished the permanent record in the shortest time. It was also ideal for qualitative identification and semiquantitative estimation of small fractions of calcium.

Recovery Time of Auricular Sensation after the Retroauricular Incision / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: When the great auricular nerve and lesser occipital nerve are transected via retroauricular incision in ear surgeries, postsurgical hypoesthesia and numbness of the ear can occur. However, little attention has been paid to these symptoms and the morbidity associated with their sacrifice. Therefore, in this study, we examined the recovery time of auricle sensation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty patients who had received mastoidectomy with retroauricular incision in Wallace Memorial Baptist Hospital from November 1998 to March 1999 were included in this study. For these patients, two point discriminatian tests were performed by placing the sharp legs of a compass at the lower 1/3 portion of the auricular helix before and after the surgery at 1-week intervals until the postoperative value became equal to the preoperative value. We also measured the minimal painful Ampere with the electrical stimulator in the same area, and in triangular fossa and cavum concha before and after the surgery while carring out the two point discrimination study. RESULTS: With the two point discrimination test, the postoperative value became equal to the preoperative value 17.23+/-1.88 weeks after the surgery. With the electrical stimulation which uses a Hilger stimulator, the time when postoperative value became equal to the preoperative value was found to be 17.7+/-2.03 weeks at the lower 1/3 portion of the helix, 20.l3+/-2.16 weeks at triangular fossa and 20.66+/-1.64 weeks at cavum concha, The result of the two point discrimination test was not statistically different from that of the electrical stimulation test using Hilger facial nerve stimulator at the lower 1/3 portion of the helix (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We thought that Hilger stimulator may be useful in assessing the sensory recovery time, and we could measure the sensory recovery rime at three positions of the auricle innervated by different nerves.

Functional Differences of the Lymphocytes in Nasal Polyps between Allergic and Non-Allergic Patients

Lymphocytes can produce various kinds of cytokines which are responsible for the development of the infectious and allergic inflammation. We focused on the role of the lymphocyte in the pathogenesis of the nasal polyp. This study was designed to evaluate the functional differences of the lymphocytes between allergic and non-allergic polyp. Lymphocytes were obtained from peripheral blood and tissues of polyp in 12 patients with non-allergic polyp, 7 patients with allergic polyp and 5 normal subjects as control. Cytokines were measured with ELISA from each group of lymphocytes after stimulation with Concanavalin A (Con A). We compared the production of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon (IFN)-gamma between the non-allergic and allergic groups. The levels of IL-4 and IL-6 from polyp tissue lymphocytes were higher in allergic group, while those of IL-2 and IFN-gamma were higher in non-allergic group. The levels of IL-4, IL-6 and TNF-alpha from peripheral blood lymphocytes were higher in allergic group, and IFN-gamma was higher in non-allergic group. These results suggest that cytokine productivity of the polyp tissue lymphocytes appear to be parallel to that of the peripheral blood lymphocytes in each group and shows distinct pattern of ytokine production between two groups.