Effect of Nebulized Bovine Surfactant for Experimental Otitis Media with Effusion

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of nebulized bovine pulmonary surfactant on experimentally induced otitis media with effusion (OME) in guinea pigs. METHODS: Twenty guinea pigs were divided into three groups. Four untreated animals served as normal controls. Experimental OME was established in both ears of the remaining 16 animals by a transbullar injection of 10 microL of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide in saline. Thereafter, the guinea pigs received nebulized phosphate buffered saline (n=8) or nebulized bovine pulmonary surfactant (n=8). Nebulization was given daily for 7 days. On day 8, all the animals' passive opening pressure (POP) of the Eustachian tube was measured and histopathological observations of the bulla were made by light microscopy. RESULTS: Nebulized bovine pulmonary surfactant significantly reduced the POP compared to that of saline nebulization. The bovine pulmonary surfactant improved the tubal patency and produced less histopathologcally-evident edematous bullar mucosa. CONCLUSION: Nebulization of bovine pulmonary surfactant plays an important role in treating otitis media with effusion in guinea pigs. Our results suggest that the chosen nebulized bovine pulmonary surfactant can be of good clinical benefit for treating OME in the future.

Submandibular Cutaneous Draining Sinus Tract from Mandibular Osteomyelitis / 대한이비인후과학회지

Chronically draining cutaneous sinus tracts are frequently misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated. Diagnostic errors can result in multiple surgical excisions and biopsies, long-term antibiotic therapy, and even radiation therapy or electrodessication. The most common cause of skin drainage is a chronically infected tooth. A sinus tract from a mandibular osteomyelitis is very rare and hard to detect. A 36-year-old woman was presented to the hospital with a 1.5 year history of purulent discharge from a cutaneous sinus present at submandibular region. The patient had received three excisions and drainage procedures but the drainage recurred. The neck computed tomography revealed a focal disruption with radiolucence on the posterior surface of the left inferior mandibular body. The disease was completely cured after the excision of sinus tract and thorough curettage of the affected lesion of the mandible. We report a cutaneous submandibular draining sinus tract that developed from a mandibular osteomyelitis unrelated to a tooth inflammation

Clinical Characteristics of Thyroid Micropapillary Carcinoma / 대한이비인후과학회지

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Thyroid micropapillary carcinoma (equal or less than 10 mm at great dimension) is now reported with increasing incidence due to fine needle aspiration under high-resolution ultrasonography. The extent of thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection has been an issue of controversy. The purpose of this study was to analyze clinical characteristics of thyroid micropapillary carcinoma with total thyroidectomy and preventive central neck dissection. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: For suspicious thyroid micropapillary carcinoma, total thyroidectomy and preventive central neck dissection was performed in 63 patients (18 male, 45 female, mean ages of 59 years) between November 2004 and September 2008. They were suspected to have micropapillary carcinoma by fine needle aspiration and diagnosed with micropapillary carcinoma postoperatively. RESULTS: The mean tumor size was 6 mm. Twenty-one patients (33.3%) had multifocal diseases and 19 patients (30.2%) had extrathyroid extension. Lymph node metastases were found in 20 patients (31.7%) on central neck and 7 patients (11.1%) on lateral neck. There were no relations between multifocal disease or extrathyroid lesion and lymph node metastases (p> 0.05). There was no significance of variables according to tumor size of 5 mm (p> 0.05). There was a significant relation between central and lateral lymph node metastasis (p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: These data can be used for future studies for necessity or unnecessity of total thyroidectomy and/or preventive central neck dissection for thyroid micropapillary carcinoma. The possibility of coexistence of central and lateral neck metastasis should be considered.