Use of Oximetry to Determine Need for Adenotonsillectomy for Sleep-Disordered Breathing.

: media-1vid110.1542/5802711151001PEDS-VA_2017-3382Video Abstract OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the efficacy of adenotonsillectomy (T/A) in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in a controlled study using oximetry. We hypothesized that children with SDB and abnormal nocturnal oximetry in a community setting will have improved hypoxemia indices after T/A. METHODS: Children with snoring and tonsillar hypertrophy (4-10 years old) who were candidates for T/A were randomly assigned to 2 oximetry sequences (baseline and 3-month follow-up): (1) oximetry immediately before T/A and at the 3-month follow-up, which occurred postoperatively (T/A group); or (2) oximetry at the initial visit and at the end of the usual 3-month waiting period for surgery (control group). Outcomes were (1) proportion of subjects with McGill oximetry score (MOS) >1 at baseline acquiring MOS of 1 at follow-up and (2) proportion of subjects achieving oxygen desaturation (≥3%) of hemoglobin index (ODI3) <2 episodes per hour at follow-up if they had ODI3 ≥3.5 episodes per hour at baseline. RESULTS: One hundred and forty children had quality oximetry tracings. Twelve of 17 (70.6%) children with MOS >1 in the T/A group and 10 of 21 (47.6%) children with MOS >1 in the control group had MOS of 1 at follow-up (P = .14). More subjects in the T/A than in the control group achieved ODI3 <2 episodes per hour at follow-up (14 of 32 [43.8%] vs 2 of 38 [5.3%]; P < .001). Three children with elevated ODI3 were treated to prevent persistently abnormal ODI3 in 1 child at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: An ODI3 ≥3.5 episodes per hour in nocturnal oximetry is related to increased resolution rate of nocturnal hypoxemia after T/A for SDB compared with no intervention.

Subjective and Objective Voice Assessments After Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve-Preserved Total Thyroidectomy.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate early voice changes after total thyroidectomy, to assess the improved parameters in intermediate postoperative intervals, to evaluate the effect of age on voice after thyroidectomy, and to determine the correlation between the objective and the subjective method outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective, nonrandomized study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred ninety-one participants, divided into two age groups, underwent three full voice assessments (preoperatively and 1 and 8 weeks after thyroidectomy) by means of videostroboscopy, perceptual evaluation, acoustic analysis, aerodynamic evaluation, and a self-evaluation questionnaire. Two control groups enrolled in the study: (1) patients with an indication of neck surgery not related to laryngeal nerve injury risk or strap muscle dissection and (2) patients with an indication of a non-neck surgery. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was found in any voice parameter, between preoperative and 1-week postoperative assessment regarding the control groups. A statistically significant difference was found between preoperative evaluation and 1 week after thyroidectomy for the total study population, as well as for the ≥40 years' age subgroup for all parameters evaluated except for shimmer. The <40 years' age subgroup showed a statistically significant difference in pitch, maximum phonation time, and grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain (GRBAS) score between preoperative evaluation and 1 week after thyroidectomy. None of the parameters showed a statistical significant difference in the <40 years' age subgroup at 8 weeks' evaluation. The Voice Handicap Index (VHI) score correlated significantly with the GRBAS score preoperatively and postoperatively at 1 and 8 weeks' evaluations. Furthermore, VHI correlated significantly with pitch a week postoperatively. GRBAS scores showed significant correlation not only with VHI but also with acoustic parameters including pitch, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonic ratio 1 and 8 weeks after thyroidectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Objective voice changes are common in the majority of the thyroidectomized patients in the early postoperative period. Our results revealed that these changes are related to thyroidectomy per se. Older patients (≥40 years of age) show acoustic and aerodynamic changes 8 weeks postoperatively, although they report no voice abnormalities and their perceptual evaluation is similar to the preoperative one.

SNOT-22 validation in greek patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with or without nasal polyps is a frequent and significant health problem. The 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) is a valid, disease-specific health status instrument translated into several languages. The translation into Greek has been considered essential for the individual assessment of the patients' symptoms and a reliable tool for quality of life evaluation. METHODS: Our study included 40 patients with CRS without nasal polyps and 40 healthy individuals as control group recruited from the ENT Allergy and Endoscopy Clinic of Chania General Hospital. Assessment included full ENT examination and nasal endoscopy. In the study, we compared the patients' examination and reexamination results with the results of the control group, and thus estimated test-retest reliability, internal consistency (determined by Cronbach's alpha) and validity. RESULTS: The statistical significance level calculated by the paired t test was p < 0.05 for all questions, which proves the questionnaire's consistency. The kappa value was estimated for each symptom, with an average value of 0.94. Cronbach's alpha was 0.934 in the test and 0.856 in the retest. The p value was <0.05 between both the control group and the test group and between the control group and the retest group. CONCLUSION: Our study certifies the existence of a valid, reproducible Greek version of SNOT-22, which overcomes limitations of use, allows to answer the questionnaire in Greek, and thus makes it highly recommended for Greek clinicians.