Management experience of subglottic stenosis by endoscopic bougie dilatation with mitomycin C and review of literature: case series.

The aim of the study was to examine and analyze the epidemiology and outcome of treatment for paediatric acquired subglottic stenosis treated with endoscopic bougie dilatation and topical mitomycin C. There were 15 patients identified from 2008 until 2013. All of them had acquired subglottic stenosis due to history of intubation. Majority of the patients had grade III stenosis, with the total of seven. Three patients had grade IV; three were grade II and two were grade I. All of the patients with severe stenosis (grade III and IV) needed tracheostomy while only one in mild stenosis group (grade I and II) required it for prolonged ventilation rather than obstruction due to subglottic stenosis. All of them underwent direct laryngoscopy under general anesthesia followed by endoscopic dilatation with bougie and topical mitomycin C 0.4 mg/ml for 5 min. Aim of success in our study was decannulation of tracheostomy or absence of symptoms at exertion. We achieved 6 (60 %) successful decannulation out of 10 patients with tracheostomy (excluded the patient with tracheostomy in grade I stenosis due to prolonged ventilation). As for those without tracheostomy, 3 (75 %) out of 4 patients were asymptomatic even at exertion. Average number of dilatation was 3.1 times, with mean duration of 28 min. No complications were reported in our series. One patient with grade I stenosis passed away due to severe pneumonia unrelated to the stenosis or dilatation, and she did not have any dilatation before she passed away. Multiple related risk factors were identified such as intubation, prematurity, movement of endotracheal tube, respiratory infection, traumatic intubation and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Experience of open surgical method was very limited in our centre in Sabah in East Malaysia. Endoscopic technique plays an important role in treatment of subglottic stenosis with adjunct like mitomycin C possibly booster the successful rate.

Antibacterial and antifungal properties of human cerumen.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the antibacterial and antifungal properties of human cerumen by studying its effect on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Esherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cerumen samples were collected from 75 normal, healthy subjects aged from seven to 80 years, without ear pathology, who attended the ear, nose and throat out-patient clinic of the University Malaya Medical Center from May 2006 to October 2006. Of these 75 samples, 31 had no growth when cultured on nutrient agar. Inhibition studies on these 31 samples were performed for Staphylococcus aureus (American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 25923), Esherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and Candida albicans. Nutrient agar was used to conserve all three bacterial strains and Sabouraud dextrose agar was used for Candida albicans. RESULTS: A decrease in Staphylococcus aureus growth was observed for 27 of the 31 samples. All 31 samples induced decreased growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, while 29 induced decreased growth of Candida albicans. However, only four samples induced decreased growth of Escherichia coli. CONCLUSIONS: Cerumen was demonstrated to have potential antimicrobial effects on strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans.

Disease, impairment, disability and social handicap: a community based study of people aged 70 years and over.

The aim of this research was to investigate the prevalence of disability in a total population-based sample aged 70 years and over, the social handicap resulting from the disability and the diseases and impairments contributing to disability in the most disabled subjects. From the initial sample of 856 subjects, 782 (91.4%) participated. Disability in the tasks examined varied from 1.3% of subjects unable to feed themselves to 24.4% unable to carry out housework. In the 74 most disabled subjects comorbidity was common. The major clinical disorders that contributed to impairment and disability were heart failure, osteoarthritis, stroke and dementia. Those who were disabled were considerably more likely to be handicapped than those not disabled (odds ratio 6.65, 95% confidence interval 4.73-9.36). When social support was considered, the estimated risk of handicap associated with disability ranged from 3.19 (95% CI 1.92-5.30) for the subset of subjects who had a spouse, to 52.00 (95% CI 4.03-670.6) for subjects without emotional support.