Generic Health-Related Quality-of-Life Changes after Rhinoplasty: A Prospective Study with Long-Term Results.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to investigate changes in specific generic health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) domains achieved by rhinoplasty, to investigate whether modifications of somatic-, psychologic-, and social-related HRQoL domains are different in patients with functional or aesthetic motivation for rhinoplasty, and to investigate if HRQoL changes are related to a functional or an aesthetic nasal improvement. STUDY DESIGN: This was a prospective study with 1 year of follow-up. METHODS: Fifty-four consecutive Caucasian patients submitted to rhinoplasty were evaluated with 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and EuroQuality-of-Life 5 Domain (EQ-5D) questionnaires. To correlate changes in generic HRQoL with functional and aesthetic modifications achieved by rhinoplasty, evaluation of patients also included assessment of Peak Nasal Inspiratory Flow and Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation, Visual Analogue Scale for nasal airway obstruction (NAO), and Rhinoplasty Outcome Evaluation scores.Modifications in each generic HRQoL health-domain were analyzed to investigate the possible relation with motivation for surgery and with functional or aesthetic improvement. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in EQ-5D (p < 0.001), EQ-5D VAS (p = 0.002) and in the SF-36 domains of general health (p < 0.001), energy (p < 0.001), physical functioning (p < 0.001), physical limitation (p = 0.005), pain (p = 0.003), and well-being (p = 0.018). Improvement was significant in groups of patients with NAO or in whom a septoplasty was performed and was associated with patient-reported functional improvement. There was a significant improvement in health change (p < 0.001), verified in all groups of patients. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study with long-term results demonstrates that rhinoplasty significantly improves most domains of generic HRQoL. This improvement is associated with patient-reported functional improvement. Emotional limitation and social functioning are not significantly changed by rhinoplasty. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

Objective measurement and patient-reported evaluation of the nasal airway: Is correlation dependent on symptoms or on nasal airflow?

BACKGROUND: Evidence has shown that the sensation of nasal breathing is related to variations in nasal mucosa temperature produced by airflow. An appropriate nasal airflow is necessary for changing mucosal temperature. Therefore, the correlation between objective measurements of nasal airflow and patient-reported evaluation of nasal breathing should be dependent on the level of nasal airflow. OBJECTIVES: To find if the correlation between patient-reported assessment of nasal breathing and objective measurement of nasal airflow is dependent on the severity of symptoms of nasal obstruction or on the level of nasal airflow. METHODS: The airway of 79 patients was evaluated using NOSE score and peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF). Three subgroups were created based on NOSE and three subgroups were created based on PNIF level to find if correlation was dependent on nasal symptoms or airflow. RESULTS: The mean value of PNIF for the 79 patients was 92.6 L/min (SD 28.1 L/min). The mean NOSE score was 48.4 (SD 24.4). The correlation between PNIF and NOSE was statistically significant (P = .03), but with a weak association between the two variables (r = -.248). Evaluation of correlation based on symptoms demonstrated a weak or very weak association in each subgroup (r = -.250, r = -.007, r = -.104). Evaluation of correlation based on nasal airflow demonstrated a very weak association for the subgroups with middle-level and high PNIF values (r = -.190, r = -.014), but a moderate association for the subgroup with low PNIF values (r = -.404). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated a weak correlation between NOSE scores and PNIF values in patients non-selected according to symptoms of nasal obstruction or to airflow. It demonstrated that patients with symptoms of nasal obstruction have different levels of nasal airflow and that low nasal airflow prevents the sensation of good nasal breathing. Therefore, patients with symptoms of nasal obstruction may require improving nasal airflow to improve nasal breathing sensation.

An Overview of Computational Fluid Dynamics Preoperative Analysis of the Nasal Airway.

Evaluation of the nasal airway is crucial for every patient with symptoms of nasal obstruction as well as for every patient with other nasal symptoms. This assessment of the nasal airway comprises clinical examination together with imaging studies, with the correlation between findings of this evaluation and symptoms reported by the patient being based on the experience of the surgeon. Measuring nasal airway resistance or nasal airflow can provide additional data regarding the nasal airway, but the benefit of these objective measurements is limited due to their lack of correlation with patient-reported evaluation of nasal breathing. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has emerged as a valuable tool to assess the nasal airway, as it provides objective measurements that correlate with patient-reported evaluation of nasal breathing. CFD is able to evaluate nasal airflow and measure variables such as heat transfer or nasal wall shear stress, which seem to reflect the activity of the nasal trigeminal sensitive endings that provide sensation of nasal breathing. Furthermore, CFD has the unique capacity of making airway analysis of virtual surgery, predicting airflow changes after trial virtual modifications of the nasal airway. Thereby, CFD can assist the surgeon in deciding surgery and selecting the surgical techniques that better address the features of each specific nose. CFD has thus become a trend in nasal airflow assessment, providing reliable results that have been validated for analyzing airflow in the human nasal cavity. All these features make CFD analysis a mainstay in the armamentarium of the nasal surgeon. CFD analysis may become the gold standard for preoperative assessment of the nasal airway.

Cephalic Malposition of the Lateral Crura and Parenthesis Deformity: A Cadaver Study in Caucasians.

BACKGROUND: Improving the shape and contour of the nasal tip is a major goal in rhinoplasty. Extreme bulbosity and parenthesis deformity of the nasal tip are both frequently encountered. However, the underlying anatomical features that cause this kind of tip deformity are still not fully understood. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relation between the shape of the nasal tip and the anatomical position, orientation and shape of the lateral crura of the lower lateral cartilages and to estimate the incidence of cephalic malposition of lateral crura in Caucasian noses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nineteen Caucasian cadaver noses were studied, and the alar cartilages were measured and evaluated using a standardized method. RESULTS: Fourteen of the total 38 lateral crura evaluated had cephalic malposition (long axis angle with the midline equal to or less than 30°). Of the nasal tips classified as having parenthesis deformity, 84.6% had cephalic malposition of lateral crura and 46.2% had convex lateral crura. Vertical orientation of the short axis of the lateral crura was no more common in noses with parenthesis deformity of the nasal tip than in other kinds of nasal tip. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of cephalic malposition of the lateral crura in this series of Caucasian noses was 36.8%. There was a statistically significant association between parenthesis deformity of the nasal tip and cephalic malposition of the lateral crura, as well as with convex shape of the lateral crura. No statistically significant association was found between the sagittal angle of the lateral crura and the type of nasal tip. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Thrombus aspiration in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction: results of a national registry of interventional cardiology.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the impact of thrombus aspiration (TA) during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (P-PCI) in 'real-world' settings. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study, using data from the National Registry of Interventional Cardiology (RNCI 2006-2012, Portugal) with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients treated with P-PCI. The primary outcome, in-hospital mortality, was analysed through adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: We assessed data for 9458 STEMI patients that undergone P-PCI (35% treated with TA). The risk of in-hospital mortality with TA (aOR 0.93, 95%CI:0.54-1.60) was not significantly decreased. After matching patients through the propensity score, TA reduced significantly the risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 0.58, 95%CI:0.35-0.98; 3500 patients). CONCLUSIONS: The whole cohort data does not support the routine use of TA in P-PCI, but the results of the propensity-score matched cohort suggests that the use of selective TA may improve the short-term risks of STEMI.

Trends in percutaneous coronary intervention from 2004 to 2013 according to the Portuguese National Registry of Interventional Cardiology.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present paper is to report trends in Portuguese interventional cardiology from 2004 to 2013 and to compare them with other European countries. METHODS: Based on the Portuguese National Registry of Interventional Cardiology and on official data from the Directorate-General of Health, we give an overview of developments in coronary interventions from 2004 to 2013. RESULTS: In 2013, 36 810 diagnostic catheterization procedures were performed, representing an increase of 34% compared to 2007 and a rate of 3529 coronary angiograms per million population. Coronary interventions increased by 65% in the decade from 2004 to 2013, with a total of 13 897 procedures and a rate of 1333 coronary interventions per million population in 2013. Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) increased by 265% from 2004 to 2013 (1328 vs. 3524), an adjusted rate of 338 primary PCIs per million, representing 25% of total angioplasties. Stents were the most frequently used devices, drug-eluting stents being used in 73% in 2013. Radial access increased from 4.1% in 2004 to 57.9% in 2013. CONCLUSION: Interventional cardiology in Portugal has been expanding since 2004. We would emphasize the fact that in 2013 all Portuguese interventional cardiology centers were participating in the National Registry of Interventional Cardiology, as well as the growth in primary PCI and increased use of radial access.