Pyriform aperture enlargement in all aspects.

BACKGROUND: The pyriform aperture comprises the central area of facial bone structure. It is formed by the free corners of the nasal bone and the frontal processes of the maxillae, which articulate with each other at the nasomaxillary suture lines. Congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis might be linked to various craniofacial problems. This review presents all aspects of pyriform aperture stenosis and enlargement. METHODS: A literature search was conducted. Pyriform aperture definition, nasal development, congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis and pyriform aperture enlargement were reviewed. RESULTS: One of the most common abnormalities is holoprosencephaly, which is a midline developmental deficiency that may also be present in combination with facial clefting. The aetiology of nasal pyriform aperture stenosis remains unclear. When diagnosed, the choice of treatment is between non-surgical and operative methods, depending on the seriousness of the problem. Provided the sufferer can maintain a secure air passage with the help of specialised medical procedures and respiratory tract adjuvants, operative therapy may be delayed. CONCLUSION: The operative outcomes are extremely good, and the prognosis relies mainly on coexisting neural and endocrine problems. This paper evaluates the nasal pyriform aperture in detail.

Efficacy of nasopharyngeal culture in identification of pathogen in middle ear fluid in chronic otitis media with effusion.

PURPOSE: Chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) is the leading cause of hearing loss during childhood. In bacterial etiology of OME, the most frequent pathogens responsible are Haemophilus influenzae followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Moraxella catarrhalis. This study aimed at evaluating the accuracy of nasopharyngeal (NP) specimens in the identification of pathogens in the middle ear fluid (MEF) in patients with OME. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross sectional, case-control study, 95 MEFs and 53 NP secretion specimens were obtained from 53 children. As a control group, 102 NP specimens were taken from children having an operation other than an otological disease. Conventional culture methods and multiplex-PCR method have been used to determine the etiology of OME; NP carriage between cases and control groups were compared using conventional culture methods. Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact tests were used in statistical analysis. RESULTS: Bacteria were isolated by culture in 37.9% of MEF specimens, 14.7% of which belonged to the group H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae and M. catarrhalis. PCR was positive in 30.5% specimens targeting the same pathogens. There was a two-fold increase in carriage rate of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae in patients than controls for each pathogen. CONCLUSION: PCR is a more reliable method to detect middle ear pathogens in MEF in comparison with the conventional culture methods. The NP colonization wasn't found to be an indicator of the pathogen in MEF although middle ear pathogens colonize more in nasopharynx of diseased children.