Evaluation of nasal mucociliary clearance time in patients with Vitamin-D deficiency.

OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of the current study was to investigate nasal mucociliary clearance time (NMC) in patients with Vitamin-D deficiency. METHODS: A total of 55 patients with Vitamin-D deficiency and 32 controls were evaluated. NMC time was measured with subjective saccharine test and compared between study and control groups. In addition, NMC time was re-evaluated after Vitamin-D replacement protocol in patients with Vitamin-D deficiency. RESULTS: The mean 25(HO)Vitamin-D levels were 14.32 ± 4.23 ng/mL (7-24.6) and 29.38 ± 7.05 ng/mL (25-53.8) in study and control groups, respectively (p < 0.001). The mean NMC time was 11.15 ± 3.05 (6.3-17.6) and 8.40 ± 2.33 (6-13.2) in study and control groups, respectively (p < 0.001). The mean 25(HO)Vitamin-D level after the replacement protocol was 33.38 ± 10.03 and the mean NMC time was 9.56 ± 2.54 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The mean NMC time was significantly increased in patients with Vitamin-D deficiency which can be corrected after Vitamin-D replacement protocols. The prolonged mucociliary clearance might be one of the pathophysiologic pathways at increased upper respiratory tract infections, and sinonasal and ear infections in patients with Vitamin-D deficiency.

Evaluating the effect of nasal septoplasty on atrial electromechanical features.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated that right ventricular (RV) dysfunction and increased pulmonary artery pressure may be frequent in patients with upper airway obstruction. In this study, we evaluated atrial conduction delays in patients with upper airway obstruction secondary to nasal septum deviation (NSD). METHODS: A total of 32 patients with upper airway obstruction secondary to NSD undergoing a septoplasty procedure were enrolled in this study. Preoperative electrocardiography and transthoracic echocardiography were performed in all patients who underwent surgery. The mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) and atrial conduction time (ACT) were recorded before and 6 months after the surgical procedures. RESULTS: The PAP was significantly lower postoperatively than preoperatively (20.75 ±â€¯4.83 vs. 24.68 ±â€¯5.26; P < 0.001). The postoperative Electromechanical Delay of Mitral septal wall (EMD-MS) value was significantly lower than that preoperatively (46.20 ±â€¯8.5 vs. 40.5 ±â€¯9.9; P < 0.001). The postoperative Electromechanical Delay of Mitral lateral wall (EMD-ML) value decreased significantly compared to the preoperative period (46.3 ±â€¯7.4 vs. 40.6 ±â€¯9.3; P < 0.001). The postoperative Electromechanical Delay of Tricuspit lateral wall (EMD-TL) value was significantly lower than that preoperatively (43.8 ±â€¯7.0 vs. 38.1 ±â€¯9.1; P < 0.001). There was no significant change in pre- or postoperative measurements of inter- and intra-atrial conduction delays. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that upper airway obstruction secondary to NSD causes a significant increase in mPAP and a significant delay in ACT, which improved after nasal septoplasty. According to these results, we conclude that upper airway obstruction may be an important risk factor for pulmonary arterial hypertension, RV dysfunction, and atrial arrhythmias, especially in unoperated cases.

The Association between Iron Deficiency and Otitis Media with Effusion.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this trial is to examine the clinical role of iron metabolism on development of Otitis media with effusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study was conducted in a tertiary referral center. The study group made up of children who had surgery for Otitis media with effusion (OME). Control group was comprised of children who had surgery by a pediatric surgeon for inguinal hernia repair or circumcision operations with normal ear nose throat examination. Each group was evaluated depending on the serum iron metabolism parameters. RESULTS: One-hundred-thirteen children with OME and 117 control patients were included to the study. Iron deficiency anemia was detected in 18 out of 113 patients (15.9%) in study group while there were 4 out of the 117 patients (3.4%) in control group (p:0.001).The mean hemoglobin level was 12.16 ± 1.16 in OME group and 12.93 ± 1.08 in control group (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The current study shows the rate of iron deficiency anemia is higher in patients with OME than controls. Iron-deficiency anemia might be considered a potential risk factor for development of otitis media with effusion, and iron parameters should be evaluated in these children.

Clinical role of vitamin D in prognosis of otitis media with effusion.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical role of Vitamin D in prognosis of Otitis media with effusion. METHODS: This prospective-controlled study was conducted at otolaryngology department in Duzce University, Turkey. The study group comprised children who were diagnosed with Otitis media with effusion between September 2016 and February 2017. Control group was conducted with children underwent circumcision or inguinal hernia repair operations that confirmed with ENT examination they do not have any sign of otitis media. After 3 months of follow-up without any treatment, unresolved cases who were accepted as chronic otitis media with effusion were operated under general anesthesia for ventilation tube application. Study and control groups were assessed depending on the serum 25(OH)Vitamin D levels at the end of 3 months; < 15 ng/mL was accepted as vitamin D deficiency. The results were compared with the control group in terms of vitamin D levels. Also, subgroup analysis was performed addressing to the complete recovery otitis media with effusion and chronic otitis media with effusion. RESULTS: One-hundred-seventy-four children with otitis media with effusion and 80 control patients were included to the study. One-hundred-eight (62%) out of 174 patients with otitis media with effusion was completely recovered after a 3-months follow up. Of those 66 out of 174 children, they had persistent diseases, underwent ventilation tube insertion after a 3-months follow-up. The mean 25(OH)Vitamin D level was 18.98 ± 10.60 in otitis media with effusion group and 28.07 ± 14.10 in control group and the difference was statistically significant between the study and control group (p < 0.001). Vitamin D deficiency was observed in 33 out of 66 patients (50.0%) in chronic otitis media with effusion group whilst 35 out of 108 patients (32.4%) in complete recovery otitis media with effusion group (p = 0.021). The rate of 25(OH)Vitamin D deficiency was 25% in control group which was statistically different from chronic otitis media with effusion and recovery chronic otitis media with effusion groups (p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: This study not only shows the relationship between Vitamin D and otitis media with effusion development, but also demonstrates the effects of Vitamin D on otitis media with effusion prognosis. There is a significant association between 25(OH)Vitamin D deficiency and follow-up outcomes of otitis media with effusion.

Recent Trends in Compressive Raman Spectroscopy Using DMD-Based Binary Detection.

The collection of high-dimensional hyperspectral data is often the slowest step in the process of hyperspectral Raman imaging. With the conventional array-based Raman spectroscopy acquiring of chemical images could take hours to even days. To increase the Raman collection speeds, a number of compressive detection (CD) strategies, which simultaneously sense and compress the spectral signal, have recently been demonstrated. As opposed to conventional hyperspectral imaging, where full spectra are measured prior to post-processing and imaging CD increases the speed of data collection by making measurements in a low-dimensional space containing only the information of interest, thus enabling real-time imaging. The use of single channel detectors gives the key advantage to CD strategy using optical filter functions to obtain component intensities. In other words, the filter functions are simply the optimized patterns of wavelength combinations characteristic of component in the sample, and the intensity transmitted through each filter represents a direct measure of the associated score values. Essentially, compressive hyperspectral images consist of 'score' pixels (instead of 'spectral' pixels). This paper presents an overview of recent advances in compressive Raman detection designs and performance validations using a DMD based binary detection strategy.