Clinical Study of Labyrinthine Fistula in Cholesteatomatous Chronic Otitis Media: A Tertiary Care Hospital-Based Retrospective Study in a South Indian Population.

INTRODUCTION: Among the extracranial complications of cholesteatoma, the most common is labyrinthine fistula (LF). The causes are still poorly understood for cholesteatoma-induced labyrinthine fistula. Some of the possible factors described in the literature are the patient's age, duration of the disease, growth pattern of cholesteatoma, and disease aggressiveness. These affect the site of development of labyrinthine fistula. Cholesteatoma and its complications pose a great burden on the economic and health sector of developing nations. AIM AND OBJECTIVE:  The objective is to estimate the incidence of labyrinthine fistula in cholesteatomatous chronic otitis media (COM) and analyze the clinical presentation and post-surgical improvement in hearing and vertigo in the study cohort. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The study was conducted in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology. It involved retrospective data collection of case records between 2018 and 2022. All patients diagnosed with chronic otitis media (COM) with cholesteatoma were reviewed retrospectively in a tertiary healthcare center. Of the 324 cases reviewed, 21 had an LF. RESULTS: The incidence rate of LF in our study was 6.48%. Sixteen (76.1%) patients were male, and five (23.9%) were female. The youngest patient was a 10-year-old male, and the oldest was a 51-year-old female. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) age was 34.09 ± 10.05 years. The left ear (76.1%) was affected more than the right ear. All cases were from rural areas, and 16 (76.1%) of them were farmers. Ear discharge (85%) was the most common symptom, followed by hearing loss (76%) and then vertigo (47%). A very peculiar risk factor of self-cleansing the ear was noticed in all patients. Out of the 21 patients who underwent surgery, it was observed that the lateral semicircular canal (LSCC) was the commonest site of the fistula. According to the Dornhoffer and Milewski classification, type II LF was the commonest type. In one patient with a type III LF, a foreign body (a piece of a twig) was found intraoperatively near the LSCC fistula site. Two patients had multiple fistulae. Six patients had associated mastocutaneous fistula, and one had facial nerve paralysis. All patients, except one, were free of vertigo following surgery. Postoperatively, the bone conduction thresholds were similar to the pre-surgical values in 12 of 16 (74%) patients. CONCLUSION:  The incidence of LF is still higher in developing countries, predominantly in rural populations, where the habit of self-cleansing the ear is a common practice. The common symptoms of COM with LF are ear discharge, hearing impairment, and vertigo. All the cases had a habit of frequent self-cleansing of the external ear as an important risk factor. Therefore, implementing awareness programs on maintaining aural hygiene in rural health centers may reduce the incidence of cholesteatomatous LF, thereby preserving hearing and vestibular functions and improving the quality of life. However, the above statement needs further validation with large multicenter studies.

Translation and Validation of the Tamil Version of the Dysphagia Handicap Index in Tamil-Speaking Patients.

Introduction Dysphagia is one of the general symptoms encountered in clinical practice. The impact of dysphagia can be devastating to a patient's physical condition and quality of life (QOL). To evaluate the QOL of patients with dysphagia there are numerous self-reported questionnaires. The most commonly used one such questionnaire is the Swallowing Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (SWAL-QOL). However, it is not concise and is incomplete as it does not address all the aspects of dysphagia. To overcome this, the Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI) was developed. It focuses on the functional and emotional aspects in addition to the physical aspects of dysphagia. Objective To develop a Tamil version of the DHI (DHI-T) and assess its reliability, cultural adaptability and validity. Materials and method This cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2021 to December 2022 on 140 participants consisting of 70 dysphagia patients and 70 healthy individuals. Results The reliability and validity of the DHI-T were good with a high correlation between DHI-T and self-perceived severity scales of dysphagia. The mean total score in the Dysphagia group was 59.77 with the mean physical, functional and emotional scores being 23.86, 17.46 and 18.46 respectively. These scores were less compared to the Healthy group (p-value <0.01). Conclusion This study shows that DHI-T can be used as a reliable and valid tool to grade and study the different domains of dysphagia in our study population. Among the various causes of dysphagia studied in our population, it was noted that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related dysphagia patients had higher mean score in the emotional domain. To the best of our knowledge, the DHI scores for COVID-19-related dysphagia have not been done before. As the application of DHI in routine clinical practice and research is increasing, we believe this DHI-T can be of aid to Tamil-speaking patients.

Intact Parathyroid Hormone Levels in Predicting Postoperative Hypocalcaemia After Total Thyroidectomy in South Indian Population: Cross Sectional Study.

Hypocalcaemia being one of the most common complications after total thyroidectomy may not be avoidable in all cases. This study evaluated the effectiveness of intact Parathyroid hormone (iPTH) measured at 1-h after total thyroidectomy in predicting postoperative hypocalcaemia in early postoperative period in South Indian population. Patients who underwent total thyroidectomy in our institute from 2016 to 2018 were included. Preoperative calcium and iPTH levels were measured. Patients' iPTH level was measured 1 h after surgery and serum calcium level was measured at 24 h after surgery. Patients were also monitored clinically for any symptoms and signs of hypocalcaemia. A total of 57 patients were studied. The malignant causes accounted for 75.4% with papillary carcinoma thyroid being the most common cause. 65.7% of patients who underwent total thyroidectomy and 100% of patients who underwent total thyroidectomy with neck dissection developed hypocalcaemia. 70% of patients with low iPTH developed hypocalcaemia and none of the patients who had normal iPTH developed hypocalcaemia. This relation was statistically significant with p value of 0.018 (< 0.05). The positive predictive value is 70% and negative predictive value is 100%. Though our study supports the hypothesis that iPTH is effective in predicting hypocalcaemia after total thyroidectomy in the early postoperative period, a larger sample study is needed to further support this. It can be used to consider patients for early discharge or to prophylactically start oral calcium and Vitamin D supplementation based on iPTH levels at 1 h after surgery.