Medical Referral Patterns and Etiologies for Children With Mild-to-Severe Hearing Loss.

OBJECTIVES: To (1) identify the etiologies and risk factors of the patient cohort and determine the degree to which they reflected the incidence for children with hearing loss and (2) quantify practice management patterns in three catchment areas of the United States with available centers of excellence in pediatric hearing loss. DESIGN: Medical information for 307 children with bilateral, mild-to-severe hearing loss was examined retrospectively. Children were participants in the Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss (OCHL) study, a 5-year longitudinal study that recruited subjects at three different sites. Children aged 6 months to 7 years at time of OCHL enrollment were participants in this study. Children with cochlear implants, children with severe or profound hearing loss, and children with significant cognitive or motor delays were excluded from the OCHL study and, by extension, from this analysis. Medical information was gathered using medical records and participant intake forms, the latter reflecting a caregiver's report. A comparison group included 134 children with normal hearing. A Chi-square test on two-way tables was used to assess for differences in referral patterns by site for the children who are hard of hearing (CHH). Linear regression was performed on gestational age and birth weight as continuous variables. Risk factors were assessed using t tests. The alpha value was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Neonatal intensive care unit stay, mechanical ventilation, oxygen requirement, aminoglycoside exposure, and family history were correlated with hearing loss. For this study cohort, congenital cytomegalovirus, strep positivity, bacterial meningitis, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and loop diuretic exposure were not associated with hearing loss. Less than 50% of children underwent imaging, although 34.2% of those scanned had abnormalities identified. No single imaging modality was preferred. Differences in referral rates were apparent for neurology, radiology, genetics, and ophthalmology. CONCLUSIONS: The OCHL cohort reflects known etiologies of CHH. Despite available guidelines, centers of excellence, and high-yield rates for imaging, the medical workup for children with hearing loss remains inconsistently implemented and widely variable. There remains limited awareness as to what constitutes appropriate medical assessment for CHH.

Cell-Specific Transcriptome Analysis Shows That Adult Pillar and Deiters' Cells Express Genes Encoding Machinery for Specializations of Cochlear Hair Cells.

The mammalian auditory sensory epithelium, the organ of Corti, is composed of hair cells and supporting cells. Hair cells contain specializations in the apical, basolateral and synaptic membranes. These specializations mediate mechanotransduction, electrical and mechanical activities and synaptic transmission. Supporting cells maintain homeostasis of the ionic and chemical environment of the cochlea and contribute to the stiffness of the cochlear partition. While spontaneous proliferation and transdifferentiation of supporting cells are the source of the regenerative response to replace lost hair cells in lower vertebrates, supporting cells in adult mammals no longer retain that capability. An important first step to revealing the basic biological properties of supporting cells is to characterize their cell-type specific transcriptomes. Using RNA-seq, we examined the transcriptomes of 1,000 pillar and 1,000 Deiters' cells, as well as the two types of hair cells, individually collected from adult CBA/J mouse cochleae using a suction pipette technique. Our goal was to determine whether pillar and Deiters' cells, the commonly targeted cells for hair cell replacement, express the genes known for encoding machinery for hair cell specializations in the apical, basolateral, and synaptic membranes. We showed that both pillar and Deiters' cells express these genes, with pillar cells being more similar to hair cells than Deiters' cells. The fact that adult pillar and Deiters' cells express the genes cognate to hair cell specializations provides a strong molecular basis for targeting these cells for mammalian hair cell replacement after hair cells are lost due to damage.

Priorities in the Neurotology Fellowship Match: A Survey Study of Program Directors and Fellows.

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain motivations and priorities for neurotology fellowship applicants and program directors during the match process. METHODS: Anonymous online survey distributed to 20 fellowship program directors and 40 current and incoming neurotology fellows. A 5-point Likert scale was used to assess the priorities of fellowship applicants and program directors in the match process. RESULTS: Twenty-four of 40 (60%) current or incoming fellows and 14 of 20 (65%) program directors responded to the survey. Fellows rated surgical exposure and volume as their highest priorities. In addition to neurotology case load, fellows highly valued exposure to otologic surgery. Salary, call, and work/life balance were among the lowest rated factors among fellows. Program directors attached the highest priority to the applicant interview performance, followed by strength of letters of recommendation and quality of prior research. Ethnicity, sex, and likelihood of an applicant ranking a program highly were the lowest rated factors among program directors. CONCLUSION: Among neurotology fellows, operative case load and breadth of surgical exposure are highly valued components of accredited fellowship training. Among neurotology fellowship program directors, candidates' performance during the fellowship interview appears to be highly valued, more so than the strength of applicants' letters of recommendation or prior research credentials.

Impact of Target Distance, Target Size, and Visual Acuity on the Video Head Impulse Test.

The video head impulse test (vHIT) assesses the vestibulo-ocular reflex. Few have evaluated whether environmental factors or visual acuity influence the vHIT. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of target distance, target size, and visual acuity on vHIT outcomes. Thirty-eight normal controls and 8 subjects with vestibular loss (VL) participated. vHIT was completed at 3 distances and with 3 target sizes. Normal controls were subdivided on the basis of visual acuity. Corrective saccade frequency, corrective saccade amplitude, and gain were tabulated. In the normal control group, there were no significant effects of target size or visual acuity for any vHIT outcome parameters; however, gain increased as target distance decreased. The VL group demonstrated higher corrective saccade frequency and amplitude and lower gain as compared with controls. In conclusion, decreasing target distance increases gain for normal controls but not subjects with VL. Preliminarily, visual acuity does not affect vHIT outcomes.

Professional Disappointment as a Cause of Burnout.

Burnout is common among physicians. Chronic sources of burnout have been previously examined, but little is known about the impact of acute stressors on physician burnout. Otolaryngology residents applying for competitive fellowships provide a good example for how professional disappointment may cause burnout. As otolaryngology comprises highly successful, highly competitive individuals, a long history of success may leave otolaryngologists ill-equipped to cope with such failures. Otolaryngologists should be aware of such pitfalls, preparing appropriate coping mechanisms in cases of professional disappointment.

Inpatient Rounding Practices in Otolaryngology Residency Programs.

Inpatient rounding is an agelong tradition in the field of medicine. Among recent changes in health care, rounding is understudied as an area of research. The purpose of this study was to assess current methods of inpatient rounding in otolaryngology residency programs and assess satisfaction with current practices. Survey questions were designed by members of the resident committee of the Society of University Otolaryngologists. Surveys were sent to all 450 members, and we obtained a 32% response rate. Sixty-four percent of attendings perform bedside rounds; 44% of subjects reported that attending physicians participate in rounds at least once a week; and 21% reported daily participation. When asked if attending participation in rounding is adequate, attendings did not have a strong opinion (mean = 3.8). There is a paucity of research on inpatient rounding, and future studies should examine specific practices with the goal of maximizing patient safety and resident education.

Can the Video Head Impulse Test Define Severity of Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to compare rotary chair and video head impulse test (vHIT) findings in patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH) to determine whether vHIT can: 1) define severity of BVH and 2) accurately predict rotary chair findings in patients with BVH. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: Research hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty subjects with bilateral vestibular hypofunction as assessed by rotary chair. INTERVENTION: Rotary chair and vHIT. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were rotary chair phase, gain, and symmetry and vHIT vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain. Rotary chair and vHIT results were assessed and subjects were stratified into groups according to the severity of their vestibular hypofunction. For rotary chair, subjects were classified as mild, moderate, or severe BVH. For vHIT, subjects were classified as normal, unilateral, or bilateral. RESULTS: Average lateral canal vHIT VOR gain: 1) significantly increased as severity of BVH decreased, and 2) demonstrated a significant and positive, linear relationship with rotary chair gains. vHIT was in disagreement with rotary chair in the classification of five subjects, which could be due to right-left asymmetry of BVH. CONCLUSION: vHIT can serve as an initial tool for identifying patients with BVH. Lower vHIT gains are consistent with having severe BVH. There was disagreement between vHIT and rotary chair, though not for any patients with severe BVH. Compared with rotary chair, the clinical gold standard for identifying BVH, vHIT possesses 100% sensitivity for excluding severe BVH when average vHIT gains are greater than 0.46.

Does Surgical Volume Influence the Need for Second Surgery? A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine outcomes of pediatric thyroidectomy in the context of training background, institution, and experience of the surgeon. STUDY DESIGN: Case series with chart review. SETTING: A tertiary academic medical center and a pediatric hospital. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Eighty-one thyroidectomy patients younger than 18 years. Outcomes were major complications (recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, permanent hypocalcemia, and wound infection), length of stay (LOS), and need for repeat surgery. RESULTS: Eighty-one patients, 39 from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and 42 from the Children's Hospital and Medical Center-Omaha, were identified over a 12-year time period. No difference was found in surgeon training (otolaryngology/head and neck surgery vs general/pediatric surgery) for complications (1 vs 1, odds ratio [OR] = 0.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.05, 13.1]), LOS >1 day (5 vs 13, OR = 0.39, 95% CI = [0.13, 1.24]), or need for second surgery (4 vs 7, OR = 1.47, 95% CI = [0.39, 5.49]). Higher surgeon volume (≥12 surgeries) was found to be significant for decreased need for second surgery (3 vs 8, OR = 6.67, 95% CI = [1.57, 27.17]). Patients of higher-volume surgeons were 4.2 times more likely to stay in the hospital 1 day or less compared with those patients operated on by surgeons with less experience (7 vs 11, 95% CI = [1.59, 15.0]). CONCLUSIONS: Need for second surgery in pediatric thyroidectomy may be predicted by surgical volume.

Transcription Factors Expressed in Mouse Cochlear Inner and Outer Hair Cells.

Regulation of gene expression is essential to determining the functional complexity and morphological diversity seen among different cells. Transcriptional regulation is a crucial step in gene expression regulation because the genetic information is directly read from DNA by sequence-specific transcription factors (TFs). Although several mouse TF databases created from genome sequences and transcriptomes are available, a cell type-specific TF database from any normal cell populations is still lacking. We identify cell type-specific TF genes expressed in cochlear inner hair cells (IHCs) and outer hair cells (OHCs) using hair cell-specific transcriptomes from adult mice. IHCs and OHCs are the two types of sensory receptor cells in the mammalian cochlea. We show that 1,563 and 1,616 TF genes are respectively expressed in IHCs and OHCs among 2,230 putative mouse TF genes. While 1,536 are commonly expressed in both populations, 73 genes are differentially expressed (with at least a twofold difference) in IHCs and 13 are differentially expressed in OHCs. Our datasets represent the first cell type-specific TF databases for two populations of sensory receptor cells and are key informational resources for understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the biological properties and phenotypical differences of these cells.