Sialorrhea: A Guide to Etiology, Assessment, and Management

Sialorrhea, also known as hypersalivation or ptyalism, is excessive salivation associated with neurological disorders or localized anatomical abnormalities in the oral cavity. Pathologic sialorrhea may develop due to hypersalivation, together with various neurologic disorders including cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or as an adverse effect of medications. Sialorrhea results in numerous problematic physical and psychosocial complications and has a significant negative impact on quality of life for both the patient and caregiver. The management of sialorrhea is best accomplished with a multidisciplinary team approach. Treatment options range from conservative measures such as observation, positioning, behavioral therapies, and pharmacological therapy to more aggressive methods such as botulinum toxin injections or surgery. The physiology, etiology, assessment, and treatment of sialorrhea are outlined in this review

Salivary Glands - New Approaches in Diagnostics and Treatment

Saliva is a complex fluid that maintains oral health and has many physiological functions. It is a noninvasive diagnostic fluid as well. Lately, salivary diagnostics has proven its potential to reach clinical practice in the near future for the early detection, diagnosis, and monitoring of various diseases. Salivary Glands - New Approaches in Diagnostics and Treatment is a comprehensive reference, which brings together information on salivary secretion and its disorders, the novel salivary diagnostic methods for numerous diseases, and new techniques in the treatment of salivary diseases. This book contains information for a diverse audience, including dentists, oral biologists, experimental biologists, molecular biologists, oncologists, radiologists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, and otorhinolaryngologists

The willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine and affecting factors among healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study in Turkey

Introduction While discussions on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines continue, healthcare professionals' attitudes and their growing fear and anxiety during the pandemic process are not yet fully known. In this study, we aimed to investigate the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and affecting factors in healthcare professionals. Methods This was a cross-sectional online survey conducted in 1574 healthcare professionals consisting of physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and healthcare personnel in Turkey in December 2020. Demographic, attitudinal, and Fear of COVID-19 Scale scores of healthcare professionals were investigated in this survey. Results About 84.6% of healthcare professionals declared willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine whenever possible. Most physicians (90.4%) stated to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, while 66.5% of nurses, 73.9% of healthcare personnel, also preferred to have it as soon as the vaccine was available. Factors affecting the willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine were found to be advanced age, male gender, working in a primary health care center, living with family, having a child, having a chronic disease, having high Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FC-19S) scores. While the group with the highest vaccine rejection rate was nurses with 33.5%, FC-19S scores were significantly higher in nurses who wanted to be vaccinated. In multivariate regression analyses, factors related to the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine were identified as advanced age, routine adult vaccination, no history of COVID-19, and recommendation of the COVID-19 vaccine. Conclusion A high proportion of healthcare professionals declared their willingness to accept the COVID-19 vaccine, and hence, this will play a leading role in optimizing the vaccination rate of the entire population while combating the pandemic.Training and Research Hospital's Ethical Committee [IRB: 2020/13-70]; Ministry Health Services General Directorate Scientific Research Platform [MoH: 2020-12-25T13_21_ 22]This study was granted by Training and Research Hospital's Ethical Committee (IRB: 2020/13-70) and Ministry Health Services General Directorate Scientific Research Platform (MoH: 2020-12-25T13_21_ 22)

The maxillary sinus after total laryngectomy: an electron microscopic study

Nasal breathing is completely ceased after total laryngectomy. This results in some structural changes in the nasal mucosa, which has been described in numerous studies. This study investigates the changes that appear in the paranasal sinus mucosa. Eight patients who had undergone total laryngectomy at least 1-year ago were enrolled. Under general anesthesia, maxillary sinuses were examined with an endoscope inserted through canine fossa. 1-2 mm mucosal tissues for biopsy were taken from posterior wall of the maxillary sinus. Specimens were evaluated under an electron microscope. Control tissues for biopsy were obtained from two patients who had been operated for other reasons and analyzed under transmission electron microscopy. Results showed that in the control specimens, the epithelial cells appeared normal under transmission electron microscopy. Samples taken from two larygectomees in their first postoperative year were also completely normal. Samples from other larygectomees demonstrated ciliary loss, abundant degenerative vacuoles in ciliated epithelial cells and detachments in the interepithelial junctional complexes. The intracellular respiratory mechanisms such as the mitochondria, golgi complex and endoplasmic reticulum cisternae, and the integrity of the cellular or the nuclear membrane were spared. We conclude that the cessation of nasal breathing resulted in degenerative changes that could be reversible in the transmission electron microscopic examination of maxillary sinus mucosa. These changes emerged after 2 years following total laryngectomy. Nevertheless, these changes did not have any negative influence on the clinical outcome in this group of patients