Rhinologic headache caused by mucosal contact with a surgical solution: A case report

Introducción y objetivo: La cefalea rinógena por contacto mucoso nasal es un cuadro de difícil definición con buenos resultados quirúrgicos. Descripción: Presentamos el caso de un varón de 31 años con criterios de cefalea rinógena. Decidimos manejo quirúrgico. Discusión: La cefalea rinógena se encuentra dentro del grupo de «cefaleas ocasionadas por alteraciones en la mucosa nasal, cornetes o tabique nasal». No existe acuerdo en cuanto a su etiopatogenia por igual proporción de contacto mucoso nasal en pacientes con y sin dolor facial. Sin embargo se ha evidenciado resolución del dolor con tratamiento quirúrgico. Conclusiones: Pese a la existencia de mejoría con tratamiento quirúrgico, todavía quedan dudas en cuanto a las causas de esta entidadIntroduction and objective: Rhinologic headache caused by mucosal contact is a difficult definition condition with good response to surgical approach. Description: We present a case of a 31 year-old male with rhinologic headache criteria. We decided to offer a surgical approach, successfully. Discussion: Rhinologic headache is included in the group of «Headache caused by disorders of the nasal mucosa, turbinates or septum». There is no agreement about its cause because the prevalence of mucosal nasal contact is similar in patients with and without facial pain. There is evidence in the resolution of facial pain with a surgical approach. Conclusions: Despite the evidence of success in the surgical approach, some doubts still persist about the causes of this entit

Sialolithiasis: mineralogical composition, crystalline structure, calculus site, and epidemiological features

The purpose of this paper was to describe the characteristics of salivary calculi and their relationship to epidemiological factors, through a cross-sectional study. We analysed 100 calculi obtained in 2017–2021. Patient data including age, time since onset of symptoms, gland involved, and site of location in the salivary system were studied. The calculi were studied to determine their morphological features using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive plain radiographic analysis. Most of the calculi had formed in the submandibular gland (SG) (82%). The mean age of patients at onset was 45.83 years; patients presenting parotid gland (PG) stones were somewhat older (p = 0.031). The mean time since the onset of symptoms was longer in PG calculi (p = 0.038). The most common lithiasis site was the main duct (74%), followed by the hilum (22%). Hilar stones were the largest (p < 0.05) and heaviest (p = 0.028). Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) was the most common crystalline phase (Cp) founded, followed by hydroxyapatite (HA) and whitlockite (WH). Specifically, OCP had a higher presence in PG calculi (p = 0.029) and WH was the most common phase in SG calculi (p = 0.017). The most prevalent site of lithiasis was the main duct, and the largest and heaviest calculi were found in the SG. PG stones were associated with a longer history of symptoms and older age. OCP was the most frequent Cp of the calculi studied, and the main Cp in PG stones. WH was the predominant Cp in SG stones. The Cp of the calculi was not influenced by location, patient age, or time of symptoms.Depto. de Mineralogía y PetrologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

Clinical evaluation of antiseptic mouth rinses to reduce salivary load of SARS-CoV-2

Most public health measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic are based on preventing the pathogen spread, and the use of oral antiseptics has been proposed as a strategy to reduce transmission risk. The aim of this manuscript is to test the efficacy of mouthwashes to reduce salivary viral load in vivo. This is a multi-centre, blinded, parallel-group, placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial that tests the effect of four mouthwashes (cetylpyridinium chloride, chlorhexidine, povidone-iodine and hydrogen peroxide) in SARS-CoV-2 salivary load measured by qPCR at baseline and 30, 60 and 120 min after the mouthrinse. A fifth group of patients used distilled water mouthrinse as a control. Eighty-four participants were recruited and divided into 12-15 per group. There were no statistically significant changes in salivary viral load after the use of the different mouthwashes. Although oral antiseptics have shown virucidal effects in vitro, our data show that salivary viral load in COVID-19 patients was not affected by the tested treatments. This could reflect that those mouthwashes are not effective in vivo, or that viral particles are not infective but viral RNA is still detected by PCR. Viral infectivity studies after the use of mouthwashes are therefore required

Cefalea rinógena por contacto mucoso con solución quirúrgica: Descripción de un caso

Introduction and objective: Rhinologic headache caused by mucosal contact is a difficult definition condition with response to surgical approach. Description: We present a case of a 31 year male with rhinologic headache criteria. We decided to offer a surgical approach, successfully. Discussion: Rhinologic headache it is included in the group of “Headache attributed to disorder of the nasal mucosa, turbinates or septum”. There is no agreement about its cause becouse the prevalence of mucosal nasal contact is similar both in patients with and without facial pain. There is evidence in the resolution of facial pain with a surgical approach. Conclusions: Despite the evidence of success in the surgical approach, some doubts still persists in the causes of this entity.Introducción y objetivo: La cefalea rinógena por contacto mucoso nasal es un cuadro de difícil definición con buenos resultados quirúrgicos. Descripción: Presentamos el caso de un varón de 31 años con criterios de cefalea rinógena. Decidimos manejo quirúrgico. Discusión: La cefalea rinógena se encuentra dentro del grupo de «cefaleas ocasionadas por alteraciones en la mucosa nasal, cornetes o tabique nasal». No existe acuerdo en cuanto a su etiopatogenia por igual proporción de contacto mucoso nasal en pacientes con y sin dolor facial. Sin embargo se ha evidenciado resolución del dolor con tratamiento quirúrgico. Conclusiones: Pese a la existencia de mejoría con tratamiento quirúrgico, todavía quedan dudas en cuanto a las causas de esta entidad

The economic burden of pulmonary arterial hypertension in Spain.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) is a rare, debilitating, and potentially fatal disease. This study aims to quantify the economic burden of PAH in Spain. The study was conducted from a societal perspective, including direct and indirect costs associated with incident and prevalent patients. Average annual costs per patient were estimated by multiplying the number of resources consumed by their unit cost, differentiating the functional class (FC) of the patient. Total annual costs per FC were also calculated, taking the 2020 prevalence and incidence ranges into account. An expert committee validated the information on resource consumption and provided primary information on pharmacological consumption. Unit costs were estimated using official tariffs and salaries in Spain. A deterministic sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the uncertainty of the model. The average annual total cost was estimated at €98,839 per prevalent patient (FC I-II: €65,233; FC III: €103,736; FC IV: €208,821), being €42,110 for incident patients (FC I-II: €25,666; FC III: €44,667; FC IV: €95,188). The total annual cost of PAH in Spain, taking into account a prevalence between 16.0 and 25.9 cases per million adult inhabitants (FC I-II 31.8%; FC III 61.3%; FC IV 6.9%) and an incidence of 3.7, was estimated at €67,891,405 to €106,131,626, depending on the prevalence considered. Direct healthcare costs accounted for 64% of the total cost, followed by indirect costs (24%), and direct non-healthcare costs (12%). The total costs associated with patients in FC I-II ranged between €14,161,651 and €22,193,954, while for patients in FC III costs ranged between €43,763,019 and €68,391,651, and for patients in FC IV between €9,966,735 and €15,546,021. In global terms, patients with the worst functional status (FC IV) account for only 6.9% of the adults suffering from PAH in Spain, but are responsible for 14.7% of the total costs. PAH places a considerable economic burden on patients and their families, the healthcare system, and society as a whole. Efforts must be made to improve the health and management of these patients since the early stages of the disease

Effect of oral antiseptics in reducing SARS-CoV-2 infectivity: evidence from a randomized double-blind clinical trial

Background: In vitro studies have shown that several oral antiseptics have virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2. Thus, mouthwashes have been proposed as an easy to implement strategy to reduce viral transmission. However, there are no data measuring SARS-CoV-2 viability after mouthwashes in vivo. Methods: In this randomized double-blind, five-parallel-group, placebo-controlled clinical trial, SARS-CoV-2 salivary viral load (by quantitative PCR) and its infectious capacity (incubating saliva in cell cultures) have been evaluated before and after four different antiseptic mouthwashes and placebo in 54 COVID-19 patients. Results: Contrary to in vitro evidence, salivary viral load was not affected by any of the four tested mouthwashes. Viral culture indicated that cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) significantly reduced viral infectivity, but only at 1-hour post-mouthwash. Conclusion: These results indicate that some of the mouthwashes currently used to reduce viral infectivity are not efficient in vivo and, furthermore, that this effect is not immediate, generating a false sense of security.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04707742.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination modelling for safe surgery to save lives: data from an international prospective cohort study

Background: Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling. Methods: The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18-49, 50-69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty. Results: NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year. Conclusion: As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population