Mastoiditis and facial paralysis as initial manifestations of Wegener's Granulomatosis

Wegener's Granulomatosis (WG) is characterized by necrotizing granulomas and vasculitis. If left untreated, the prognosis is poor - a 90% mortality rate within 2 years. Several authors have described the otologic manifestations of WG; these authors, however, have not mentioned the stage of the disease in which these findings present - whether as initial manifestations or subsequent to other findings. Aim: To describe three confirmed cases of WG with mastoiditis as the first manifestation, progressing to peripheral facial paralysis (PFP). Material and Method: A clinical series study. Patients diagnosed with WG that initially presented with otologic findings are described. Results: The three cases presented with unilateral otalgia, otorrhea, and hearing loss associated with ipsilateral PFP. None recovered in spite of the treatment; an investigation of associated diseases was therefore undertaken. Positive ANCA-C titers where detected in all patients, confirming the diagnosis of WG. Clinical improvement was seen after treatment of WG; the PFP regressed and hearing thresholds improved partially. Conclusion: Complications of otitis media (mastoiditis and PFP) that do not respond to the usual treatment require an investigation of associated diseases; WG should be included for an early diagnosis to change the prognosis in these patients.A Granulomatose de Wegener (GW) é caracterizada por granulomas necrotizantes e vasculite. Sem tratamento a doença tem prognóstico pobre com índice de mortalidade de 90% em 2 anos. Diversos autores citam as manifestações otológicas no curso da GW, entretanto não é especificado em que momento da doença elas apareceram, isto é, se como manifestação inicial ou subsequente a outros achados. Objetivo: Descrever três casos confirmados de GW que apresentaram inicialmente mastoidite e evoluíram com paralisia facial periférica (PFP). Material e Método: Estudo de série de casos. Pacientes diagnosticados com GW que apresentaram inicialmente manifestações otológicas são descritos. Resultados: Os três casos descritos abriram o quadro com otalgia, otorreia e hipoacusia unilateral, associada a paralisia facial periférica ipsilateral. Tiveram resposta inadequada aos tratamentos instituídos o que motivou uma investigação de outras doenças associadas. Nessas circunstâncias, detectaram-se títulos positivos de ANCA-C em todos pacientes, confirmando-se o diagnóstico de GW, após período variável de investigação. Institui-se o tratamento para GW observando-se melhora do quadro clínico, regressão da PFP e melhora parcial dos limiares auditivos. Conclusão: Complicações de otites médias agudas (mastoidite e PFP) refratárias as terapêuticas habituais impõem a investigação de doenças associadas e a GW deverá ser pesquisada para que se possa fazer o diagnóstico o mais precocemente possível, alterando desta forma o prognóstico destes pacientes.UNIFESP-EPM Departamento de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia de Cabeça e PescoçoUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia de Cabeça e PescoçoSciEL

Tradução, adaptação cultural e validação do questionário Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT): 22 para a Língua Portuguesa (BR)

Quality of life questionnaires have been increasingly used in clinical trials to help establish the impact of medical intervention or to assess the outcome of health care services. Among disease-specific outcome measures, SNOT-22 was considered the most suitable tool for assessing chronic rhinosinusitis and patients with nasal polyps. AIMS: To perform translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the SNOT-22 to Brazilian Portuguese. METHODS: Prospective study involving eighty-nine patients with chronic rhinosinusitis or nasal polyps submitted to functional endoscopic sinus surgery, who answered the questionnaire before and after surgery. Furthermore, 113 volunteers without sinonasal disease also answered the questionnaire. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, measure validity, responsiveness and clinical interpretability were assessed. RESULTS: Mean preoperative, postoperative and no sinonasal disease scores were 62.39, 23.09 and 11.42, respectively (p<0.0001); showing validity and responsiveness. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.9276). Reliability was sufficiently good, considering inter-interviewers (r=0.81) and intra-interviewers within a 10 to 14 day-interval (r=0.72). Surgery effect size was 1.55. Minimally important difference was 14 points; and scores up to 10 points were considered normal. CONCLUSION: The Brazilian Portuguese SNOT-22 version is a valid instrument to assess patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps.Os questionários de qualidade de vida têm sido utilizados para determinar o impacto promovido por uma intervenção ou avaliar os resultados dos serviços de saúde. Dentre os questionários específicos, o SNOT-22 foi considerado o mais adequado para avaliar pacientes com rinossinusite crônica (RSC) e polipose nasossinusal (PNS). OBJETIVO: Realizar a tradução, adaptação cultural e validação do SNOT-22 para o Português Brasileiro (BR). MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Estudo prospectivo com 89 pacientes no pré e pós-operatório de cirurgia endoscópica nasossinusal por RSC ou PNS e 113 voluntários sem doença nasossinusal. RESULTADOS: O escore médio no pré-operatório foi de 62,39 pontos; no pós-operatório, de 23,09 e dos sem doença nasossinusal, de 11,42 (p<0,0001), mostrando a validade e responsividade. A consistência interna foi alta (alfa de Cronbach de 0,9276). A reprodutibilidade foi suficiente na aplicação interentrevistadores (r=0,81) e intraentrevistadores com 10 a 14 dias de intervalo (r=0,72). O tamanho de efeito da cirurgia foi de 1,55. A diferença minimamente importante foi de 14 pontos e escores até 10 pontos foram considerados como normais. CONCLUSÃO: A versão para Português Brasileiro do questionário SNOT-22 é um instrumento válido para avaliar pacientes com RSC e PNS.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM) ENT Residency ProgramPUC-SorocabaUNIFESP-EPM ENT ResidentUNIFESP-EPMUNIFESP-EPM ENTUNIFESP-EPM Rhino-LaryngologyUNIFESP-EPM Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck SurgeryUNIFESP, EPM, ENT Residency ProgramUNIFESP, EPM ENT ResidentUNIFESP-EPMUNIFESP, EPM ENTUNIFESP, EPM Rhino-LaryngologyUNIFESP, EPM Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck SurgerySciEL

Long-term outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyps

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) significantly affects patient quality of life. Medical and surgical treatments aim to clinically manage the condition. OBJECTIVE: To assess the long-term quality of life and clinical management of CRS in patients submitted to endoscopic sinus surgery. METHOD: This prospective cross-sectional cohort study enrolled 38 patients and looked into the follow-up data of subjects diagnosed with CRS before surgery, three months after surgery, and at least two years after surgery. The Sinonasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT-22) was used to assess response to treatment and long-term clinical management of the disease. RESULTS: Significant improvements in the SNOT-22 scores were seen between the preoperative (61.3) and postoperative assessments with three (16.9) and 24 (32.3) months. No statistically significant differences were seen when patients with polyps were compared to polyp-free subjects. Few patients were controlled in both groups, and 7.89% of the subjects had revision surgery during the study. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic sinus surgery significantly improved the quality of life of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. Clinical control of the condition was acceptable, with few patients requiring re-operation within two years of the first surgery.Rinossinusite crônica (RSC) afeta significativamente a qualidade de vida e o tratamento clínico e cirúrgico visa apenas seu controle clínico. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a qualidade de vida e o controle clínico da RSC em longo prazo em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia endoscópica nasossinusal. MÉTODO: Estudo observacional longitudinal prospectivo que seguiu pacientes com diagnóstico clínico de RSC no pré-operatório, pós-operatório de 3 meses e depois por no mínimo 2 anos após cirurgia nasossinusal endoscópica com a utilização do questionário Sinonasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT-22) como principal medida de resposta ao tratamento, além da avaliação do controle clínico a longo prazo. RESULTADOS: Trinta e oito pacientes foram avaliados em todos os intervalos. Houve uma grande melhora dos valores do SNOT-22 entre o pré-operatório (61,3) e o pós-operatório de 3 (16,9) e 24 meses (32,3). Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre os pacientes com e sem pólipos nasais. Nota-se pouca proporção de pacientes controlados em ambos os grupos, e 7,89% foram submetidos à cirurgia revisional no período estudado. CONCLUSÃO: A cirurgia endoscópica nasossinusal promoveu importante melhora da qualidade de vida nos pacientes com rinossinusite crônica, atingindo controle clínico aceitável com baixa necessidade de reintervenção cirúrgica, mesmo após dois anos de seguimento pós-operatório.UNIFESP-EPMUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Terapia tópica de irrigação nasal de alto volume com solução de budesonida em rinossinusite crônica de difícil tratamento

Introduction: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is termed difficult-to-treat when patients do not reach acceptable level of control despite adequate surgery, intranasal corticosteroid treatment and up to 2 short courses of systemic antibiotics or corticosteroids in the preceding year. Recently, high-volume corticosteroid nasal irrigations have been recommended for CRS treatment. Objective: To assess high-volume budesonide nasal irrigations for difficult-to-treat CRS. Methods: Prospective uncontrolled intervention trial. Participants were assessed before- and 3 months after nasal irrigation with 1 mg of budesonide in 500 mL of saline solution daily for 2 days. Subjective (satisfactory clinical improvement) and objective (SNOT-22 questionnaire and Lund-Kennedy endoscopic scores) assessments were performed. Results: Sixteen patients were included, and 13 (81.3%) described satisfactory clinical improvement. SNOT-22 mean scores (50.2-29.6; p = 0.006) and Lund-Kennedy mean scores (8.8-5.1; p=0.01) improved significantly. Individually, 75% of patients improved SNOT-22 scores, and 75% improved Lund-Kennedy scores after high volume budesonide nasal irrigations. Conclusion: High-volume corticosteroid nasal irrigations are a good option in difficult-to-treat CRS control of disease, reaching 81.3% success control and significant improvement of SNOT-22 and Lund-Kennedy scores. (C) 2015 Associacao Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cervico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.Introdução: A rinossinusite crônica (RSC) de difícil tratamento é aquela inadequadamente controlada com cirurgia, corticosteroides tópicos em spray e até dois ciclos de medicação sistêmica em um ano. Atualmente, tem sido preconizado o uso de irrigações nasais de corticosteroides em alto volume para seu tratamento. Objetivo: Avaliar o uso da terapia tópica de irrigações nasais com budesonida em alto volume nos pacientes com RSC de difícil tratamento. Método: Estudo prospectivo de intervenção não controlado em RSC de difícil tratamento com 3 meses de terapia tópica de irrigação (1 mg de budesonida diluído em 500 mL de soro fisiológico para ser utilizado em dois dias). Realizada avaliação subjetiva (melhora clínica satisfatória) e objetiva (questionário SNOT-22 e classificação endoscópica de Lund-Kennedy). Resultados: Foram incluídos 16 pacientes, sendo que 13 (81,3%) consideraram sua melhora clínica satisfatória. Houve melhora significante das médias de SNOT-22 (50,2 a 29,6; p = 0,006) e de Lund-Kennedy (8,8 a 5,1; p = 0,01). Individualmente, 75% dos pacientes apresentaram melhora do SNOT-22 e 75%, do Lund-Kennedy. Conclusão: A terapia tópica de irrigação de alto volume de corticosteroide é uma boa opção no controle clínico dos pacientes com rinossinusite crônica de difícil tratamento, com controle adequado de 81,3% destes pacientes e melhora significante do SNOT-22 e do Lund-Kennedy. © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. This is an open access article under the CC BY- license (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/).Univ Fed Sao Paulo EPM UNIFESP, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Otorhinolaryngol & Head & Neck Surg, Sect Rhinol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo EPM UNIFESP, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Otorhinolaryngol & Head & Neck Surg, Sect Rhinol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Aqueous batteries as grid scale energy storage solutions

Energy storage technologies are required to make full use of renewable energy sources, and electrochemical cells offer a great deal flexibility in the design of energy systems. For large scale electrochemical storage to be viable, the materials employed and device production methods need to be low cost, devices should be long lasting and safety during operation is of utmost importance. Energy and power densities are of lesser concern. For these reasons, battery chemistries that make use of aqueous electrolytes are favorable candidates where large quantities of energy need to be stored. Herein we describe several different aqueous based battery chemistries and identify some of the research challenges currently hindering their wider adoption. Lead acid batteries represent a mature technology that currently dominates the battery market, however there remain challenges that may prevent their future use at the large scale. Nickel–iron batteries have received a resurgence of interest of late and are known for their long cycle lives and robust nature however improvements in efficiency are needed in order to make them competitive. Other technologies that use aqueous electrolytes and have the potential to be useful in future large-scale applications are briefly introduced. Recent investigations in to the design of nickel–iron cells are reported with it being shown that electrolyte decomposition can be virtually eliminated by employing relatively large concentrations of iron sulfide in the electrode mixture, however this is at the expense of capacity and cycle life

Assessing reproducibility of inherited variants detected with short-read whole genome sequencing

Background: Reproducible detection of inherited variants with whole genome sequencing (WGS) is vital for the implementation of precision medicine and is a complicated process in which each step affects variant call quality. Systematically assessing reproducibility of inherited variants with WGS and impact of each step in the process is needed for understanding and improving quality of inherited variants from WGS. Results: To dissect the impact of factors involved in detection of inherited variants with WGS, we sequence triplicates of eight DNA samples representing two populations on three short-read sequencing platforms using three library kits in six labs and call variants with 56 combinations of aligners and callers. We find that bioinformatics pipelines (callers and aligners) have a larger impact on variant reproducibility than WGS platform or library preparation. Single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), particularly outside difficult-to-map regions, are more reproducible than small insertions and deletions (indels), which are least reproducible when > 5 bp. Increasing sequencing coverage improves indel reproducibility but has limited impact on SNVs above 30x. Conclusions: Our findings highlight sources of variability in variant detection and the need for improvement of bioinformatics pipelines in the era of precision medicine with WGS.Peer reviewe

Assessing Reproducibility of Inherited Variants Detected With Short-Read Whole Genome Sequencing

Background: Reproducible detection of inherited variants with whole genome sequencing (WGS) is vital for the implementation of precision medicine and is a complicated process in which each step affects variant call quality. Systematically assessing reproducibility of inherited variants with WGS and impact of each step in the process is needed for understanding and improving quality of inherited variants from WGS. Results: To dissect the impact of factors involved in detection of inherited variants with WGS, we sequence triplicates of eight DNA samples representing two populations on three short-read sequencing platforms using three library kits in six labs and call variants with 56 combinations of aligners and callers. We find that bioinformatics pipelines (callers and aligners) have a larger impact on variant reproducibility than WGS platform or library preparation. Single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), particularly outside difficult-to-map regions, are more reproducible than small insertions and deletions (indels), which are least reproducible when \u3e 5 bp. Increasing sequencing coverage improves indel reproducibility but has limited impact on SNVs above 30×. Conclusions: Our findings highlight sources of variability in variant detection and the need for improvement of bioinformatics pipelines in the era of precision medicine with WGS

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data