Relationship between Oral Anaerobic Bacteria and Otitis Media with Effusion

Objective: In this study hypothesing the translocation of oral bacteria from oropharynx into the middle ear cavity may be involved in the pathogenesis of otitis media with effusion (OME), we aimed to investigate the presence and similarity of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Treponema denticola in saliva, nasopharyngeal secretion and the middle ear effusion samples from the children with OME

Laryngeal involvement in patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of laryngeal tuberculosis (LT) among patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis. A total of 319 patients under treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis were subjected to laryngoscopy. Five patients (1.5%) with LT were identified. Odynophagia was the most common complaint, followed by alteration in voice. The larynx returned to its normal appearance in 3-8months (average 18weeks) by antituberculous medication. Physicians dealing with pulmonary tuberculosis should keep in mind that symptoms of laryngeal involvement may be minor, and laryngoscopy should always be performed when laryngeal involvement is suspected in order to isolate highly infectious patients. Response to antituberculous medication is usually late in LT and diagnosis by "wait and watch” policy will cause a significant delay in the diagnosis of a possible larynx carcinom

Oto-Toxic Effect of Gastric Reflux

The reflux of gastric content from the nasopharynx into the middle ear via the Eustachian tube may disrupt inner ear functions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of experimental gastric reflux on the cochlear function of rats. Twelve rats were included in this study. Acidified gastric pepsin was prepared by the addition of HCl and deionized water to pepsinogen from porcine stomach. The left ears were designated as the experimental ears, and the solution was delivered daily for 30 days. The control ears received an equal amount of a saline solution. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions were recorded at baseline (before the injection) and on days 3, 10, and 30. When the mean baseline distortion product otoacoustic emission measurements were compared with the final mean measurements on day 30, the acidified gastric pepsin caused statistically significant (P < 0.05) hearing loss in the experimental ears. There was no significant change in the hearing of the control ears. This is the first study on the ototoxicity of acidified gastric pepsin. Our results demonstrate that acidified gastric pepsin causes hearing loss due to inner ear ototoxicity in a rat animal model