Preliminary Outcomes of the 445-nm Blue Light Laser for Stapedotomy.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of the 445-nm blue light laser in stapedotomy, compared with the CO 2 laser.

Patients: Patients 18 years or older with a history of otosclerosis who underwent stapedotomy with either carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) or blue light (BL) laser from September 2020 to May 2024. Patients who had revision surgery, underwent stapedotomy without the use of CO 2 or BL laser, or were without an available preoperative or postoperative audiogram were excluded.

Comparison of Socioeconomic Factors Influencing Delay and Underuse of Cochlear Implants.

Objective: To evaluate and compare socioeconomic factors associated with underuse and prolonged time to cochlear implant (CI) surgery for qualifying candidates.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study of adult patients who were CI candidates from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2022.

Setting: Three tertiary academic centers.

Pediatric cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea caused by low flow vascular anomaly of the temporal bone: A case series.

Objective: Atraumatic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is uncommon in children and necessitates a multi-disciplinary evaluation for an etiology. Underlying osseous abnormality due to extensive or multifocal low flow vascular anomaly should be considered as a potential cause of spontaneous CSF leak. Treatment of multifocal low flow vascular anomalies may include medical and surgical approaches.

Real-world implications of IMACS malignancy screening guidelines for idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: An evaluation of compliance and economic impact at a tertiary referral center.

Aim: An inaugural set of consensus guidelines for malignancy screening in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) were recently published by an international working group. These guidelines propose different investigation strategies based on "high", "intermediate" or "standard" malignancy risk groups. This study compares current malignancy screening practices at an Australian tertiary referral center with the recommendations outlined in these guidelines.

Exploratory factor analysis yields grouping of brain injury biomarkers significantly associated with outcomes in neonatal and pediatric ECMO.

In this two-center prospective cohort study of children on ECMO, we assessed a panel of plasma brain injury biomarkers using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to evaluate their interplay and association with outcomes. Biomarker concentrations were measured daily for the first 3 days of ECMO support in 95 participants. Unfavorable composite outcome was defined as in-hospital mortality or discharge Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category > 2 with decline ≥ 1 point from baseline.

Diagnosing and characterizing inflammatory myopathies at an Australian tertiary public hospital: Resource utilization and direct healthcare costs.

Aim: To determine the direct health service costs and resource utilization associated with diagnosing and characterizing idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs), and to assess for limitations and diagnostic delay in current practice.

Methods: A retrospective, single-center cohort analysis of all patients diagnosed with IIMs between January 2012 and December 2021 in a large tertiary public hospital was conducted. Demographics, resource utilization and costs associated with diagnosing IIM and characterizing disease manifestations were identified using the hospital's electronic medical record and Health Intelligence Unit, and the Medicare Benefits Schedule.

Normalised repeat serum prostate-specific antigen: associations with age and magnetic resonance imaging results.

Objective: To assess the value of a repeat prostate-specific antigen measurement (PSA2) before magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in men with a raised PSA (PSA1) <10 µg/L.

Method: Medical records of men aged < 75 years referred in 2021 for PSA1 3.0-9.

Kidney disease progression in pediatric and adult posterior urethral valves (PUV) patients.

Background: Posterior urethral valves (PUV) is the most common cause of obstructive uropathy in boys; approximately 15% develop kidney failure by early adulthood. However, rates of kidney function decline are poorly defined in PUV children and adults, as is the impact of potentially modifiable chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression risk factors.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all PUV patients followed at our institution from 1995 to 2018.

Hearing Loss and Sociodemographic Barriers to Health Care Access Using the All of Us Research Program.

Objective: To explore how gender and low-income status independently influence general health care access in patients with hearing loss.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: National database.

Request Dispatching Over Distributed SDN Control Plane: A Multiagent Approach.

Software-defined networking (SDN) allows flexible and centralized control in cloud data centers. An elastic set of distributed SDN controllers is often required to provide sufficient yet cost-effective processing capacity. However, this introduces a new challenge: Request Dispatching among the controllers by SDN switches.

Assessing the Impact of a Note-Writing Session and Standardized Note Template on Medical Student Note Length and Quality.

Purpose: To determine whether a formal note-writing session and note template for medical students (MS) during the Core Clerkship in Pediatrics (CCP) increase note quality, shortens note length, and decreases time of documentation.

Methods: In this single site, prospective study, MS participating in an 8-week CCP received a didactic session on note-writing in the electronic health record (EHR) and utilized EHR template developed for the study. We assessed note quality (measured by Physician Documentation Quality Instrument-9 [PDQI-9]), note length and note documentation time in this group compared to MS notes on the CCP in the prior academic year.

Endolymphatic Sac Surgery: Understanding the Historical Influence of Circumstance and Statistics.

In 1981, Danish physician Jens Thomsen conducted the first and only documented sham-controlled surgical trial in the history of otolaryngology. This trial is historically significant as it was the first in the field to use a methodologically sound study design to address a frustratingly complex disorder such as Ménière's disease. Despite this, historical interpretations of this work have varied, and questions about the results have been raised.

A National Analysis of Inpatient Pediatric Adenoidectomy.

Objective: Hospital admission following pediatric adenoidectomy without tonsillectomy is not well characterized. The objective of our study is to better characterize risk factors for post-operative complications in younger children undergoing inpatient adenoidectomy.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis using data derived from the Kid's Inpatient Database (KID) was performed.

Telehealth in the times of SARS-CoV-2 infection for the otolaryngologist.

Objective: In response to the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery's recommendations to limit patient care activities in the times of SARS-CoV-2, many elective surgeries have been canceled without patient clinics transitioning to virtual visits. With regulations for telemedicine loosened, new possibilities for the practice of otolaryngology have opened. To address the uncertain duration of this pandemic, a review was conducted of current literature on use of telemedicine services in the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and in previous national emergencies to reveal the role telemedicine can play for otolaryngology practices.

Comparison of Materials Used for 3D-Printing Temporal Bone Models to Simulate Surgical Dissection.

Objective: To identify 3D-printed temporal bone (TB) models that most accurately recreate cortical mastoidectomy for use as a training tool by comparison of different materials and fabrication methods.

Background: There are several different printers and materials available to create 3D-printed TB models for surgical planning and trainee education. Current reports using Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic generated via fused deposition modeling (FDM) have validated the capacity for 3D-printed models to serve as accurate surgical simulators.

Head and neck survivorship care in the times of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

With the arrival of the coronavirus disease (SARS-CoV-2) in the United States, care practice paradigms have drastically changed. Data from China suggest that the new virus poses additional risks as case fatality of patients with cancer was higher at 5.6% compared to 2.

Involvement of CREB-regulated transcription coactivators (CRTC) in transcriptional activation of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (Star) by ACTH.

Studies in vivo have suggested the involvement of CREB-regulated transcription coactivator (CRTC)2 on ACTH-induced transcription of the key steroidogenic protein, Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory (StAR). The present study uses two ACTH-responsive adrenocortical cell lines, to examine the role of CRTC on Star transcription. Here we show that ACTH-induced Star primary transcript, or heteronuclear RNA (hnRNA), parallels rapid increases in nuclear levels of the 3 isoforms of CRTC; CRTC1, CRTC2 and CRTC3.

The SETD6 Methyltransferase Plays an Essential Role in Hippocampus-Dependent Memory Formation.

Background: Epigenetic mechanisms are critical for hippocampus-dependent memory formation. Building on previous studies that implicate the N-lysine methyltransferase SETD6 in the activation of nuclear factor-κB RELA (also known as transcription factor p65) as an epigenetic recruiter, we hypothesized that SETD6 is a key player in the epigenetic control of long-term memory.

Methods: Using a series of molecular, biochemical, imaging, electrophysiological, and behavioral experiments, we interrogated the effects of short interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of Setd6 in the rat dorsal hippocampus during memory consolidation.

Transient neonatal hypothyroidism following a short course of maternal amiodarone therapy.

Background Amiodarone is an iodine-rich medication used to treat maternal and fetal arrhythmias, with known effects on thyroid hormone homeostasis. Case presentation We describe a case of transient neonatal hypothyroidism following a short prenatal course of maternal amiodarone therapy resulting in neonatal TSH elevations exceeding those reported in the available literature.

Telencephalon transcriptome analysis of chronically stressed adult zebrafish.

Chronic stress leads to disruptions in learning and memory processes. The effects of chronic stress experience on the adult zebrafish brain, particularly the memory associated telencephalon brain region, is unclear. The goal of this study was to identify gene expression changes in the adult zebrafish brain triggered by chronic unpredictable stress.