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Lateral skull base involvement from parotid cancers is a rare condition and is considered a poor prognostic indicator. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature of parotid tumors with temporal bone invasion to analyze the survival outcome. A systematic literature review was performed in August 2022, without time limits, and 289 patients affected by parotid gland cancers and lateral skull base involvement were included. The most common symptoms in parotid tumors at the onset were indolent mass, facial weakness, pain, and hearing loss; the chi-square value is 23.1063, with a statistically significance (p = < 0.000121). The five most common histologies were adenoid cystic carcinoma, acinic cell carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. The facial nerve function after surgery showed statistically significance (functional vs. non-functional; chi-square was 91.7698, p = < 0.00001). Mean follow-up was 36.2 months (range 0.3–192). At the last follow-up, more patients died of disease (DOD; 60/289, 21%) than other causes (DOOC; 5/289, 2%). There is a statistically significant correlation between patients died for tumor (DOD) and patients died for other causes (DOOC) (p = < 0.0001), suggesting that the lateral skull base invasion negatively impacts on survival. Basing on the results of our systematic review, lateral skull base involvement from parotid recurrent/advance tumors should be considered a poor prognostic factor, as the majority of patients die due to this condition. It also would be necessary to have "clear"works, with full data (demographic, clinical, surgical data), and with a longer follow up, in order to assess the best treatment modality of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this review was to evaluate the air–bone gap with vestibular aqueduct size in enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome. According to the PRISMA guidelines we conducted a systematic review of the literature. Published international articles in English from 2000 to 2022 were screened, checking for studies that evaluated the air–bone gap of patients affected by enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome and the size of vestibular aqueduct. Data related to the hearing assessment and imaging investigation of enrolled participants were extracted. The chosen primary outcome measure was the correlation between air-bone-gap and vestibular aqueduct size. The database search allowed us to screen 485 articles and to select 5 articles discussing this topic for a total of 349 patients. Two studies showed a positive correlation between air–bone gap and vestibular aqueduct size, one only a trend and two no correlation. To date, it is not possible to draw conclusions whether or not there is a positive correlation between air–bone gap and vestibular aqueduct size in enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome. Higher quality studies would be conducted with standardized outcome measures to clarify the specific research question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common condition and affects the quality of life of approximately 16 % of adults in US and 10.9 % in Europe. Hyaluronan (HA) is a nonsulphate glycosaminoglycan found in the extracellular matrix of connective tissues, and plays an important role in the healing process and repair of mucosal surfaces. We aim to evaluate the effect of HA on nasal symptoms and endoscopic appearance in patients with CRS and nasal polyps (NP) who have not undergone sinus surgery. Eighty patients older than 18 years old were randomized to receive either open-label nebulized saline solution (NS) or intranasal corticosteroid spray (ICS) 200 µg bid or nebulized sodium hyaluronate (NHA, YABRO) or both ICS and NHA. Results were collected at 1 month, 3 months and 3 months after treatment. Significant improvements in nasal symptoms scores, endoscopic appearance scores, radiologic scores, rhinomanometry and saccharine clearance test were observed in the NHA, ICS and ICS + NHA groups after 1 month and 3 months of treatment compared with baseline (all p ≤ 0.005). The use of oral steroids was significantly reduced after 3 months of therapy in the same groups versus baseline (all p < 0.05). The incidence of adverse events at 3 months was similar between the 4 groups (all p > 0.05). Throat irritation, nasal burning and drug-related epistaxis were not reported in the group NHA. HA, as a nebulized nasal douche preparation, improved nasal symptoms and endoscopic appearances in patients with CRS and NP who have not undergone sinus surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]