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Introduction: To evaluate the utility of 18 F-FDG PET/TC as an imaging tool for the characterization of immune-mediated inner ear disease (IMIED), providing measurements of the inner ear region activity as well as detecting possible involvement of other organs., Material and Methods: The study included 28 patients with IMIED and 4 sex-matched and age-matched control subjects with no history of ear disease. Eighteen patients were considered to be suffering from primary IMIED and 10 patients from secondary. PET/CT scans with 18 F-FDG were performed to assess systemic involvement as well as inner ear region activity. Interpretation of PET/CT scans was performed independently by 2nuclear medicine physicians blinded to clinical history. In order to assess inter-rater agreement before performing the analysis of the inner ear, different Bland & Altman plots and the intraclass correlation coefficients were estimated., Results: Different metabolically active foci findings were reported in 13 patients. Four patients diagnosed as primary IMIED showed thyroid and aorta activity. Regarding the inner-ear semiquantitative analysis, the inter-rater agreement was not sufficiently high. Comparisons between groups, performed using Mann-Whitney test or Kruskal-Wallis tests, showed no differences., Conclusions: The study showed 18 F-FDG PET/TC could be an important tool in the evaluation of IMIED as it can support the characterization of this entity providing the diagnosis of unknown or underestimated secondary IMIED. Nevertheless, we consider PET is not an adequate tool to approach the inner ear because of the small size and volume of the cochlea which makes the assessment very difficult., (Copyright © 2018 Sociedad Española de Medicina Nuclear e Imagen Molecular. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To detect and graduate endolymphatic hydrops or endolymphatic space dilations in patients with suspected Meniere's disease or immune-mediated inner ear disease by magnetic resonance imaging., Material and Methods: A prospective study was performed including all the patients with clinical suspicion of Meniere's disease or immune-mediated inner ear disease treated at the Otolaryngology department during a one year period. In all cases, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in a 3T scanner. IR sequence was performed after 24 to 28h prior intratimpanic injection of gadolinium on both ears. Two neurorradiologist graduated endolymphatic space volume as agreed on normal, moderate and significant in the obtained images., Results: The presence of hydrops was documented by MRI in six patients with definite or probable Meniere's disease. In two of the four cases without vertigo hydrops was not demonstrated. In the other two cases with a high clinical suspicion of immune-mediated disease but with negative autoimmune tests hydrops was proved. There was only disagreement on cochlear hydrops presence on two patients., Conclusion: The detection of endolymphatic hydrops in patients with definite or probable Meniere's disease served to confirm the final diagnosis. Moreover, hydrops was detected in patients with suspected immune-mediated inner ear disease, which could have an impact on the diagnosis and treatment of these patients. Therefore, we suggest that this test could be included for the diagnosis of these inner ear diseases., (Copyright © 2016 SERAM. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

We report the case of an immunocompromised female patient with external otitis, who developed a picture of external otitis with poor response to conventional treatment and subsequent isolation of Pseudomona Aeruginosa in the ear secretion culture. The final diagnosis was malignant external otitis. Our objective is to describe the scintigraphic findings as well as to analyze their correlation with the clinical pattern and to evaluate the possible causes of the discordance found., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier España, S.L. y SEMNIM. All rights reserved.)

External auditory canal cholesteatomas are a rare disease. Their usual clinical appearance is a mass eroding the bony external auditory canal, normally in the inferior or anterior parts, with an intact tympanic membrane and a normal middle ear. A case of this uncommon disease with a review of the scientific literature is presented. Guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and management are examined.

Cisplatin is an antitumoral agent commonly used in the treatment of different solid tumors. Its use induces adverse effects like oto- and nephrotoxicity due to acute renal failure. This makes it a suitable drug when creating an experimental model of ototoxicity. Our aim is to study the cellular lesions induced in the cochlea of the rat and the guinea pig by variable doses of cisplatin injected intraperitoneally, after short, middle, and long term survival, by means of scanning electronic microscopy. Results show the global effect of the cells of the organ of Corti with a more intense initial damage of the supporting cells, continuing with the late effect of the sensorial cells.

Labyrinthitis ossificans is a recently recognized entity with the extending cochlear implant surgery. Up to date there are not so many studies of the cellular response leading the organization of the inflammatory reaction within the cochlea. Immunemediated labyrinthitis is a valid experimental model that allow the knowledge of the cellular infiltration mechanisms within the cochlea. The inner ear communicates with systemic immunity via the circulation by the passage of cells through the spiral modiolar vein (SMV) and its collecting venules in the scala tympani. Inflammatory reaction within the cochlea lead to the formation of fibrotic tissue and bone (osteoneogenesis) inside it and injuring the neurosensory organs of hearing and balance. To test which cells are proliferating early in an inflammatory response, an animal model of Keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) induced labyrinthitis was utilized, showing a granulomatous lesions not previously reported in this experimental model.

DNA ploidy and cell-cycle distribution were determined by flow cytometry in fresh tumor tissue of 27 epithelial head and neck carcinomas. Epithelial cells were labeled with a fluorescein-isothiocyanate-conjugated cytokeratin antibody to study the possible influence of contaminating stromal and inflammatory cells on the results of cell-cycle analysis of tumor cells. The patient sample included 26 men and 1 women with a mean age of 60 years. Without cytokeratin gating, 11/27 tumors (40.74%) were aneuploid. After selecting the cytokeratin population, 10 more aneuploid tumors were found that had not been detected when considering the total population. Therefore, aneuploid tumors increased from 40.74% to 77.74%. The remaining 6/27 (22.26%) tumors were diploid. In the tumors that were either aneuploid without cytokeratin gating or diploid, the S-phase and G2M phase were significantly higher after cytokeratin staining, specially in diploid tumors (24.2% versus 10% and 6.8% versus 3.2%, respectively, p < 0.01). Therefore, in head and neck tumors cytokeratin staining optimizes both the determination of DNA ploidy and cell-cycle analysis, which is advantageous for tumor staging and prognosis assessment in these patients.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown cause with frequent pulmonary, ocular, and lymphatic system manifestations. Central nervous system involvement, although rare (1 to 5%), most commonly affects the cranial nerves. Cranial nerve VIII abnormalities occur in 20% of these patients and are associated with other neuropathies and organ or system involvement. We report a case of neurosarcoidosis that presented as isolated sudden sensorineural hearing loss and uveitis.

Destruction of the membranous labyrinth can lead to sensorineural hearing loss. This is especially frequent in surgery for active otorrhea. However, destruction of the posterior labyrinth sometimes can be solved without loss of cochlear function. We report three cases of partial labyrinthectomy for intralabyrinthine cholesteatoma without functional loss. Current theories regarding the conservation of hearing are discussed.

There are two types of rapidly progressive sensorineural hearing loss: sudden hearing loss, which is generally unilateral and develops in less than 72 hours, and rapidly progressive sensorineural hearing loss, which develops over days or months. The origin of sudden deafness is difficult to establish. Several etiopathogenic factors have been postulated, such as viral infection, autoimmune origin, vascular and metabolic disease, rupture of the labyrinthine membrane, and, recently, immune-mediated inner ear disease. We made a retrospective study of 40 patients seen in our department. Patients were given a combined treatment with steroids, nimodipine, heparin, and oxygen. Patients were divided into two groups by intravenous or oral treatment.

Many clinical and experimental studies have obtained evidence of immune-mediated inner ear disease. Discrepancies between theories of the mechanisms of injury to the inner ear and the laboratory tests that identify it mean that the diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms and a positive response to treatment. We report four cases of immune-mediated inner ear disease characterized by endolymphatic hydrops, fluctuating hearing loss, sudden deafness (first symptom of primary Sjögren's syndrome), and rapidly progressive sensorineural hearing loss.

A preliminary analysis was published in 1993 of 100 cases of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) carried out in our service following a protocol that included sinusitis, nasal polyps, and other endoscopic nasal procedures. Another 100 cases of ESS were analyzed for the present study and compared with the 1993 group. Comparative analysis showed improved results in the second series, with fewer minor complications and no major complications. These findings confirm the general opinion that endoscopic sinus surgery requires an adequate training period before optimal results are obtained.

Evidence of hearing loss in humans with systemic autoimmune disease has suggested the possibility of isolated forms of deafness originated by a autoimmune mechanism. Several authors reject McCabe's (1) proposed clinical description based mainly on response to treatment and have attempted to develop an animal model of autoimmune deafness. A comparative analysis was made of several experimental models of sensorineural hearing loss in guinea pigs developed in our laboratory for the study of this problem.

A case of tympanic glomic tumor associated with vascular malformation of the perifacial plexus is reported. The case and its possible relation with persistent stapedial artery are discussed. The embryological development of the middle-ear vessels and blood supply to glomic tumors were reviewed.

Experience has revealed a higher rate of functional failure of biocompatible prostheses used in the surgical reconstruction of the middle ear than was reported initially. The cause of these failures was analyzed in a retrospective study of 135 patients who underwent middle ear reconstructive procedures: 47 of them involved implantation of plastic prostheses. Proplast or Plastipore, and had a sufficient follow-up. We evaluated the prosthetic material and middle-ear conditions for which they were implanted.

Cellular and/or humoral immune reactions may be involved in the development of some cochleovestibular dysfunctions long considered idiopathic. In a clinical study of 98 patients, 82 of them with cochleovestibular disorder, a battery of immunologic studies was used. Thirty-one patients received steroid treatment, of which 19 obtained good results; 5 of these patients had positive serum antibodies.

Antrochoanal polyps represent a particular pathology among nasosinusal polyposis. Since KILLIAN'S first report in 1906, several pathogenic mechanisms and surgical techniques have been described. Surgical removal of an antrochoanal polyp by the classic Caldwell-Luc approach has been reviewed since the beginning of the use of nasosinusal functional endoscopic surgery. We present 12 cases of antrochoanal polyps removed by this technique in our hospital, during the last three years, analyzing the results and complications of this endoscopic approach. We conclude that functional endoscopic surgery of the sinus for removal of antrochoanal polyps, is a recommendable surgical technique due to its efficiency and low morbidity.

Imaging analysis has been applied to study typical cases of nasosinusal diseases, in an attempt to determine its capabilities for CT scan interpretations. Thus, polyps with sinusitis, cerebrospinal fluid occupying sinuses, cysts and bone tumors may be compared in order to obtain objective results that may help in the differential diagnosis in these conditions.

A case of scarring stenosis of the nasopharynx occurring in the fifth decade without previous medical history is presented. Transpalatal resection with a prolonged stent, produced patent nasal cavities, but the different studies performed did not establish the etiological diagnosis. A final stage of rhinoscleroma was suspected.