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Background: Few odor tests have been developed for children. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a simple and quick olfactory test to evaluate odor identification and threshold in a Spanish pediatric population. Methods: The Pediatric Barcelona Olfactory Test-6 (pBOT-6) consisted of a set of 6 odorants for a forced choice identification test and a 6-dilution phenyl ethyl alcohol geometric series for the threshold test. The pBOT-6 was compared with the Universal Sniff test (a validated international pediatric smell test) in 131 healthy Spanish volunteers aged 6-17 years. A Bland-Altman plot was used to determine the agreement between the 2 tests. Reliability was analyzed in 15 volunteers using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Normative data were obtained, and 8 children diagnosed with subjective loss of smell were tested for validation. Results: The Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated a minimal bias of –1.71% with upper and lower limits of agreement of –31.1% and 27.6%, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.83 (95%CI, 0.6-0.96) for the identification test and 0.73 (95%CI, 0.36-0.9) for the threshold test, with excellent and good consistency between measurements over time. Mean pBOT-6 scores were significantly higher in healthy volunteers than in patients with loss of smell. Discrimination between normosmia and loss of smell was achieved with a sensitivity of 96.9% and a specificity of 100%. Conclusions: pBOT-6 offers an effective and fast method that is useful in clinical routine to distinguish, with high sensitivity and specificity, between pediatric patients with normosmia and those with loss of smell.

Purpose of Review The purposes of the review are as follows: (1) to define acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) and their phenotypes, (2) to highlight the ARS management according to international guidelines, (3) to compare the physicians’ management with the ARS guideline recommendations, and (4) to report ARS socioeconomic burden. Recent Findings Bacterial and non-bacterial ARS have similar symptoms, although they can be discriminated by using a combination of specific signs and symptoms. The prescription of antibiotics should be limited to clearly suspected bacterial ARS. There is an overuse of diagnosis tools and treatment prescriptions. The total cost per ARS episode in Europe is over €1000. Summary ARS is mainly an inflammatory disease triggered by viral infection, and few cases end up developing bacterial infection. In most of the cases, it is a self-resolving disease which diagnosis is mainly clinical and the treatment symptomatic. The incidence of complications is low and independent of antibiotic use. There is a high socioeconomic burden associated to ARS.

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of narrow band imaging (NBI) examination in the office for the diagnosis and follow-up of upper airway premalignant and malignant lesions. Methods Four hundred eighty lesions were evaluated with white light endoscopy (WLE) and NBI before a biopsy/excision. Additionally, 151 premalignant lesions were followed up without proven biopsy. Carcinoma-free survival was calculated. The learning curve was analyzed. Results Overall, the accuracy improved from 74.1% with WLE to 88.9% with NBI, being relevant in all anatomic subsites. The accuracy of NBI increased significantly with increasing experience (area under the curve [AUC] >0.9). After a follow-up of 25 months, 14 of 151 lesions (9.3%) converted into carcinoma. The 4-year carcinoma-free survival rate was 86.4%. The 4-year carcinoma-free survival rate differed significantly between lesions classified as benign/mild dysplasia versus those presenting as moderate/severe dysplasia (88.9% vs 73.5%; P = .018). Conclusion The NBI provided a greater accuracy than WLE and showed promising usefulness for the follow-up of premalignant lesions.

Background We previously reported a higher prevalence of nasal obstructive disorders (NOD) in pediatric patients with persistent allergic rhinitis (PER) not responding to medical treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of NOD on quality of life (QoL) in this population. Methods Real-life prospective study including 142 patients (41 children, 6-11 years old and 101 adolescents, 12-17 years old) with moderate and severe PER. After 2 months of medical treatment (intranasal steroids and antihistamines), patients were asked whether their symptoms had improved (yes/no) and classified accordingly in R, responders and NR, non-responders. Nasal symptoms (visual analog scale, VAS), NOD (nasal endoscopy), and QoL (PRQLQ, AdolQRLQ) were also assessed. Results Sixty-nine adolescents and 24 children were included in the NR group. NR presented worse QoL overall scores in adolescents (3.16±1.1 vs 1.63±0.99; P=.00001) and children (2.19±0.82 vs 1.51±0.77, P=.02). Medical treatment failure was associated with worse outcomes in QoL (adolescents OR: 1.6, P

Objective To evaluate the impact of different types of nasal septum deformity (NSD) on nasal obstruction, rhinitis severity and response to medical treatment among pediatric persistent allergic rhinitis (PER) patients. Methods In a prospective, real-life study, 150 children and adolescents (mean age 13 ± 2.8 years, females 32.6%) diagnosed with PER according to ARIA guidelines were assessed by nasal endoscopy for NSD according to Mladina's classification, their response to medical treatment (intranasal steroids and antihistamines or antileucotriens), the presence of comorbidities, rhinitis severity (modified-ARIA criterion) and nasal obstruction visual analog scale score (VAS). Results Most patients (87%) had 1 of the 7 types of septal deformities. There was a high prevalence of bilateral (types 4 and 6; 46%) and anterior unilateral (types 1 and 2; 25%) NSD in patients not responding to medical treatment. Type 4 (OR = 6.4; p = 0.005) or type 6 (OR = 4.4; p = 0.03) NSD increased the risk of lack of improvement with medical treatment. Coexistence of anterior unilateral or bilateral NSD with severe turbinate enlargement increased >20-fold the risk of lack of improvement. Patients with bilateral NSD presented greater rhinitis severity. Non-responder adolescents displayed higher prevalence of bilateral NSD than children (53% vs. 23%; p = 0.02). Nasal obstruction VAS was higher for patients with anterior than posterior NSD, and greater for patients with bilateral NSD than any other type of septal morphology. Conclusion Nasal endoscopy shows that bilateral and unilateral anterior nasal septum deformities are strongly associated with a poor response to medical treatment, greater rhinitis severity and higher nasal obstruction VAS. Consequently, nasal endoscopy is necessary in the PER patients to understand the disease severity as well as to plan a specific surgical treatment in order to improve nasal obstruction, disease severity, and patient's quality of life.

BACKGROUND Cervico-mediastinal hemangiomas in adulthood are rare and slow-growing vascular tumors. The optimal treatment for giant hemangiomas is controversial. In asymptomatic cases, clinical observation is generally recommended. METHODS We report the transoral resection of a pharyngolaryngeal hemangioma (diameters of 44 × 56 × 39 mm) with tracheal involvement and mediastinal extension. Clinically, the patient had throat foreign body sensation, severe dyspnea and stridor. The hemangioma was first embolized by injecting ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx) transorally, and then the obstructive aspect of the tumor was resected with a bipolar and ultrasonic clamp (ThunderBeat®, Olympus). RESULTS Two months after surgery, nasal fiberendoscopy showed complete disappearance of the vascular mass at the larynx and hypopharynx, with a normal mobility of the larynx. CONCLUSION In symptomatic patients, surgical reduction of large pharyngolaryngeal hemangiomas may be feasible by direct embolization and transoral ultrasonic resection. Both may provide an almost bloodless surgical field. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 1239-1242, 2017.

Background Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most common chronic disease among children. To characterize the disease, a modified classification of severity (m-ARIA) has recently been validated in AR children. When medical treatment fails, surgery for nasal obstructive disorders (NOD) may be a therapeutic option. Our objective was to assess the prevalence of NOD and their influence in medical treatment response among children with persistent AR (PER). Methods In a prospective, real-life study, 130 pediatric PER patients (13.1±2.8 years, females 31.5%, severe rhinitis 49%) referred from Allergy to ENT department were assessed for their response (R, responders; NR, non-responders) to medical treatment (intranasal steroids and antihistamines or antileucotriens) by direct questioning and nasal symptoms VAS, the presence of NOD (septal deformity, turbinate enlargement and adenoidal hyperplasia), comorbidities, nasal symptoms, rhinitis severity (modified-ARIA criterion) and asthma control (International Consensus On Pediatric Asthma criterion). Results After two months of treatment, the NR group presented a higher prevalence of obstructive septal deformity and severe inferior turbinate enlargement when compared with the R group. Higher septal deformity and turbinate enlargement scores were strongly associated with treatment refractoriness. The prevalence of severe PER was also higher for the NR group. Higher asthma control scores were associated with the probability of treatment-induced improvement. Conclusions In pediatric PER patients, medical therapy refractoriness was associated with NOD, mainly septal deformity and turbinate enlargement. In those patients, ENT examination will facilitate an early NOD diagnosis in order to indicate potential corrective surgery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Most children and adolescents with allergic rhinitis (AR) present extra-nasal multimorbid conditions, including conjunctivitis, asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhinosinusitis, or seromucous otitis. Additionally, they may present nasal obstructive disorders, such as septal deformity, turbinate enlargement, and adenoidal hyperplasia, which worsen nasal symptoms, especially nasal obstruction. This is a narrative review on the current state of the concomitant presence of AR and one or more multimorbidities. The presence of AR and one or more accompanying multimorbidities is associated to a higher severity and duration of the disease, a negative impact on quality of life, with worse control and lack of improvement with medical treatment. Therefore, AR needs to be managed with a multidisciplinary collaborative approach. Pediatric AR needs to be considered in the context of a systemic disease, which requires a coordinated therapeutic strategy.

Nasal examination, mainly nasal endoscopy, is necessary in patients with severe rhinitis, specially in those showing resistance to medical treatment Nasal examination would help to differentially diagnose nasal obstructive disorders and other sinonasal inflammatory conditions, and to potentially propose surgical procedures in order to improve nasal symptoms, disease severity, and patient’s quality of life The intranasal formulation of fluticasone propionate and azelastine hydrochloride in a single device is indicated when an intranasal corticosteroid in monotherapy does not provide an adequate control of symptoms In children with a severe obstructive septal deformity, a conservative endonasal septoplasty may effectively improve nasal obstruction, not interfering with the normal maxillofacial development In allergic patients, a proper long-term follow-up and treatment is essential to avoid relapse of nasal obstruction after inferior turbinate surgery

Uncontrolled persistent allergic rhinitis and rhinosinusitis are often found together in pediatric patients State-of-the-art guidelines like ARIA and EPOS provide clinicians with evidence-based treatment algorithms for allergic rhinitis and rhinosinusitis, respectively The primary treatment of pediatric rhinosinusitis and persistent allergic rhinitis includes intranasal corticosteroids and saline irrigations Concomitant anatomic nasal deformities, global airway dysfunction, and systemic diseases should be excluded, in patients with persistent symptoms despite standard therapy

Background and objectives Previous studies showed good short-term Quality of life (QOL) after Transoral Laser Microsurgery (TLM) for laryngeal cancer. Here, we aimed to evaluate QOL after TLM in the long-term. Methods Prospective longitudinal study. Sixty-two consecutive disease-free patients were evaluated using UW-QOL v4 and SF-12 questionnaires, 1 and 5 years after TLM. Changes over time were assessed according to age, location, and tumor size. Long-term VHI-10 was also evaluated. Results The mean follow-up time was 5.41 ± 2.02 years. No differences in the global UW-QOL score were observed between 1 and 5 years after TLM (1135.00 vs. 1127.20; P = 0.4). Activity worsened slightly in the long-term (93.03 vs. 87.70; P = 0.02). Forty-two and 58% of the patients reported that their health 1 and 5 years after treatment was much better than prior to diagnosis. Initially, 3.3% considered their health much worse, which was reduced to 1.7% at 5 years. SF-12 scores remained unchanged for both physical and mental aspects (P > 0.05). The VHI-10 was 3.81 ± 5.7 for supraglottic and 7.2 ± 9.6 for glottic tumors. Conclusion Patients treated with TLM present a very good long-term QOL. Only activity deteriorates over time, while voice and swallowing remain satisfactory in the majority of patients. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:789-795. © 2016 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

BACKGROUND: The nasal floor and inferior meatus (NFIM) flap represents an available option for the reconstruction of a septal perforation (SP). This study explores the feasibility of repairing SPs using a modified simple and extended (including inferior turbinate) NFIM flap. METHODS: An anatomic study was achieved in fresh frozen cadaveric specimens to measure the area and lengths of NFIM flap. The repair of SP with simple and extended NIFM flaps was performed in some of these cadaveric specimens. Preoperative radiological evaluation of CT scans allowed studying the reconstruction limits of the simple or extended NFIM flap. A cohort of patients with SP who underwent reconstruction with an NFIM flap was also included. RESULTS: Complete SP repair with NFIM was achieved in all specimens (n=10). In 38 fresh cadaveric specimens, coronal and sagittal lengths and area of simple NFIM flaps were smaller than in extended NFIM flaps. The radiological analysis of 75 CT scans revealed that the septal height could be reconstructed with a simple and extended NFIM flap. Complete SP repair wasachieved in 5 patients (4 male, mean age 57.4 years) using modified NFIM flaps. CONCLUSION: The simple or expanded NFIM flap represents a feasible option to repair small or medium-sized perforations located at the lower 1/3 or 3/4 of the nasal septum. ispartof: RHINOLOGY vol:56 issue:4 ispartof: location:Netherlands status: published

BACKGROUND The accuracy of white light endoscopy in combination with narrow band imaging (WLE + NBI) for diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) does not reach 100%. We evaluated the characteristics of the false-negative and false-positive cases. METHODS Five hundred thirty lesions of the upper airways were evaluated. The WLE was followed by NBI examination before performing a biopsy. RESULTS The false-negative lesions (7.36%) were represented by submucosal and non-SCC tumors. Among the 25 non-SCC tumors, 72% did not show any suspicious vascular pattern under NBI. The false-positive lesions (6.04%) were mainly represented by postradiotherapy mucosal changes, ulcers, and infections. Regarding papillomas, NBI accuracy reached 95.32%, although cases with dysplasia were difficult to distinguish from SCC. CONCLUSION The WLE + NBI improved diagnostic accuracy, but not all lesions were ideally evaluated with current defined patterns. An accurate anamnesis is mandatory, because, in some cases, it may be more relevant than the NBI pattern.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of narrow band imaging (NBI) examination in the office for the diagnosis and follow-up of upper airway premalignant and malignant lesions.Four hundred eighty lesions were evaluated with white light endoscopy (WLE) and NBI before a biopsy/excision. Additionally, 151 premalignant lesions were followed up without proven biopsy. Carcinoma-free survival was calculated. The learning curve was analyzed.Overall, the accuracy improved from 74.1% with WLE to 88.9% with NBI, being relevant in all anatomic subsites. The accuracy of NBI increased significantly with increasing experience (area under the curve [AUC]0.9). After a follow-up of 25 months, 14 of 151 lesions (9.3%) converted into carcinoma. The 4-year carcinoma-free survival rate was 86.4%. The 4-year carcinoma-free survival rate differed significantly between lesions classified as benign/mild dysplasia versus those presenting as moderate/severe dysplasia (88.9% vs 73.5%; P = .018).The NBI provided a greater accuracy than WLE and showed promising usefulness for the follow-up of premalignant lesions.

Previous studies showed good short-term Quality of life (QOL) after Transoral Laser Microsurgery (TLM) for laryngeal cancer. Here, we aimed to evaluate QOL after TLM in the long-term.Prospective longitudinal study. Sixty-two consecutive disease-free patients were evaluated using UW-QOL v4 and SF-12 questionnaires, 1 and 5 years after TLM. Changes over time were assessed according to age, location, and tumor size. Long-term VHI-10 was also evaluated.The mean follow-up time was 5.41 ± 2.02 years. No differences in the global UW-QOL score were observed between 1 and 5 years after TLM (1135.00 vs. 1127.20; P = 0.4). Activity worsened slightly in the long-term (93.03 vs. 87.70; P = 0.02). Forty-two and 58% of the patients reported that their health 1 and 5 years after treatment was much better than prior to diagnosis. Initially, 3.3% considered their health much worse, which was reduced to 1.7% at 5 years. SF-12 scores remained unchanged for both physical and mental aspects (P 0.05). The VHI-10 was 3.81 ± 5.7 for supraglottic and 7.2 ± 9.6 for glottic tumors.Patients treated with TLM present a very good long-term QOL. Only activity deteriorates over time, while voice and swallowing remain satisfactory in the majority of patients. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:789-795. © 2016 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cervico-mediastinal hemangiomas in adulthood are rare and slow-growing vascular tumors. The optimal treatment for giant hemangiomas is controversial. In asymptomatic cases, clinical observation is generally recommended.We report the transoral resection of a pharyngolaryngeal hemangioma (diameters of 44 × 56 × 39 mm) with tracheal involvement and mediastinal extension. Clinically, the patient had throat foreign body sensation, severe dyspnea and stridor. The hemangioma was first embolized by injecting ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx) transorally, and then the obstructive aspect of the tumor was resected with a bipolar and ultrasonic clamp (ThunderBeat®, Olympus).Two months after surgery, nasal fiberendoscopy showed complete disappearance of the vascular mass at the larynx and hypopharynx, with a normal mobility of the larynx.In symptomatic patients, surgical reduction of large pharyngolaryngeal hemangiomas may be feasible by direct embolization and transoral ultrasonic resection. Both may provide an almost bloodless surgical field. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 1239-1242, 2017.