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Introduction: Due to the upper and lower respiratory involvement in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the voice quality of these patients is expected to be impaired. In this study, we aimed to conduct an auditory-perceptual evaluation of the vocal characteristics of patients with different severities of COVID-19. Methods: One hundred two patients with mild, moderate, or severe COVID-19 as well as 30 healthy individuals were recruited to compare their respiratory/phonatory parameters. The Persian version of the CAPE-V and GRBAS scales, along with the maximum phonation time and s/z ratio values were used to evaluate the severity of respiratory/phonatory disorders during verbal tasks in the participants. Results: Significant differences were found between the subgroups of patients and their healthy counterparts in all respiratory/phonatory parameters (p ≤ 0.03) except the s/z ratio (p = 0.81). Conclusions: Based on auditory-perceptual assessments, patients with COVID-19 showed dysphonia. The severity of dysphonia was significantly different among patients with different severities of COVID-19. Smoking can also play a significant role in vocal dysfunction in COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Chronic otitis media (COM) is a common condition characterized by the perforation of the tympanic membrane and inflammation of the mucosal lining the hollow space in the middle ear and airy spaces of the temporal bone for at least 2-6 week. This study was carried out to find out the status of the middle ear ossicles in patients with COM and to correlate their status with clinical parameters. Methods: This retrospective clinical study was conducted on 107 COM patients (52 males and 55 females; age range: 18 to 75 years) submitted to surgery in the Otology Clinic at Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Initially, a comprehensive case-history was obtained from patients and their hearing thresholds were recorded. Then, ossicles status and their junction condition were evaluated intraoperatively. Results: The malleus was found intact in 70 (65.42%), absent in 10 (9.34), and eroded in 27 (25.24%) patients. Our results revealed that the incus was intact in 33 (30.84%), eroded in 55 (51.41%) and absent in 19 (17.75%) subjects. Stapes was found intact in 54 (50.46%) cases and eroded in 53 (49.54%) cases. The mean Pure Tone Average (PTA) and Air-Bone Gap (ABG) comparisons in "intact" and "discontinuous" ossicular chain groups was not significant (Independent sample t-test, p>0.05). Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that incus was the most susceptible middle ear ossicle to erosion in COM, whereas the malleus was the most resistant ossicle. Furthermore, ABG and PTA values cannot be considered as a potential preoperative predictor for ossicular chain status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aim: Sinonasal polyposis is the existence of a nontumoral mass inside the nose and paranasal sinuses which can lead to nasal obstruction and other annoying problems for the patient. Since the pathogenesis of this disease and the involved factors in severity of symptoms has remained unknown, the present study has proceeded to evaluate the Pattern of sensitivity to respiratory allergens in patients with sinonasal polyposis. Methods & Materials: This observational study was a descriptive cross sectional study evaluating 77 patients with sinonasal polyposis from May 2014 to April 2015. The demographic data, history of signs related to allergy in the patient and his/her family was collected and recorded. The concentrations of serum specific IgE were measured. Results: Seventy-seven patients with sinonasal polyposis including 25 women (32.5%) with average age of 42.48± 13.43 years and 52 men (67.5%) with average age of 43.40±13.57 years were evaluated. The present study showed that the result of allergen test was positive in 32 men (61.54%) and 20 women (80%). Also, the results showed that the allergen test was negative in 25 patients (32.47%), in 6 cases (7.79%) only one allergen was positive, the results of allergen test in 46 patients (59.74%), for at least two allergens were positive. The highest numbers of positive allergens in a patient was 28. The most allergen observed in patients included plane tree 23 (29.9%), Kochia 22 (28.6%), Alternaria alternaria 20 (26%), Pigweed 20 (26%). Conclusion: Our results indicate that there are correlations between aeroallergen and clinical signs in individuals with sinonasal polyposis, and the possibility of allergic background can be considered in encountering with such patients, although these cases need specific studies with larger sample sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]