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The aim of this paper is to review intranasal trigeminal system and associated reflexes. The literature survey was performed on PubMed, ProQuest Central database of Kirikkale University and Google Scholar. The intranasal trigeminal system and associated reflexes play an important role in humans in both health and disease, including in rhinitis of non-allergic and mixed type. The intranasal trigeminal nerve provides sensory perception to the lining of the nose, supplying information on how patent the nasal airway is and responding to various chemical signals. The reflexes known to exist within the intranasal trigeminal system are nasobronchial reflex, trigemino-cardiac reflex, nasogastric reflex, and nasal cycle. The intranasal trigeminal system and its reflexes play a vital role in normal human physiology. Alterations in how this system operates may underlie multiple forms of rhinitis and more research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms involved.

Il termine «rinite» descrive la presenza di sintomi nasali nel paziente, includendo il naso che cola (rinorrea), gli starnuti e una congestione nasale. Questi sintomi possono evolvere o in modalita acuta o cronica o in modalita intermittente o persistente. Non esiste sfortunatamente, attualmente, una classificazione unanimemente riconosciuta di tutte le riniti riscontrate in medicina umana, per mancanza di consenso e di individualizzazione dei diversi fenotipi. La rinite allergica e diagnosticata sulla base della storia di sintomi nasali suggestivi di una rinite allergica e sulla base di test cutanei che dimostrano una sensibilizzazione agli allergeni nell’aria. La rinite non allergica e, quindi, un gruppo eterogeneo di malattie che hanno in comune, generalmente, un’infiammazione nasale cronica indipendente e non legata a meccanismi IgE-mediati. La lista dei vari tipi di riniti non allergiche comprende anche molti fenotipi che hanno delle differenze nell’espressione e nell’importanza dei sintomi, nella malattia sottostante, nel tipo di infiammazione sottostante e nel meccanismo fisiopatologico.

This paper reviews the contribution of the different parts of the oral cavity and the pharynx to the basic physiology of breathing, phonation, speech, swallowing, and of Waldeyer's ring to the functioning of the immune system. We discuss the development of taste and smell, as well as possibilities for chemosensory testing in children.

A 32-year-old woman developed altered consciousness two days after initial symptoms of acute otitis media, with purulent discharge from the right ear. She was quadriplegic, with spontaneous eye opening, mild neck stiffness, and lacking vestibular-ocular reflexes.Upon admission, the patient was subjected to brain computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and lumbar puncture.CT was consistent with pansinusitis, right middle ear otitis, mastoiditis, and sphenoiditis. No brainstem lesion was evident; brain MRI demonstrated ischemic and secondary hemorrhagic lesions in the pons and cerebral peduncles. The dura mater in the petroclival space was intensely inflamed, and likely responsible for reduced basilar arterial blood flow. Lumbar puncture yielded clear cerebrospinal fluid; gram stain examination was negative and culture remained sterile. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were cultured from the purulent ear discharge.The final diagnosis was locked-in syndrome consecutive to inflammatory changes compressing the basilar artery.

We discuss the physiopathology and relevant anatomy of the nasal valves--internal and external--paying particular attention to the dynamics of the airflows in this area. We describe and comment on methods for medical examination, anterior rhinoscopy, endoscopy and fibrescopy of the valve, as well as the causes and sites of nasal valve dysfunction. We propose a review of the various treatments, medical and surgical, with a special emphasis on nasal valve surgery. Surgical techniques commonly used by the authors in daily practice for nasal valvuloplasty (such as spreader grafts and Z-plasty of the nostrils) are discussed and illustrated in depth. Some one-year postoperative results are presented and discussed.

Grafting is one of the current range of instruments that rhinoplasticians deploy to achieve durable and desired aesthetic and functional outcomes. Grafts can be classified according to anatomical site and, in the vast majority of cases, they involve augmentation rhinoseptoplasty. Visible grafting material is used for aesthetic purposes and functional grafting may involve invisible grafts. This article reviews the more widely described and more common indications for grafts in rhinoseptoplasty. The authors' rhinoseptoplasty philosophy involves a preference for autogenous grafts rather than alloplastic implants to achieve both aesthetically and functionally favourable results, particularly in long-term follow-up. They also prefer grafts in an open approach, reserving graft insertion with an endonasal approach for selected cases. The rate of complications associated with grafting is very low. The aim of this paper is to discuss the relevant anatomy, functional purpose and terminology, and to describe the authors' philosophy for grafting in rhinoseptoplasty.

Olfactory dysfunction is deemed to be a significant contributor to poor quality of life in different nasal inflammatory conditions like common cold, allergic rhinitis, and acute and chronic rhinosinusitis with and without nasal polyps (NP). The mechanism underlying olfactory impairment in inflammatory sinonasal disease relates to either the obstruction of the olfactory cleft due to congestion of the nasal mucosa, the presence of secretions or polyps inside the nasal cavity, or to dysfunction of the sensory mucosa of the olfactory bulb resulting from local inflammation. The reduction of smell capacity in nasal inflammatory conditions may have an acute or gradual onset, often with resolution of smell dysfunction after adequate medical treatment or surgery. In contrast to the well documented effects of surgery for rhinosinusitis on smell dysfunction, the available information about the effects of medical treatment is limited. Most studies have looked at corticosteroids, evaluating the restoration of olfactory capacity as a primary or secondary study outcome parameter. Both nasal and systemic corticosteroids have a beneficial effect on olfactory dysfunction, with systemic treatment being the most powerful. This review aims to provide an overview of current knowledge about medical treatment for rhinosinusitis and its effects on smell.

The aim of this article is to summarise the anatomy of the chemosensory pathways. The vomeronasal organ, the olfactory system, the trigeminal system and the gustatory system will be reviewed in succession. For each of these systems, we will provide a description of the anatomy of the pathways sending the sensory message from the peripheral receptor to the cortical areas, passing through different relays in the nervous system. Particular emphasis will be paid to the anatomical features of the structures involved in chemosensory perception. This will help us to understand better how these systems interact and influence our social lives, our memories and our behaviour, and to evaluate patients with chemosensory dysfunction better.

In combination with psychophysical testing and electrophysiological studies, magnetic resonance imaging plays a role in the clinical evaluation of patients with an olfactory dysfunction. Quantitative measurements of olfactory bulb volume and of olfactory sulcus depth, and the morphological depiction of structural abnormalities, make synergistic contributions to the accurate radiological diagnosis of smell dysfunction. Moreover, the plasticity of our olfactory system can be demonstrated by temporal changes in OB volumetric measurements. In this paper, we provide an outline of how to measure olfactory bulb volume and olfactory sulcus depth, with numerous illustrative cases of patients with congenital anosmia, post-infectious or posttraumatic olfactory loss and sinonasal-related olfactory dysfunction.

The olfactory bulb collects the sensory afferents of the olfactory receptor cells located in the olfactory neuroepithelium. The olfactory bulb ends with the olfactory tract and is closely related to the olfactory sulcus of the frontal lobe. Many studies demonstrated that olfactory bulb volume assessed with magnetic resonance imaging is related to the olfactory function both in normal and pathological conditions. It has been shown that olfactory bulb volume changes with the degree of olfactory dysfunction, that it decreases with the duration of the olfactory loss and that patients with qualitative disorder such as parosmia have smaller olfactory bulbs than patients without parosmia. In this review, we will discuss the actual knowledge regarding olfactory bulb function, practical ways to measure olfactory bulb volume and olfactory sulcus depth, and report systematic observations regarding these measurements related to various causes of olfactory dysfunction, e.g. infection of the upper respiratory tract, head trauma, or neurodegenerative disease. Measurement of olfactory bulb volume may provide valuable information for patients with olfactory dysfunction.

Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a group of multifactorial diseases characterised by inflammation of the mucosa of the nose and paranasal sinuses with a history of at least 12 weeks of persistent symptoms and signs despite maximal medical therapy. IgE-mediated hypersensitivity and asthma are the two most important associated factors. Diagnosis of CRS is based upon the medical history and either an endoscopy or CT scan. Initial medical treatment usually consists of the avoidance of all the contributory factors and then nasal douching and nasal steroids. If medical treatment fails, endoscopic sinus surgery is considered. The authors review the most important factors associated with CRS, the diagnostic work-up and different treatment options. They also present a rationale for treatment.

This article is a review of the literature on epistaxis and its treatment. Data were collected from MedLine until mid September 2005, and from others readings and books. Its first goal was to present to the Belgian ENT practitioners an overview, as complete as possible, of the modern concepts in etiologies, medical, conservative, surgical (including embolization), and adjunctive therapies of epistaxis. All these topics are discussed and commented, from a medico-surgical point of view, and also from a cost effectiveness one.

Olfactory disorders may have several causes. Nasal polyposis or chronic sinusitis can result in nasal obstructions that block the access of odorants to the olfactory epithelium, and this can explain the development of olfactory disorders. On the other hand, when nasal endoscopy has revealed that the nasal cleft is free of inflammatory or tumoural disease, olfactory disorders may be explained by neuroepithelial or central nervous system disturbances. This paper will provide information about current approaches to smell disorders in otorhinolaryngology. Major causes will be reviewed as outcomes after medical or surgical treatment. An algorithm will also be given to standardise clinical investigations, including psychophysical olfactory testing, imaging and electrophysiological examinations.

The usual clinical presentation of sinonasal tumours includes symptoms that are indistinguishable from inflammatory sinus disease, namely nasal airway obstruction, pain, and epistaxis. Abnormal V1 and/or V2 sensations are a strong indication of the possibility of tumour. Computed tomography is the most reliable and informative imaging tool for evaluating the cancers of the paranasal sinuses. Magnetic resonance imaging is essential for tumour mapping because of the excellent tissue characterisation and the possibility of differentiating between neoplasms and retained secretions. A wide variety of histologies may be encountered, although squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA) is the most common. Radiation is a common adjuvant to surgery. The response of sinonasal tract tumours to radiation therapy varies with the stage and histology of the tumour. Rehabilitation after surgical resection may be accomplished with prosthodontics or reconstructive flaps. Bony erosion of the orbital walls does not constitute an indication for orbital exenteration. Patients with tumour involvement of the skull base, either in the infratemporal fossa or at the fovea ethmoidalis and cribriform plate, should be considered for craniofacial resection. Management of these tumours requires a multimodal approach, involving surgery, radiation therapy and, increasingly in recent years, chemotherapy. Management should therefore be entrusted to multidisciplinary teams only.

Acanthamoeba infection is a rare, difficult-to-treat, and often fatal, opportunistic parasitic infection in immunocompromised hosts, such as patients infected with HIV. We describe an aggressive nasal and sinus infection by Acanthamoeba spp. in a person with AIDS. The resolution of this Acanthamoeba infection was secondary to a multidisciplinary treatment approach involving a combination of surgery as well as high-dose amphotericin B plus 5-fluorocytosine. In the era of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the present report underscores the need for early identification and prompt aggressive treatment to ensure successful management of this rare but potentially fatal opportunistic infection.

Nasal polyposis (NP) is considered as an inflammatory disease for which first line therapy is topical and/or oral corticosteroid. In this paper we attempted to determine the efficacy of endoscopic endonasal surgery followed by topical corticoid in 72 adults suffering from bilateral NP refractory to corticosteroid therapy and to delineate the clinical characteristics of this cohort of patients. NP was confirmed endoscopically and with computed tomography. Visual analog scale for the subjective evaluation and endoscopic examination of the paranasal cavities for the objective evaluation were obtained 3 and 12 months postoperatively. Endoscopic endonasal surgery was based on a radical removal of the NP with wide opening of all the sinuses in the vast majority of the cases. Topical corticoid therapy was started 2 months after surgery. Clinical characteristics of the 72 patients revealed: 29.2% of coexisting allergy; 34.7% of coexisting asthma; 19.4% with food and/or aspirin intolerance. Anterior and posterior ethmoid sinus and maxillary sinus were the most affected sinuses. 53.5% of our patients presented a stage II. One year after surgery we observed that 59.1% of our patients revealed a marked decrease of their symptoms with no polyp on nasal endoscopic evaluation, that 28.8% revealed a marked decrease of their symptoms with recurrence of the NP on nasal endoscopic evaluation and that 12.1% presented moderate to severe symptoms with recurrence of NP on nasal endoscopic evaluation. Based on this experience, we think that endoscopic endonasal surgery will continue to play an important role in the management of NP when the patient becomes refractory to corticoid.

Effects of oral appliances on snoring in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: correlation between cephalometry with and without oral appliance (OA) in place.15 patients were treated with 3 types of OA: Herbst, tooth positioner and QuietKnight.All patients underwent a full-night diagnostic polysomnography. They were asked to use their OA each night during one month. All the subjects then underwent a second polysomnography with the OA in place. Standard cephalometric analysis was done in each patient with and without the OA in place.Although average apnea-hypopnea index decreased significantly, snoring was not affected by the OA. Only in 7 patients a reduction was observed. There was a strong correlation between the change in snoring index during sleep and 2 cephalometric variables: ANB angle without, and overjet with the OA in place. No change in quality of sleep was observed.OA are indeed effective in decreasing the number of obstructive apneas and hypopneas, without affecting the quality of sleep. Snoring reduction with OA may be predicted by cephalometry.

Lobular Capillary Haemangioma of the nasal cavity: Observation of three specific cases. Lobular Capillary Haemangioma, unproperly called "Pyogenic granuloma", is a benign vascular tumour pedunculated on the skin and on mucous membranes of the oral and nasal cavities. Microtrauma and pregnancy are the most often evocated aetiologic factors. Epistaxis and nasal obstruction are the most marked symptoms of this irregular and friable mass. We report three cases (two adult and one paediatric) of this pathology. Two have as trigger factor a nasal microtrauma, the third an oestro-progestative impregnation. A clinical, radiological and histological description allows us to expose the characteristics of this lesion that remains obscure to many rhinologists. Lobular Capillary Haemangioma has to be evocated in the differential diagnosis of each haemorrhagic endonasal mass.

Cat Scratch Disease (CSD) is a benign disease characterized by regional lymphadenopathy affecting most frequently the head and neck region in children and young adults. In the present paper, the authors describe four cases of CSD focusing on clinical history, diagnostic management and therapy. The main germ responsible for this lymph node disease is Bartonella henselae. Diagnosis is based on history, serology and histological findings. Clinical evolution is generally favorable despite the fact that complications occur in about 5% to 13% of patients including encephalitis, hepatitis and Parinaud's oculoglandular syndrome. Antibiotic treatment is only considered for highly symptomatic patients. Surgical excision of the lymphadenopathy is useful to establish the diagnosis when serology is not available and/or when the adenopathy become fluctuating. The authors emphasize the increasing incidence of patients with CSD in the ENT population and the algorithm for CSD disease affecting the cervical lymph nodes.

The system of mucociliary clearance has the important task to remove from the airways inhaled substances and locally formed secretions. Inborn disorders of the mucociliary transport are due to ciliary dysfunction (Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia) (PCD) or of increased viscosity of the bronchial secretions (Cystic Fibrosis). To differentiate PCD from the ultrastructural abnormalities found during or after injuries such as respiratory infections, the name of Secondary--or acquired--Ciliary Dyskinesia (SCD) was created. In controls, less than 4% of the cilia may show ultrastructural abnormalities. The most frequent of these are the compound cilia and the peripheral microtubular abnormalities. Compound cilia often appear after infection and therefore are thought to arise secondarily. Secondary ultrastructural abnormalities of cilia include also blebs of the axoneme membrane, ciliary disorientation, and absence of axoneme membrane. No increase in ultrastructural ciliary abnormalities has been found in a variety of respiratory disorders: smoking, asthma and allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinitis and sinusitis, chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, and lung carcinoma. But severe modifications of the respiratory epithelium can be seen. Important for the secondary ciliary disorders is their local and reversible character. To distinct from ultrastructural images between primary and secondary ciliary dyskinesia is often uneasy because some of the findings in secondary ciliary dyskinesia obviously mimic those dedicated to primary ciliary dyskinesia.

To assess the validity and the limits of endoscopic endonasal orbital decompression for Graves' ophtalmopathy resistant to the medical theapy.Between September 1994 and May 1998, 16 patients with Graves' ophtalmopathy resistant to the medical treatment underwent an orbital decompression transnasally. 27 orbits were decompressed. The surgery was bilateral in 11 patients. In the 5 remaining cases, the surgery was unilateral. It was carried out on the left side in 2 cases and on the right side in 3 cases.Preoperatively, the average visual acuity was 8/10. Postoperatively, the visual acuity was 9.5/10. The average preoperative exophtalmometry measurement was 25.04 mm and the average postoperative measurement was 21.83 mm. The average retrodisplacement was 3.17 mm (range: 2-8). Preoperatively, 3 patients had mild diplopia whereas 5 others had moderate to severe extraocular muscle dysfunction. Postoperatively, 6 patients had mild diplopia whereas 10 patients required squint surgery for moderate to severe extraocular muscle dysfunction.Endoscopic orbital decompression improve all the symptoms of Graves' ophtalmopathy but one: the extraocular muscle dysfunction. Its cardinal indication is the treatment of compressive optic neuropathy whereas this surgical approach provides an excellent control of the medial wall of the orbit and the orbital apex. But the average reduction of proptosis of 3.17 mm is not high enough to propose this approach alone for the treatment of disfiguring proptosis. In such cases, a 2 or 3 wall orbital decompression should be performed to get marked cosmetic and functional improvement. In all cases, the patient should be informed about the risk of postoperative diplopia.

Six centers cooperated in a retrospective study on endoscopic surgical resection of Papillomas of the nose and paranasal sinuses in order to assess both the efficiency and the safety of this kind of surgical approach. From 1991 till march 2000, 87 cases of Papillomas resections under--at least partially--endoscopic control were gathered, among which 85 were Inverted Papillomas (IP), 2 were Exophytic Papilloma (EP) and one was IP coexisting with Collumnar Cell Papilloma (CCP). Malignant transformation was found out in 3 cases of IP. Regarding the 85 patients with IP demographics are as follows: 61 males, 24 females, with a mean age of 58.4 years (STDV: 13.96) in a range from 27 to 92 years. The mean follow-up was of 41.9 months with range of 1-120 months. Fifteen recurrences occurred that were treated by revision surgery either under endoscopic control or by limited external approach. The mean time for recurrences to occur was 8.07 months with range of 1-24 months. The three patients with malignant transformation underwent postoperative radiation therapy. All of the patients are free of recurrence, however for some of them the follow-up is too short to definitely assess their free of disease status. The role of modern diagnostic tools in medical imaging--CAT and MRI--in order to assess clearly the limits of the tumors and to enhance the efficiency and the safety in the choice of a surgical approach is pointed out. The stress is put on the need for radical excision under endoscopic control which can be combined with the Caldwell-Luc transantral approach or with frontal trepanation for the cure of tumors impossible to be reached under endoscopic control only. Irrespective of the tumor extent and of the approaches that was used for excision a close endoscopic follow-up still remain mandatory, by trained surgeons, in the long term management of IP. Biopsies, CAT and/or MRI must be performed in any case with recurrence suspicion.

Paranasal sinus mucoceles are benign, space-occupying, cystic lesions that require a surgical treatment. An endoscopic endonasal marsupialisation is nowadays the surgical approach of choice in most of the cases. The aim of the present study is to validate this option and to determine the clinical characteristics of paranasal sinus mucoceles. A retrospective study based on the clinical experience of several ENT surgeons was performed using a standardised questionnaire. The respondents participate to a report on endoscopic endonasal surgery for non-inflammatory disease in Belgium. One hundred and fourty patients presenting 178 mucoceles were included in this study. Primitive mucoceles were reported in 35% of the patients, posttraumatic mucoceles in 2.1% and postoperative mucoceles in 62.9%. The time interval between first rhinologic procedure and the mucocele diagnosis was respectively 24.4 months after FESS and 108.3 months after an external procedure. Paranasal sinus mucoceles predominantly occur in the fronto-ethmoidal region (64%), followed by the maxillary sinus (18.6%), the sphenoid sinus (8.4%) and the posterior ethmoid sinus (6.7%). Uncommon locations were also reported in 2.3% (Inferior turbinate, middle turbinate, pterygomaxillary space). Endoscopic endonasal marsupialisation (combined with an external procedure for 8 patients) was successful in 97.9% of the patients. Only 3 patients showed recurrence. Endoscopic endonasal marsupialisation of paranasal sinus mucoceles is a reliable therapeutic option with favorable results and is supported by the questioned ENT surgeons in Belgium.