Concha bullosa (CB) is a pneumatic cavitation inside a concha in the nasal cavity. It is one of the most widely recognized nasal variations and is mostly found in the middle concha. CB is divided according to its site into three types; lamellar, bulbous and extensive. The goal of our study was to estimate the prevalence of CB among Saudi adult population and its association with sinusitis by using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). This was a retrospective study carried out over a three-year period on 879 adult Saudi patients aged 18 years or older, referred for MDCT assessment of paranasal sinuses. Males were 540 and females were 339. Patients with facial congenital anomalies or nasal trauma were excluded from our study. CB was prevalent in both males and females among Saudi population (55.4%, 55.7%) respectively. Bilateral CB (55.5%) was more frequent than unilateral (44.5%). Extensive CB (44.0%) was the most frequent type. Sinusitis was associated more in patients with CB (48.0%) versus those who have no CB (5.9%). In conclusion, CB was prevalent among Saudi population and the most frequently recorded is the extensive type. Furthermore, the most common type associated with sinusitis was extensive CB (49.6%).

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The nasal septum is a crucial supporting factor for the nasal cavity and may develop several anatomical variants including septal deviation, spur and pneumatization. These variants could be associated with a higher incidence of sinusitis due to structural and functional alterations. So, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of nasal septal deviation (NSD), nasal septal spur (NSS) and nasal septal pneumatization (NSP) among the Saudi adult population and their links with the incidence of sinusitis by using computed tomography (CT). A retrospective study was achieved over a twenty-two months period on 681 adult Saudi subjects (420 males and 261 females) aged 20 years or older, referred for coronal CT evaluation of the paranasal sinuses. NSD and NSS were significantly more prevalent in males than females (80.0% vs. 67.4% respectively for NSD, and 34.5% vs. 24.9% respectively for NSS), while there was no statistical difference in frequency of NSP regarding gender (P=0.670). The incidence of sinusitis was significantly higher in presence of NSD and/or NSS (P<0.001 for both). On the contrary, NSP was not associated with a significant increase in the prevalence of sinusitis (P=0.131). In conclusion, NSD and NSS are more prevalent in males than females among the Saudi population with no statistical difference between both genders regarding the presence of septal pneumatization. Furthermore, sinusitis is more prevalent with the occurrence of NSD and NSS, and not related to the incidence of NSP.

Cisplatin is an antineoplastic drug widely used to treat various types of cancer. Ototoxicity is still cisplatin’s most critical side-effect. Some patients may experience dose limitations due to hearing loss. Pentoxifylline (PX) exhibits powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-regulatory effects. Our study was designed to investigate the protective effects of pentoxifylline on cisplatin-induced ototoxicity. Forty adult male healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were used through the entire experiment. Four groups of animals were categorized: Group I (control group); Group II (PX group) received 25 mg/kg/day of oral PX by gavage for 8 consecutive days; Group III (Cisplatin group) received cisplatin single intraperitoneal dose of 10 mg/kg; Group IV (PX + Cisplatin group) received 25 mg/kg/day of oral PX by gavage for 8 successive days and a single intraperitoneal dose of 10 mg/kg cisplatin at the 4th day. First and 9th-day Distortiondistortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) tests were conducted. An intracardiac blood sample was collected for total antioxidant capacity (TAC) measurement, and the cochleae of rats were examined histopathologically. A significant reduction in serum TAC value was detected in the cisplatin group, while PX treatment significantly reduced TAC. Cisplatin decreased the DPOAE amplitudes in rats; conversely, the PX+cisplatin group showed a significant increase at all frequencies. Upon histopathological examination, the Ciplastin group revealed perturbation of the normal architecture of the organ of Corti, increased collagen deposition and marked expression of caspase-3, while the PX+cisplatin group revealed preserved architecture of the organ of Corti, minimal collagen deposition and downregulation of Caspase-3 expression. As evidenced by our findings and results from DPOAE results, biochemical findings, histological and ultrastructural analyses, PX significantly protects rats against ototoxicity caused by cisplatin.