SES applied to bilateral masseter muscles may provide an effective treatment for both dysphagia and cognitive function in early stroke patients.

Object: To prepare a national guideline for Otorhinolaryngologist who treat allergic rhinitis patients. Methods: The study was conducted by three authors, namely the writing support team. The support team made the study plan, determined the writing instructions, chose the subgroups including the advisory committee, the advisors for authors and the authors. A workshop was organized at the very beginning to explain the details of the study to the team. Advisors took the chance to meet their coworkers in their subgroups and determined the main headings and subheadings of the guideline, together with the authors. After key words were determined by the authors, literature search was done in various databases. The authors keep in touch with the advisors and the advisors with the advisory committee and the support group at every stage of the study. National and International published articles as well as the abstracts of unpublished studies, imperatively presented in National Congresses, were included in this guideline. Only Guideline and meta-analyses published in last seven years (2013-2017) and randomized controlled studies published in last two years (2015-2017) were included. After all work was completed by the subgroups, support team brought all work together and edited the article. Results: A detailed guideline about all aspects of allergic rhinitis was created. Conclusion: The authors believe that this guideline will enable a compact and up-to-date information on allergic rhinitis to healthcare professionals. This guideline is the first in the field of Otolaryngology in Turkey. It should be updated at regular intervals.

Purpose The management of post-COVID-19 persistent olfactory dysfunction (OD) is uncertain. Currently, olfactory training is the only evidence-based therapy for post-viral OD. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of classical olfactory training (COT) in the treatment of post-COVID-19 persistent OD. Materials and methods Patients with persistent OD after COVID-19 were assessed using the Sniffin' Sticks test. Fifty-one patients were then divided into two groups based on personal preference: the COT group (n = 31) included subjects who performed COT over 12 weeks, and the control group (n = 20) included subjects who did not receive any treatment. After the exclusion of eight patients, the olfactory performances of 43 patients were re-evaluated and compared to the baseline values.Results A significantly higher proportion of patients in the COT group improved their olfactory scores above the clinically important difference compared to the control group (40% versus 6%) (p = 0.014). The subjective smell improvement by COT was independent of age, gender, OD duration, presence of parosmia, or the initial olfactory score (all p > 0.05). Conclusion Twelve weeks of COT appears to increase the olfactory sensitivity in patients with persistent OD following COVID-19.

Correlation between passive smoking and nasal mucociliary clearance (MCC) in pediatric population has not been reported before. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between environmental tobacco smoke and nasal MCC in children whose parents smoke in or outside the house. Three groups of subjects were evaluated: control group (group 1) with 18 children who were not exposed to environmental smoke, 15 passive smokers living with at least one adult household member smoking outside the house (group 2), 17 passive smokers living with at least one adult household member smoking inside the house (group 3). Parents of children were asked to answer our questions regarding their smoking history, and nasal MCC time was assessed for all individuals of the 3 groups. The mean MCC value in control group, group 2 and group 3 were 7.33 ± 2.91, 10.00 ± 4.78 and 12.41 ± 3.44, respectively. Differences between the mean nasal MCC values of the groups were statistically significant (p < 0.01). The comparison of MCC values between control group and group 2 did not reveal significant difference, but since p value was very close to significance level, in larger series it could be significant. (p = 0.067). Also, when we compared the MCC values between group 2 and group 3, there was no significant difference (p = 0.173). But, the difference between MCC values of control group and group 3 was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Parental smoking both inside or outside the house seemed to increase nasal mucociliary clearance time when they are compared with healthy controls. Further studies with larger study groups also measuring direct quantitative doses of smoking are needed to verify this important issue.

DNA repair systems are essential for normal cell function. Genetic alterations in the DNA repair genes such as X-ray repair cross-complementing group 3 (XRCC3), can cause a change in protein activity which results in cancer susceptibility. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of XRCC3 Thr241Met single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), smoking and alcohol consumption with the risk of laryngeal cancer in Turkish population. The frequencies of Thr241Met SNP were studied in 58 laryngeal cancer cases (SSC) and 67 healthy individuals. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood samples of both controls and laryngeal cancer cases. Thr241Met SNP was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The genotype and allele frequencies of Thr241Met polymorphism were not statistically significant between the laryngeal cancer and control groups. Carrying mutant allele was not associated with the risk of laryngeal cancer. On the other hand, smoking and chronic alcohol consumption were associated with the risk of laryngeal cancer but there is no association between Thr241Met, smoking and alcohol consumption in laryngeal cancer cases. These results indicate that Thr241Met polymorphism was not associated with the development of laryngeal cancer in Turkish population. However, it should be kept in mind that the association of a polymorphism with cancer susceptibility can differ due to several factors such as cancer type, selection criteria, ethnic differences and size of the studied population.

Anatomic variations of the middle and superior conchae are common, but inferior concha anomalies are rare. Th ese anomalies have included pneumatization, agenesis, and duplication. We describe what we believe is the fi rst reported case of a paradoxical curvature of the bony part of the inferior concha. Th e patient was a 13-year-old girl. Th e development of a huge inferior concha blocked the left nasal cavity and deviated the nasal septum to the contralateral side, resulting in bilateral obstruction. Th e patient was successfully treated with surgery.

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