Both the introduction of antibiotics and improvements in oral hygiene have made deep neck infections occur less frequently today than in the past. Nevertheless, the complications from these infections are often life-threatening. The purpose of this article was to review the clinical findings of deep neck infections and identify the predisposing factors of these complications. The present study reviewed 158 cases of deep neck infections between the years of 1995 to 2004, 23 of which had life-threatening complications. Cases were excluded if they had peritonsillar abscesses, superficial infections, infections related to external neck wounds, or head and neck tumors. The authors used multiple linear regression and the logistic regression analysis in order to determine the clinical parameters that are associated with longer hospitalizations and complicated deep neck infections, respectively. The multiple linear regression showed that patients with a large number of involved spaces, diabetes mellitus, and complications required longer hospitalizations (p < 0.05). The logistic regression showed that patients with more than two involved spaces were more likely to have complicated deep neck infections (p < 0.05). Patients with odontogenic causes had negative correlation (p < 0.05). We recommend that high-risk groups, such as diabetic patients and/or patients with more than two involved spaces, should be more closely monitored throughout their hospitalization.

ObjectiveThis study was conducted to present the clinical outcome of invasive fungal sinusitis of the sphenoid sinus and to analyze clinical factors influencing patient survival.MethodsA retrospective review of 12 cases of invasive fungal sphenoiditis was conducted.ResultsCases were divided into acute fulminant invasive fungal spheonoidits (n=4) and chronic invasive fungal sphenoiditis (n=8). The most common underlying disease was diabetes mellitus (n=9). The most common presenting symptoms and signs included visual disturbance (100%). Intracranial extension was observed in 8 patients. Endoscopic debridement and intravenous antifungals were given to all patients. Fatal aneurysmal rupture of the internal carotid artery occurred suddenly in two patients. The mortality rate was 100% for patients with acute fulminant invasive fungal sphenoiditis and 25% for patients with chronic invasive fungal sphenoiditis. In survival analysis, intracranial extension was evaluated as a statistically significant factor (P=0.027).ConclusionThe survival rate of chronic invasive fungal sphenoiditis was 75%. However, the prognosis of acute fulminant invasive fungal sphenoiditis was extremely poor despite the application of aggressive treatment, thus, a high index of suspicion should be required and new diagnostic markers need to be developed for early diagnosis of invasive fungal sinusitis of the sphenoid sinus.

The aim of this study was to define the predictive risk factors of vocal cord leukoplakia recurrence and malignant transformation. From January 2009 to December 2013, 63 patients with a diagnosis of vocal cord leukoplakia were identified based on their medical records. The 63 patients comprised 62 males and one female. This study showed that the extent of vocal cord leukoplakia resulted in statistically significant differences for both the recurrence of vocal cord leukoplakia and malignant transformation (p < 0.05). In addition, this study revealed that the degree of dysplasia resulted in statistically significant differences for both the recurrence of vocal cord leukoplakia and malignant transformation (p < 0.05). We suggest that the extent of lesion and the degree of dysplasia are predictive factors for the risk of recurrence and malignant transformation.

Although most patients had stage IV NPC, the TPF induction chemotherapy followed by CCRT showed promising activity with manageable toxicity. These results demonstrated the possibility of effective treatment with the aim of not only a palliative, but also a curative, approach to the treatment of advanced NPC.

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