Our results indicate that the percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy technique performed with the Ciaglia Introducer Set is effective, safe and superior to conventional surgical tracheostomy as immediate complications as well as complications with the tracheostomy tube in situ are fewer and of less severity.
To assess any possible beneficial effect from zinc on tinnitus we performed a placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind investigation. Forty-eight patients with tinnitus were randomized to either placebo or the administration of zinc sulfate as sustained-release tablets of 22 mg Zn++ (Zinklet). The tablets were administered three times daily for 8 weeks. Every week the patients stated the severity of tinnitus on a number scale from 0 to 10. The levels of zinc and albumin in serum were determined both before and after treatment. Of 48 patients with tinnitus, hypozincemia was found in only one patient. The zinc level increased significantly in the patients treated with zinc. We could not demonstrate any beneficial effect from zinc on tinnitus. One of the essential reasons for this finding could be that the zinc levels in serum were in the normal range previous to treatment.
Of 31 patients treated for carcinoma of the external auditory canal and/or middle ear, 19 patients (61%) presented with a long-term history of otitis. Thirteen patients (42%) had cranial nerve involvement. The patients were treated by surgery, radiotherapy, or a combined treatment of surgery and radiotherapy. The overall 5-year crude survival rate was 29%. Irrespective of the final outcome, 19 patients (61%) obtained pain relief after initial treatment. Three of the patients with facial nerve involvement survived 5 years after the initial treatment. Postmortem examinations of ten patients revealed distant metastases in four patients.
Reports of tracheopathia osteoplastica localized to the larynx are few. Such a rare case is reported in a 66-year-old mald with life-long symptoms resulting in tracheotomy and resection of some of the osteoplastic tissue. A review of the disease and a discussion about actiology are described.
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