\s=b\This study examines the temporal pattern of hair cell loss in the chick basilar papilla following ten days of gentamicin administration in hatchling chicks. Chicks were subsequently killed at ages 11, 18, 25, and 32 days. The basilar papillae were embedded in plastic and serially sectioned for light microscopic analysis. Hair cell counts were obtained at 100-\g=m\m intervals throughout the length of the papilla. Significant hair cell loss was documented basally in the 11-day-old chicks, and spread apically over time to maximal loss in the 18-day-old animals. Relative to the control chicks, there was a 36% hair cell loss in these animals. Interestingly, there appears to be a progressive partial recovery of the normal hair cell counts in the 25-and 32-day-old animals.It has been well established that therapy with aminoglycosides can cause cochlear damage. Several stud-

Floseal hemostatic sealant is a better tolerated, more effective, safe, and easy alternative to nasal packing in patients presenting with acute anterior epistaxis. Future studies may wish to evaluate Floseal's use in posterior epistaxis.

Thyroglossal duct cysts (TDCs) are common congenital abnormalities of thyroid development. Carcinoma occurs rarely in patients with TDCs. In a large case series drawn from medical records at a health maintenance organization from 1971 through 1995, 14 cases of carcinoma in a TDC were found. This represents the largest known reported case series to date. Demographics, diagnosis, and treatment methods are reviewed. We recommend the Sistrunk operation and evaluation of the thyroid gland and neck for potential abnormality that would necessitate thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection. Long-term follow-up incorporating clinical examination is mandatory.

Floseal matrix hemostatic sealant is a safe, efficacious, easy, and cost-effective technique for obtaining hemostasis in children undergoing adenoidectomy. Limitations of the study include the fact that it is nonblinded, which does allow for some bias in the subjective data recorded. However, utilizing 4 different operating surgeons, 3 of whom were not affiliated with the study, minimized this. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY: This study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of a novel hemostatic sealant in children undergoing adenoidectomy. Floseal matrix hemostatic sealant can be used as a first-line hemostatic agent, and it is a good tool in the armamentarium of otolaryngologists who encounter significant bleeding following adenoidectomy.

The aim of the study is to define the utility of ultrasound (US) in differentiating benign from malignant parotid tumors as well as pleomorphic adenomas (PA) from monomorphic adenoma (MA). Seventy-two consecutive parotid gland tumors were analysed with high-resolution ultrasonography (12 MHz) with color Doppler imagining. The histopathological diagnosis was confirmed after parotidectomy for each lesion. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) for the US were established. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to determine the predictive values of echogenicity, heterogeneity, and vascularity on color Doppler. Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated for each parameter considered. The analysed material included 27 MA, 26 PA, 1 basal cell adenoma, 8 inflammatory conditions, and 10 malignant neoplasms. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of US in differentiation of malignant from benign lesions in the parotid gland were 60, 95.2, and 90.3%, respectively. The predictive values were: PPV 66.8% and NPV 93.6%. Differentiating diagnoses between PA and MA with US resulted in a sensitivity of 61.5%, specificity of 81.5%, and accuracy of 73.1%. The predictive values were: PPV 50% and NPV 68.8%, respectively. For distinguishing malignant from benign tumors, the highest AUC values noted were for heterogeneity and vascularization (0.8 and 0.743, respectively). The AUC values were the highest for hypoechogenicity and vascularization in separating PA from MA (0.718 and 0.685, respectively).