Objectives: A nationwide epidemiological survey involving 23 hospitals in Japan was conducted and the predictive values of demographic data were examined statistically. Methods: A total of 642 patients from 23 hospitals, including 20 university hospitals, in Japan were enrolled in the study. Age ranged from 8 to 87 years, and all were diagnosed with acute low-tone sensorineural hearing loss (ALHL) between 1994 and 2016. Demographic data for the patients, such as symptoms, gender, mean age, and distribution of ALHL grading, were collected and analyzed in relation to prognosis using Student's t-test, v 2 test and logistic regression. Results: Female gender (p < .013), younger age (p < .001), low-grade hearing loss (p < .001), and shorter interval between onset and initial visit (p < .004) were significantly predictive of a good prognosis. The prognosis for definite ALHL was significantly better than that for probable ALHL (p < .007). Conclusions: The severity of initial hearing loss, interval between onset and initial visit and age were important prognostic indicators for ALHL, while female gender was an important prognostic indicator peculiar to ALHL. ARTICLE HISTORY

Our results suggest that patients who underwent combined treatment had better prognoses. However, we found that chemotherapy had no additional survival benefits.

By γ-irradiation of sulfur dioxide in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran at −196 °C, blue glassy solution was obtained, although the monomer radical anion of sulfur dioxide was colorless. The absorption spectrum of the blue species was identical with that of the stable radical anion produced by the amalgam reduction of sulfur dioxide, which was attributed to the dimer or trimer radical anion.

No abstract

Actinomycosis is an infrequent infectious disease caused by Actinomyces species. Actinomycoses in the nasopharynx are extremely rare, especially in the Rosenmüller’s fossa. This report presents a case of actinomycosis in the Rosenmüller’s fossa. A 75-year-old woman presented with a 6-month history of bloody sputum. A grayish-white caseous tissue was found in the right Rosenmüller’s fossa after retracting the torus tubarius. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a well-defined lesion with low-signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images; small low-signal areas were interspersed inside. The lesion was removed under an endoscope. Histopathological examination revealed eosinophilic, club-shaped structures surrounding a hematoxylophilic center, leading to the diagnosis of actinomycosis. The symptoms improved after 3 months of amoxicillin administration but recurred quickly. After 6 months of amoxicillin administration, the bloody sputum disappeared, and local and imaging findings were normal.