Drainage of retro-parapharyngeal abscess: an additional indication for endoscopic sinus surgery

Deep neck abscesses are life-threatening conditions, in early stages preferably treated by intravenous antibiotic therapy; in advanced stages, surgical drainage is mandatory. We report two cases of retro-parapharyngeal abscess with prevalent retronasopharyngeal extension in two men aged 60 and 82, both of whom underwent transnasal endoscopic drainage. The main surgical steps were incision of the posterior pharyngeal mucosal wall, widening of the incision, drainage of purulent collection and careful dissection and removal of the necrotic tissue. The first patient, with an abscess associated with chronic otitis media and presenting hypoglossal nerve palsy, quickly recovered from pharyngodinia, otalgia and trismus. Twenty-six months after surgery, he is symptom-free, with hemitongue atrophy due to denervation as the only residual sign. The second patient, affected by skull base osteomyelitis secondary to malignant external otitis, after a first successful drainage, underwent a second endoscopic procedure for the reoccurrence of an abscess in the contralateral retroparapharyngeal space. Twelve months after the first surgery, the patient reported an improvement of symptoms, except for persistent dysphonia related to vagal nerve palsy. At follow-up MR, another abscess was detected in the left retro-parapharyngeal space. In selected cases of abscess, transnasal endoscopic drainage may be an effective alternative to external approaches. Minimal morbidity, the absence of cervical or palatal scars and a short hospitalization time can be considered as important advantages in comparison to external approaches. Patients with abscess secondary to skull base osteomyelitis require close imaging surveillance because of the difficulty of definitive control of the disease.     

Juvenile chronic arthritis and imaging: comparison of different techniques

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare imaging findings obtained with different techniques in a patient with juvenile chronic arthritis. METHODS: The patient was a 12 years-old child with a 7-months history of arthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the right foot. The involved area was explored with the following imaging techniques: X-ray, technetium bone scintigraphy, magnetic resonance, gray-scale and power-Doppler ultrasonography. RESULTS: No abnormalities were detected with conventional X-ray. Scintigraphy showed an abnormal uptake of the radionuclide in the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the right foot. Magnetic resonance without contrast revealed clearly evident features of an active process of synovitis. Ultrasonography was able to detect the presence of joint effusion, synovial proliferation, bone erosion of the first metatarsal head. Power-Doppler examination revealed evident signs of soft tissue hyperaemia. CONCLUSIONS: Comparative assessment of different imaging techniques in this patient with recent-onset juvenile chronic arthritis indicates that high resolution ultrasonography provides the most detailed evaluation of the joint involvement with respect to the other imaging techniques.     

Tooth loss in complying and non-complying periodontitis patients with different periodontal risk levels during supportive periodontal care

Clinical Oral Investigations - To evaluate yearly tooth loss rate (TLR) in periodontitis patients with different periodontal risk levels who had complied or not complied with supportive periodontal...     

Single flap approach with or without enamel matrix derivative in the treatment of severe supraosseous defects: a retrospective study

Clinical Oral Investigations - To comparatively evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the single flap approach (SFA) with and without enamel matrix derivative (EMD) in the treatment of...     

Phase II study of sorafenib in patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma

The safety and activity of the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib were investigated in patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoproliferative disorders who received sorafenib (400 mg) twice daily until disease progression or appearance of significant clinical toxicity. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR). Biomarkers of sorafenib activity were analysed at baseline and during treatment. Thirty patients (median age, 61 years; range, 18-74) received a median of 4 months of therapy. Grade 3-4 toxicities included hand/foot skin reactions (20%), infections (12%), neutropenia (20%) and thrombocytopenia (14%). Two patients achieved complete remission (CR), and two achieved partial remission (PR) for an ORR of 13%. Stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD) was observed in 15 (50%) and 11 patients (37%), respectively. The median overall survival (OS) for all patients was 16 months. For patients who achieved CR, PR and SD, the median time to progression and OS was 5 and 24 months, respectively. Compared with patients with PD, responsive patients had significantly higher baseline levels of extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation and autophagy and presented a significant reduction of these parameters after 1 month of therapy. Sorafenib was well tolerated and had a clinical activity that warrants development of combination regimens.