Clinimetric evaluation of the Sinonasal Outcome Test-16

This study describes the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Sinonasal Outcome Test-16 (SNOT-16), a rhinosinusitis-specific health-related quality-of-life instrument, in the University of Washington Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery patient population. The SNOT-16 was completed by 47, 24, and 22 patients at weeks 0, 6, and 12, respectively. In addition, all 47 patients completed the Short-form 36-item Health Survey (SF-36) at week 0. Furthermore, an additional cohort of patients from the otology clinic who denied symptoms of rhinosinusitis or previous physician diagnoses of rhinosinusitis were asked to complete the SNOT-16. These scores were subsequently used to determine discriminant validity of the instrument. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.89, indicating a high degree of homogeneity of the test items. The SNOT-16 demonstrated excellent discriminant validity, and mean total SNOT-16 scores were significantly correlated with patient-reported overall health, overall bother, and 7 of the 8 SF-36 subscales. The standardized response mean calculated between weeks 0 and 6 was 0.69, indicating moderate sensitivity to change. We conclude that the SNOT-16 is a reliable, valid, and responsive instrument for measuring rhinosinusitis-specific health-related quality of life. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1999;121:702-7.)     

The Effect of Sodium Nitrite and Para-Aminopropriophenone Administration on Blood Methemoglobin Levels and Red Blood Cell Survival

1. The administration of sodium nitrite or para-aminopropriophenone(PAPP) to rats caused a rise in the methemoglobin level with maximum concentrations of methemoglobin occurring generally after one-half to one hour.The level of methemoglobinemia gradually declined thereafter. No significantdifference was observed between intragastric and subcutaneous administrationeither in the time-course or in the maximum level of methemoglobinemiaachieved. When adminisitered at separate sites by the subcutaneous route,sodium nitrite and para-aminopropriophenone exert an additive effect informing methemoglobin.

2. The concentration of PAPP in propylene glycol affected appreciably thecourse of methemoglobinemia. More concentrated solutions of PAPP causedgreater methemoglobin formation, even when the total amount given wasidentical.

3. The dosage response curve for PAPP and sodium nitrite in rats has beendefined.

4. Limited data have been obtained on the dosage response curves ofhuman subjects without hematologic disease after the administration ofsodium nitrite and PAPP.

5. No effect of red cell age on methemoglobin content of erythrocytes couldbe discerned using the method of differential osmotic hemolysis.

6. Stable concentrations of methemoglobin in the blood of human subjects could be achieved by chronic administration of drug every four hours.

7. The administration of 5 mgs. PAPP/Kg. body weight to rats resulted inaccelerated destruction of red cells. In contrast, the administration of propyleneglycol alone or the administration of 50 mgs. sodium nitrite/Kg. body weight,a quantity inducing tile same degree of methemoglobinemia, failed to accelerate red cell destruction.

Submitted on May 22, 1961 Accepted on July 18, 1961     

BOOKS

Diseases of the temporomandibular apparatus: a multidisciplinary approach, ed 2. Douglas H. Morgan, DDS; Leland R. House, MD; William P. Hall, MD; and S. James Vamvas,     

Carcinogenesis Bioassay of Allyl Isothiocyanate

Carcinogenesis Bioassay of Allyl Isothiocyanate. Dunnick, JuneK., Prejean, J. David, Haseman, Joseph; Thompson, Roger B.,Giles, Herschell D. and McConnell, Ernest E. (1982). Fundam.Appl. Toxicol. 2:114-120. Allyl isothiocyanate is a food additivepresent in many foods and a constituent of oil of mustard andmustard, and is generally considered safe for human consumption.This study was undertaken to determine the carcinogenic potentialof food grade allyl isothiocyanate. Allyl isothiocyanate wasadministered at 12 or 25 mg/kg in corn oil five times per weekby gavage to groups of 50 Fischer 344 rats and 50 B6C3F₁ miceof each sex for 103 weeks. Groups of 50 rats and 50 mice ofeach sex received corn oil alone and served as vehicle controls.Transitional-cell papillomas in the urinary bladder occurredin dosed male rats with a statistically significant trend (p< 0.05; controls, 0/49, 0%, low-dose, 2/49, 4%; high-dose,4/49, 8%). This tumor has not been observed among 568 untreatedmale control F344 rats at this laboratory. The prevalence oftransitional-cell papillomas in male vehicle control and untreatedcontrol rats in all laboratories in the NCI/NTP Bioassay Program²is only 1/994 (0.1%) and 5/3888 (0.1%) respectively. Administrationof allyl isothiocyanate also increased the prevalence of epithelialhyperplasia of the urinary bladder in male rats. Leukemia occurredin dosed male rats with a statistically significant positivetrend (p < 0.05; controls, 2/50,4%; low-dose, 6/50, 12%;high-dose, 8/50, 16%). However, because the incidence of leukemiain dosed male rats is similar to the mean historical controlrate at this laboratory, this increase was not considered tobe related to the administration of allyl isothiocyanate. Fibrosarcomasin the subcutaneous tissue occurred in female rats with a statisticallysignificant positive trend (p < 0.05; controls, 0/50, 0%;low-dose, 0/50, 0%; high-dose, 3/50, 6%), but the prevalencein the high-dose group was not significant when compared withthat in the control group. Thus, the evidence for allyl isothiocyanatecausing this tumor was considered equivocal. Evidence of anassociation between administration of allyl isothiocyanate andincreased tumor incidence was not seen in mice. However, anincreased prevalence of cytoplasmic vacuolization in the liverof dosed male mice was related to administration of allyl isothiocyanate(controls, 2/49,4%; low-dose, 8/49, 16%; high-dose, 13/50, 26%).In large doses, food grade allyl isothiocyanate produces a slightbut statistically significant increase in benign urinary bladdertumors (a rare neoplasm) in male F344 rats.