Search results

The purpose of this paper is to determine a tinnitus patient information pack’s (TPIP) usefulness in patients suffering with tinnitus with respect to their need for further tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) and in reducing TRT cancellations and non-attenders.

The paper consists of prospective case series in a district general hospital ENT out-patient department.

Patients with tinnitus-related symptoms constitute around 2 per cent of the ENT OPD workload at the West Middlesex Hospital, Chelsea & Westminster NHS Trust, London, i.e., 365 patients with intrusive tinnitus were referred by the ENT surgeon for TRT; 56/365 patients (15.3 per cent) failed to attend and 60 (16.4 per cent) cancelled their appointments. The following year, a TPIP was administered to all tinnitus sufferers, despite the affliction’s intrusiveness, and told to contact the audiology department if they felt that TRT was required, which resulted in 43/233 patients (18.5 per cent) over a one-year period self-referring for TRT; 2/233 (0.9 per cent) did not attend, and 1/233 (0.4 per cent) were cancelled appointments.

The patient-focussed TPIP acts as an initial therapy for the tinnitus sufferer by providing reassurance and self-therapy. This results in patients who are less likely to seek TRT, leading to more efficient clinical resource usage (p<0.01).

The data suggest that all tinnitus sufferers presenting to ENT clinics could be handed a TPIP and empowered with the decision whether they require further intervention.

Trans-oral robotic surgery (TORS) is increasingly employed in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) management. Objective outcomes are generally assessed through polysomnography. Pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be a useful adjunct in objective upper airway assessment, in particular the tongue base, providing useful information for surgical planning and outcome assessment, though care must be taken in patient positioning during surgery. The purpose of this paper is to identify pitfalls in this process and suggest a protocol for pre-operative MRI scanning in OSA.

This study is a four-patient prospective case-series and literature review. Outcome measures include pre- and post-operative volumetric changes in the pharynx as measured on MRI and apnoea–hypopnea indices (AHI), with cure being OSA resolution or a 50 per cent reduction in AHI.

All patients achieved AHI reduction and/or OSA cure following TORS, despite a decrease in pharyngeal volume measurements at the tongue base level. This study and others lacked standardisation in the MRI scanning protocol, which resulted in an inability to effectively compare pre- and post-operative scans. Pitfalls were related to variation in head/tongue position, soft-tissue marker usage and assessed area boundary limits.

TORS appears to be effective in OSA management. A new protocol for patient positioning and anatomical landmarks is suggested.

The findings could provide directly comparable data between scans and may allow correlation between tongue base volumetric changes and AHI through subsequent and historical study meta-analysis.

Paper aims to preparation of new acid disperse dyes based on thiadiazol derivatives and evaluation of their use as antimicrobial colorants in digital transfer-printing ink formulations for printing onto polyester fabric substrates.

New disperse dyes based on 1,3,4 - thiadiazol derivative (dyes 1–3) were prepared and evaluated by different analysis then formulated as colored materials in the ink formulations. The viscosity, dynamic surface tension and particle size distribution of the prepared inks were measured. The printed polyester fabric substrates were tested using a variety of tests, including light fastness, washing, alkali perspiration and Crock fastness, as well as depth of penetration. Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out at the Becke3-Lee-Yang-parr (B3LYP) level using the 6–311** basis set, and the biological activity of the prepared disperse dyes was investigated.

The obtained results of the physical of the prepared ink revealed that thiadiazol disperse ink is a promising ink formulation for polyester printing and agrees with the quality of the printed polyester fabric. The optimization geometry for molecular structures agreed with the analysis of these compounds. The HOMO/LUMO and energy gap of the studied system were discussed. The molecular docking analysis showed strong interaction with DNA Gyrase and demonstrated to us the high ability of these inks to act as antimicrobial agents.

The prepared inks containing the prepared thiadiazol disperse dye were high-performance and suitable for this type of printing technique, according to the results. The prepared inks resist the growth of microorganisms and thus increase the ink's storage stability.

The prepared disperse dyes based on 1,3,4 - thiadiazol derivative (dyes 1–3) can be a promising colorant in different applications, like some types of paint formulations and as a colorant in printing of different fabric substrates.