In cooperation with the Foundation of Rhinology and Facial Plastic Surgery (RhiPla-Stiftung Ulm, Germany) the European Rhinologic Society offers financial support for clinical research in the field of rhinology. There is an increasing demand for evidence based results of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, in particular surgical interventions. It is for this reason that a new grant specifically aimed at high quality randomised controlled trials in all areas of rhinology including surgery of the nose, sinuses and anterior skull base is offered.

The support amounts to 10,000 euro in a 2-years-period.

This can be used for equipment, material or personal. A preliminary report is asked after 1 year, a final report after 2 years. An oral report must be presented at the bi-annual ERS-Congress.

Applicants should be ENT-specialists (age- limit 45 years) and members of ERS. Applications should be made by email and have to include:

-CV and scientific background including former publications and grants
-Affiliation and details of present members and disciplines of the research-group
-Letter of recommendation by head of department
-Title, concept and goals of the planned research-project and use of the grant

Please send applications with the documents by email to:
Margalith van Huiden, secretary of the ERS
M.B.vanhuiden@amc.uva.nl

Deadline: November 1, 2011

Yearly there are 5 courses for which there is a fellowship available for trainees from Eastern Europe:

Advanced Course in Septorhinoplasty

13th International Course on Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery of the Nose and Face “Around the Nose”

44rd International Workshop on Functional and Endoscopic Sinus Techniques with Advanced Seminar

Endoscopic approach to Rhinosinusitis in Sinonasal Disease

19th Rhinoplasty Course (International Course in Modern Rhinoplasty Techniques)

Fellowships are awarded for 1200 Euro. Depending on the registration costs, an individual financial effort is expected of the fellowship winner.
Candidates should fill in the enclosed application form before January 1st 2012 for all five courses. Your application will be approved.

For a regular membership, do not use the Application Form Fellowships!
Go to Organisation => Membership

BACKGROUND: A symptom-based questionnaire (the ‘Lac-Q’ questionnaire) for adult patients undergoing lacrimal drainage surgery was developed. The questionnaire yields a numerical score that can be used to assess severity of symptoms.
METHODOLOGY In this study, the questionnaire was evaluated in 17 consecutive patients undergoing 22 dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) procedures. The questionnaire was administered pre- and postoperatively. The pathology encountered at operation was recorded. The success of surgery was judged by patient satisfaction, endoscopic evaluation of DCR stomal patency, and objective lacrimal drainage testing using the functional endoscopic dye test (FEDT). In a further group of 12 pre-operative cases, the questionnaire was repeated after 4-6 weeks but before surgery, to assess test-retest reliability in the absence of clinical change.
RESULTS: The Lac-Q questionnaire was based on two broad categories of eye-specific scores and social impact scores. A numerical score, the ‘Lac-Q’ score, was generated pre- and postoperatively. When compared to pre-operative scores, the reduction in Lac-Q scores postoperatively was significant. Postoperative scores also correlated well with objective lacrimal drainage testing using the FEDT. Analysis of symptom scores shows that the questionnaire was reliable with regard to content validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and responsiveness to clinical change.
CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the Lac-Q questionnaire is a useful clinical tool to evaluate outcomes after adult lacrimal surgery.

INTRODUCTION: The Lund-MacKay score (LMS) correlates poorly with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) symptom severity. Patients with CRS also tend to report relatively lower levels of mental wellbeing. Our purpose was to determine if there is a correlation between socio-economic status (SES) and CRS severity as measured by the LMS, and if there is an association between depression symptoms and the severity of CRS using the LMS.
METHODS: A total of 127 patients diagnosed with CRS were prospectively recruited and assessed with a sinonasal assessment questionnaire (SNAQ-11), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression. Each patient’s education level, family income, and smoking behavior were determined. The sinus CT scan was scored using the LMS. The data were analyzed using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression techniques.
RESULTS: Having a highschool education or less was associated with higher SNAQ-11 scores while being a daily smoker was associated with higher SNAQ-11 scores. There was no significant relationship between educational attainment, financial income or daily smoking and sinus CT score. Including depression scores in the SNAQ-11, regression equations indicated a significant and positive relationship between depression severity and SNAQ-11 score. CRS with polyps was negatively associated with SNAQ-11 scores but, as expected, it was positively associated with a higher LMS.
CONCLUSIONS: Lower SES status is a negative modifying factor of subjective CRS severity but it has no impact on the LMS. Depression symptoms are associated with increased subjective CRS severity but they have no effect on the LMS. How SES and depression impact on a patient’s self-reported disease severity requires further study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate symmetry of the lip and nose in patients with CUCLP after primary cheiloseptoplasty (Afroze technique), in comparison to non-cleft controls.
METHODOLOGY: In this prospective study, forty-four patients with operated non-syndromic CUCLP were included. The control group consisted of 44 volunteers without cleft defects of approximately the same age and sex. Primary septoplasty was performed in conjunction with the cleft lip (CL) repair using the Afroze incision. 3D facial images were acquired using 3D stereophotogrammetry. After a 3D cephalometric analysis of the lip and nose was performed in both groups, linear and volumetric data were acquired. Lip and nose symmetry were calculated and compared using Student’s t-tests as well as the Chi square test.
RESULTS: For all measurements, the control group was up to 36% closer to perfect symmetry compared to the CUCLP group after primary surgery. This difference was statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS: After primary cheiloseptoplasty according to the Afroze technique in patients with CUCLP, asymmetry in the nose and lip area still exists as compared to non-cleft controls. Although non-cleft individuals also show some degree of asymmetry, the results of this study stress the difficulty in obtaining near normal symmetrical relations.

BACKGROUND: Weight loss is considered an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in overweight patients. Some patients, however, do not benefit from weight loss. It has been postulated that nasal obstruction may act as an independent risk factor for OSA.
OBJECTIVE: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands The aim of our study was to evaluate whether impaired nasal airflow might explain the missing effect of weight reduction on OSA.
METHODOLOGY: Fifty-two overweight adult patients with mild OSA were recruited. After the 12-month lifestyle intervention, all patients who achieved ≥ 5% weight loss were divided into two groups based on whether they still had OSA or not. Change in nasal resistance measured by rhinomanometer and AHI were the main outcome variables.
RESULTS: A total of 26/52 patients achieved 5% weight reduction. Of those 26 patients, 16 were objectively cured from OSA and 10 patients did not benefit from weight loss. Nasal resistance reduced significantly more in patients who had been cured from OSA. Smoking had a negative impact on both nasal resistance and improvement of AHI.
CONCLUSIONS: Impaired nasal breathing and smoking may prevent the beneficial effects of weight reduction in the treatment of OSA.

BACKGROUND: Recently, solitary chemosensory cells have been described in the respiratory and vomeronasal epithelium of the rodent nose. Expressing G-protein coupled receptors for sweet, umami and bitter taste transduction, these cells are thought to mediate trigeminal reflexes upon stimulation with chemical irritants. The present study analyzes human nasal mucosa for the presence of solitary chemosensory cells.
METHODOLOGY: In human tissue samples from respiratory mucosa and the vomeronasal organ, gene expression of taste receptors families was studied in five patients using the Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST Array and immunohistochemistry with specific antibodies.
RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry revealed that solitary chemosensory cells expressing G-protein coupled receptors for sweet, umami and bitter taste transduction are present in the human nose. cDNA microarray analysis congruently showed that cells expressing bitter taste receptors accumulate in the vomeronasal organ compared to the respiratory epithelium. CONCLUSIONS: Solitary chemosensory cells expressing taste receptors are also present in the human nose. Since they are thought to mediate trigeminal reflexes, their role in the pathogenesis of nasal hyperreagibility should be elucidated in further studies.