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The society was founded in 1963 by Van Dishoeck in Leiden (The Netherlands).
It provides a forum for the exchange of experience among specialists, interested in rhinology, allergology, related facial plastic surgery and other fields. This goal is achieved by biannual congresses, held in cooperation with the International Symposium on Infection and Allergy of the Nose (ISIAN), by accredited courses, fellowships and awards.
ERS gives access to the highest professional standards and contributes to the development of international consensus reports.
The journal 'Rhinology' is the official journal of the society and is included in the membership
As an ERS-member you:
- will receive the journal 'Rhinology' included in your membership fee. The peer-reviewed articles will keep your knowledge in rhinology up to date and will inform you about all major activities of the society. You will also get access to the online version.
- will benefit a 10% reduction in registration fee for courses under auspices of ERS !!!!
- no membership fee and free access to online version of Rhinology for junior members
- will benefit from reduced fee for senior members
- can apply for fellowships for participation at accredited courses.
- can apply for awards for basic and clinical research.
- will also be a member of the International Rhinologic Society.
ERS membership incl. Rhinology journal online = 133 Euro(incl -VAT + costs)
In addition to individual membership of ERS, it is possible to obtain a block membership for your respective national Rhinology Society. This allows the national society to obtain a reduced annual subscription rate for ERS and includes electronic access to the journal as well as all the advantages of ERS membership such as a 10% discount on fees for all affiliated conferences and courses and the possibility to apply for a wide range of Fellowships and prizes. Over the last 5 years a number of societies have taken advantage of this offer including the Rhinology Societies of Australia, Denmark, Greece, United Kingdom and most recently the Pan-Arab Rhinology Society. If you would like further information on how you can do this, please contact Prof V. J Lund, General Secretary on v.lund@ucl.ac.uk.
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Professor Wolfgang Draf, M.D.
November 29, 1940 – October 24, 2011
It is with sadness and deep regret that we mourn the loss of a pioneer in our
speciality, a great teacher, a tireless supporter of young clinicians and scientists, an exceptional
personality with a great sense of humour – and above all, a very close and dear friend
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N. Mistry - T.J. Rockley - T. Reynolds - C. Hopkins
Development and validation of a symptom questionnaire for recording outcomes in adult lacrimal surgery
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.
Rhinology2011 5; 49(5): 538-545.
S.J. Kilty - J.T. McDonald - S. Johnson - D. Al-Mutairi
Socioeconomic status: a disease modifier of chronic rhinosinusitis?
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.
Rhinology2011 5; 49(5): 533-537.
V. Kirtsreesakul - K. Wongsritrang - S. Ruttanaphol
Clinical efficacy of a short course of systemic steroids in nasal polyposis
BACKGROUND: Although oral steroids are widely used for the treatment of nasal polyposis, a subset of patients shows an unfavorable therapeutic outcome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a short course of oral prednisolone in nasal polyposis and to evaluate which, if any, clinical variables can predict treatment outcome in these patients.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL: Using a 3:2 randomization ratio, 63 patients with nasal polyposis received 50 mg of prednisolone and 46 patients received placebo daily for 14 days. Clinical response was evaluated by total nasal symptoms score (TNSS), peak expiratory flow index (PEFI) and total nasal polyps score (TNPS). Potential predictor variables were assessed by clinical history, nasal endoscopy, allergy skin test and sinus radiography.
RESULTS: The prednisolone-treated group showed significantly greater improvements in all nasal symptoms, nasal flow and polyp size than the placebo-treated group (p < 0.001, all). In the prednisolone-treated group, patients with grade 3 polyps and positive nasal endoscopy showed significantly less improvement in TNSS, PEFI and TNPS than patients with grades 1-2 size and with negative nasal endoscopy.
CONCLUSIONS: A short course of oral steroids showed good clinical efficacy in the treatment of nasal polyposis, however, polyps size grade 3 and/or positive nasal endoscopy predispose to a poorer treatment outcome.
Rhinology2011 5; 49(5): 525-532.
E. Vis - H. van den Berge
Treatment of epistaxis without the use of nasal packing, a patient study
We questioned how many patients with epistaxis can be treated by cautery without the use of nasal packing, as cautery is more effective and efficient. To investigate this, we performed a retrospective study of a cohort of 418 patients with epistaxis who presented to one ENT consultant at the ENT department of Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden (the Netherlands) between 1997 and 2007. Main outcomes were the treatment modality (cautery and/or nasal packing), recurrence of epistaxis and need for hospitalization. In 98% of all patients the bleeding site could be found and treated by cautery. The incidence of recurrent bleeding was 6%. Two percent of all patients had to be admitted to the hospital. This is considerably lower compared with recurrence rates and hospitalization after treatment by nasal packing known from the literature. Therefore we concluded that nearly all patients can be effectively treated by cautery with a low recurrence rate. In addition, this method of treatment is very cost effective. Because cautery requires skill and appropriate facilities, we recommend special attention for this in ENT training programs.
Rhinology2011 5; 49(5): 600-604.
J.P. Diaz-Molina - J.L. Llorente - B. Vivanco - P. Martínez-Camblor - M. Florentino-Fresno - J. Pérez-Escuredo - C. Álvarez-Marcos - M.A. Hermsen
Wnt-pathway activation in intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma
BACKGROUND: Intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma (ITAC) is an epithelial cancer of the sinonasal sinuses that shows histological similarity to colorectal cancer (CRC) and share chronic inflammation as a possible etiological factor. The Wnt-pathway is one of the most important tumourigenic pathways in CRC. The aim of this study was to investigate if the Wnt-pathway is activated in ITAC.
METHODOLOGY: Protein expression profiles of E-cadherin, β-catenin, c-myc and cyclin D1 were analysed by immunohistochemistry in 83 samples of ITAC, organized into tissue microarray blocks.
RESULTS: Nuclear β-catenin expression was observed in 31% of the cases and was twice as frequent in papillary/colonic ITAC compared to solid/mucinous subtypes. Loss of membranous β-catenin staining occurred in 24% and loss of membranous E-cadherin in 6% of the cases and this was more prominent in mucinous types. Strong c-myc and cyclin D1 expression was observed in 30% and 4% of the cases, respectively. Nuclear β-catenin expression was significantly related to poor clinical outcome, independent from established factors as tumour stage and histological type.
CONCLUSION: The presence of nuclear β-catenin in 31% of patients with ITACs indicated that in a subset of patients, the Wnt-pathway is active and conveys a worse prognosis.
Rhinology2011 5; 49(5): 593-599.