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Biomedical subjects

A Schlottmann

Publications and source records attributed to A Schlottmann.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

[Sinonasal sarcoidosis].

BACKGROUND: The sinonasal system is rarely involved in the clinical picture of sarcoidosis. In the absence of pulmonary disease, sinonasal sarcoidosis is extremely rare. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Four patients with isolated sarcoidosis of the nose and the sinuses are reported; in one of these patients the histological evidence was found in the mucosa of the nasopharynx. RESULTS: None of these patients was found to have a pulmonary illness or any other extrapulmonary manifestation of sarcoidosis. Retrospectively, two patients fulfilled the more specific diagnostic criteria for sinonasal sarcoidosis reported in the literature. CONCLUSION: Sarcoidosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory sinonasal disease, especially if the mucosa shows signs of granulation, but it should also be considered when an incidental finding of rhinosinusitis is recorded. Rhinosurgical intervention seems to be an appropriate therapy in terms of improving the symptoms of the disease, despite the prolonged period of postoperative healing and the necessity for individual treatment with medication. Following histological confirmation of the diagnosis, adequate medication and further appropriate diagnostic procedures drawing on internal medicine are essential.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

[24-hour pH monitoring of the hypopharynx in 545 patients with special regard to a critical data evaluation].

BACKGROUND: Although a number of reports exist on 24-hour pH monitoring of the hypopharynx, no consensus has been reached about evaluation standards. In particular the influence of food and beverages is still different estimated. The parameters which are used to analyze the data of pharyngeal pH monitoring are not consistent. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 545 patients underwent esophagopharyngeal 24-hour pH monitoring in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the University of Rostock from February 1996 to December 2003. A score was calculated by excluding technical artefacts and pH drop caused by ingestion. RESULTS: Pharyngeal acid exposure was detected in 228 patients. The values of the reflux score ranged between 0 - 62,4 with a median value of zero. The left skewed score distribution shows a high abundance of patients with a minimum score and a limited amount of patients with high score values. The results were compared to reports of other authors. CONCLUSIONS: Evaluation standards are necessary for a reproducible analysis of pharyngeal pH monitoring data and for the comparison of different reports. A qualified score for the analysis and the comparison of pharyngeal pH monitoring data is suggested.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

[Prolonged healing process after endonasal nasal sinus surgery. Gastroesophageal reflux as a cause?].

BACKGROUND: The healing process after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) normally takes weeks to months under an intensive therapy regime. Occasionally, symptomatic failures and local problems occur despite extensive follow-up treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Over a 3-year period 900 patients underwent FESS in our department. Of these patients, 79 were found with no tendency toward improvement of symptoms and signs more than 3 weeks after the operation. Nasal obstruction, frontal headache, and postnasal drainage were evaluated to be the frequent postoperative complaints. Scarring of the middle meatal antrotomy and the ethmoid, inflammatory granulation, and early recurrence of polyps occurred as the local problems. Historical factors and clinical signs of gastroesophageal or laryngopharyngeal reflux were examined in this group. Afterwards, proton pump inhibitors were prescribed on a trial basis. RESULTS: Historical clues of reflux were reported by 30 patients only. However, clinical signs of a reflux were found in 66 cases. Rhinological symptoms and signs were improved in 60 patients following the application of proton pump inhibitors over 2 weeks. CONCLUSION: Our results support earlier experiences reported in the literature. Laryngopharyngeal reflux could be a factor altering the healing process after FESS.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

[Rupture of the round window--detection with fluorescence endoscopy].

Rupture of the round window membrane as a special cause of inner ear deafness is widely accepted after changing pressure levels, e.g. in diving. However, even without a barotrauma before, the spontaneous rupture of the round window membrane is suspected occasionally in patients with sudden hearing loss and/or vertigo and tinnitus. To carry through the tympanotomy is decided by ENT surgeons often in cases of progressive hearing loss despite infusion therapy. Perilymph fistulas have been detected relatively seldom, compared to the number of reported operations by several authors. However, covering the round niche with connective tissue leads to the improvement of symptoms sometimes even in cases without microscopical evidence of fistula. Within the last 3 years 14 patients suffering sudden hearing loss of one ear underwent tympanotomy in our department. Of these patients 8 reached restitution of the hearing ability. Especially 2 patients with sudden deafness caused by spontaneous rupture of the round window membrane are reported in the following article. Perilymph fistulas were detected in these cases by IV-application of fluorescein and fluorescence endoscopy of the middle ear. Both patients obtained a normal hearing curve within 1 week after surgical intervention and obliteration of the round niche.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

[Diagnosis and therapy of laryngitis gastrica].

We treated 64 patients with the diagnosis of laryngitis gastrica with Antra (Omeprazol) in doses of 10, 20, and 40 mg. To determine the success of the therapy, pH monitoring of the esophagus and hypopharynx, the voice status and measurement of vocal penetrating capacity were used. The results prove that a 20-mg dose of Antra is suitable for the therapy of laryngitis gastrica with a high rate of success. Problems which arose during the investigation, consequent changes of the original concept of the project as well as new aspects and questions which resulted from this are discussed with respect to further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[24 hour pH monitoring of the hypopharymx].

Monitoring of pH of the esophagus is a routine diagnostic procedure, whereas until now pH-monitoring of the hypopharynx has been used only for scientific research. In the present study a critical evaluation scale was used to record the results of 112 patients who underwent pH monitoring to determine possible reflux. Since high refluxes often remain unnoticed clinically, further study is required in certain cases. The extent of reflux in the esophagus may not represent pathological changes in the hypopharynx. In such cases 24-h pH monitoring of the hypopharynx can be a useful diagnostic procedure and may also help detect the pathogenesis of "gastric laryngitis".

Circadian Rhythm↗
PubMed1999

Seeing it happen and knowing how it works: how children understand the relation between perceptual causality and underlying mechanism.

Two experiments studied how 5- to 10-year-olds integrate perceptual causality with their knowledge of the underlying causal mechanism. Children learned about 2 devices by which a ball dropped into one end of a box made a bell ring at the other end, either immediately (contiguous mechanism) or after a delay (noncontiguous mechanism). When 1 ball was dropped first and a 2nd ball was dropped after a delay, and then the bell rang immediately, 5- and 7-year-olds chose the contiguous cause regardless of the mechanism inside. This was not due to lack of specific knowledge or problems with salient distractors. The results suggest a link between temporal contiguity and causality in children's understanding. Children also considered causal mechanism, in agreement with previous research, but they may not understand that mechanism is superordinate to perceptual cues for causality.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Do 9-month-olds perceive causation-at-a-distance?

Humans understand mechanical events to involve physical bodies interacting by contact, but intentional events involve agents that can also interact at a distance. We investigated infant sensitivity to causality in a simple event in which one agent appears to react to another without contact. Infants 9 months old were habituated to one of two events involving a computer-animated red square moving nonrigidly--like a caterpillar--towards a green square. In the 'reaction event', the green object moved in turn before the red one stopped, while in the 'pause event' the green object moved after the red one stopped. After habituation, each infant saw the habituation movie played in reverse. This test involved identical spatiotemporal changes for reaction and pause event, but the reversed reaction additionally involved a change in the causal roles. Infants dishabituated to reversal of the reaction but not the pause event, a result which suggests sensitivity to causation-at-a-distance. This ability could support development of social cognition and theory of mind.

Child Development↗
PubMed1996

[Sudden deafness and increased toxoplasmosis IgM titer].

BACKGROUND: Prenatal damage of the inner ear due to infection with toxoplasma gondii is documented. Nevertheless, there are only a few references about postnatal acquired toxoplasmosis as a cause of inner ear damage. PATIENTS: We report about a nine-year-old boy who suffered from unilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. RESULTS: Examinations did not show any other sign of a possible cause of hearing loss except for a very high toxoplasmosis titer of 1:102400. Besides our usual therapy regime for acute hearing loss, we treated the patient with pyrimethamine and sulphadiazine. Antibody titer decreased but the sensorineural hearing loss did not change substantially. Fortunately the patient lost the tinnitus. CONCLUSIONS: Acute Toxoplasmosis should be considered in the diagnostic process of sudden hearing loss, at least if there are appropriate clues in the medical history.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Belief revision in children: serial judgment in social cognition and decision-making domains.

Belief revision in 5- to 9-year-olds was studied with an information integration approach. In the social task, children judged niceness of story children, having heard about their good and bad deeds. In the decision task, of parallel structure, they judged what proportion of a group of turtles' catch of starfish was red or gold. In both tasks, 4-5 samples were presented successively, with children adjusting their judgment after each. All ages took sample composition into account, and judgments could be described by a serial integration model previously supported for adults. Recency effects were found as well and were stronger for younger children and in the social task. Further model analysis showed, however, that much of this recency was short-lived and that a stable opinion, to which early and later informers contributed more evenly, developed underneath. Overall, similar processes may underlie serial belief formation across the age range and across domains.

Attention↗
PubMed1993

An information integration approach to phenomenal causality.

Phenomenal causality was studied by using Michotte's launch event, in which successive motion of two objects evokes an immediate perception that the first motion causes the second. Information integration theory was used to address the complementary issues of invariant perceptual structure and individual differences in phenomenal causality. Three informational cues were varied conjointly: temporal and spatial contiguity of the two motions, and the ratio of their speeds. The dependent measure was a judgment of degree of causality or naturalness. The results showed that individual differences were related to these instruction conditions; the subjects showed five distinctive response patterns. Two were the modal patterns elicited by the instructions, and the others fell in between. The averaging model gave a good account of the data, with meaningful parameter estimates. Individual differences were localized in cue evaluation, whereas their integration into a unified judgment followed an invariant averaging rule. The results allow some reconciliation between Michotte and his critics.

Causality↗
PubMed1992

Evidence for a distinction between judged and perceived causality.

Two experiments investigated Michotte's launch event, in which successive motion of two objects appears to evoke an immediate perception that the first motion caused the second, as in a collision. Launching was embedded in event sequences where a third event (a colour change of the second object) was established as a competing predictor of the second motion, in an attempt to see whether subjects' learning of alternative predictive relationships would influence their causal impressions of launch events. In Experiment 1 subjects saw launch events in which temporal contiguity at the point of impact was varied so that an impact itself did not reliably predict when the second object would move. Half of these scenes, however, contained a colour change of the second object which did reliably predict when it would move. In accordance with Michotte's theory, subjects' ratings of the degree of perceived causality were not affected by the colour change. In Experiment 2 subjects saw scenes that contained launch events with or without temporal contiguity and a colour change. These were interspersed with events in which a colour change alone did or did not precede the second motion. Thus, movement of the second object was either contingent on or independent of the impact. Subjects repeatedly (a) rated perceived causality in single launch events and (b) judged the necessity of collisions for movement in the overall set of events. These responses dissociated, in that ratings of type (a) showed only a substantial contiguity effect, whereas judgements of type (b) showed both a contingency and a much smaller contiguity effect. These results appear to support a distinction between judged and perceived causality and are discussed with respect to Michotte's theory of direct causal perception.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Children's probability intuitions: understanding the expected value of complex gambles.

Two experiments used Information Integration Theory to study how children judge expected value of complex gambles in which alternative outcomes have different prizes. Six-year-olds, 9-year-olds and adults (N = 73 in Study 1, N = 28 in Study 2) saw chance games that involved shaking a marble in a bicolored tube. One prize was won if the marble stopped on blue, another if it stopped on yellow. Children judged how happy a puppet playing the game would be, with the prizes and probability of the blue and yellow outcomes varied factorially. Three main results appeared in both studies: First, participants in all age groups used the normatively prescribed multiplication rule for integrating probability and value of each individual outcome--a striking finding because multiplicative reasoning does not usually appear before 8 years of age in other domains. Second, all age groups based judgment of overall expected value meaningfully on both alternative outcomes, but there were individual differences--many participants deviated from the normative addition rule, showing risk seeking and risk averse patterns of judgment similar to the risk attitudes often found with adults. Third, even the youngest children took probability to be an abstract rather than physical property of the game. Overall, in contrast to the traditional view, the present results demonstrate functional understanding of probability and expected value in children as young as 5 or 6. These results contribute to the growing evidence on children's intuitive reasoning competence. This intuition can, on the one hand, support surprisingly precocious performance in young children, but it may also contribute to the biases evident in adults' judgment and decision.

Adolescent↗