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Dimitrios Balatsouras

Publications and source records attributed to Dimitrios Balatsouras.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Normative values of olfactory function testing using the 'sniffin' sticks'.

OBJECTIVES: Quantitative olfactory assessment is often neglected in clinical practice, although olfactory loss can assist to diagnosis and may lead to significant morbidity. "Sniffin' Sticks" is a modern test of nasal chemosensory performance that is based on penlike odor-dispensing devices. It consists of three tests of olfactory function: odor threshold, odor discrimination, and odor identification. The results of this test may be presented as a composite threshold-discrimination-identification (TDI) score. The aim of this study was first to develop normative data of olfactory function for the Greek population using this test and second to relate olfactory performance to age, sex, and side examined. STUDY DESIGN: The authors conducted a prospective clinical trial. METHODS: A total of 93 healthy subjects were included in the study, 48 males and 45 females, mean age of 44.5 years (range, 6-84 years). RESULTS: A database of normal values for olfactory testing was established for the Greek population. Females performed better than males and older subjects performed less efficiently in all tests. We also found a right nostril advantage compared with the left. Additionally, scores obtained from bilateral presentation were similar with scores obtained from the nostril with the better performance. CONCLUSIONS: The "Sniffin' Sticks" can be used effectively in the Greek population to evaluate olfactory performance. Mean values of olfactory tests obtained were better in comparison with data from settings located in central and northern Europe.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Correlation of transiently evoked otoacoustic emission measures to auditory thresholds.

BACKGROUND: The presence of otoacoustic emissions is objective evidence of normal cochlear status. However, this test cannot be used to predict absolute auditory thresholds with accuracy. The criteria of normal otoacoustic emissions are not yet standardized and different measures of otoacoustic emissions have been used in various settings. In this study, the measures of reproducibility and otoacoustic emission amplitude are compared with regard to their correlation to pure-tone auditory (PTA) thresholds. MATERIAL/METHODS: One hundred and seventeen subjects with normal hearing were included in the study. Subjects with previous audiological, otolaryngologic, or vestibular disease were excluded. A complete ENT and audiological work-up was performed, including transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs). The equipment used for TEOAE testing was a DP Echoport ILO 292 Otodynamics analyzer connected to a portable personal computer. A full 260 low-noise samples were averaged. Correlation between PTA thresholds and either overall TEOAE amplitude or whole reproducibility was estimated using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Correlation between acoustic thresholds at 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 8000 Hz and either whole reproducibility or emission amplitude was highly significant for both measures. However, whole reproducibility was better correlated to acoustic thresholds at 250, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 and 8000 Hz than was emission amplitude, and was more accurately predicted from multiple regression equations. CONCLUSIONS: Reproducibility measures performed better than TEOAE amplitude levels in the prediction of auditory thresholds.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2003

Newborn hearing screening resources on the Internet.

Starting as a small military and academic network, the Internet has gradually evolved into a worldwide web, which connects most local networks as well as millions of personal computers from individual users. It is of interest to the medical practitioner, that ever more biomedical resources are becoming available on-line to assist in clinical medicine, research and education. In this paper a detailed list of the World Wide Web sites accessible through the Internet is provided, in which data about newborn hearing screening may be found. Web resources of medical equipment and suppliers and sites including otoacoustic emissions topics, are presented as well. This review is intended to present the wealth of the accessible information on the Internet and to promote further presentation on the web of any available hearing screening data from hospitals and Audiology Departments in which such programs are implemented.

Audiology↗
PubMed2002

Rhinolithiasis: an unusual cause of nasal obstruction.

Rhinoliths are foreign bodies of the nose, which may be encountered during the course of a routine examination. If undetected for a long time, they may grow large enough to cause symptoms of nasal obstruction, mimicking sinusitis. We report four patients with rhinoliths presenting with diverse clinical findings. Removal was easy and uneventful in all cases.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cochlear dysfunction in patients with mitochondrial myopathy.

The present study investigates cochlear function in a group of 11 patients suffering from mitochondrial myopathy with normal or near normal audiometric pure tone thresholds, in most of whom diagnosis was histologically confirmed. A complete ENT, neurologic and audiological work-up, including transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions, was performed in all patients in order to estimate cochlear function. Compared to control subjects, most patients had absent otoacoustic emissions (OAE) in spite of normal hearing, indicating cochlear dysfunction. These findings suggest that subclinical involvement of the cochlea is quite common in patients with mitochondrial myopathy. Damage of the cochlea can be explained on the grounds of its increased metabolic rate, resulting in failure of the stria vascularis and the outer hair cells. Otoacoustic emissions might provide a useful tool in the clinical work-up and follow-up of these patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of different 'pass-fail' criteria on the results of a newborn hearing screening program.

'Pass' criteria in newborn hearing screening programs are important, since they affect the operating characteristics of the programs. In the present study, we intended to compare the results of two screening procedures, using different 'pass' criteria, in two samples from the same pool of screened newborns. The subjects were divided into two study groups, screened consecutively during 6 months. Testing and all procedures were exactly the same in both groups, differing only in the 'pass' criteria. In the first group a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 3 dB in the frequency bands of 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 kHz was considered necessary for a 'pass', whereas a signal-to-noise ratio > or =6 dB was used in the second group, at the same frequency bands. During the period of the study, no other minor or major modification of the protocol was applied. The comparison of the screening predischarge results between the two groups showed no statistically significant differences in the 'pass-refer' results. Thus, it appears that the 3-dB signal-to-noise ratio is as valid as the 6-dB criterion, and it may be confidently used, especially in settings where rescreening is not available.

Evoked Potentials, Auditory↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Unexpected opening of a totally occluded septal branch originating from an atheromatous lesion successfully treated with angioplasty and stenting.

In about 50% of patients who undergo a percutaneous coronary intervention for an atheromatous lesion there is a side branch that is involved in or borders on the lesion. In such cases, the invasive cardiologist must make every attempt to rescue this branch. We present an unusual case of unexpected opening of a side branch of a coronary artery after balloon angioplasty and stenting of the main vessel. In a patient with subtotal occlusion of the anterior descending coronary artery, angioplasty and stenting caused the opening of a previously totally occluded septal branch that originated from within the treated atheromatous lesion. This case is an unusual example of atheromatous plaque shift that had an unexpectedly beneficial result.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗