Biomedical subjects

M Sorri

Publications and source records attributed to M Sorri.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

ENG findings of shunt-treated hydrocephalus in children.

Thirty-eight hydrocephalic children (mean age 11.5 years; range 5.1-17.9) were examined on average 7.9 years after initial shunting. The etiology of the hydrocephalus was divided into 5 groups: perinatal intraventricular hemorrhage 14, congenital obstructive hydrocephalus 14, central nervous system infections 4, intracranial cysts 3, and intracranial anomalies 3 children. Electronystagmographic (ENG) examination included recording of spontaneous and positional nystagmus, the pendular eye tracking test, saccadic eye movements, optokinetic and caloric reactions. Only 5 children (13%) had a normal ENG. Thirty-one children (82%) had ENG pathology of the central type and 12 (44%) of the 27 successfully studied had pathological caloric reactions. Ten children (26%) had a combination of both central and vestibular pathology. There was no statistical difference between the boys and the girls or between different etiological groups. The high prevalence of vestibular pathology among these hydrocephalic children may be relevant to their impaired motor performance, because only 7 (18%) of the children studied exhibited normal motor performance in the neurological tests.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Left-right asymmetries in hearing threshold levels in three age groups of a random population.

The average asymmetry between the hearing threshold levels in the left and right ears was analyzed in a random population (n = 3487) representing a normal population. Males and females of age groups 5-10 years, 15-50 years and over 50 years were analyzed separately. A significant average inferiority of the hearing in the left ear was found at high frequencies, especially at 3-6 kHz, among adult males and females but not among children. A slight but statistically significant average superiority of the left ear at low frequencies was noted in all age groups. At corresponding hearing threshold levels at 4 kHz, the average inferiority of the left ear in the male population was significantly greater among subjects aged 15-50 years than among older subjects. In conclusion, the inferiority of hearing in the left ear at 4 kHz seems to be associated more with noise damage than with presbyacusis. The average interaural difference at 4 kHz was significantly more marked among subjects aged 15-50 years than among older subjects when analyzed at the corresponding threshold levels. These findings indicate a pathophysiological difference between noise damage and presbyacusis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Effect of positioning of the feet in posturography.

Static posturography has been developed from a basic research test to a widely used clinical tool for evaluating dizzy patients. Before any actual standardization can be achieved, however, several aspects of the test situations have to be evaluated, including the position of the feet. The quantitative significance of the standing position in posturographic measurements was evaluated with healthy volunteers studied under visual and nonvisual conditions, using 4 foot positions: heels together with the toes 30 degrees apart or at an angle of the volunteer's own choice, and the feet parallel and either 0 or 10 cm apart were studied separately. Each measurement was characterized in terms of 5 parameters (body sway velocity, vibration-induced shift of centre of force in anteroposterior and lateral directions, and maximum displacement of centre of force in the same directions). Body sway velocities were smallest when the feet were parallel and 10 cm apart. Although the position chosen by the subject was usually more stable than that with the toes 30 degrees apart, the difference was nonsignificant. According to our results, the standing position is not crucial in posturographic measurements provided that the distance between the heels is determined, and the subject can just as well choose the angle between the feet if the heels are kept together.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Noise-induced low- and high-frequency hearing losses in Finnish conscripts.

Thirty-nine otologically healthy military conscripts were examined at the beginning and at the end of their 1-year service. On entry, they all showed normal findings during clinical otolaryngological examinations. The test battery included both conventional (0.25-8 kHz) and high-frequency "electric bone-conduction" (0.5-20 kHz) audiometry (EBC). The median pure-tone right ear thresholds at the end of service were 5 dB worse over the frequency range of 2-8 kHz compared with the thresholds at the beginning of the service. The difference was statistically highly significant (p = 0.00035). The median left ear pure-tone thresholds at frequencies of 0.25, 2, and 8 kHz were 5 dB worse at the end of the service compared to the thresholds at the beginning of the service. However, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.23). The median curves for the high-frequency (EBC) thresholds measured after the service showed worse thresholds over the whole frequency range compared to the median curves measured before the service. The greatest difference was seen in the highest frequencies (15-17 kHz) in both ears. The differences were statistically significant in both ears (p = 0.03 in the right ears; p = 0.01 in the left ears) when threshold values over the whole frequency range were analyzed. Since the otolaryngological history of these conscripts was uneventful during their service, the hearing deteriorations were considered to be caused by shooting practice.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Secretory otitis media and high-frequency hearing loss.

31 children (mean age 13 years; range 8.5-17.2) who had been tympanostomy treated for SOM during the years 1977-1980 were invited for follow-up examination. 29 normal age peers were enrolled as controls. The test battery included clinical pneumotoscopical examination and conventional pure-tone audiometry as well as air-conduction and electric bone-conduction high-frequency audiometry. High-frequency hearing losses (6-18 kHz) were found as sequels of SOM. The median threshold difference between the SOM group and the controls varied from 0 to 10 dB depending on the frequency. The hearing losses were considered to be of the conductive type, and probably related to changes in the tympanic membrane and the middle ear caused by SOM. On the other hand, we found also sensorineural hearing losses suggesting lesion at the cochlear level.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

What is an 'otitis-prone' child?

The present report concerns a random sample of 2512 children monitored for acute otitis media up to the age of two years. The criteria given by previous surveys classified from 1.8 to 41.2% of the population as 'otitis-prone', at a mean age varying between 13.4 and 18.8 months. A criterion of at least 4 episodes of acute otitis media during the next 9 months with a 30-day borderline between two distinct episodes yielded 273 children (10.8% of the population) with an acceptable mean age of 15 months. Early onset of acute otitis media was only a weak predictor of susceptibility in either the individual child or the whole population, the sensitivity levels and predictive values being too low for accurate prediction.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1991

The occurrence of acute otitis media in infants. A life-table analysis.

A random sample of 2512 children were monitored to an average age of two years to determine the occurrence of acute otitis media (AOM). A life-table methodology was employed in the analysis. The cumulative incidence of the first episode of AOM up to 12 months of age was 42.4% (95% confidence interval 40.4-44.4) and the corresponding figure up to 24 months of age was 71.0% (68.9-73.1). The incidence rate for all acute otitis media episodes was 0.93 episodes per child per year (0.90-0.96) during the first 24 months of life increasing in the spring and autumn. The risk of experiencing an episode of acute otitis media increased at the age of 6-12 months and decreased slowly during the second year of life. The results confirm the frequent nature of acute otitis media and stress the necessity for clear, consistent definition of the criteria for acute otitis media in epidemiological research.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1991

Outcome after childhood encephalitis.

The prognosis for 73 children treated for encephalitis between 1973 and 1983 was evaluated. 70 children participated in a follow-up examination 2.4 to 12.9 years after the acute phase of the disease. The 61 school-aged children had lower performance and full-scale IQs than their randomly selected, age- and sex-matched controls. Visual acuity was more often reduced, and they more often had focal slowing on EEG and electronystagmogram abnormalities. Clinically, these differences were not significant. Encephalitis with a poor prognosis occurred seldom, the incidence being 3.5 cases per one million children at risk annually. These results show that the prognosis for childhood encephalitis is much better than anticipated on the basis of experience mainly with herpes simplex virus encephalitis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Hearing asymmetry among occupationally noise-exposed men and women under 60 years of age.

Interaural asymmetry of hearing thresholds at 4 kHz was analysed in four populations exposed to occupational noise. The left ear was found to be on average significantly worse than the right ear, among both the male and female subjects. In the male population the left ear was twice as often the worse ear as the right one. In the female population the corresponding ratio was 1.5. The average inferiority of the left ear increased as a function of the hearing threshold level. Among subjects with abundant shooting (reindeer herders) the average inferiority of the left ear was close to the average of all male subjects. Interaural difference increased as a function of the hearing threshold level, both among subjects with the left ear and subjects with the right ear being the worse one. In the male population the interaural difference was significantly greater in the former than in the latter group of subjects.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Hearing asymmetry among left-handed and right-handed persons in a random population.

The possible effect of handedness on hearing threshold asymmetry was analysed in a large random population representing a normal population. The left ear was on an average slightly but significantly poorer than the right ear at high frequencies, especially at 4 kHz, while at low frequencies the right ear was on average poorer than the left ear. A matched control group of the right-handed subjects was formed for 211 left-handed subjects. Among the left-handed subjects the average ear asymmetry resembled the ear asymmetry of the whole population, the right-handed subpopulation, and of the matched control group. In conclusion, it seems that handedness cannot be responsible for the average inferiority of hearing in the left ear at 4-kHz or for the average slight superiority of the left ear at 0.125-0.5 kHz. However, this analysis does not rule out possible minor effects of handedness on ear asymmetry.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

High-frequency audiometry. Accelerometric findings with electric bone-conduction audiometry.

The skull vibrations induced by an electrical high-frequency audiometer (Audimax 500) were measured with a sensitive accelerometer in 5 subjects. The measurements included the maximum output levels, the equivalent threshold force level (ETFL) decreases, the distortions over the whole frequency range (0.5-20 kHz) of the audiometer and the effect of different electrode positions. The results showed that there is a real bone-conduction effect with this audiometer throughout the high-frequency range with the different electrode positions. The mean maximum output level ranged between 60 and 70 dB ETFL in the high-frequency range. The ETFL decrease was of the same order, irrespective of the frequency, but the differences in the maximum output levels at different frequencies necessitate a frequency-dependent additive correction so that the equal hearing level at each frequency can be achieved. When the electrodes were placed on both mastoids, the second harmonic distortions were found only at signal frequencies of 2 and 4 kHz. At the other electrode positions the distortions were increased, however, not being audible.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

High-frequency air-conduction and electric bone-conduction audiometry. Comparison of two methods.

Threshold values for 147 subjects (9-43 years old) were measured with a high-frequency (HF) air-conduction (AC) (Interacoustics AS 10 HF) and an electric bone-conduction (EBC) (Audimax 500) audiometer. In addition, the reproducibility of these methods was studied in another group of 24 subjects. The results confirmed the previous findings of Okstad et al. (1988) that the electric current (i) used as a stimulus in the Audimax 500 audiometer can be converted into decibels with a correction factor of 40 log (i) re 1 mA as Tonndorf & Kurman (1984) have proposed. However, an additive frequency-dependent correction is needed to obtain similar loudness sensation increases with these audiometers. Reproducibility with the EBC audiometer was better than with the AC audiometer, especially in the HF range.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

High-frequency air-conduction and electric bone-conduction audiometry. Age and sex variations.

208 subjects representing both sexes and five age groups (15-70 years) were examined to obtain age-related threshold values for high-frequency (HF) electric bone-conduction (EBC) audiometry. The measurements also included conventional pure-tone audiometry and air-conduction (AC) HF (8-18 kHz) audiometry. The measured EBC thresholds were comparable to the values obtained with AC audiometers, and were equal to ISO standards at the frequencies of 0.5-6 kHz. The 15- and 20-year-old groups' EBC thresholds at 8 kHz were equivalent to thresholds of 15-year-old people from a cross-sectional material in Northern Finland. Thresholds deteriorated as a function of age, particularly in the HF range. The males had poorer thresholds than the females, especially in the age groups of 40 and 60 years. This could be attributed mainly to their greater noise exposure. The EBC method is quite practical and reliable for routine clinical measurements, but the dynamic range of the audiometer limits its use to relatively young subjects.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

No effect of experimental noise exposure on human pregnancy.

The effect of experimental noise exposure (15 minutes of 90-dB white noise via headphones) was examined on systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressures; heart rate; and stress hormones (ACTH, cortisol, prolactin, epinephrine, and norepinephrine) in normotensive and hypertensive pregnant women. No significant effects induced by noise exposure could be registered in these variables. Fetal and uterine blood circulation was also examined with a duplex pulsed Doppler system. No changes were seen on the fetal side as measured from the descending aorta in blood flow velocity (cm/second) or pulsatility or resistance indexes in either normotensive or hypertensive pregnancy. The only change observed was an increase in fetal heart rate in normotensive pregnancy. However, this increase could not be confirmed by cardiotocographic registration and is not clinically important. Uterine blood circulation was recorded from the proximal uterine artery on the placental side, and no effect of exposure was seen on pulsatility or resistance indexes.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Immediate correction of congenital nasal deformities; follow-up of 8 years.

A total of 4724 newborns was screened for congenital nasal deformities. Altogether 91 (1.9%) pathological, screening-positive cases were found. Because of refusal to participate, 3 pathological cases were lost leaving 88 cases. The first 55 screening positive newborns were left without treatment while an attempt was made by an otolaryngologist to correct the remaining 33 cases within a week from delivery. Eighty-two newborns of those who passed the screening tests were analyzed as a control group. In 1987, at the age of 8 years the case and control children were interviewed by mailed questionnaire and invited to be re-examined by an ENT-surgeon. Forty-seven of the not corrected, 21 of the corrected cases and 61 controls came to the re-examination. The luxated septal cauda tended to be straight both spontaneously as well as after active treatment. The few mid-septal pathologies (vomerine junction) in the corrected group were resistant to the treatment attempted. The mid-septal deformities found in the follow-up were connected with frequent antibiotic prescriptions but not respiratory infections. No increase in frequency of otitis media or sinusitis was noticed. The immediate treatment of nasal deformities did not significantly affect the clinical status of the nose at the follow-up. Thus the benefit of immediate treatment on nasal deformities in newborns and screening to find them remains questionable.

Adenoidectomy↗

PubMed1990

Is a child's history of acute otitis media and respiratory infection already determined in the antenatal and perinatal period?

A random sample of 2512 children were followed up from fetal period to the age of two years and the relation of various antenatal and perinatal factors to acute respiratory infection, wheezy bronchitis and otitis media was studied. A model containing the relationships between the variables was used as a basis for the analysis and the powerful confounding effects of postnatal factors were standardized. Acute otitis media with effusion (AOME) demonstrated by myringotomy was analyzed as a specific subgroup of acute otitis media (AOM). Low birth weight (less than or equal to 2500 g) and prematurity (birth before the 37th gestational week) did not influence either AOM or AOME. The odds ratio for low birth weight infants becoming 'otitis-prone' (greater than or equal to 3 episodes of AOME) was 1.5 (0.9-2.1, P greater than 0.1). The various neonatal ventilation therapies were not associated with either AOM or AOME, but intermittent positive pressure ventilation, low birth weight and prematurity were distinctly related to wheezy bronchitis. The odds ratio regarding intermittent positive pressure ventilation was 2.0 (1.0-3.0, P less than 0.05) and that regarding low birth weight 1.7 (1.0-2.3, P less than 0.05). Boys had a slightly increased risk with respect to all the infective parameters. Birth order was closely correlated with the infective parameters, but much of this correlation was due to the postnatal effect of siblings. Altogether the antenatal and perinatal factors had only a slight effect on the infective parameters studied.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1990

Risk factors for recurrent acute otitis media and respiratory infection in infancy.

Using a cohort-based design and random enrollment, the relation of various risk factors to acute otitis media, respiratory infection and wheezy bronchitis was studied in 2512 children from the fetal period to the age of two years. The complex interrelations of the risk factors with each other were separated out by multivariate analysis, and the confounding effects of antenatal parameters were also standardized. Acute otitis media with effusion (AOME), as demonstrated by myringotomy, was analyzed as a specific subgroup of acute otitis media (AOM). Day care in local authority nursery was the major risk factor for both types of acute otitis media. The odds ratio (OR) for such children becoming 'otitis-prone' (greater than or equal to 3 episodes of AOME) was 1.8 (95% confidence interval, 1.4-2.2). Short duration of breastfeeding involved another significant risk of recurrent respiratory infections and otitis media, the OR for AOME being 1.5 (1.1-2.0) and that for recurrent respiratory infection 1.3 (1.1-1.6). Allergy and family day care were also significantly associated with infective parameters, but to a lesser extent. The risk factors for wheezy bronchitis were the same as for infections, indicating that wheezy bronchitis is closely related to infections.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1989

Audiological findings of shunt-treated hydrocephalus in children.

47 hydrocephalic children (mean age 10.4 years) were examined on average 7.9 years after initial shunting. The etiology of hydrocephalus was classified into 5 groups as follows: perinatal intraventricular hemorrhage 19, congenital obstructive hydrocephalus 15, intracranial cysts 5, severe intracranial anomalies 4 and central nervous system infections 4 children. Audiological examination included pure-tone audiometry, tympanometry, registration of stapedius reflex thresholds and adaptation. A sensorineural high-frequency hearing loss was found in 18 (38%) of 47 examined shunt-treated hydrocephalic children, and 11 of the losses could be classified as the retrocochlear type. The differences of the mean hearing thresholds between the etiological groups of childhood hydrocephalus were minimal.

Acoustic Impedance Tests↗