A Preliminary Study on Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Staphylococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. Grown on Mannitol Salt Agar in European Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) Hunted in Campania Region—Italy

The importance of wild boar lies in its role as a bioindicator for the control of numerous zoonotic and non-zoonotic diseases, including antibiotic resistance. Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA) is a selective medium used for isolation, enumeration, and differentiation of pathogenic staphylococci. Other genera such as Enterococcus spp. are also salt tolerant and able to grow on MSA. The present study focused on the identification, by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), of bacteria grown on MSA isolated from the nasal cavities of 50 healthy wild boars hunted in Campania Region (southern Italy) in the year 2019. In addition, the antimicrobial resistance phenotype of the isolated strains was determined by disk diffusion method. Among genus Staphylococcus, coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) were the most common isolated species, with Staphylococcus xylosus as the most prevalent species (33.3%). Furthermore, Enterococcus spp. strains were isolated, and Enterococcus faecalis was the species showing the highest frequency of isolation (93.8%). For staphylococci, high levels of resistance to oxacillin (93.3%) were recorded. Differently, they exhibited low frequencies of resistance to tested non-β-lactams antibiotics. Among enterococci, the highest resistances were observed for penicillin (93.7%), followed by ampicillin (75%), and ciprofloxacin (68.7%). Interestingly, 43.7% of the isolated strains were vancomycin-resistant. In conclusion, this study reports the phenotypic antibiotic resistance profiles of Staphylococcus spp. and Enterococcus spp. strains isolated from nasal cavities of wild boars hunted in Campania Region, highlighting that these wild animals are carriers of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Oronasal Fistula: A Complication of Cleft Palate Surgery

Oronasal fistula is one of the disappointing expected outcomes of cleft palate surgery. It may follow palatoplasty for palatal clefting patients, which is defined as an abnormal communication between the oral and nasal cavities. More than one system has attempted its classification. It may be a small and a symptomatic or symptomatic fistula that requires correction. Its rate differs widely according to many factors. Both surgical and non-surgical methods (the pros and cons of each should be considered) are available for its correction, and there are adjunctive therapies to assist in improving the surgical outcome.

Survival analysis of 8785 malignant lymphoma cases in the oral and nasal cavities in the USA: a cohort study

ObjectiveTo identify the factors associated with the survival of malignant Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas in oral and nasal cavities.Study design. Retrospective cohort survival analysis.MethodsThe Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results 18 database was used to analyse the factors associated with the 5-year survival rate of malignant lymphomas diagnosed in the oral cavity and pharynx (OCP) and nasal cavity and sinus (NCS) regions from 1988 to 2011 for all patients in the USA. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to calculate the HR of malignant lymphoma death overall and by the site of cancer diagnosis.ResultsAmong the 8785 patients included in the analysis, 4103 (46.7%) were women, 6096 (69.4%) were non-Hispanic (NH) white, 635 (7.2%) were NH black and 1209 (13.8%) were Hispanic patients of all races. We found that a higher 5-year survival rate of malignant lymphoma is associated with: female gender; younger age at diagnosis; NH white race/ethnicity; diagnosis in the oral cavity; receiving surgery/radiation and surgery/radiation, surgery and chemotherapy as the treatment; diagnosis at a localised stage and diagnosis in later calendar years. No association with lymphoma subtype was observed.ConclusionWe have identified several demographics and prognosis factors associated with the 5-year survival rate of malignant lymphomas in the OCP and NCS regions. These findings warrant greater public health attention on the prognosis of malignant lymphomas in the OCP and NCS regions among the most vulnerable populations.

In Vitro Nasal Tissue Model for the Validation of Nasopharyngeal and Mid-turbinate Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 Testing

Large-scale population testing is a key tool to mitigate the spread of respiratory pathogens, as in the current COVID-19 pandemic, where swabs are used to collect samples in the upper airways (e.g. nasopharyngeal and mid-turbinate nasal cavities) for diagnostics. However, the high volume of supplies required to achieve large-scale population testing has posed unprecedented challenges for swab manufacturing and distribution, resulting in a global shortage that has heavily impacted testing capacity world-wide and prompted the development of new swabs suitable for large-scale production. Newly designed swabs require rigorous pre-clinical and clinical validation studies that are costly and time consuming (i.e. months to years long); reducing the risks associated with swab validation is therefore paramount for their rapid deployment. To address these shortages, we developed a 3D-printed tissue model that mimics the nasopharyngeal and mid-turbinate nasal cavities, and we validated its use as a new tool to rapidly test swab performance. In addition to the nasal architecture, the tissue model mimics the soft nasal tissue with a silk-based sponge lining, and the physiological nasal fluid with asymptomatic and symptomatic viscosities of synthetic mucus. We performed several assays comparing standard flocked and injection-molded swabs. We quantified the swab pick-up and release, and determined the effect of viral load and mucus viscosity on swab efficacy by spiking the synthetic mucus with heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus. By molecular assays, we found that injected molded swabs performed similarly or superiorly in comparison to standard flocked swabs and we underscored a viscosity-dependent difference in cycle threshold values between the asymptomatic and symptomatic mucus for both swabs. To conclude, we developed an in vitro nasal tissue model, that corroborated previous swab performance data from clinical studies, with the potential of providing researchers with a clinically relevant, reproducible, safe, and cost-effective validation tool for the rapid development of newly designed swabs.

“The Accessory Ethmoidal Canal Does Not Necessarily Contain an Arterial Structure”

Introduction: The aim of our study is to describe the prevalence of the accessory ethmoidal artery in endonasal endoscopic cadaver dissections and to identify its intraorbital origin. Material and Methods: From 2018 to 2020, thirty-four nasal dissections were performed in seventeen adult cadaveric heads. We performed a complete ethmoidectomy to identify the ethmoidal canals. Then, we removed the bony canal and the lamina papiracea to verify the injected vessel and to confirm the vascular structure inside the canal. Results: We found the anterior ethmoidal canal (AEC) and the posterior ethmoidal canal (PEC) in 100% of nasal cavities (34/34). We identified 4 accessory ethmoidal canals (AcEC) in the 34 nasal fossae dissected (12%). All AEC contained an arterial vessel. The AcEC contained an arterial vascular structure in 2 cases, a neural structure in other specimen, and in the fourth case no structure could be verified. In 32 of 34 nasal cavities, the PEC contained an artery and only in 2 cases the PEC did not contain any vascular structure. In these specimens, we observed that the AcEC with an arterial vessel inside (6%) was closer to the posterior canal than the anterior canal. Conclusion: According to our findings, we can suggest that the presence of a canal does not necessarily imply the presence of an arterial vessel, and that presence of the accessory ethmoidal artery could be associated with the absence of posterior ethmoidal artery.

Validation of a solvent-based process for the smoothing of additively manufactured 3D models of nasal cavities

In order to improve the reliability of diagnosis of nasal breathing disorders, aerodynamic properties have to be analyzed through experiments based on 3D models. The surface properties of the prepared respective 3D models using fused deposition modeling (FDM) should match those of native nasal cavities, thus representing their normal state and typical pathologies. In this work, we validated the smoothing of dual extruded 3D printed samples of PLA (polylactide) and PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) using the solvent TFE (trifluoroethanol). The smoothing was conducted in vapour and liquid phases of TFE. Before and after treatment of the samples in liquid and vapour phases of TFE, mass and surface roughness analysis were performed. The results of this work will help to produce and process a representative model of the human paranasal sinuses, which can be created using CT data from a patient.

Feeding Plate of an Eight-day-old Patient Having Veau Type III Cleft Lip and Palate

Congenital Cleft lip and palate is a craniofacial defect which results into difficulty in feeding because of the communication between the oral and nasal cavities. Feeding plate restores the gap between the oral and nasal cavities and helps in feeding and reduces the chances of airway problems, regurgitations. This clinical report describes a design and method of fabricating a feeding plate in an 8-day old neonate with a cleft lip and palate.

New record of monogeneans (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea) infecting some marine fishes from the Peruvian coastal zone

A parasitological survey searching monogeneans infesting marine fish was carried out during June 2018 and January 2020 from the coastal zone of Puerto Pizarro, Tumbes (northern Peru) and from the coastal zone of Chorrillos, Lima (central Peru). The gills, skin, nasal cavities, or branchial gill-cover of seven species were sampled. Ten monogenean species assigned to six families and nine genera were identified. The monogeneans Callorhynchocotyle callorhynchi (Manter, 1955); Capsala biparasiticum (Goto, 1894) Price, 1938; Euryhaliotrema sagmatum Kritsky & Boeger, 2002; Listrocephalos kearni Bullard, Payne &Braswell, 2004; Magniexcipula lamothei Bravo-Hollis, 1981; Nasicola klawei (Stunkard, 1962) Yamaguti, 1968; and Pseudorhabdosynochus anulus Violante-Gonzalez & Rojas-Herrera, 2011 are registered for the first time in Peru. While Capsala gregalis (Wagner & Carter, 1967) Chisholm & Whittington, 2007; Heterocotyle margaritae Chero, Cruces, Sáez, Santos & Luque, 2020; and Monocotyle luquei Chero, Cruces, Iannacone, Sanchez, Minaya, Sáez & Alvariño, 2016 have been previously registered in Peruvian waters, however, the region of Tumbes (northern Peru) represent a new locality record for these species.