J.W. Lee

Factors Associated With Quality of Life After Ear Surgery in Patients With Chronic Otitis Media

OBJECTIVEnTo assess the factors affecting health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after ear surgery in patients with chronic otitis media (COM).nnnDESIGNnProspective questionnaire-based outcome study.nnnSETTINGnTertiary care institution.nnnPATIENTSnThe study population comprised 205 patients aged 21 to 67 years referred for ear surgery owing to COM with or without cholesteatoma between November 2009 and March 2011.nnnINTERVENTIONSnThe ear surgery for COM included tympanoplasty, with or without mastoidectomy. The Korean version of the Chronic Ear Survey (K-CES), a disease-specific outcome survey, was administered before and 12 months after surgery.nnnMAIN OUTCOME MEASURESnThe primary outcome measures were the total score and subscale score, including an activity restriction-based subscale, symptom subscale, and medical resource utilization subscale. The scores were analyzed with disease- and patient-related factors affecting health-related quality of life.nnnRESULTSnOf the 205 patients enrolled, complete data from 156 patients were available for this study. The K-CES score in patients with COM improved after ear surgery in total and in all subscales of the K-CES (P < .001). In univariable analysis, poor improvement in total K-CES score was more likely to occur after ear surgery in patients with postoperative complications, diabetes mellitus, hearing loss as a chief complaint, lower air conduction threshold in postoperative audiometry, and a high level of education and in those who underwent canal wall down mastoidectomy (P < .05). Multivariable analysis using multiple linear regression revealed that the occurrence of complications, presence of diabetes mellitus, level of education, and postoperative air conduction thresholds were independent factors for poor improvement in total K-CES score (P < .05).nnnCONCLUSIONnRecognition of factors that have significant relation with subjective outcomes may help surgeons to identify patients who are prone to have a lower satisfaction and provide useful information in preoperative counseling.

The Efficacy of Preemptive Analgesia With Pregabalin in Septoplasty

Objectives Pregabalin is used to treat neuropathic pain and has shown analgesic properties in postoperative pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and safety of pregabalin in reducing postoperative pain in patients after septoplasty. Methods Forty-seven patients scheduled for elective septoplasty were randomly assigned to groups that received either pregabalin (150 mg) or placebo, both one hour before surgery and 12 hours after the initial dose. Pain (verbal numerical rating scale, VNRS) and side effect assessments were performed at 6, 12, 12 to 24, and 24 to 48 hours postoperatively. Results From 1 to 12 hours postoperatively, VNRS scores for pain were lower in the pregabalin group (n=24) than in the placebo group (n=23; P<0.05). The number of patients who needed rescue analgesics was lower in the pregabalin group (P=0.042). The incidence of nausea and vomiting did not differ between groups (P=0.666), and the incidence of sedation was higher in the placebo groups (P=0.022). Conclusion The perioperative administration of oral pregabalin (150 mg twice) is an effective and safe way to reduce early postoperative pain in patients undergoing septoplasty.

Extent of local invasion and safe resection in cT1–2 tonsil cancer†

Although intraoral resection of small‐sized tonsil cancer achieves excellent tumor control, the extent of local invasion and adequate safety margin in resection have not been studied. Thus, we aim to determine the extent of local invasion in terms of mucosal spread and deep infiltration in stage T1–2 tonsil cancer.

In Reply: Bringing Retracted Papers Into Focus

Thank you for your letter pointing out our mistake. When we were writing the manuscript, we missed the information of retraction. Other references [1,2,3,4,5,6] cited in our study can sufficiently support the results showing to the efficacy of preemptive analgesia with pregabalin in diverse surgery. Therefore, there is little or no effect drawing the conclusion of our study although a study by Reuben et al. was retracted [7].