MyMedR

Stridor in a Newborn with Double Aortic Arch-A Case Report

Anastasius EJ, Sawali H

Iran J Otorhinolaryngol, 2019 Jan;31(102):61-63.

Introduction: Double aortic arch (DAA) is a congenital anomaly of the aortic arch. It is the most common type of complete vascular ring. When it occurs, the connected segment of the aortic arch and its branches encircle the trachea and esophagus, leading to symptoms related to these two structures.

Case Report: We present a case of a newborn baby who developed biphasic stridor immediately after a normal vaginal delivery. Endoscopic assessment of the trachea revealed a pulsatile narrowing at the level of the thoracic trachea, suggestive of an external compression. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan of the thorax with three-dimensional reconstruction confirmed the diagnosis of DAA with compression of the trachea and esophagus.

Conclusion: Clinicians should strongly consider the possibility of a congenital vascular ring compression should an infant with a normal upper airway present with stridor. A precise diagnosis can be made by radiological examination.

Otorhinolaryngology services at a district hospital in Sabah, Malaysia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mann GS, Rajan P, Sawali H

Med J Malaysia, 2021 08;76(Suppl 4):39-41.

PMID: 34558557

No abstract provided.

Congenital Tuberculosis With Oropharyngeal Mass Presenting as Neonatal Stridor

Lim CC, Ezulia T, Bong QY, Bin Sawali H, Idris AI

JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 2019 Sep 01;145(9):869-871.

PMID: 31294772 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoto.2019.1708

Primary Adenotonsillar Tuberculosis in an Immunocompetent Child -A Case Report

Lim CC, Misron K, Loong SP, Liew YT, Sawali H

Iran J Otorhinolaryngol, 2019 Sep;31(106):319-322.

PMID: 31598501

Introduction: Primary tuberculosis (TB) of the oropharynx and nasopharynx is an extremely rare form of extra-pulmonary TB in children. Primary tuberculosis occurs more likely secondary to pulmonary TB and is more common in immunocompromised patients.

Case Report: We reported the case of a young male presented with the symptoms of non-specific chronic adenotonsillitis, mild obstructive sleep apnoea, and cervical lymphadenopathy. Subsequently, he underwent adenotonsillectomy and excision of the cervical lymph node with the tissue specimens came back strongly positive for TB. Then, he started using antituberculous medication and recovered well.

Conclusion: The authors would like to highlight this rare clinical entity in which accurate diagnosis is essential for complete treatment.

Fulltext Solitary Submandibular Schwannoma Mimicking a Salivary Gland Tumor in a Child

Wong KYR, Hakim I, Sawali H, Lim RCA, Mohd Mohsin NK

Medeni Med J, 2024 Jun 28;39(2):132-135.

PMID: 38940503 DOI: 10.4274/MMJ.galenos.2024.37729

Tumors occurring in the submandibular space are infrequent among pediatric patients, and benign peripheral nerve tumors in this region are exceptionally rare. This study describes the uncommon occurrence of a schwannoma in the submandibular space in a child and describes its management. A 7-year-old child presented with a gradually enlarging swelling over a 7-month period in the submandibular region, clinically resembling a salivary gland tumor. There were no associated marginal mandibular, lingual, or hypoglossal nerve palsy. The mass was excised completely, and histopathological examination revealed it to be a schwannoma. It is appropriate to consider benign peripheral nerve tumors, such as schwannoma, in the differential diagnosis of submandibular space tumors in children.

Fulltext Acute Tonsillitis With Concurrent Kikuchi's Disease as a Cause of Persistent Lymphadenopathy

Sawali H, Sabir Husin Athar PP, Ami M, Shamsudin NH, Nair G

Malays J Med Sci, 2009 Oct;16(4):73-6.

PMID: 22135516

We present a young adult female with symptoms of acute tonsillitis and tender cervical lymphadenopathy. Despite a full course of oral antibiotics, she had persistent left lower cervical lymphadenopathy measuring 2.0 x 1.5 cm at 2 weeks post-treatment. Rigid and flexible scope examinations did not reveal any abnormalities in the nasopharynx, oropharynx or hypopharynx. Tuberculosis tests were negative and blood index results were normal. Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed a non-specific granulomatous inflammatory process. Excisional lymph node biopsy was performed, and the patient was diagnosed as having Kikuchi's Disease (KD). We would like to highlight the diagnostic challenges in detecting this condition and the importance of differentiating KD from tuberculosis and malignant lymphoma, the latter of which requires aggressive treatment.

Fulltext Systematic comparison of plasma EBV DNA, anti-EBV antibodies and miRNA levels for early detection and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Tan LP, Tan GW, Sivanesan VM, Goh SL, Ng XJ, Lim CS, et al.

Int J Cancer, 2020 04 15;146(8):2336-2347.

PMID: 31469434 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.32656

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is originated from the epithelial cells of nasopharynx, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated and has the highest incidence and mortality rates in Southeast Asia. Late presentation is a common issue and early detection could be the key to reduce the disease burden. Sensitivity of plasma EBV DNA, an established NPC biomarker, for Stage I NPC is controversial. Most newly reported NPC biomarkers have neither been externally validated nor compared to the established ones. This causes difficulty in planning for cost-effective early detection strategies. Our study systematically evaluated six established and four new biomarkers in NPC cases, population controls and hospital controls. We showed that BamHI-W 76 bp remains the most sensitive plasma biomarker, with 96.7% (29/30), 96.7% (58/60) and 97.4% (226/232) sensitivity to detect Stage I, early stage and all NPC, respectively. Its specificity was 94.2% (113/120) against population controls and 90.4% (113/125) against hospital controls. Diagnostic accuracy of BamHI-W 121 bp and ebv-miR-BART7-3p were validated. Hsa-miR-29a-3p and hsa-miR-103a-3p were not, possibly due to lower number of advanced stage NPC cases included in this subset. Decision tree modeling suggested that combination of BamHI-W 76 bp and VCA IgA or EA IgG may increase the specificity or sensitivity to detect NPC. EBNA1 99 bp could identify NPC patients with poor prognosis in early and advanced stage NPC. Our findings provided evidence for improvement in NPC screening strategies, covering considerations of opportunistic screening, combining biomarkers to increase sensitivity or specificity and testing biomarkers from single sampled specimen to avoid logistic problems of resampling.

Fulltext Self-reported symptom study of COVID-19 chemosensory dysfunction in Malaysia

Lee SH, Yeoh ZX, Sachlin IS, Gazali N, Soelar SA, Foo CY, et al.

Sci Rep, 2022 02 08;12(1):2111.

PMID: 35136124 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06029-6

Alterations in the three chemosensory modalities-smell, taste, and chemesthesis-have been implicated in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), yet emerging data suggest a wide geographic and ethnic variation in the prevalence of these symptoms. Studies on chemosensory disorders in COVID-19 have predominantly focused on Caucasian populations whereas Asians remain understudied. We conducted a nationwide, multicentre cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire on a cohort of RT-PCR-confirmed adult COVID-19 patients in Malaysia between 6 June and 30 November 2020. The aim of our study was to investigate their presenting symptoms and assess their chemosensory function using self-ratings of perceived smell, taste, chemesthesis, and nasal blockage. In this cohort of 498 patients, 41.4% reported smell and/or taste loss when diagnosed with COVID-19, which was the commonest symptom. Blocked nose, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal disturbances were independent predictors of smell and/or taste loss on multivariate analysis. Self-ratings of chemosensory function revealed a reduction in smell, taste, and chemesthesis across the entire cohort of patients that was more profound among those reporting smell and/or taste loss as their presenting symptom. Perceived nasal obstruction accounted for only a small proportion of changes in smell and taste, but not for chemesthesis, supporting viral disruption of sensorineural mechanisms as the dominant aetiology of chemosensory dysfunction. Our study suggests that chemosensory dysfunction in COVID-19 is more widespread than previously reported among Asians and may be related to the infectivity of viral strains.Study Registration: NMRR-20-934-54803 and NCT04390165.

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