Faculty Bibliography

A multichannel cochlear prosthesis was evaluated using the method of Connected Discourse Tracking. Data were obtained from five subjects over a 10-week period. Significant learning effects were obtained both with and without the prosthesis. The method of orthogonal polynomials was used to obtain a statistically precise fit for each learning curve. The curves differed both in terms of shape and average rate of learning. The two best subjects showed substantial improvements, reaching tracking rates in excess of 90 words-per-minute. A method for representing prosthesis-based improvements, which takes learning effects into account, is developed and discussed

The complications following 100 consecutive laryngectomies performed at our hospital during a recent 18-month period are reviewed. The complication rates for total laryngectomy (63 patients) and extended laryngectomy (37 patients) were 19% and 49%, respectively, while the fistula rates were 8% and 27%, respectively. These rates were influenced primarily by the extent of surgery and the type of reconstruction, which during this interval included primary closure, pectoralis major myocutaneous flap, or gastric transposition. In comparison to our previous study, when the deltopectoral flap was used for patching the pharynx, the fistula rate for extended laryngectomy has decreased as a result of our use of myocutaneous flaps and greater experience with gastric transposition. Currently, we use the pectoralis major myocutaneous flap for pharyngeal repair if the mucosa would otherwise be closed under tension. All circumferential defects are repaired with a gastric transposition

The efficacy and safety of minocycline were compared with that of amoxicillin in the treatment of 58 patients with acute bacterial sinusitis. The most frequently isolated pathogens were streptococci, staphylococci, and Haemophilus influenzae. After therapy for a mean time of 11 days, clinical cure or improvement and bacterial eradication were evident in 100% of the patients treated with minocycline and in 95% of the patients treated with amoxicillin. Roentgenographic results indicated clearing or improvement in 91% of the minocycline recipients and in 70% of those who received amoxicillin. These differences between treatments were not statistically significant. A low incidence of generally mild adverse clinical experiences occurred in both treatment groups. Thus, minocycline and amoxicillin were equally safe and effective in the treatment of these patients with acute bacterial sinusitis

Cochlear implant patients implanted with a programmable, 21-channel stimulator receive information about the dominant spectral peak in the midfrequency range (800-4000 Hz) encoded as electrode position. Three frequency-to-electrode position maps were tried, including one map where frequency-band boundaries were those frequencies that are midfrequency spectral peak boundaries between vowels, in an effort to increase vowel discrimination. Identification tests were not conclusive with respect to one map being better than the others for the three patients, but the two maps which had more electrodes representing lower frequencies were significantly better than the other map, when measured by discrimination tests