Isr Med Assoc J
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Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) otologic manifestations include conductive and sensorineural hearing loss (HL). Vasculitis is assumed to be the primary cause of otologic manifestations. Deaf patients and patients with HL who do not benefit from hearing aids can benefit from cochlear implants (CI). There are currently no specific guidelines for treatment of patients with GPA suited for CI. ⋯ Inflammation due to GPA can be controlled medically with immunosuppressive medications without subtotal petrosectomy, as in chronic suppurative otitis media. Satisfactory audiological results can be expected.
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Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem associated with increased morbidity and mortality. ⋯ Non-Israeli non-residents and patients with previous positive MDR screening are at higher risk for MDR bacteria. Indications used to identify high-risk patients for drug resistant pathogens were efficacious. More effort is needed to reduce excessive sampling.
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Severe asthma affects up to 20,000 citizens of Israel. Novel biological therapies, which individually have been proven to reduce asthma morbidity in clinical trials, have become available in recent years. Comparative data among different drugs are scarce. ⋯ All of the biological therapies were effective for improving clinical outcomes. None of the agents was clearly superior to any other. These data emphasize the need for severe asthma patients to be seen by pulmonary medicine specialists and offered, where appropriate, biological therapies.
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School closures due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak affected students physically, socially, and psychologically with an increase in the number of children and adolescent presenting with anxiety, depression, and drug abuse. ⋯ Many children developed educational, social, emotional, and behavioral gaps during LD, and they lost skills to deal with everyday problems due to social isolation. It is important to follow the long-term impact of the lockdowns and social isolation.
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Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is the most common preventable cause of mental retardation and delayed growth in children. Several prenatal and environmental factors might be associated with the disease. ⋯ Several demographic, gestational, and geographical factors are associated with the development of CH and TCH. Future studies are needed to further investigate the pathogenesis in Israel.