Pain is one of the most common complaints expressed by hospital patients and is the main reason they seek medical help. Pain is always subjective, so its severity should be assessed individually for each patient. The main issue with pain management in children is the difficulty involved in evaluating it. Numerous studies have developed tools that would allow for an accurate assessment of the intensity of pain in children in the postoperative period. Adequate postoperative pain assessment in pediatric patients may significantly improve their comfort and quality of life. Postoperative pain prolongs recovery and hospitalization; therefore, the severity of the pain should be part of a routine assessment. Whichever tool is applied to measure pain, it should take into account the child's age, language, ethnicity, and cognitive ability. There is no one universal method for pain assessment which is appropriate for every pediatric patient. This article provides a review of the available subjective methods of postoperative pain assessment, including new objective diagnostic methods and the latest guidelines for postoperative pain therapy in a group of pediatric patients.

In chronic upper respiratory tract diseases, increased cell proliferative activity is observed, which is coordinated by BCL-2 proteins and small non-coding RNAs. This study aimed to determine the expression of critical apoptosis markers at the mRNA and miRNA levels in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CSRwNP). The study group consisted of ten patients with CSRwNP and ten healthy subjects. To detect in situ apoptosis in the maxillary sinus mucosa, TUNEL staining was performed. The expression of transcripts was determined by RT-qPCR and included the detection of markers associated with cell survival and apoptosis, i.e., BAX, p53, p21, CASP3, CASP9, c-MYC, CCND1, BRIC5, and APAF1. Levels of miR-17-5p, miR-145-5p, miR-146a-5p, and miR-203a-3p were also measured by RT-qPCR. The obtained results indicated increased apoptosis determined by a TUNEL assay in CSRwNP patients and accompanied by an increased expression of BAX, P21, P53, CASP3, CASP9, c-MYC, and APAF-1 transcripts and decreased mRNA levels of BCL-2 and BIRC5. Furthermore, the nasal sinus epithelium of patients with CSRwNP showed increased levels of miR-203a-3p while also showing a decreased expression of miR-17-5p and miR-145-5p. Our results showed that pro-apoptotic transcripts detected at mRNA and miRNA levels might be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic sinusitis with polyps. The identification of those key molecular mediators may be applicable for the specific diagnostic and/or development of targeted therapies for chronic sinusitis with polyps.

Nowadays heavy metals in the environment and everyday life are very common. Their usage and influence in industry is essential. Quite often not only the environment but also general human health might be impacted by their use and presence. Metal poisoning and its effect on living structures and tissues impacts their condition. The environment and every living species in it are heavily vulnerable to any heavy metal exposure and might lead to catastrophic natural disasters. In humans skin irritations and general diseases are not so common, but they do appear, and everyone should be aware of this. In this paper we focus on a very special topic related to heavy metal exposure to eyesight and their influence on this important organ. Lead and cadmium are the most common heavy metals used almost everywhere.

The aim of the present study is to determine and compare the range of pH value in nasal and sinus cavities in vivo regarding the presence of bacteria colonizing sinonasal mucosa among healthy subjects. The nasal pH value measurement using a portable pH meter (Dx-pH System, Restech) and the microbiological culture swab were taken from beneath the middle turbinate and in the sinus cavity in 39 healthy subjects during maxillary bone corrective osteotomy with the Le Fort I technique. The mean pH value (independently of sex, P = .441) in the healthy sinus cavity was statistically higher than in the nasal middle meatus: 7.96 (SD ± 0.29) versus 7.83 (SD ± 0.30) (P = .032). Forty-eight strains of bacteria were cultured from sinus maxillaries cavities—aerobic 36.8%, aerobic and anaerobic 52.6%, anaerobic only 10.5%—and 23 strains from the nasal meatus—aerobic 25%, aerobic and anaerobic 75%. A statistically significant correlation was found between the type and location of 8 microorganisms, especially Propionibacterium acnes, identified only in the sinus cavities. Differences in the pH value between the middle nasal meatus and the maxillary sinus are characteristic of healthy subjects and could be associated with the diverse bacterial flora. The role of bacteria Propionibacterium acnes seems to be crucial for the pH range and sinus flora in healthy subjects.