Journal Reviews
Ramifications of the pandemic on acute paediatric mastoiditis: a national UK audit
Acute mastoiditis is a common presentation in the paediatric population across ENT services worldwide. An initial expectation of a rise in the numbers of acute mastoiditis associated with the initial findings of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus presence in middle ear in...
Antibiotics in orthognathic surgery
This paper from the Netherlands looked at 137 patients over a one-year period, 18 of whom had Le Fort I procedures, 68 bilateral sagittal split surgery, and 51 bi-maxillary surgery. A further 54 surgical procedures were undertaken, including 15 having...
What is the evidence for duration of antibiotic prophylaxis in head and neck free-flap cases?
The topic of this systematic review is one which is commonly heard in discussions between microbiologists and head and neck surgeons – what is the evidence for antibiotic prophylaxis in clean-contaminated free-flap cases, and crucially, how long should antibiotics be...
Preoperative planning of the surgical patient
This article covers the need to effectively optimise patient status preoperatively to help maximise postoperative outcomes. The article is well written and emphasises close liaison with anaesthetic colleagues particularly regarding airway assessment and nausea and vomiting. As is becoming common...
