Journal Reviews
Apps in allergic rhinitis
Utilising smart-phone applications to gather data is an expanding field in medicine. However, it is not without limitations including bias. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) introduced the Allergy Diary application as part of...
Are there benefits of prophylactic swallowing exercises for patients with head and neck cancer?
This randomised controlled trial aimed to establish the impact of prophylactic swallowing exercises in patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The primary outcome was the functional oral intake scale (FOIS), although secondary measures for feeding tube use,...
A lateralised middle turbinate post pituitary surgery and incidence of sinusitis
A common belief amongst pituitary surgeons is that lateralising the middle turbinate to access the sphenoid can result in an iatrogenic sinusitis. This paper attempts to find out whether this is in fact true. Thirty-eight patients fitted the inclusion criteria...
A global view of thyroid surgery practices
The incidence of thyroid cancer continues to increase, and both surgery for benign and malignant disease carries an important and persistent incidence of perioperative complications. This paper reports the results of an electronic survey sent to members of seven surgical...
Evidence for diagnostic role of narrow band imaging in the outpatient setting for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Narrow band imaging (NBI) uses light in the blue and green spectrum to differentiate areas of carcinoma from normal or inflammatory tissue. This tertiary referral head and neck unit in Spain used white light endoscopy as initial screening for all...
Predicting postoperative respiratory complications following paediatric adenotonsillectomy
This systematic review aimed to compare the presence of clinical features versus the polysomnography results in predicting major postoperative respiratory complications in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy for OSA. The study was prepared according to the PRISMA checklist. Overall 22 studies met...
Should we routinely perform steroid injections following microlaryngeal excision of benign lesions?
This retrospective cohort study assessed a single surgeon’s outcomes before and after the routine administration of intralesional triamcinolone following microsurgical removal of benign vocal fold lesions (polyps, nodules and cysts). A total of 211 patients were recruited for the study....
Surgical approach to trigeminal neuralgia
This article provides a summary of the operative techniques available for treating patients with trigeminal neuralgia who have medication resistant pain or medication intolerance. Microvascular decompression is performed via suboccipital craniotomy to find and resolve the underlying nerve compression. The...
Rhinology and 3D printing
3D printing has increasing applications in rhinology, for instance to create patient-specific preoperative models for procedure planning, including designing a template for reconstruction planning following tumour resection, patient consultation and customised prostheses. The authors focused their review on the role...
A review of topical treatments for chronic rhinosinusitis
Topical nasal treatment is considered the mainstay treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The authors reviewed the effectiveness of saline irrigation, topical corticosteroids, topical antibiotics and topical antifungals in the treatment of CRS. Large volume saline irrigation was found to be...
Reconstructing post-resective auricular defects
The auricle is split into six specific anatomic subunits that vary in skin thickness, contour, structural integrity and the availability of healthy surrounding tissues. It is important to reconstruct an aesthetically pleasing auricle as slight deformities may be prominent. The...
Which self-reported tinnitus and hyperacusis questionnaires are useful?
Tinnitus and hyperacusis may have very negative psychological side-effects. Due to their subjective nature it is important to have appropriate tools to assess them. In addition to the routine questionnaires such as THI, HQ, ISI, HADS or VAS, the authors...
