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Waiting for smell to recover after post-viral hyposmia

The patient with post-viral anosmia will always want to know how long they must wait to reach a plateau. This study from South Korea of a comparatively small group (20 controls and 63 patients) tells us that favourable prognostic indicators...

Using evidence and international consensus to guide treatment of thyroid nodules

The authors of this practical review paper highlight a growing issue within thyroid surgery, where high-quality ultrasound has increased the detection of subclinical nodules: what do we do with the patient presenting with an ‘incidental’ thyroid nodule? This has both...

Treating middle ear conditions in developing countries

This month’s journal issue discussed global health in otolaryngology with this paper focusing on the management of chronic middle ear disease in the developing world. Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) is more common in developing countries. The reason for this...

From a dysphagia clinical trial to a multidisciplinary head and neck clinical pathway – the road to implementation

This paper describes the barriers and facilitators to establishing a structured and coordinated multidisciplinary care pathway for patients with head and neck cancer at a medical centre in the USA. The initiative was set in motion by the roll out...

Auditory deprivation and single-sided deafness

In cases of bilateral auditory deprivation, there is clear evidence of an inverse relationship between performance after cochlear implantation and the length of severe to profound deafness prior to implantation (i.e. the longer the deprivation the poorer the outcome on...

Surgical outcomes of myringoplasty using platelet-rich plasma

Tympanic membrane (TM) perforations can affect people’s quality of life due to recurrent infections. Management is often by surgical repair. In this study, the authors investigated the outcomes of a minimally invasive approach of patch myringoplasty using an atelocollagen sponge...

Early cochlear implant activation and its effects on the cochlea

In this article, Alhabib et al consider the changes to electrode impedance with early device activation (day one) compared to conventional activation (day 30). Activation at day 30 is a cautious approach, which has been popular for many years. However,...

Role of intratympanic corticosteroid for treatment of Bell’s palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome

Acute peripheral facial palsy occurs annually in 30 in 1,000,000 individuals in the general population. Bell’s palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome account for about 70% of cases of peripheral facial palsy. They are believed to be caused by viral reactivation...

Role of maxillary sinus irrigation as an adjuvant to current management of chronic rhinusitis without polyposis

Several decades have passed since irrigation of maxillary sinuses generally became a treatment of the past. A more recent concept of biofilms may have evoked new interest in this past procedure, fraught with its own issues. In this study, the...

Can prediction models help identify dysphagia in ventilated patients?

Dysphagia commonly affects patients in intensive care units (ICU), particularly those on mechanical ventilation, and is associated with high risk of mortality. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify predictors for dysphagia in ventilated ICU patients by summarising existing...

Globus, reflux or perhaps both?

We rarely do an ENT clinic without encountering a patient with persistent or recurring feeling of a lump or foreign body in the throat. We are also familiar with patients dreading to hear the C word after the endoscopic examination...