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Talking to the animals

People with communication difficulties have an increased risk of mood and anxiety disorders. This often means that speech and language therapists must actively engage in counselling as part of their intervention. It is not surprising, therefore, that the active components...

Inpatient or outpatient thyroidectomy?

This systematic review and meta-analysis discusses the safety of hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient vis-à-vis an inpatient setting. Thyroidectomy has traditionally been performed as an inpatient procedure. Currently, an increasing number of surgeons are performing thyroidectomy in outpatient settings. The main...

Stuttering and bullying - everyone’s business

This article emphasises that bullying (distinct from teasing- the former being defined as repeated actions intended as harmful, compared to good-natured interactions enjoyed by everyone) is an issue that can impact significantly on a child or young person’s ability to...

Perioperative management of the head and neck cancer patient

The perioperative care of patients with head and neck cancer is complex and requires significant preoperative planning and patient education. The issues include analgesia, antibiotics, stoma and wound care, general and chest physiotherapy, thromboprophylaxis and nutrition. This article provides a...

Is a chest x-ray necessary in making urgent referrals for suspected head and neck cancer?

The article presents an audit on urgent referrals for suspected head and neck cancer in 2144 patients. Only 8.6% of cases proved positive for head and neck cancer. The Scottish Referral Guidelines were adhered only in 55.1% of cases. Interestingly,...

Attitudes towards leisure noise

Noise is a very common reason for hearing loss. The question is whether young adults realise the danger of developing a noise related hearing loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitude towards leisure noise and noise...

Lack of early vocabulary growth in bilateral cochlear implant children

Studies indicate that children with unilateral implantation may have delayed vocabulary development for long periods of time even after implantation. This Finnish study attempted to find out whether bilateral cochlear implantation was associated with earlier vocabulary development. The authors analysed...

Does trainee participation in cochlear implant surgery affect operative times?

The role of surgical education is a very sensitive issue in spite of the obvious need and the obligation of doctors to pass on their knowledge and experience to the next generation. This study is very interesting as it assesses...

Factors affecting compliance of follow-up of patients with chronic otitis media

Patients with retraction pockets and small cholesteatomas need good surveillance as well as those surgically treated for cholesteatomas. This is particularly important in closed techniques where a second look or diffusion weighted MRI can pick up any recurrence or residual...

Smell and mental health

This national survey from Korea asked questions about many aspects of health and one of these was about sense of smell. The prevalence of olfactory problems was 5% in the adult group surveyed, and other studies would suggest that this...