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Thyroid nodule update
This excellent article summarises the current diagnostic difficulties with an endocrine gland that frequently produces nodules, some of which may harbour malignancy. At 50 years of age and over there is about a 50% chance of having a nodule; at...
Cochlear implants with an absent or hypoplastic cochlear nerve?
The cornerstone of successful cochlear implantation has been the presence of a population of cochlear nerve endings which are able to mount a neural response to electrical stimulation. The authors of this paper present their experience of five children with...
Radiological diagnosis of mastoiditis in patients screened for acoustic neuroma
Magnetic resonance imaging is the ‘gold standard’ for screening patients suspected to have acoustic neuroma. Various abnormalities are picked up through this investigation, one of which, not uncommonly reported, is mastoiditis. This requires referral to otolaryngology and further evaluation. In...
Clinical histopathology of 250 parotidectomy patients
Clinical histopathology of 250 parotidectomy patients This is a retrospective study of 250 consecutive parotidectomy patients at units in Belgium and the Netherlands. The sensitivity and specificity of FNAC was 64% and 99% respectively, the sensitivity being slightly lower than...
To scan or not to scan?
This comprehensive review article seeks to establish how useful is MRI in the evaluation of patients with a history of smell loss or distortion. Interestingly, while some studies found the imaging unhelpful, one paper described found a 25% rate of...
Is pan-endoscopy necessary to detect synchronous primary in upper aerodigestive tract cancer?
Diagnosis of head and neck cancer requires speed. It has also to be comprehensive in view of the possibility of synchronous primary cancer (SPC) associated with upper aerodigestive tract cancer (UADTC). Some centres still consider pan-endoscopy essential in the diagnostic...
Role of high-resolution CT scans in the management of cholesteatoma
This review article has looked at 15 publications, comparing features noted in high-resolution CT (HRCT) scans of patients having cholesteatoma with actual intraoperative findings. This comparison was used to assess sensitivity and specificity of various abnormalities picked up by HRCT...
The earlier the better: learning to work together
Working as part of a team can be the most challenging aspect of any health professional’s job role. The authors of this article acknowledge that this is frequently considered a skill that can only be learnt ‘on the job’. Yet...
Can amplification preserve auditory function?
Hearing loss is a noted modifiable risk factor for dementia, and is also associated with depression, decreased quality of life and isolation. Hearing aids are the main intervention for presbycusis and a 2017 Cochrane Review showed that they have a...Interacoustics introduces the game-changing Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT™) test
For more than a century, hearing aids have been prescribed based solely on the pure tone audiogram.With the introduction of ACT, Interacoustics goes beyond the audiogram, and is now able to address the number one complaint from people with hearing loss: hearing conversations in noisy situations.
