Limited information is known about the localisation skills of paediatric cochlear implant patients who were good hearing aid users before their hearing deteriorated. As localisation is a skill often associated with good natural hearing, there is a worry that implants...
Early identification of dysphagia in inpatients on acute stroke wards has been recommended as best practice guidelines in many countries. However, several institutions fail to use formal dysphagia screening protocols and rely on informal detection by nurses and doctors. This...
This paper reports the results of a follow-up study investigating the possible role of adjuvant Gardasil vaccination in patients with recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis. The preceding study – also published in the Journal of Voice (2017) – reported the changes in...
This study analyses 30-day readmission data after vestibular schwannoma surgery using a multicentre longitudinal State of California dataset. The authors studied risk factors, and timing of readmission in 6820 patients over 15 years. Of these, 490 readmissions were reported for...
Chemoradiation (CRT) has become the mainstay for locally advanced laryngeal cancer since the RTOG 91-11 trial. Unfortunately there is still a substantial demand for salvage laryngectomies, which have a higher complication rate, the most notable being pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF). Several...
A nasogastric tube (NGT) is frequently used for patients who are at risk of endotracheal aspiration of oral diet. However, this cannot eliminate the aspiration of saliva. The incidence of aspiration pneumonia in patients with NGT therefore remains high. Some...
The growing issue of ciprofloxacin-resistant ear organisms is certainly a pertinent one. The situation here in the UK, where ototoxic topical drops are frequently given initially in the presence of pus and a perforation, differs markedly from elsewhere where fluoroquinolones...
Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) plays an important role in treating chronic refractory pain syndromes that manifest in limited distributions and overlap with areas of neurologic innervation. The process is generally thought to capitalise on the inhibition and activation of pain-related...
Relationships and social networks are known to impact outcome following a stroke. Studies have shown that group-housed animals who have had a stroke show greater neurological recovery than those who are isolated. Similarly, adults who are socially isolated following a...
“The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you become informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of gray. You realize that nothing is as clear as it first appears. Ultimately, knowledge is paralyzing.” Calvin,...
The honk of a car. An ambulance siren. A fire alarm. The ring of a doorbell. These alerting sounds are used to communicate information of varying levels of importance to us in our homes on a daily basis. Unfortunately this...
On-call apps have been covered in this publication before, with reference apps taking centre stage [1]. This article will focus on apps with specific functions which can be of use in frequently arising emergency scenarios. However, for reference apps I...