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How reliable are PTH levels for the prediction of hypocalcaemia after thyroid surgery?

Hypoparathyroidism is one of the most common complications of thyroid surgery. There is significant controversy in calcium management practices post thyroid surgery. The drop in PTH levels has been used to predict the likelihood of hypocalcaemia after thyroid surgery. But...

How to improve olfaction and enhance quality of life after laryngectomy

Total laryngectomy diverts airflow away from the nose and, hence, olfaction is greatly impaired. Undoubtedly, this affects quality of life in terms of loss of taste and flavour. Surgery and devices to re-establish airflow into the nose can be difficult...

Gadolinium enhanced MRI and the diagnosis of Ménière’s disease

Despite various criteria applied over the years to diagnose Ménière’s disease since the concept of endolymphatic hydrops was first observed in postmortem examinations of patients in 1938, the diagnosis still remains mainly clinical. To visualise endolymphatic hydrops in MRI imaging,...

How best can we manage Samter’s Triad/AERD?

The classic ‘Samter’s Triad’ of asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP), and aspirin sensitivity is now referred to as aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory-exacerbated respiratory disease. We often come across in our rhinology setting, patients with recalcitrant...

Recurrent facial palsy

Recurrent facial palsy is relatively rare, and its clinical features are not well known. The authors set out to investigate this further by undertaking a retrospective study of patients with recurrent facial palsy over a 14-year period. Only Bell’s palsy...

The ‘My Hearing Explained’ tool: audiologist and client perceptions

The study notes that the pure tone audiogram has been the primary clinical and counselling tool used by clinicians to assess and describe hearing thresholds to individuals and families since 1922. The Ida Institutes, ‘My Hearing Explained’ tool has become...

What is the quality of patient-reported outcomes of salivary function?

Salivary gland dysfunction has multiple causes and can have significant impact on quality of life, particularly when symptoms are severe. There are several patient-reported outcomes (PROMS) that assess these issues; however, these are variable in what they measure. This systematic...

How well do different assessments of swallowing correlate with one another?

Swallowing (dys)function may be assessed by three key measures: 1. instrumental swallowing techniques such as the modified barium swallow (MBS) or videofluoroscopy; 2. functional measures of diet texture that patients can eat comfortably (usually rated by the clinician); and 3....

How long after head and neck cancer diagnosis do patients need opioids?

With the advances in the management of head and neck cancer (HNC), patients tend to survive longer after their diagnosis. These people face the burden of chronic pain management which is strongly associated with HNC. A HNC team in Portland...

Provision of hearing support to people with dementia in care homes

The study suggests care home staff training in hearing care for residents with dementia is often not available or not considered a priority. Resources, facilities, training, staff capacity, capability and support vary widely. Care home provision also varies between social...

Is it necessary to put ventilation tubes at the time of surgery in children with cleft palate?

It is commonly understood that existence of a palatal cleft is associated with abnormal action of tensor veli palatini muscle. Frequent middle ear effusions therefore occur because this muscle obstructs rather than opens the Eustachian tube on yawning and swallowing,...

Active surveillance for papillary thyroid cancers – what is the risk of progression?

Papillary thyroid cancers (PTCs) are generally considered to be indolent malignancies with favourable outcomes. Active surveillance (AS) has consequently been trialled as a management option for small PTCs with no evidence of regional lymph node involvement, especially papillary thyroid microcarcinomas...