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Antibiotic prophylaxis in otolaryngologic surgery. Less is better!
Jan/Feb 2020 Editor’s Choice is a review of antibiotic prophylaxis in ENT and OMF surgery. It is not the first systematic review and meta-analysis published in the last two years. If anyone else has been offered a “potentially career-altering opportunity”...
Prevention better than cure?
This systematic review looks at methods of ‘barrier protection’ or ‘barrier-enforcing’ to minimise allergic rhinitis symptoms, using 15 RCTs. Whilst the authors admit that patient numbers were small in a number of these studies, generally it seems that barrier techniques...
Which patients are more likely to have postoperative pulmonary complications after major head and neck?
Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) following major head and neck surgery are frequently encountered. Indeed, surgery in the head and neck area itself has been identified as a risk factor for these complications. Microvascular reconstruction is a widely accepted and proven...
GORD and CRS – is there an association?
This international collaboration assessed 32 papers which had published original data on the experimental, diagnostic, treatment or prognostic association between GORD and CRS. The study aims to systematically review the evidence for a role of GORD in CRS. Case control,...
Microsurgical trainees to avoid strenuous exercises?
It is commonly believed among microsurgeons that over-exertion can impair microsurgical performance. The authors aimed to investigate if they could prove this theory and compared the performance of medical students, postgraduate trainees and expert controls who were microsurgery tutors. A...
Do certain chronic medications increase dysphagia in older people?
Oropharyngeal dysphagia is known to affect a high number of older people in the community, in care homes and in acute geriatric admissions to hospital. The authors of this study have recognised that many older people take drugs for chronic...
Type 2 diabetes and BPPV
Previous research has shown an association between BPPV and certain medical conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and type 1 diabetes. The authors in this retrospective observational study investigated the interaction between BPPV and type 2 diabetes by examining the ‘role...
Effectiveness of oral pressure therapy in obstructive sleep apnoea: a systematic analysis
Oral pressure therapy (OPT) is a relatively new form of therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Paradoxically it seems to work even though it creates a vacuum in the oral cavity as opposed to the gold standard of continuous positive...
Beware the skinny patient…
The adverse health impacts of an excessive BMI are well known. This study highlights one laryngeal pathology for which a low BMI appears to be a significant risk factor. The records of 28 patients treated for arytenoid cartilage dislocation were...
Is submandibular gland transfer effective in prevention of post irradiation xerostomia in head and neck cancer patients?
Post irradiation xerostomia is a common side effect of irradiation to the head and neck region, with up to 90% of patients reporting some symptoms. Submandibular glands account for 70% of resting saliva production. Surgically transferring the submandibular gland to...
Seeking medical attention with tonsillectomy complications depends on who you are. Lessons from the USA
In the current UK model, NHS care is free at point of access so there are no perceived economic barriers to seeking attention with postoperative complications. This study from the US examines surgical and emergency room databases from across California,...
