You searched for "diagnostic"
Association of tinnitus with dementia
In this large case-controlled study, the authors have compared the presence of tinnitus prior to the diagnosis of dementia in the study group with those without dementia. Dementia patients were selected from the National Health Insurance group. The control group...Thyroid ultrasound elastography: does nodule stiffness predict malignancy?
Approximately 50% of the general population has a thyroid nodule while 5-15% of these are malignant [1]. A major challenge, therefore, is how to detect the malignant nodules for appropriate, timely treatment and avoid unnecessary, costly investigations for the remainder....Rotational chair testing: “To rotate, or not to rotate, that is the real question”
Passive whole body rotation tests are widely considered to be the ‘gold standard’ for the identification of bilateral peripheral vestibular disorders (bPVD), but also have a part to play in identifying unilateral disorders (uPVD). In this article Paul Radomskij discusses...
Prognostic value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer
The authors propose that high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with poor disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with human papillomavirus positive (HPV+) oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). This is a retrospective study that compared the outcomes of 43 patients treated for HPV+...
Blood-sampling prognostic predictors for Bell’s palsy
Bell’s palsy is generally defined as an acute-onset unilateral idiopathic mononeuropathy in the facial nerve. It is of unknown aetiology, however, inflammation is considered a major cause. Electroneurography assessing nerve excitability is the most reliable examination for predicting prognosis of...Psychogenic vestibular disorders: understanding and management
‘Psychogenic vestibular disorders’, also known as ‘functional vertigo and dizziness’, are common causes of dizziness and balance difficulty. Although our understanding of their underlying pathophysiology remains incomplete, Drs Diego Kaski and Amy Edwards outline how early identification and positive diagnosis...
Consider PCR testing in culture negative necrotising otitis externa
Necrotising otitis externa (NOE) often does not yield identification of a causative organism to treat although in 90% of cases it is a member of the pseudomonas species. The incidence of fungal NOE is not to be forgotten and this...
