You searched for "protective"
Benefits of combined antiviral and corticosteroid therapy in Bell’s palsy and the role of decompression surgery
Early use of steroids has been established as standard management in Bell’s palsy but simultaneous use of antiviral agents has variable acceptance. This review article analyses statistically based evidence to settle the issue. High quality evidence from a 2009 Cochrane...
Bilateral medialisation thyroplasty for presbylaryngis
This retrospective case series explores the voice outcomes for 21 patients diagnosed with presbylaryngis who underwent bilateral medialisation thyroplasty at a university medical centre in Portland, Oregon, USA. Silastic was implanted in 17 patients; hydroxyapatite in four. Significant improvements were...
Choosing Wisely!
This article focuses on the prickly topic of healthcare costs and specifically on reducing spending on neuroimaging for headaches. Epidemiological studies indicate that the prevalence of lifetime headaches is 93 to 99% and accounts for 1.5% of all primary care...
How useful is AHI?
There is a growing unease in the sleep medicine world about the usefulness of the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI). Most of our objective evidence about obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is in some way related to the AHI, and the respiratory physicians...Adult hearing screenings has counselling opportunities
Adult hearing screening has its challenges, particularly time constraints. Because the process itself is brief, we could efficiently screen dozens of adults per hour; at events such as health fairs, it’s tempting to march people through screenings as quickly as...
CRS vs. migraine: which is the culprit in most headaches?
‘Sinus headache’ is a common diagnosis according to patients and primary care physicians, but relatively infrequent in the eyes of otolaryngologists. This study examines 104 patients with a primary headache syndrome (PHS) and 130 patients with CRS, looking at SNOT-22...
Indication and timing of electrodiagnostic tests in facial palsy
This excellent review describes the benefits and limitations of electrodiagnostic testing for patients with facial paralysis. Tests such as Schirmer, stapedial reflex and electrogustometry have been largely replaced by neurophysiologic tests like nerve excitability test (NET), electroneuronography (ENoG), surface electromyography...
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...
CT parameters in orbital wall fractures, choice of treatment, and patient outcome
This review from the Netherlands attempts to evaluate the relationship between CT parameters and the treatment that is used in clinical outcome (enophthalmos, diplopia and/or limitation in ocular movement). The authors look at fracture size, fracture location and involvement of...
Evolution of salivary gland pathology classifications
Targeted therapies for malignant salivary gland tumours have changed the treatment paradigm and therapy approaches. Better outcomes are now feasible. Choosing the treatment method requires a clear classification of the lesions. The authors of this paper reviewed the World Health...
Organoids in otolaryngology
This interesting review article summarises the status as well as future prospects of organoid technology in our field. Organoids are a mass of cells which are typically cultured in vitro with 3D technology. They simulate miniature tissues and organs and...
