You searched for "evidence"

1634 results found

Bespoke is best for children with communication difficulties

Children with communication difficulties can benefit from augmentative alternative communication (AAC) aids to support them in daily interaction, as well as in developing milestones. One of the most difficult aspects of choosing a device is not only meeting the child’s...

Active smoking predicts poor outcome in HPV positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Tobacco smoking is a well-known risk factor in human papilloma virus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell cancer. Its effects include increased risk of treatment failure, distant metastases and reduced overall survival. HPV has been increasingly implicated as a causative...

Future practice: tele-rehabilitation in speech and language therapy

It is known that our population is ageing, resulting in an increase in the number of people living with progressive neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. Health services endeavour to deliver specialist and personalised care to all these people, often...

Do we need contrast MRI when screening for vestibular schwannoma?

Gadolinium contrast enhanced T1-weighted (gT1w) MRI images of the internal acoustic meati have long been considered the gold standard in the diagnosis of vestibular schwannoma (VS). However, the addition of contrast to the MRI examination increases the cost and time...

Neuromodulation in drug resistant epilepsy

Treatment of epilepsy can be considered generally as medical or surgical. Anti-epileptic drugs achieve a five-year seizure freedom in 54-70% patients. It is estimated that 50-90% of patients with drug-refractory epilepsy may not be candidates for resective surgery. For example,...

Is flexible nasendoscopy really aerosol generating?

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety of office-based laryngoscopy has been a source of considerable concern, speculation and debate. Flexible nasendoscopy is a key diagnostic tool in the assessment of the ENT patient, however most healthcare providers consider this to...

Compress to suppress the venous tinnitus

This interesting retrospective case series analyses the effectiveness of a modified surgical technique with retromastoid reconstruction of the sigmoid sinus by mechanical compression with Surgicel and bone wax packing under local anaesthesia for patients with venous pulsatile tinnitus related to...

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy a treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Cochlear ischaemia has been postulated as one of the potential aetiologies for sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Hence, increasing oxygen delivery to the cochlea by hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been explored as a potential treatment to reverse hearing loss. The authors...

Prognostic value of vascular ultrasonographic findings in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is often idiopathic. Although the aetiology of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is unclear, vascular compromise is one of the frequently proposed hypotheses to explain its pathophysiology. Existing studies have shown an association between ISSNHL...

Are quinsies worth draining?

Recent data is providing accumulating evidence that treatment failure in the management of peritonsillar abscesses (PTAs, aka ‘quinsies’) is similar when these are managed with medical treatment (MT) alone versus MT plus surgical drainage (M+ST). However, in the absence of...

Treatment options for vestibular neuritis: systematic review and meta-analysis

Vestibular neuritis (VN) is the third most common cause of peripheral vertigo. VN has been postulated to have viral aetiology and historically it was treated with steroids, until 2011 when a Cochrane review demonstrated lack of robust evidence behind this...

Non-autologous graft material in paediatric tympanoplasty – is it as good as temporalis fascia and is it cost-effective?

This retrospective case review looks at the experience of a single unit using a variety of autologous (temporalis fascia, n=292) and non-autologous graft material, n=241 (alloderm (human dermis), biodesign (porcine submucosa, $170-$255) and tutoplast (human pericardium, $350). The average patient...