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Medicine in the Mountains

This is an easy-to-read paperback with interesting accompanying photographs. Its focus is one of the UK-based teams who have done considerable healthcare work in Nepal. Written by David Hawker, a British anaesthetist, we see the story unfold through his eyes....

Big Data In Otolaryngology

The future is now and, in my opinion, this consists of artificial intelligence, robotics, and data. Why is data important? This is a rhetorical question as you will have guessed; however, it can help improve individual and collective care, speeding...

Management of stage IV pharyngolaryngeal lesions

This is a retrospective study of 63 patients presenting with stage four laryngeal and/or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The aim was to define the factors influencing the oncological and functional outcomes of the patients. All patients had T4 lesions with...

What blood tests should be requested to investigate vocal cord paralysis?

Patients who are discovered to have a vocal cord palsy with no obvious cause on history or examination routinely undergo investigations to exclude an underlying pathology. Cross-sectional imaging of the relevant recurrent laryngeal nerve is required, but considerable variability has...

IL-25 and nasal polyps, another target

Immune response in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is mainly via type 2 T-helper (Th2) cells while Th1 cells characterise chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) immune response. CRSwNP is heterogeneous on a cytological level causing a varied response...

Maternal angst

This paper confirms the anxiety that a mother experiences when their child undergoes surgery. The paper focuses on adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy for moderate to severe upper airway obstruction showing admirably how anxiety reduces following surgery. The authors recruited 66 mothers...

Surgery for hypopharyngeal obstruction causing OSA

Surgical treatments for OSA are evolving with improved diagnostic accuracy of the level(s) involved. Where the collapsing segment lies below the soft palate, a variety of surgical techniques to correct the affected segment(s) are emerging. This article concentrates on one...

Aerosols and polypi

Infection in the operative cavities after endoscopic sinus surgery for sinonasal polyposis leads to recurrence of symptoms and mucopurulent discharge. The usual therapies include systemic antibiotics sometimes with steroids. The authors hypothesised that the use of a topical antimicrobial (tobramycin...

Viral induced hearing loss

Viruses are a common cause of hearing loss both in children and adults. This article provides a good review of the viral causes of hearing loss and can be regarded as an essential read. The authors divide the viruses into...

Interleukins, cilia and polyps

Interleukins (ILs) including IL13 (Th2 cytokine) are inflammatory mediators and their role in asthma has been detailed before. This study explores IL13 receptor expression in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). The authors investigate protein and mRNA expression levels of...