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McIsaac scores in tonsillitis

Acute tonsillitis is usually caused by a viral infection, however often antibiotics are prescribed without a confirmed diagnosis of a bacterial infection. The Modified Centor (McIsaac) criteria, which include fever (>38°c), tonsillar exudate, no cough, anterior cervical lymphadenitis and age,...

Can obstructive snoring affect the snorer’s ears as well?

Patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) often show severe nasal obstruction, chronic sinusitis and/or a deficit of nasal mucociliary clearance with nasopharyngeal stagnation of secretions possibly predisposing to eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD). This clinical prospective study investigates ETD, nasal resistance...

Can comorbidities predict complications after total laryngectomy? Utility of the Modified Frailty Index (mFI) score

Decision making regarding appropriate treatment for laryngeal cancer is complex. Patients undergoing total laryngectomy experience significant changes in anatomy and physiology and are at risk for significant postoperative complications. These patients represent a group with significant comorbidities. In addition, patients...

Hearing preservation after Gamma knife in vestibular schwannomas

This retrospective study reports the outcomes of hearing preservation up to three years after Gamma knife radiosurgery for Gardner-Robertson Class I (SDS>70% and PTA <30dB) patients with vestibular schwannomas. The authors report that patients with no subjective or objective hearing...

Cochlear implants in Ménière’s disease

This retrospective review firstly reminds us that a cochlear implant (CI) is possible with Ménière’s disease (MD) and provides a good account of what can be expected with a CI in patients with MD. Twenty MD patients who underwent cochlear...

Postoperative complications in OSA patients

This well researched meta-analysis describes the various complications obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients may acquire after surgery. These American reviewers found that OSA patients after non-upper airway operations, were more like to suffer (compared to non-OSA patients), from the following...

Reconstruction after parotid surgery

This is a retrospective study from Naples, Italy. The authors compare patients with benign parotid disease that were reconstructed with three different techniques. In total 224 patients between February 2002 and March 2009 were included; these patients had either formal...

Cochlear implantation in elderly candidates and effect on quality of life

The authors aimed to assess the improvement in quality of life (QoL) of cochlear implant patients over 60 and its relation to audiometric benefits. An observational retrospective study was conducted on 26 individuals older than 60. The outcome was compared...

Is there hope of hearing for postmeningitic patients deemed unsuitable for a cochlear implant?

Rehabilitation of patients with profound hearing loss deemed unsuitable for cochlear implants is challenging. An auditory brainstem implant (ABI) is a viable option for these patients. This paper evaluates auditory and speech perception outcome measures following ABI in 10 postmeningitic...

Transverse venous sinus stenosis – a risk factor for CSF leak in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension

This was a multicentre (six French tertiary hospitals) retrospective case-controlled study aiming to investigate the rate of transverse venous sinus stenosis (TVSS) in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) with nasal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. They compared the preoperative MRI...

A viable solution for isolated post-nasal drip?

This retrospective, single-centre case series looked at a cohort of patients with postnasal drip as their primary symptom. Exclusions were patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. The interventions offered were temperature-controlled radio frequency (TCRF) ablation of the posterior nasal nerve delivered by...