Search

How long is too long? Waiting times for speech and language therapy

Waiting lists are a reality of clinical practice, and many health and social care professionals become used to having to cope with this. The authors of this paper addressed this issue by examining written submissions to the 2014 Senate Inquiry...

Don’t smoke after a septoplasty!

This is a retrospective review of 281 patients, all of whom underwent elective septoplasty. Simply put, those who smoked displayed a much higher postoperative septal perforation rate than those who did not. So, some cautionary advice for patients undergoing this...

A bittersweet finding

This is an elegant study, documenting the role of, and activation of, nitrous oxide in chronic sinusitis. Bitter taste receptors (TR2) have recently been identified as novel ‘players’ in sinonasal innate immunity and in chronic rhinosinusitis. The receptors are triggered...

Update on orbital complication of acute sinusitus

This study aims to illustrate the Graz experience. The study is retrospective, 53 patients with orbital complication of sinusitis were examined / confirmed by a University Hospital from 2000 to 2011. Thirty-seven underwent surgery, seven of which experienced a recurrence....

Quality of life outcomes in paediatric endoscopic sinus surgery

This prospective cohort study evaluated chronic rhinosinusitis patients aged 5-18 years undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery in terms of quality of life. General and chronic rhinosinusitis surveys were completed by the parents and the child pre-ESS and at 30-90 days post-operatively....

Outcomes in rhinosinusitis

This review goes through the various different ways of assessing outcomes and describes the pros, cons and limitations of each. The different methods are described in the context of guidelines in diagnosis and management and compared with other conditions such...

Sarcoidosis and the nose

This retrospective case note review from Mount Sinai in New York looked at just 14 patients with sarcoidosis. Individual ENT units in the UK are likely to see relatively few of these patients, unless there is a major tertiary referral...

The effect of cocaine or adrenaline dressing during endoscopic sinus surgery

A randomised controlled study of 37 patients took place that underwent endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis and received adrenaline or cocaine-soaked patties. The study showed no difference in the mean surgical field scores between adrenaline and cocaine sides. Adequate...

The impact of rhino-sinusitis treatment on olfaction

This study included 28 adults prospectively enrolled between March 2011 and May 2013 into a non-randomised, multi-institutional cohort. Adults electing endoscopic sinus surgery experienced gains in olfaction comparable to adults electing continued medical management. The evidence in this study comparing...

Smell training is also effective in older patients

Olfactory loss is a common problem with a significant impact on quality of life. It has been demonstrated that olfactory training (OT) improves olfactory function in younger patients, but this study focuses in on patients aged 45 years and older....