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Persistent symptoms of smell loss after COVID-19 infection

Anosmia as a result of COVID-19 infection is well recognised. This timely and topical French paper looks at 115 patients with proven SARS-CoV-2 infection, who were contacted with specific questions about olfactory and gustatory disturbance. They found 81% of patients...

A new era in the treatment of recalcitrant nasal polyps?

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) can be difficult to treat effectively in patients with aggressive or recalcitrant disease. Omalizumab (Xolair) is a monoclonal anti-IgE antibody with proven benefits for patients with moderate/severe asthma and CRSwNP, but this study looks...

Patients with auto-immune Meniere’s disease more likely to respond to intratympanic steroids

The authors retrospectively reviewed the duration of symptom control after intratympanic dexamethasone (IT) injections in 27 patients with Meniere’s disease (MD) over a six-year period. The patients received two IT injections of 3.3mg/ml of dexamethasone one-to-two weeks apart. Eleven patients...

Transcutaneous vs. percutaneous bone conduction devices

Bone conduction devices (BCD) have proven to be effective options for hearing amplification in patients who are not candidates for conventional hearing aids. This study prospectively surveyed 70 patients with BCD using the COSI (Client Oriented Scale of Improvement) and...

Patient-related factors that require revision surgery for otosclerosis

Stapes surgery for otosclerosis has a high success and low complication rate but, over a period of time, good results can deteriorate, requiring revision surgery. In this study, the authors have focused on patients’ demographic data as predictive factors for...

Audiological outcomes after CI in patients with inner ear schwannomas

In the last decade, several case series and case reports describing hearing rehabilitation with cochlear implants (CI) in patients with inner ear schwannomas (IES) have been published. This systematic review and meta-analysis studied audiological outcomes from 110 patients (111 ears)...

Posterior nasal neurectomy – long-term data shows tailing off of benefits but still improvement after three years

It is well understood that allergic rhinitis has a very detrimental effect on quality of life for afflicted patients. This study looks at patients with allergic rhinitis but no other associated sinonasal or respiratory diagnoses. Patients with a history of...

Profiling features of dysphagia in people with moderate to severe Covid-19

Dysphagia arose as a serious concern for many people affected by Covid-19, especially those who required intubation. The authors of this paper used data from an institutional database of 3660 patients (Jan 2020 – March 2022) who presented with moderate...

Patient-reported outcome measures in septorhinoplasty

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are used increasingly in surgical research to quantify the efficacy of surgical interventions. This can help to fill an ‘evidence gap’ where healthcare rationing threatens particular treatments. Procedures aimed at improving quality of life, especially with...

Does septoplasty improve smell?

This is a study from Barcelona on a very interesting topic: does septoplasty change sense of smell? The theory being that a deviated septum would prevent airflow to the olfactory region and once the anatomical obstruction has been relieved, that...