Journal Reviews
Speech in noise hearing difficulties
The phenomenon of speech understanding in noise in normal hearing people attracts the interest of researchers continuously. This study’s aim was to further explore the possible reasons behind these difficulties. The participants were 50 adults that reported having normal hearing...
Is posterior epistaxis really ‘posterior’?
In absence of any clear bleeding points seen on the septum, it is generally presumed that the epistaxis is posterior, especially when simple cauterisation of the septum does not help and may progress to sphenopalatine ligation. In this publication, the...
Silent sinus syndrome: which approach offers the best outcome?
Silent sinus syndrome (SSS) is a rare condition with patients presenting as spontaneous, painless enophthalmos, hypoglobus, orbital asymmetry, and maxillary sinus collapse on the ipsilateral side. The orbital resorption occurs secondary to negative pressure created in the maxillary sinus by...
The search for the holy grail of rhinosinusitis: another step towards phenotyping in CRS wNP?
For many years, scientists and clinicians have been trying to understand the infinite variability within the term ‘rhinosinusitis’ using radiology, basic science, epidemiology and then using their insights to solve the riddle of management: how to explain why some patients...
Should we be doing earlier MRIs in sudden sensorineural hearing loss?
There is recognised variation between ENT departments in exact imaging protocols for the workup of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) but a routine MRI to exclude retrocochlear pathology is standard, usually following immediate treatment with oral +/- intratympanic steroids....
Sinus implants to treat recalcitrant polyps
It is well established that the burden of chronic rhinosinusitis on healthcare costs and patients’ quality of life is high, and that current mainstream treatment options of oral or topical steroids are not without problems. This paper compares two RCTSs...
SNOT-25 to assess CRS - a new tool
The SNOT-22 is a well-established validated instrument, designed to evaluate the rhinosinusitis-specific health status and health-related QOL, however makes only one broad reference to productivity. The objective of this paper is to evaluate a modified SNOT-25 created to better assess...
Acute ENT activity in a teaching hospital
This Belgian prospective audit attempted to provide justification for the provision of a 24-hour emergency service at a large 1038-bed teaching hospital (with 31 ENT consultants). The authors looked at a one-month period during which 190 patients were admitted. They...
ENT surgical training in Belgium
The authors aimed to identify strength and gaps in ENT training in Belgium through a national survey amongst ENT Belgian trainees. They attempted to contact 94 trainees, with a response rate of 59.5%. Of the respondents, 35.7% rated their level...
Endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery versus dopamine agonist therapy for microprolactinomas
This study addresses the importance of the location of microprolactinomas in determining prognosis after surgery. Long-term dopamine agonist treatment is the current standard of treatment for microprolactinomas. However, patients often seek surgical removal. The authors of this study retrospectively analysed...
Are elective neck dissections needed during salvage laryngectomy?
There has recently been a move away from elective neck dissections in the setting of salvage laryngectomy. This has mainly resulted from an appreciation of the increase in morbidity, in particular pharyngocutaneous fistula formation, and an improvement in cross-sectional imaging...
Loneliness and hearing loss treatment
It is well-known that hearing loss can lead to social isolation and consequent loneliness. This study aimed to research whether hearing loss treatment helps in overcoming loneliness long-term. Two types of treatment - hearing aids (HA) and cochlear implants (CI)...
