Journal Reviews
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...
Comparing patient and surgeon concerns in sinus surgery
This prospective observational study had a total of 180 patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis with or without polyposis. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Subjects felt the greatest level of concern regarding potential...
Effects of nasal sprays on ciliary function
What do topical nasal sprays do to the nasal mucosa in the long term? This study reports the effect of corticosteroids, antihistamines and common preservatives in nasal sprays, benzalkonium chloride (BKC) and potassium sorbate (PS), on an in-vitro model of...
Nasal peak inspiratory flow (NPIF) as a diagnostic tool for differentiating decongestable from structural nasal obstruction
Identification of the cause of nasal obstruction is critical before surgical intervention such as septoplasty. This study assesses changes in nasal peak inspiratory flow (NPIF) as a tool for discriminating decongestable versus structural obstruction. A cross-sectional study of 52 patients...
Passive smoking and rhinosinusitis
One would expect that subjects exposed to more passive smoke would have a significantly increased level of rhinosinusitis. This study looked at a reasonable number of sinusitis and control subjects (404 and 165) using hair nicotine as an assessment of...
The anatomy and actual number of branches of the sphenopalatine artery: surgical implications
Endoscopic sphenopalatine artery ligation or cauterisation is nowadays the main treatment for epistaxis unresponsive to medical therapy. However, on review of the literature, there appears to be confusion relating to the anatomical nomenclature of the sphenopalatine artery branches and more...
Swallowing outcomes following partial laryngectomy: objective assessment and pre-operative predictive factors
Partial laryngectomy constitutes one of the treatments for early stage glottic carcinoma (i.e. T1N0 and T2N0) in specialised centres. Over the years, several partial laryngectomy and reconstruction techniques have been described in the literature. The choice of technique depends on...
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...
Friendly bacteria in the ear nose and throat to combat the bad…
The author presents a thorough review of bacterial interference and the studies that have been conducted in common ENT conditions. The simple concept is that a strong population of normal flora will interfere with colonisation and subsequent infection by pathogenic...
Do we need to intervene after complications of acute sinusitis in children?
omplications of acute sinusitis in children are not uncommon and some are managed surgically. The authors of this paper reviewed their experience of subsequent chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Nine of 86 patients required surgery in the 12 months after their initial...
Importance of nasal septal cartilage perichondrium for septum strength mechanics: a cadaveric study
This experimental cadaver study aimed to investigate the biomechanical qualities of the perichondrium and cartilage, and to determine the strength of the septal cartilage against bending forces. The nasal septal cartilages of 14 fresh cadavers (eight hours post-mortem) without nasal...
