Journal Reviews archive for March 2017
Comparison between objective and subjective BPPV
BPPV presentation in ENT clinics is variable. The objective of this study was to examine differences in demographic and clinical features, as well as treatment outcomes, between classic objective BPPV (O-BPPV) and subjective BPPV (S-BPPV). Unlike classic BPPV (with nystagmus),...
Minimal or not so minimal?
Parathyroidectomy is usually a straightforward technique when the target gland has been accurately determined. Surgical excision is usually through a small midline incision. With the advent of video assisted surgery, trials have been made to use this technique in parathyroidectomy....
Postoperative recovery in children after ENT surgery
This Belgian prospective study reported on the postoperative recovery time after routine ENT surgery (grommets, adenotonsillectomy), and compared parental estimations of postoperative pain with those of the child themselves (however, the authors do admit that many of the children included...
Literature review of experience with the BAHA Attract implant
The authors undertook a literature review for reports on patients who underwent BAHA Attract implantation. Of the 497 PubMed articles, 10 studies met their inclusion criteria. All the studies published were observational studies. There were no randomised control trials. The...
Vitamin C analgesia for UPPP
Postoperative pain management after uvulopharyngopalatoplasty is a common clinical problem. This well-designed study from Iran describes the novel use of vitamin C as an analgesic. The precise mechanism of action is not clearly defined, but appears to be related to...
Adenoidal hypertrophy in children with allergic rhinitis
Nasal congestion in children with allergic rhinitis can be confounded by adenoidal hypertrophy. This retrospective Turkish study examines this association in more detail. The sample studied was 566 children (age 2-18) that were diagnosed (based on ARIA guidelines) and treated...
FESS for recurrent acute rhinosinusitis: at last, some data
As noted in both the EPOS 2012 and in the (more recent) ICARS 2016, there is a paucity of evidence on the effectiveness of surgery for recurrent acute rhinosinusitis (RARS). The authors used a control group of patients with CRSsNP,...
Consulting with patients and providers: what should the future of aphasia therapy look like?
This article provides a description of what healthcare for people living with aphasia should and may look like in 10 years’ time. The authors have consulted with a group of people with aphasia and the lead of an aphasia advocacy...
Risk of malignancy in non-diagnostic thyroid FNACs
Thyroid nodules are present in between 21-68% of the general population. The evaluation of these nodules to exclude thyroid carcinoma includes fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and a non-diagnostic cytology result occurs between 8-20% of the time. This retrospective cohort study...
Balloon dilatation is an effective adjunct
This is a good study design, sufficiently powered, comparing medical management to balloon sinus dilatation. All patients had failed medical management and were thoroughly assessed preoperatively with Lund-Mackay score confirming abnormal CT findings, SNOT 20 index score, chronic sinusitis score...
CI and CP
Quality of life improvement is one of the main goals of cochlear implantation. Mobile phones are now a standard daily tool. For many implanted patients, a mobile phone is used for sending short messages rather than for voice calls. This...
Predicting speech recognition in adults with cochlear implants
This was a combined prospective and retrospective study from Belgium that looked at factors influencing speech recognition scores in quiet conditions (retrospectively) and speech reception threshold levels (SRT) in fixed noise conditions (prospectively) after cochlear implantation in postlingually deaf adults....
