Journal Reviews archive for July 2018
Semantic fluency test to investigate deaf children
Semantic fluency task (SFT) is used to measure lexical organisation and executive function across the lifespan and requires participants to name examples from a particular semantic category in a specific period of time. Using this test, the authors investigated a...
One anastomosis or two
This is a cumulative meta-analysis from Hong Kong reviewing 27 articles and a total of 7,389 flaps. The authors, at the outset, acknowledge that the number of anastomoses is not the only factor of venous compromise and flap failure. Nonetheless...
Help or hinder: how and why do SLTs make clinical decisions around swallowing?
Dysphagia is a relatively common consequence of stroke, with estimates between 50% and 60% of people presenting with swallowing dysfunction following stroke. It is associated with pneumonia, malnutrition and dehydration which in turn lead to increased length of hospital admission,...
Lymph node ratio is a significant predictor for loco-regional recurrence after neck dissection in patients with papillary thyroid cancer
Lymph node metastases are common in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), yet the impact of nodal metastases on survival remains unclear. Lymph node density (LND) is the ratio between the number of positive lymph nodes excised and the total number of...
Can comorbidities predict complications after total laryngectomy? Utility of the Modified Frailty Index (mFI) score
Decision making regarding appropriate treatment for laryngeal cancer is complex. Patients undergoing total laryngectomy experience significant changes in anatomy and physiology and are at risk for significant postoperative complications. These patients represent a group with significant comorbidities. In addition, patients...
Surgical and non-interventional management of laryngomalacia
In this elaborate review article, the authors have described various aspects of laryngomalacia and its surgical management with supraglottoplasty or otherwise, gleaned from an extensive review of the literature which provided evidence or the lack of it in relation to...
Allergen specific subcutaneous immunotherapy helps in prolonged control of allergic rhinitis
One of the commonest allergens involved in perennial allergic rhinitis is house dust mite. A good proportion of these cases prove intractable to treatment with oral and intranasal antihistamines and intranasal steroid sprays. Immunotherapy is considered a useful alternative and...
Diagnostic performance of non-echo-planar diffusion weighted MRI in detection of suspected cholesteatoma
Even though a ‘second look’ remains a gold standard for detection of residual cholesteatoma after intact canal wall techniques, non-echo-planar diffusion weighted MRI is considered a reasonable alternative to avoid further surgery. However, to establish or exclude a cholesteatoma de...
International classification of bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP)
In the past few years the Bárány Society have been standardising the diagnostic criteria for various vestibular disorders – International Classification of Vestibular Disorders (ICVD). Diagnosis of BVP relies on history, bedside clinical assessment and objective vestibular tests. The authors...
Diagnosing persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD)
The authors, part of an influential committee of experts of the Bárány Society, proposed this consensus document after reviewing 30 years of research on phobic postural vertigo, space-motion discomfort, visual vertigo, and chronic subjective dizziness. They also reviewed interesting historical...
Beware the skinny patient…
The adverse health impacts of an excessive BMI are well known. This study highlights one laryngeal pathology for which a low BMI appears to be a significant risk factor. The records of 28 patients treated for arytenoid cartilage dislocation were...
Which da Vinci surgical system? Novel flexible, single-port versus current multiport, rigid-arm robotic surgical system
The da Vinci robotic surgical system has transformed how oropharyngeal head and neck surgery can be delivered. The existing da Vinci Si model has challenges: the dimensions of this are larger than would be ideal for head and neck surgery...
