Journal Reviews archive for November 2017
Management of oral white patches with malignant potential
This paper focuses on a rare but aggressive form of leukoplakia with malignant potential and is an important reminder of the need for specialist management to those in allied specialties such as ENT that may initially be referred these oral...
It’s not just about academic education for teenagers with TBI
Research has shown that many traumatic brain injuries are sustained before the age of 25. This article aims to examine the need for speech and language support for students with traumatic brain injury (TBI) beyond the issues a student may...
Application of balloon dilatation in chronic eustachian tube dysfunction
Chronic eustachian tube dysfunction prevails in 1% of the adult population and can predispose to middle ear disease. There are subjective and objective features of this condition that can affect quality of life. The common methods to treat eustachian tube...
The effect of vertigo on sleep
The authors analysed data of 20,950 individuals who completed the balance and dizziness supplements of the ongoing NHIS survey in 2008. The survey used a strict algorithm to identify individuals reporting vestibular vertigo and information on sleep duration and a...
Can we tell the difference between benign recurrent vertigo, migraine and Menière’s disease?
I chose to review this article as it reminds us of the difficulties in diagnosing dizzy patients accurately and the significant crossover of symptoms between the diagnoses. Does Benign Recurrent Vertigo (BRV) even exist as a separate entity? BRV is...
Reasons for readmission up to 30 days after nasal day surgery
This paper aims to review the reasons behind readmission to hospital after day case elective sinonasal surgery up to a month postoperatively. This French tertiary institution study retrospectively reviewed the charts of 924 patients undergoing nasal day case surgery over...
Expanding horizons: from speech therapy to communication therapy for people with Parkinson’s disease
This article explores the perspective of people living with Parkinson’s disease before and after participating in speech treatment delivered by a speech and language therapist (SLT). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 participants. These interviews were held face to face...
How can disabled children communicate more during family leisure time?
This article aims to provide guidance on how to integrate alternative augmentative communication (AAC) use into family leisure time. The authors highlight that ensuring the use of AAC in this highly valued activity can maximise carryover to real conversations. The...
Apps in allergic rhinitis
Utilising smart-phone applications to gather data is an expanding field in medicine. However, it is not without limitations including bias. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) introduced the Allergy Diary application as part of...
Are there benefits of prophylactic swallowing exercises for patients with head and neck cancer?
This randomised controlled trial aimed to establish the impact of prophylactic swallowing exercises in patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The primary outcome was the functional oral intake scale (FOIS), although secondary measures for feeding tube use,...
A lateralised middle turbinate post pituitary surgery and incidence of sinusitis
A common belief amongst pituitary surgeons is that lateralising the middle turbinate to access the sphenoid can result in an iatrogenic sinusitis. This paper attempts to find out whether this is in fact true. Thirty-eight patients fitted the inclusion criteria...
A global view of thyroid surgery practices
The incidence of thyroid cancer continues to increase, and both surgery for benign and malignant disease carries an important and persistent incidence of perioperative complications. This paper reports the results of an electronic survey sent to members of seven surgical...
