Journal Reviews archive for 2015
Thyroid nodules in children
Whilst 5% of nodules in adults may harbour malignancy it is reported in this review that about a quarter of nodules may do so in children. Malignancies in this group are almost always well-differentiated subtypes of papillary, follicular and medullary...
Revision stapedectomy with bone cement works well!
Revision stapes surgery is notoriously difficult and results are worse than in primary surgery. This group in Utah have described the use of hydroxyapatite bone cement to stabilise the nitinol prosthesis they use in revision surgery due to incus necrosis...
Nasal decongestants don’t improve Eustachian tube function
Prescribing nasal steroids and decongestants. It’s something most of us do routinely, in an effort to reduce chronic middle ear effusion in an adult by trying to improve eustachian tube (ET) patency. This study used clever devices (tube manometry and...
Canal wall down with obliteration of cavity for paediatric cholesteatoma
The authors present evidence that canal wall down (CWD) surgery with primary obliteration is an effective way to treat paediatric cholesteatoma. Fifty-eight ears were operated on and follow-up was for five years on average. Residual cholesteatoma rate was 9.9% with...
Vascular loops found on MRI IAM for tinnitus
This group from the Netherlands looks at the finding of vascular loops found on MRI IAMs requested for tinnitus. It is a common finding for all who request such imaging. This work adds to the body of evidence that such...
BAHA loading two weeks after implant insertion
The time thought necessary for sufficient osseointegration to occur to enable use of a BAHA has reduced from months to a few weeks. This paper further reduces this timescale to two weeks in patients with healthy bone and soft tissue...
Role of fine needle aspiration cytology in the management of thyroid neoplasm
Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a useful procedure in the assessment of thyroid swellings. This retrospective study was done at King Abdul-Aziz University hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh. The objectives of this study were: to determine the cytological pattern...
Earplugs fit for purpose
The aim of occupational audiology is to prevent hearing loss caused by occupational sound exposure which can exacerbate the long-term effects of central presbyacusis as employees age. To provide the best noise protection over time, research suggests that best practice...
Audiology in palliative care
The goal of palliation is to provide services that are centred on understanding the salient needs for the patient, maintaining quality of life and addressing any functional and supportive needs of the patient and those caring for them. The audiologist...
Auditory brainstem response patterns are neural signatures
Through examples, this article describes how particular aspects of auditory brainstem responses can portray certain kinds of language or communication impairments – a characteristic pattern or ‘neural signature’. A reduction in processing of the fundamental frequency is seen commonly in...
Waiting for smell to recover after post-viral hyposmia
The patient with post-viral anosmia will always want to know how long they must wait to reach a plateau. This study from South Korea of a comparatively small group (20 controls and 63 patients) tells us that favourable prognostic indicators...
The stubborn polyp cases are ‘different’
The widely different behaviour of nasal polyp disease between patients is a major feature of rhinology practice and makes counselling of patients difficult when approaching their first operative intervention. Setting aside aspirin sensitivity (Samter’s triad), which is known to be...
