Journal Reviews
A mouth-rinse test that can screen for oral cancer?
This paper presents a promising screening tool for oral cancer – using a simple chlorhexidine mouth-rinse. The hypermethylated ZNF582 and PAX1 markers were chosen based on previous studies using oral scraping methods of collection and have been shown to be...
What is the evidence for duration of antibiotic prophylaxis in head and neck free-flap cases?
The topic of this systematic review is one which is commonly heard in discussions between microbiologists and head and neck surgeons – what is the evidence for antibiotic prophylaxis in clean-contaminated free-flap cases, and crucially, how long should antibiotics be...
Directional microphones and speech
This study aimed to research how speech recognition, listening effort and localisation depends on hearing aids’ microphone configuration in people with moderate to severe hearing losses. Eighteen participants with sensorineural, symmetrical, moderate to severe hearing loss were tested. Participants were...
Lack of early vocabulary growth in bilateral cochlear implant children
Studies indicate that children with unilateral implantation may have delayed vocabulary development for long periods of time even after implantation. This Finnish study attempted to find out whether bilateral cochlear implantation was associated with earlier vocabulary development. The authors analysed...
Blindness after orthognathic surgery
This is a case report and review of the literature of this rare, but well recognised alarming complication. The authors discuss the possible mechanisms, suggesting that it does not arise from a direct injury to the optic nerve and is...
Swallow assessment: is clinical judgement or objective measurement more reliable?
Swallowing difficulties are life threatening and are the most common referral reason to speech and language therapists working with the adult population. Video fluoroscopic examination is a common instrumental tool used to assist in the assessment of the risk of...
What should be considered a ‘close’ margin in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma?
Achieving clear margins during surgical resection in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) is thought to reduce local recurrence (LR) and improve prognosis; however, what constitutes a clear, close, or involved margin is inconsistent in the literature and in practice....
Association of childhood OME with obesity
Many factors influence the development of otitis media with effusion (OME) in children, some of them being increased plasminogen factor inhibitor (PAI-1) levels, eustachian tube obstruction and gastro-oesophageal reflux. These factors are also associated with obesity. Sixty children with mean...
Is clinical HIT as good as vHIT in the emergency room?
Establishing the cause of acute vestibular syndrome (AVS) is critical in the first few hours of presentation in the emergency department. The first question to ask is, “is it due to a peripheral vestibular pathology or a stroke?” This is...
Reactive lesions of the contralateral vocal cord – excise or leave?
It is well recognised that benign lesions of one vocal cord can give rise to reactive lesions of the contralateral vocal cord directly opposite to the primary lesion. These contralateral reactive lesions (CRLs) are thought to arise due to impact...
What is balloon eustachian tuboplasty (BET)?
Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is the result of a combination of factors that interfere with the mucosal functional or cartilaginous structures. Failure to open the eustachian tubes can cause aural pain, pressure in the ears, muffled hearing, crackling/popping sounds in...
A new bio-glue for neurosurgical wound closures
Dural closures need to be tight to prevent cerebrospinal fluid leaks. Traditional wound closure techniques involve sutures and DuraSeal which is the only FDA approved polyglycol hydrogel sealant with proven safety and efficacy profile. This article describes a new sealant,...
