Journal Reviews
Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo manoeuvres in children and adolescents: a systematic review
In this paper of Saniasiaya et al, the literature review is conducted in accordance to the PRISMA consensus, aiming to investigate the outcomes of canalith repositioning manoeuvres (CRM) to treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in a paediatric and young...
An advance in imaging for sinonasal tumours?
Benign sinonasal growths are incredibly common, and malignant sinonasal growths thankfully rare. We know that malignant tumours often present late, and the imaging can sometimes be misleading, so the authors here compare using diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), dynamic contrast enhanced...
Continuous Ambulatory Vestibular Assessment (CAVA)
This article presents initial test findings using a novel system called CAVA - Continuous Ambulatory Vestibular Assessment. Akin to the 24-hour ECG tape to identify cardiac arrhythmias, this system aims to continuously monitor the presence of a nystagmus pattern in...
Benign oesophageal strictures: overview and management strategies
Benign oesophageal strictures may have several attributable causes including caustic injuries, long-term acid reflux, eosinophilic oesophagitis, anastomotic strictures and endoscopic therapy. Endoscopic dilation via bougies or balloon dilators may treat most strictures successfully and satisfactorily. However, in some situations treatment...
Extracapsular dissection versus parotidectomy
This is a literature review of 16 papers using the PRISMA protocol. In comparing the two techniques, not surprisingly, they found that extracapsular dissection was associated with a reduced incidence of facial nerve paralysis and Frey’s syndrome and a shorter...
Does the season affect the diagnosis of vestibular disorders?
There are mixed results in the literature regarding seasonal variation in the presentation of various peripheral vestibular disorders. In this large population study involving over 20,000 patients recruited from 116 ENT practices across Germany, the authors analysed the demographic characteristics...
DIY Epley manoeuvre
This is an interesting paper that looks at getting patients to do their own particle repositioning manoeuvre (PRM) after having it done by a clinician (‘Epley’ to you and me although there are some slight differences) once a week for...
Type 2 diabetes and BPPV
Previous research has shown an association between BPPV and certain medical conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and type 1 diabetes. The authors in this retrospective observational study investigated the interaction between BPPV and type 2 diabetes by examining the ‘role...
Benefit of prolonged voice rest following phonosurgery
The recommendation for voice rest following surgery is not agreed amongst surgeons, regarding either the type of voice rest (absolute or relative) or the optimal duration. In this ongoing study, 31 elective patients operated on for benign laryngeal lesions were...