Journal Reviews
Loneliness and hearing loss treatment
It is well-known that hearing loss can lead to social isolation and consequent loneliness. This study aimed to research whether hearing loss treatment helps in overcoming loneliness long-term. Two types of treatment - hearing aids (HA) and cochlear implants (CI)...
Delays in oral cancer
This is a review from Canada where they attempt to relate delays in oral cancer presentation to treatment and the impact on stage, diagnosis and survival. They recognise that potentially the most significant delay is between the patient first noticing...
Imaging of the parathyroid glands in primary hyperparathyroidism: where do we stand?
Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) refers to an intrinsic parathyroid gland abnormality that produces excessive secretion of parathyroid hormone. PHPT is diagnosed biochemically, and surgical excision of the abnormal parathyroid tissue represents the only definitive cure. Historically, the standard operative management of...
Helicobacter pylori infection delays mucociliary clearance in the nose
Chronic rhinosinusitis is not uncommonly a difficult condition to treat and therefore any possible association of this condition with factors outside the nose and sinuses is the subject of worthwhile research. Impairment of mucociliary clearance is paramount to upper respiratory...
Office-based otology procedures
This edition of the Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America covers office-based surgery in ENT. This article discusses procedures in otology that could be performed in the outpatient setting and covers innovations in office-based otologic procedures. The endoscope features prominently in...
Is surgery in obese children with obstructive sleep apnoea effective?
The authors present the results of their literature review and meta-analysis of studies examining adenotonsillectomy, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP), supraglottoplasty, tongue base surgery or a combination in obese children with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). The one study investigating effects of UPPP was...
Hypoglossal nerve stimulation for OSA
Hypoglossal nerve stimulation has been lauded as the great new surgical treatment panacea for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). This meta-analysis includes 12 studies with a total of 350 patients, including the five-year follow-up data from the STAR trial which was...
Your voice and your personality
Variations of vocal effort are a normal adaptation to difficult communication situations. However, persistence of these abnormal strategies can lead to various functional dysphonias. In this experiment, the authors tested 41 females aged 18-52. The subjects were asked to instruct...
Electrodes and the stapedial reflex
This study had two main objectives: testing the efficiency of the sequential stimulation of four different electrodes versus a single electrode on the threshold of the stapedial reflex; and correlating the values with the minimum comfort level (MCL). The study...
Association between Meniere’s disease and vestibular migraine
Meniere’s disease (MD) and vestibular migraine (VM) are two conditions with overlap in their symptoms. There is often a lack of understanding regarding symptom-based differentiation between them. MD presents with episodic vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss and tinnitus. MD has been...
Evaluation of secondary otalgia
This Turkish prospective study of 200 patients looked at the pain characteristics of secondary otalgia related to temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and cervical region disorders (CRD), and how they can affect diagnostics. Patients were included if they were >18 years of...
New biomarkers for salivary gland tumours
Salivary gland tumours comprise approximately 6-8% of head and neck neoplasms. Elevated haematological inflammatory markers, such as neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), have been shown to be predictive and prognostic in various malignancies. This...
