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Using evidence and international consensus to guide treatment of thyroid nodules

The authors of this practical review paper highlight a growing issue within thyroid surgery, where high-quality ultrasound has increased the detection of subclinical nodules: what do we do with the patient presenting with an ‘incidental’ thyroid nodule? This has both...

The future: brain imaging for aphasia rehabilitation

Technology offers our patients vast potential, yet the research literature in this area is often technical and difficult to translate to the day-to-day clinical setting. This article aims to review structural and functional imaging methods and discuss how they are...

Is it worth paying for group therapy?

Group therapy for post-stroke communication difficulties has been described in the research literature for more than 50 years and is generally considered an efficacious approach. Yet these authors express concern that the American Medicare system is less willing to fund...

Stem cells in nasal polyposis

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is common and is multifactorial with increased T-helper 2 response and active role of interleukin 5. It can be associated with asthma and control of CRSwNP improves lower airway disease. Due to constant cellular...

The hot nose

Capsaicin nasal spray can offer moderate to significant symptomatic relief to 70-80% of patients with idiopathic rhinitis (IR). Efficacy was also shown in lab studies. Nasal hyper reactivity (NHR), absence of allergy / infective rhinosinusitis, age limits (18-60), no anatomical...

How to talk about hearing aid costs?

Money is always a controversial topic if discussed in reference to healthcare. This study raises the interesting topic of difficulties when it comes to discussing the costs of hearing aids with customers. Sixty-two audiological appointments were recorded and discussions concerning...

CT-scan instead of rigid bronchoscopy in paediatric foreign body aspiration?

Many centres would still use rigid bronchoscopy as the gold standard for possible foreign body aspiration (FBA) in children. Evidence is growing that CT scanning in these situations is a reliable alternative, especially as rigid bronchoscopy (RB) still carries a...

Long term morbidity of extended medial maxillectomy for inverted papilloma

This Italian review paper looks at five-year morbidity after extended endoscopic medial maxillectomy in 59 patients in a university teaching hospital setting. All patients underwent an extended approach medial maxillectomy for inverting papilloma, this included removal of the entire medial...

Technology at the right time in the right place for people with communication difficulties

The ‘just-in-time’ (JIT) construct was developed as a business strategy for a major Japanese car company in the 1970s. It has now been applied to many other business models throughout the world. The JIT concept is where something is provided,...

The role of imaging in differentiating rare temporal bone neoplasms

This paper provides a useful tool to assist in determining the diagnosis of benign neoplasms of the temporal bone using readily available imaging modalities. Specifically, this group have looked at chondrosarcoma, an expansile hypermetabolic mass lesion usually found in the...

Self-report of hearing aids handling difficulties

The authors have raised an interesting subject concerning the ability of customers to self-assess their hearing aid handling skills. Previous studies showed that 96% of customers when asked if they are able to manage their hearing aids answered ‘yes’. However,...