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Efficacy of interventions for stuttering: literature review

This is the first part of a two-article review of the efficacy of different modalities of treatments used for treatment of stuttering / stammering. In this article, the authors describe their efforts to identify and quantify evidence on various interventions...

Medical trends in sleep disordered breathing

This duo provide an eloquent outline of sleep disordered breathing in general, with particular emphasis on the medical impact and associations of the condition. The increasing prevalence of the condition is described, with increasing worldwide obesity, increased association of cardiac...

Postoperative pain in septoplasty

This is a prospective Turkish study that looked at factors affecting the postoperative pain response after septoplasty, a common ENT surgical procedure. Sixty patients were included in the study who underwent septoplasty. The authors looked at the influence of demographics...

Tricky post-laryngectomy swallows

Despite improvements in chemoradiation therapy and the adoption of organ preservation for some head and neck cancers, total laryngectomy remains the treatment often providing best survival chances for advanced laryngeal cancer. This article reviews the causes of dysphagia post-laryngectomy and...

Outcome measures for hearing loss

This short editorial explores some possible options in measurement of quality of care in audiology. We traditionally tend to use clinician-related outcomes in place of patient-reported outcome measures and so we could miss a wealth of data on the impact...

Cochlear Implants - Basic Textbook

The book has been written by the sole author Dr Sandro Burdo MD. He is based at the Circolo Hospital in Varese where he has established his practice and wealth of experience. As the title indicates, this is an encompassing...

Do anticoagulanis and facial plastic surgery mix?

Some surgeons think that antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies (aspirin, warfarin sodium and clopidogrel bisulphate) increase perioperative bleeding and infections. However, the current evidence base provides conflicting data with respect to the risk of true complications. In this case-control study a...

Tongue tie – just a snip?

This article regarding ankyloglossia raises an eyebrow; surely it’s just a snip isn’t it? Seemingly not. The authors describe two types of tongue tie – the first being posterior, with the frenulum being short and tight, the second being anterior,...

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia

This is a very nicely written overview of this difficult condition by two expert rhinologists with a tertiary practice. The genetic basis, pathophysiology, diagnosis, natural history and available management options are all discussed. Clearly there is a large spectrum of...

Short-term risk of falling after cochlear implantation

This paper examined the effect of cochlear implantation on balance function in 16 adult patients. The authors assessed balance pre- and (two weeks) post-operatively by timing how long each patient was able to stand on a foam pad with their...

Speech audiometry tests in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment

This paper caught my eye because, with our ageing population, mild cognitive impairment and dementia are a major, growing problem. We know that ageing causes a multitude of medical and social issues. So it seems wise to investigate the effects...

Endoscopic findings and prediction of outcome in unilateral vocal cord paralysis

Unilateral vocal cord paralysis which is not due to irreversible causes such as malignancy, systemic disease or trauma varies considerably in terms of full recovery and restoration of voice. Usually electromyography is used to make possible predictions, but this facility...