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An objective office-based method for diagnosing allergic rhinitis

There are several signs of allergic rhinitis which, helped with skin prick and blood tests, can diagnose the problem. However, an endoscopic, on-the-spot test may surmount clinical uncertainties and invasive testing to acquire the same goal. In this study, the...

Speedy speedy: people with MND chew faster but speak slower

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive neurological condition that affects motor neurons in the brain, brainstem and spinal cord, affecting the control of skeletal muscles for speech, chewing and swallowing. There are two variants of MND, with symptoms typically...

Chorda tympani in middle ear surgery

This was a prospective study at a single Belgian centre that aimed to monitor postoperative taste problems after middle ear surgery. The authors also looked at the influence of pathology and manipulation of chorda tympani (CT) on its function. Taste...

Diagnosing complications of acute mastoiditis in emergency situations

In many cases, acute mastoiditis is manageable with intravenous antibiotics and hospitalised care. However, the decision whether to intervene surgically remains crucial and reliance is based on radiological findings – CT scans for bony changes and MRI for possible intra-cerebral...

The search for the holy grail of rhinosinusitis: another step towards phenotyping in CRS wNP?

For many years, scientists and clinicians have been trying to understand the infinite variability within the term ‘rhinosinusitis’ using radiology, basic science, epidemiology and then using their insights to solve the riddle of management: how to explain why some patients...

Can you hear the speech disorder?

Dysarthria is often the first or most pronounced feature of a Parkinson’s disease (PD) presentation, yet may be difficult to discern from normal ageing changes that impact voice and speech. Thus, it is important to be able to differentiate in...

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...

Swallow this: management of dysphagia in progressive neurological conditions

Whether the person with the swallowing difficulty has an acquired or progressive neurological condition, understanding the aetiology will allow the speech and language therapist assessing the swallow to have a better understanding of the likely implications for future swallow management...

Single surgery for repair of tegmen defects and superior semicircular canal dehiscence

This retrospective review of 34 patients undergoing repair of the temporal bone defect via the middle cranial fossa approach provides the author’s management strategy for two problems: superior semicircular canal dehiscence and tegmen defects. The incidence of both these pathologies...

Bilateral medialisation thyroplasty for presbylaryngis

This retrospective case series explores the voice outcomes for 21 patients diagnosed with presbylaryngis who underwent bilateral medialisation thyroplasty at a university medical centre in Portland, Oregon, USA. Silastic was implanted in 17 patients; hydroxyapatite in four. Significant improvements were...

This is what SLTs can do for mild TBI: presenting a care model

The authors of this article estimate there are around six-to-eight million people who sustain a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) per annum in the United States (US) as a consequence of sports injuries, traffic accidents, military service-related injuries, falls, assaults...

Long-term quality outcomes of bimaxillary surgery of obstructive sleep apnoea

This is a review of 12 patients at two years postoperatively and again at at least 17 years. Successful outcome of a decrease in apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) of greater than 50% was thought to be success. Eight of the initial...