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Are upper respiratory symptoms and macroscopic changes in children always due to gastro-oesphageal reflux?

In children, symptoms such as chronic cough, wheezing, stridor, voice changes, persistent asthma and dental erosion are often presumed to be due to gastro-oesophageal reflux and empirical treatment with PPIs is offered. Usual investigations, such as a barium meal, gastroscopy...

Does teaching affect patient satisfaction?

Teaching practice on real patients has several advantages in terms of lower costs and genuine clinical material but it is often a concern that using real patients for undergraduate teaching may result in patient dissatisfaction and many patients would prefer...

Guidelines for management of orbital infections

Orbital infections predominantly affect the paediatric population and complications can be very serious. The cellulitis can be preseptal or orbital and the abscess can be confined within the periosteum or extend into the orbit. Cavernous sinus thrombosis can complicate the...

N-acetylcysteine may have a role in the protection of cochlear hair cells

Gentamycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic which is widely used throughout the world, despite its ototoxic potential. It therefore seems wise to continue the search for accessible otoprotective agents. The aim of this study was to clarify the potential protective role...

Nasal packing after septoplasty

This Turkish study aimed to investigate the effects of different types of nasal packings on middle ear pressure in patients undergoing septoplasty. The authors reference several articles that describe eustachian tube dysfunction, temporary ear fullness and mild pain due to...

Reasons for rejection of BAHA in patients with unilateral hearing loss

Ever since Tjellström first developed the procedure of BAHA implantation, the techniques have come a long way towards faster and more convenient surgical methods to offer better hearing for a wide variety of conditions. Unilateral hearing loss has now been...

Benefits of combined antiviral and corticosteroid therapy in Bell’s palsy and the role of decompression surgery

Early use of steroids has been established as standard management in Bell’s palsy but simultaneous use of antiviral agents has variable acceptance. This review article analyses statistically based evidence to settle the issue. High quality evidence from a 2009 Cochrane...

3D printed temporal bones for drilling are here!

It was only a matter of time before the 3D printer was used to help us with simulated temporal bone (TB) drilling. This group printed three paediatric TB models and evaluated their quality. They were found to be of ‘high...

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...

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...

Adjuvant intratympanic steroid therapy in sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) means abrupt hearing loss by 30dB affecting three consecutive frequencies within 72 hours. This is treated by high tapering doses of systemic steroids, the role of which is controversial and fraught with possible complications in...