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Thyroid ultrasound elastography: does nodule stiffness predict malignancy?

Approximately 50% of the general population has a thyroid nodule while 5-15% of these are malignant [1]. A major challenge, therefore, is how to detect the malignant nodules for appropriate, timely treatment and avoid unnecessary, costly investigations for the remainder....

"A merry road, a mazy road, and such as we did tread, The night we went to Birmingham by way of Beachy Head"

It’s true, the UK’s premier ENT event has come around quickly this time. So, who better to ‘poke awake’ for an article on the ethos and culture of Birmingham UK, BACO 2020 venue, than the erudite Chris Potter, who’s been...

Cognition and hearing – you can’t test one with the other!

Cognitive Psychologist, Boaz M Ben-David, provides insights into the import of considering cognitive factors when assessing speech perception ability to maximise intervention success. Failing to do so, he suggests, is “ageist”, a predisposition healthcare professionals must avoid. Cognitive performance is...

Monitored safe medical practice: minimising patient harm will reduce medical negligence bill for the NHS

Patrick Bradley ruminates on a celebrated career in ENT head and neck surgery and suggests that increasing the possibility of positive outcomes to contemporary patient safety initiatives by the NHS must involve efforts to develop an enthusiastic contented workforce willing...

Reducing hierarchy for individuals and teams across ENT

Alexander Pope said that “to err is human”, but medical errors can have serious consequences. How can better communication minimise the risk of them occurring in the first place? Allowing all members of the surgical team to feel empowered to...

Alternative listening devices: reaching the places hearing aids don’t

The stigma surrounding hearing aids means that many people who would benefit from wearing them are put off from doing so. Alternative listening devices could provide the solution to this. David Maidment discusses these devices, their effectiveness and the impact...

Cognitive effort and listening in everyday life

Dining with family members, amongst the clinking of dishes and glasses, the sounds of conversations and laughter, the husband, a user of hearing aids, misses his wife’s request to bring another bottle of wine. After a third try, the wife,...

The evolution and advancements in radiological imaging of the sinuses

Computed tomography (CT) imaging is crucial in the planning of any endoscopic sinus operation; we hear from one of the pioneers of CT scanning who worked with Stammberger and Messerklinger in developing many of the technologies that we now take...

Harnessing head and neck cancer genomics for personalised medicine

Luc Morris updates us on the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment, which lies in “personalised oncology”, where specific molecular alterations of each tumour will be identified, and matched with actionable alterations in existing therapies, ushering in the era of...