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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...

‘Pen’doscope - writing in a reduction in healthcare delivery costs

Optimal management of cleft lip and palate requires a multidisciplinary team approach to treatment, with the goal being maintenance of facial growth and improvement in speech and hearing, in addition to closure of the cleft. This can be especially challenging...

Do you feel me? Emotional processing post-traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounted for just under three million accident and emergency admissions in the US in 2013, with common causes including falls, traffic accidents and assaults. Difficulties processing and expressing affective communication is a common sequela of TBI...

Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo manoeuvres in children and adolescents: a systematic review

In this paper of Saniasiaya et al, the literature review is conducted in accordance to the PRISMA consensus, aiming to investigate the outcomes of canalith repositioning manoeuvres (CRM) to treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in a paediatric and young...

Nasal disease and quality of life in athletes

Rhinitis is a nasal condition which is generally underappreciated in primary care and even less in athletes. In this study, the authors specify nasal symptoms constituting rhinitis as nasal blockage, sneezing bouts, rhinorrhoea and itching and compare their prevalence in...

Avoiding the sweaty cheek

Frey’s syndrome is a common (10-40%) and important complication following parotid surgery. Gustatory sweating during oral stimulation can be embarrassing as it is accompanied by flushing and a sensation of heat. This is as a direct result of regenerated parasympathetic...

Steroids for vocal cord mucus retention cysts

This is an interesting paper that describes the use of intralesional steroid injections to treat vocal cord mucus retention cysts. The gold standard is microlaryngoscopy and excision of the lesion. In patients who may be unable to undergo surgery, this...

A new treatment for chronic rhinitis

The review paper looks at the efficacy of cryoablation of the posterior nasal nerve (PNN) to treat chronic rhinitis, an increasingly popular method of treating a highly prevalent and morbidity-inducing disease. Five studies were included in the meta-analysis, all dating...

Application of balloon dilatation in chronic eustachian tube dysfunction

Chronic eustachian tube dysfunction prevails in 1% of the adult population and can predispose to middle ear disease. There are subjective and objective features of this condition that can affect quality of life. The common methods to treat eustachian tube...

Common skin conditions of the ear and how best to manage them

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Paper patching for aural fullness

This Belgian prospective study reported on the effect of paper patching on aural fullness of unknown aetiology. It looked at 22 patients who complained of aural fullness without any middle ear pathology. The patients were divided into a treatment group...

Laryngeal oedema as a side-effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as Imatinib are increasingly being used to treat haematological and solid malignancies. These agents have revolutionised the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia in particular. Although better tolerated than most conventional chemotherapy drugs, multiple side-effects have...