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Intracranial complications of otitis media – the difference between kids and adults

Despite a decrease in intracranial complications from otogenic infections since the introduction of antibiotics, there is still morbidity and mortality associated with this. This group from the Netherlands conducted a retrospective review of all the patients treated for intracranial complications...

SoundPrint: an app for finding quieter restaurants

"Is there any chance the music could be turned down a bit”, I asked our server politely on a rare evening out with my husband. We had spent the previous half-hour shouting at each other, only to have the other...

Metaplasia of the concave septum

This group conducted a one year prospective study and sampled mucosa from 42 randomly selected patients with septal deviation at a single centre. They found significantly higher rate of squamous metaplasia and lymphocytic infiltration in septal mucosa on the concave...

The ORL App: I challenge you to duel!

'Every day is a school day’ – an age-old saying that is as much a proverb as it is an instruction for allied health professionals. These days, it is hard to keep up with any sort of news - whether...

The benefits of early voice therapy for unilateral vocal cord paralysis

This retrospective review of voice outcomes following a diagnosis of unilateral vocal fold paralysis divided patients into three groups according to the time of initiation of voice therapy following the onset of paralysis. The ‘early’ group started voice therapy within...

Role of intranasal steroids after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Rhinosinusitis often follows radiotherapy in the treatment of carcinoma of the nasopharynx. The interval and severity may vary with the dose of radiation and stage of the carcinoma. In this randomised, controlled study, patients who developed rhinosinusitis after radiotherapy treatment...

Margin control using optical techniques in head and neck surgery

Emerging optical techniques such as high-resolution microendoscopy (HRME) are currently being examined for their reliability in discriminating benign from neoplastic epithelium. These techniques may offer the potential to detect the margin of an upper aerodigestive tract tumour in a non-invasive...

Facial nerve anatomy in the temporal bone

Knowledge of the facial nerve anatomy during otological surgery is crucial in avoiding an iatrogenic injury to the facial nerve. In this study, the authors investigated the anatomical relationship between the tympanic portion of the facial canal (FC) and the...

Allergic rhinitis, the usual suspects

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is characterised by allergen binding to IgE on mast cells and basophils and subsequent histamine, prostaglandine D2 (PGD2) and cysteinyl leukotrienes (cysLTs) release causing early-phase response. This is followed by late-phase response mediated by eosinophils. Other cells,...

CRSwNP and smell – is it just the obstruction?

Anosmia and hyposmia are symptoms of CRS both with and without nasal polyps and can significantly affect quality of life. The nature of anosmia/hyposmia is thought to be both sensory-neural and conductive. These authors studied a mouse model in which...