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Best timing for post-treatment PET-CT scans in head and neck cancer

Unfortunately we know that the recurrence rate for head and neck cancer can be high, up to 30-50% in some series. These recurrences tend to occur within the first two years following treatment. Optimal surveillance strategies to detect recurrences early...

Literacy and communication skills of young offenders

This article elucidates the perceptions and experiences of young offenders about their own literacy and communication skills. Young offenders (YOs) are usually between the age of 14 and 16. It is estimated that more than 60% of these offenders have...

Assessing surgical tracheostomy skills

Surgical tracheostomy is an essential operation that trainees must be competent in. There is a lot of research currently looking into assessing trainees’ surgical abilities, particularly into assessments that can be used to demonstrate progress, so this article is very...

Working with clients of communication disorders from culturally and linguistically diverse populations

Speech language therapists (SLTs) deliver evidence based services worldwide for communication disorders to culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations. They have to modify their approaches and tailor them to the needs of their students / patients. This article studies the...

Risk factors for post laryngectomy fistula

This is a meta-analysis looking at the postoperative pharyngocutaneous fistula rates following total laryngectomy. The authors ended up with 34 studies with about 2500 patients. The most striking finding was that preoperative radiotherapy was a significant risk factor as well...

Risk factors for TORS treatment failure in HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers

HPV-related squamous cell cancers are an increasingly common cause of malignancy in the oropharynx. There is evidence that these cancers are associated with a significantly improved overall survival compared to conventional HPV-negative tumours. The optimal treatment for such cancers is...

Risk factors for pharyngocutaneous fistula after laryngectomy

Pharyngocutaneous or salivary fistula is a feared complication following laryngectomy, causing significant morbidity, prolonged hospital inpatient stay / cost and mortality. Previous radiotherapy / chemoradiotherapy is a well recognised risk factor and leads many surgeons to recommend onlay pectoralis major...

Horizontal nystagmus: vestibular neuritis or lateral canal BPPV?

A horizontal nystagmus due to lateral canal (LSC) BPPV that is present in the upright position, that changes direction with head turn in the horizontal plane has been termed ‘pseudo-spontaneous nystagmus’ (PSN) because it mimics that of vestibular neuritis. The...

Teleaudiology Today: Remote Assessment and Management of Hearing Loss

The Covid crisis saw many audiology services, private and public, scramble to find other methods of continuing to deliver services to new and existing patients/clients. This textbook builds on international research that the authors published during that time and the...

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...

Cervicogenic vertigo, a view from the experts

Many readers would be familiar with the term ‘cervicogenic vertigo’ to mean neck-related vertigo or dizziness. In simple terms, this disorder has been defined as dizziness/vertigo caused by neck pain and/or stiffness. By implication, the vertigo/dizziness should resolve by treating...