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Chronic rhinosinusitis and sleep

This is an interesting article from the Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan. One-hundred-and-thirty-nine patients were enrolled into this five-year study. They all had chronic rhinosinusitis with or without polyposis and underwent sinus surgery. The aim was to investigate a...

Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery: Clinical Reference Guide – Sixth Edition

When I began my ENT training, the revered ‘Pasha’ textbook was one of the first recommendations given to me by senior colleagues who were in the throes of FRCS revision. This revamped edition serves to improve a book which was...

Prevention better than cure?

This systematic review looks at methods of ‘barrier protection’ or ‘barrier-enforcing’ to minimise allergic rhinitis symptoms, using 15 RCTs. Whilst the authors admit that patient numbers were small in a number of these studies, generally it seems that barrier techniques...

A classification of a new cell - the retrosphenoid cell

This is a concise paper which describes a previously undefined type of cell within the sphenoethmoidal complex. It identifies the retrosphenoid cell, differentiated from an Onodi cell by being entirely within the posterior wall of the sphenoid sinus, lying between...

Smell training is also effective in older patients

Olfactory loss is a common problem with a significant impact on quality of life. It has been demonstrated that olfactory training (OT) improves olfactory function in younger patients, but this study focuses in on patients aged 45 years and older....

Don’t smoke after a septoplasty!

This is a retrospective review of 281 patients, all of whom underwent elective septoplasty. Simply put, those who smoked displayed a much higher postoperative septal perforation rate than those who did not. So, some cautionary advice for patients undergoing this...

A bittersweet finding

This is an elegant study, documenting the role of, and activation of, nitrous oxide in chronic sinusitis. Bitter taste receptors (TR2) have recently been identified as novel ‘players’ in sinonasal innate immunity and in chronic rhinosinusitis. The receptors are triggered...

Update on orbital complication of acute sinusitus

This study aims to illustrate the Graz experience. The study is retrospective, 53 patients with orbital complication of sinusitis were examined / confirmed by a University Hospital from 2000 to 2011. Thirty-seven underwent surgery, seven of which experienced a recurrence....

Quality of life outcomes in paediatric endoscopic sinus surgery

This prospective cohort study evaluated chronic rhinosinusitis patients aged 5-18 years undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery in terms of quality of life. General and chronic rhinosinusitis surveys were completed by the parents and the child pre-ESS and at 30-90 days post-operatively....

Outcomes in rhinosinusitis

This review goes through the various different ways of assessing outcomes and describes the pros, cons and limitations of each. The different methods are described in the context of guidelines in diagnosis and management and compared with other conditions such...

Sarcoidosis and the nose

This retrospective case note review from Mount Sinai in New York looked at just 14 patients with sarcoidosis. Individual ENT units in the UK are likely to see relatively few of these patients, unless there is a major tertiary referral...