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Speech audiometry tests in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment

This paper caught my eye because, with our ageing population, mild cognitive impairment and dementia are a major, growing problem. We know that ageing causes a multitude of medical and social issues. So it seems wise to investigate the effects...

Humour to improve clinician - patient interactions

This study examined the role of humour employed by the speech language graduate student during their one-on-one therapy sessions with people with aphasia (PWA). The students used humour to soften the errors made by the clients; to equalise interactional power;...

Prognostic factors for myringoplasty

This retrospective study looked at the factors that were associated with a higher success rate for tympanic membrane perforation closure. The authors looked at 247 procedures. They compared the results of temporalis fascia versus tragal cartilage. The cartilage grafts had...

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....

Supplementing intranasal cortical steroids with montelukast: does it help?

Intranasal steroids are widely used in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. Whether or not the addition of montelukast helps was assessed in this study. This was a single centre prospective randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial of two groups of patients, one...

RCT: tongue retaining devices vs CPAP for OSA

This study compared the effect of a tongue retaining device versus the use of CPAP in 27 patients within a crossover RCT design. Tongue retaining devices (also known as tongue stabilising devices), are similar in appearance to a plastic tongue-sized...

Oral versus oral and intratympanic corticosteroid treatment for sudden sensorineural hearing loss

The 2012 American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) clinical practice guidelines on sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) have two statements that address steroid use. Statement eight indicates an option to offer corticosteroid as initial treatment for...

British English speech test for occupational hearing assessment

It is very important to properly assess occupational fitness for several occupations such as police officer, military personnel or fire fighter. The aim of this study was to develop a British English speech in noise (SiN) test as a tool...

Depth of invasion of oral cancer should be incorporated in new AJCC staging system

Since 1977, when the first edition of the Manual for Staging of Cancer was published by the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), the primary tumour staging for oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has remained unchanged. In the last four...

Are there benefits of prophylactic swallowing exercises for patients with head and neck cancer?

This randomised controlled trial aimed to establish the impact of prophylactic swallowing exercises in patients undergoing chemoradiation therapy for head and neck cancer. The primary outcome was the functional oral intake scale (FOIS), although secondary measures for feeding tube use,...

Difficult consultations with HPV-positive oropharnyeal cancer patients

The aetiological role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is well established, and its incidence has massively increased over the last decade, whilst the incidence of HPV-negative OPSCC is declining. Although we know that HPV-positive OPSCC...