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Preoperative prediction of pain outcomes in patients with trigeminal neuralgia

The authors of this retrospective study have developed a preoperative trigeminal neuralgia (TN) grading system for the preoperative prediction of long-term pain relief after microvascular decompression (MVD). Patients who had become refractory to or developed toxicity to carbamazepine or oxycarbamazepine...

An alternative device for obstructive sleep apnoea

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the first-line treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), primarily due to the vast amount of short-term evidence in the medical literature it has accrued. The enduring obstacle to CPAP from becoming a treatment option...

Relationship between high resolution radiological features of the otic capsuleand audiometric parameters in patients with otscerosis

The audiometric pattern in patients with otosclerosis and outcomes of stapedectomy are variable. Whether this has anything to do with the number of sites affected by otosclerosis in the otic capsule and the disease pattern according to foci location, foci...

NSC- HHT – a systematic review of intranasal Bevacizumab

This systematic review of 13 studies concerning the use of an anti-angiogenic nasal treatment in the management of epistaxis in HHT patients finds no significant effect. This paper looked at four RCTs, three prospective studies, three retrospective, one case series...

Directional microphones and speech

This study aimed to research how speech recognition, listening effort and localisation depends on hearing aids’ microphone configuration in people with moderate to severe hearing losses. Eighteen participants with sensorineural, symmetrical, moderate to severe hearing loss were tested. Participants were...

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,...

A new treatment for smell loss?

It has been well established that smell training can be effective in the recovery of smell function post Covid-19 infection, and many other treatment modalities have been assessed. There have been limited studies to date evaluating the effects of dietary...

Anticoagulated patients and epistaxis

This systematic review looks at the increasing complexity in this space as anti-thrombotics become more sophisticated and move away from the more well understood management of warfarinised patients. After a thorough search, 29 papers were found to be relevant and...

Differing types of pharyngeal pouch

This article raised an eyebrow on the grounds that apparently more than one type of pharyngeal pouch exists! They differ in terms of aetiology, site and approach to treatment, therefore awareness of them is advised to ensure the appropriate surgical...

Newborn sensorineural hearing loss – what is the incidence?

In the last two decades, the introduction of newborn screening for hearing loss has dramatically lowered the average age of newborn hearing loss diagnosis to around two to three months of age. The benefits of early diagnosis are manifold, enabling...

Effectiveness of oral pressure therapy in obstructive sleep apnoea: a systematic analysis

Oral pressure therapy (OPT) is a relatively new form of therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Paradoxically it seems to work even though it creates a vacuum in the oral cavity as opposed to the gold standard of continuous positive...