You searched for "safety"
Sublingual immunotherapy
This paper reviews the recent European studies on sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). SLIT is currently widely used in Europe and is gaining popularity in the United States. It is known that longer treatment is needed with SLIT compared with subcutaneous immunotherapy...
Assessment of temporal bone skills on 3D-printed temporal bones – a useful training curriculum?
The authors contend it is now archaic to follow Halstead’s model of surgical training, namely ‘see one, do one and teach one’. Simulated training is now widely used in many surgical specialities. With every surgical trainee having an individual learning...
Inpatient or outpatient thyroidectomy?
This systematic review and meta-analysis discusses the safety of hemithyroidectomy in an outpatient vis-à-vis an inpatient setting. Thyroidectomy has traditionally been performed as an inpatient procedure. Currently, an increasing number of surgeons are performing thyroidectomy in outpatient settings. The main...
A comparison between trainee and trainer outcomes in mastoid surgery
In this era where training faces restrictions due to theatre time, fewer sessions available to trainees and requirements of consultant-led and consultant-delivered services, one unit confirmed that myringoplasties given to trainees reduced from 34.2% to 16%. This study compares outcomes...
Adenotonsillectomy day-case discharge criteria: a systematic review
In this paper, Gowda et al review the literature aiming to answer a long-standing question regarding the criteria for same-day discharge of paediatric patients post adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy performed for treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Following PRISMA consensus, they...
A twitch in time with a flicker of knowledge
The middle ear muscles can be seen as one of the ear’s safety mechanisms, and the interplay between eyes and ears has been established; think vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) or semi-circular canal dehiscence (SCCD). But can this protective mechanism be...
Impact of COVID-19 on ear surgeries
The authors review the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the practice of ear surgeries in this article. The pandemic has changed how we practise medicine and introduced new guidelines to ensure safety of healthcare personnel. Studies have demonstrated COVID-19...
Location, location, location: How to get the steroid where you need it, in chronic rhinosinusitis
What almost all current guidelines on chronic rhinosinusitis have in common is the importance of intranasal steroid (INCS) use. However, it is increasingly understood that the efficacy of INCS depends on their efficient delivery to the point of need, i.e....
Is there a need for magnetic resonance imaging six-month post-radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma?
With advances in imaging and radiation technologies, small, slowly growing vestibular schwannomas (VS) are treated primarily with either observation or stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Routine magnetic resonance (MRI) scans with gadolinium are obtained six months and one year after SRS in...
Salvage surgery vs. repeat stereotactic radiosurgery for progressing vestibular schwannomas
This large multicentre case series of patients treated twice with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for progressing vestibular schwannomas (VS) is reported by the International Gamma Knife Radiosurgery consortium. Progression of tumour growth after primary SRS is rare but does occur. Complications...
We should all use ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy when investigating salivary gland lesions
Ultrasound core needle biopsy of salivary glands is an excellent diagnostic tool in terms of accuracy (both sensitivity and specificity), technical performance, and safety profile. This paper provided an update of the previous meta-analysis of the same question, which found...
