Computers in Otorhinolaryngology : New horizons

There has been an explosion in the computers and information technology in the past couple of years. Otorhinolaryngology has also seen a number of new applications of computers. This article aims to familiarize the reader with different uses of computers as applied to the field of Otorhinolaryngology. It deals with the role in medical literature search, patient and doctor education, medical record Keeping, telemedicine, internet and E-mail. creating virtual environments and its role in FESS, skull base tumors and plastic surgery.     

在切脉针灸理论指导下联合董氏奇穴治疗耳鼻咽喉难治性疾病经验举隅

切脉针灸和董氏针灸作为临床常用的新型针灸疗法,在耳鼻喉科难治性疾病的治疗中屡获良效。本文根据相关文献论述和病案分析,对切脉针灸联合董氏奇穴共同治疗部分耳鼻咽喉难治性疾病进行总结与探讨。     

Tranexamic acid in otorhinolaryngology – A contemporary review

Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an anti-fibrinolytic agent which has been proven beneficial in multiple surgical specialties where significant bleeding can occur. Whilst it has been widely available for over 40 years its use within Otorhinolaryngology is still limited. Operations in Otorhinolaryngology are particularly varied with some such as tonsillectomy having the potential for significant life threatening bleeding. Other operations are performed within small confined surgical fields and even small amounts of bleeding can significantly detriment surgical field and increase technical difficulty and operative time. This review evaluated the current literature on the benefits of tranexamic acid within the field of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery. Overall TXA was demonstrated to be a safe drug with no major adverse effects including thromboembolic events reported in any study. It has been shown to be of particular benefit in rhinology by improving surgical field, reducing operative time and reducing postoperative swelling and ecchymosis. The benefit in tonsillectomy is less clear and further studies are required to evaluate its potential use in the reduction of post tonsillectomy haemorrhage rates.     

Tranexamic acid in otorhinolaryngology – A contemporary review

Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an anti-fibrinolytic agent which has been proven beneficial in multiple surgical specialties where significant bleeding can occur. Whilst it has been widely available for over 40 years its use within Otorhinolaryngology is still limited. Operations in Otorhinolaryngology are particularly varied with some such as tonsillectomy having the potential for significant life threatening bleeding. Other operations are performed within small confined surgical fields and even small amounts of bleeding can significantly detriment surgical field and increase technical difficulty and operative time. This review evaluated the current literature on the benefits of tranexamic acid within the field of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery. Overall TXA was demonstrated to be a safe drug with no major adverse effects including thromboembolic events reported in any study. It has been shown to be of particular benefit in rhinology by improving surgical field, reducing operative time and reducing postoperative swelling and ecchymosis. The benefit in tonsillectomy is less clear and further studies are required to evaluate its potential use in the reduction of post tonsillectomy haemorrhage rates.     

Three dimensional printing: A review on the utility within medicine and otolaryngology

Three dimensional (3D) printing is a novel technique that has evolved over the past 35 years and has the potential to revolutionize the field of medicine with its inherent advantages of customizability and the ability to create complex shapes with precision. It has been used extensively within the fields of orthopedics, dentistry, and craniofacial reconstruction with wide ranging utility including, medical modeling, surgical planning and the production of custom plates, screws and surgical guides. Furthermore, it has been used for similar means in the field of Otorhinolaryngology and also has potential to revolutionize the treatment of airway malacia. In fact, 3D printed external tracheal splints have already been studied in several pediatric patients with very promising results. The emerging field of 3D bioprinting, which integrates tissue engineering with 3D printing, may produce a paradigm shift with the potential introduction of customized functional biologic replacements.     

Guidelines of the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology. Role of the ENT specialist in the diagnosis of childhood obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). Part 1: Interview and physical examination

ObjectivesTo present the 2017 Clinical Practice Guidelines of the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology concerning the role of the ENT specialist in the diagnosis of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome. This article focuses specifically on medical history and physical examination.MethodsA multidisciplinary work-group drew up a first version of the guidelines, graded according to level of evidence following the GRADE grading system. The final version was obtained by including the suggestions and comments from the editorial group.ResultsAt the end of the process, guidelines were established and graded regarding the following points: interview and analysis of the various interview scores recommended in the literature; clinical examination with awake upper-airway endoscopy; and indications for referral to non-ENT specialists.     

Certain peculiarities of the clinical course of chronic tonsillitis

The present review of the literature data demonstrates that the frequency of tonsillectomies has reduced during the last 10 years. The authors consider the possible causes accounting for this decrease. In addition, results of an epidemiological study are presented based on the analysis of medical records of the patients with chronic tonsillitis complicated by paratonsillar abscess who were admitted to the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of No 1 City Clinical Hospital between 2002 and 2010. The severity of the inflammatory process was evaluated from the results of radioautographic investigation of palatal tonsillar biopsies obtained during surgical interventions. These data confirm inflammation of tonsils in patients with chronic tonsillitis including the non-anginous form of this pathology.     

3D打印技术应用于耳鼻咽喉科临床前瞻创新

目的 随着计算机技术不断进步、新型材料大量问世及制作成本下降,3D打印作为当今制造业前沿技术现已广泛应用于各种医疗过程尤其是外科专业,在耳鼻咽喉科领域目前主要应用于假体制造及植入、术前规划、模型重建和技能训练及教学等方面。通过定制个性化植入物及手术器械缩短手术时间、降低手术成本,通过术前规划及模型演练降低手术副损伤。近年来,组织工程学、活体组织器官的复合打印技术作为3D打印的潜在应用也得到了广泛的探索。论文主要讨论3D打印技术在耳鼻咽喉科领域的扩大应用及研究前景。     

国内鼻咽癌放疗后耳鼻咽喉并发症的现状与思考

放射治疗是目前治疗鼻咽癌的首选方法，随着放疗技术的进步和综合治疗手段的应用，患者的生存率得以持续提高。但放疗对鼻咽癌患者造成的并发症广泛而持久，严重影响放疗后患者的生存质量。这些并发症主要分布在耳鼻咽喉头颈外科，由于种种原因，鼻咽癌放疗后并发症长期以来并没有得到相应的重视，而且有关注下降之虞。目前鼻咽癌的诊治流程、对鼻咽癌治疗的准入（包括对医院和医生的准入）要求、对鼻咽癌放疗后并发症治疗价值的认识等可能是影响因素。我们应该用生物心理社会医学模式指导临床医疗工作，正确认识疾病与生命的关系，重视生命的质量     

国内眩晕研究的文献计量学分析

目的复习我国近10年眩晕的研究文献,分析眩晕研究现状。方法在维普科技期刊数据库以＂眩晕＂为关键词检索2000～2009年核心期刊发表文献,下载全文逐篇分析。结果共检出709篇文章,西医文献355篇,耳鼻咽喉科仍是眩晕研究的主要学科。研究内容以诊断（32.0%）、治疗（42.8%）和病因（10.4%）为主,基础研究（8.9%）甚少。269篇研究性文献中诊断标准和疗效判定标准均较不统一。设有对照试验的研究不多（61.3%）,真正符合临床随机对照试验的仅17.4%,采用组间均衡性检验（11.2%）和盲法（4篇）实验设计的更少。结论我国眩晕研究的特点是涉及学科广、样本量大、中西医结合,但研究设计欠缺随机、双盲、对照、多中心的原则,诊断和疗效标准不统一,使结论不够客观可靠,缺乏可比性。     

Saint Blase, patron saint of otorhinolaryngology

Otorhinolaryngology is one of the few medical specialities which has a patron saint, Saint Blase (born 317-AD). He was a Doctor and Bishop in Sebaste, Armenia, and he suffered martyrdom under the rule of the Roman Emperor Licinio (Iliria 250 AD - Tsalonica 325 AD). He was acknowledged as having the ability to protect people against throat infections, after curing a child who had choked on a fishbone. The feast of Saint Blase is on February 3rd, and it is celebrated all over the Western world. There are many other Saints related to our speciality, who protect people against ear, nose and throat disorders. We have reviewed the world literature on this subject.     

Statistics in scientific articles published in the European Annals of Otorhinolaryngology Head & Neck Diseases

ObjectivesTo evaluate biostatistics in scientific articles published in the European Annals of Otorhinolaryngology Head & Neck Diseases.Materials and methodsRetrospective analysis of 76 scientific articles published in 2018 and 2019. The main goal was to describe the percentage of articles using biostatistics and to explore for potential associations with the article's main characteristics. Secondary goals were, within the group of articles using statistical tests, to describe the type of statistics used, the assessment of normality in case of comparison of mean values, the p-value threshold for significance, the use of confidence intervals, and power analysis.ResultsStatistics were used in 73.7% of articles, without any significant association with main characteristics. Within the group of articles using statistics, the tests used were parametric, non-parametric and not specified in 77.7%, 51.4% and 1.8% of cases, respectively. Normality was checked in 14.2% of article using parametric tests to evaluate mean values. The p-value significance threshold was set at .05, .01, .005 levels and not defined in 60.7%, 1.8%, 1.8% and 35.7% of articles, respectively, while confidence intervals and power analyses were documented in 10.7% and 5.3%, respectively.ConclusionThis article underlines the need for better use of statistics in the European Annals of Otorhinolaryngology Head & Neck Diseases, to improve the quality of scientific articles published in the organ of written expression of the French and International French-speaking Societies of Otorhinolaryngology, and to support the ongoing move toward better medical science.     

Surgical treatment of inferior turbinate hypertrophy with argon plasma: a long-term follow-up in 157 patients

Surgical treatment of the inferior turbinate in patients with chronic hypertrophic rhinitis that does not respond to medical treatment is a well established procedure. CO2 laser, YAG laser, KTP laser, conventional electrocautery, cryotherapy, chemosurgery and turbinectomy or submucosal turbinectomy have been performed for the removal of nasal obstruction. Argon Plasma Coagulation (APC) is a new, innovative technique in Otorhinolaryngology which is based on high-frequency electrocoagulation with an argon-gas source. The shorter surgical times, the absence of hemorrhagic complications and, in rhinosurgery, not requiring any kind of nasal packing are remarkable. Between March and November 2000, a group of 157 patients with symptoms of nasal obstruction due to hypertrophic inferior turbinates were treated using APC, at the Otorhinolaryngology Surgical Department of the Hospital of Dolo (Venice). The follow-up period was 24 months. Rhinomanometry was performed to objectively measure the nasal obstruction and to verify the postoperative improvement. The Student t-test was used for statistical data. After 24 months, 87% (p < 0.001) of patients reported to have a better nasal airflow than before the operation. None of the patients needed a nasal packing after APC surgery. We review and discus the indication, advantages, complications, controversies and long-term results of the treatment with APC in rhinosurgery.     

Treatment of sleep apnea by ENT specialists during the COVID-19 pandemic

The treatment of sleep disorders has been strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. When the lockdown is over, resumption of usual patient care will require precautions to limit the risk of contamination for patients and caregivers. In this document, the French Association of Otorhinolaryngology and Sleep disorders (AFSORL) and the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology (SFORL) put forward a summary of the measures for continuing the treatment of sleep apnoea syndrome in these new practice conditions. Emphasis is placed on teleconsultation, methods of nocturnal sleep studies, the conditions for treatment by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation, and the postponement of more invasive treatments.     

The quality of life among Otorhinolaryngology residents in Distrito Federal (Brazil)

Otorhinolaryngology residents' quality of life must be investigated during medical residency. Work-related factors impacting their lives, such as depression, sleep deprivation and excessive work load may impact the well-being of these individuals.ObjectiveTo assess and discuss the quality of life of Otorhinolaryngology Resident Physicians in Distrito Federal (Reuni-ORL).Materials and MethodsCross-sectional study, the quality of life of each individual was assessed by means of a questionnaire specifically designed for this purpose - Whoqol-bref, proposed by the WHO.ResultsMales had better psychological scores when compared to females (p= 0.013). Mean scores comparison among the years in residency were statistically significant only in the psychological domain when comparing the first and second years (p=0.046), in which 2nd-year residents had the higher scores.ConclusionDespite constant changes to the ENT program (Reuni-ORL) in the Distrito Federal, aiming at improving work and training conditions for residents, there still is a psychological burden in their first year of residency.     

Stapes surgery in osteogenesis imperfecta

Between 1968 and 1986 stapes surgery has been performed in the Nijmegen University Department of Otorhinolaryngology in 11 patients (14 ears) with osteogenesis imperfecta. Detailed information about pre- and postoperative hearing levels, findings at surgery, and the follow-up period are presented. In most cases the stapedectomy has been successful.     

Tuberculous meningitis presenting as sensorineural hearing loss.

We report a 60-year-old male who presented to the Otorhinolaryngology department with an acute unilateral sensorineural hearing loss associated with fever and night sweats. The diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis was made. Unilateral sensorineural hearing loss as a presenting symptom of tuberculous meningitis has not been previously reported.     

晚期喉癌的治疗进展

目的喉癌是耳鼻咽喉头颈外科中常见的恶性肿瘤。由于近年来环境的恶化和人们生活习惯的改变,喉癌的发病率有逐渐增长的趋势。随着医疗技术的不断发展,喉癌的治疗方式也发生了很大改变。在根治肿瘤、保证生存率的前提下,尽可能的保护喉功能,提高生活质量。国内外学者在晚期喉癌的治疗方面做了大量的研究,本文系统地回顾了国内外相关文献,总结分析了晚期喉癌的治疗进展,包括非手术治疗、手术治疗及综合治疗,并对各种治疗方法的选择予以综述。     

The training of otorhinolaryngologists in Asia

Asian nations differ from one another in population, cultural background, ethnic tradition and economic situation. The training of otorhinolaryngologists in Asia is not in any way uniform. A questionnaire survey of 26 leading institutions in 12 countries/regions was carried out. The emphasis of investigation is towards the training programme for specialists in Otorhinolaryngology and continuous medical education (CME). The response rate of the survey was 100 per cent. The duration of training for otorhinolaryngologists ranges from three to seven years and an exit assessment is held in seven countries/regions. The training programmes are modifications of either the British or the American pattern depending on tradition. Documentation of CME is available in eight countries/regions while a defined cycle has been established in only three. Medical/health authorities or professional societies in each country contribute towards its monitoring. Better communication and sharing of experience will improve the training of otorhinolaryngologists in Asia.     

Otorhinolaryngology,head and neck surgery in Kenya--consequences of demographic parameters

BACKGROUND: In the time of evidence based medicine the analysis of the influence of demographic parameters and different environmental factors on the treatment concepts in a country is often neglected. This is also true for Otorhinolaryngology. METHOD: An evaluation of the situation concerning distribution of physicians, diagnostic procedures and epidemiology in Kenya has been performed. These factors are discussed in consideration of their effect on the incidence of different diseases and their treatment under the specific socio-economic conditions for the otolaryngological situation in Kenya. RESULTS: In Kenya 28 otolaryngologists are registered that concentrate on few urban regions. Chronic otitis media, malignant tumors in the head and neck region and AIDS associated diseases have meanwhile increased dramatically. Numerous instruments and equipment for diagnosis are missing. Bigger equipment for CT scans are nearly exclusively used by private hospitals. PERSPECTIVE: Beside a better provision with different equipment for diagnosis it is especially the organization of certain training programmes where local physicians are further educated that may lead to an optimised medical care in Kenya.