Meningitis is an important cause of deafness and in some studies has been associated with poorer outcomes in adult patients following cochlear implantation. Of the first 100 adults implanted under the Midland Cochlear Implant Programme, 28 were deafened as a result of meningitis. We compare our experience with these patients with patients with a non-meningitic aetiology.

A degree of cochlear ossification was a more common finding in the meningitic group. In six cases (four meningitics, two non-meningitics) ossification was encountered only during surgery, not being apparent on pre-operative radiology.

The average scores achieved on auditory tests by the meningitic group were similar to those achieved by non-meningitic patients. At nine months, using only the implant, users were able to identify 54 per cent of common environmental sounds, achieved an average score of 30 words per minute on connected discourse tracking and identified an average of 42 per cent of words correctly in BKB sentences.

Poorer outcomes were more commonly associated with cochlear ossification. In patients with cognitive and neurological sequelae, benefits with the implant were not always apparent in the early months, however, with intensive therapy these patients can obtain measurable sustained benefit from their implant.

The Westaby T-Y tracheobronchial silicone stent can be used for the relief of upper airway obstruction beyond the limit of a standard tracheostomy tube. We report on our experience in the use of the Westaby tube in 10 patients over a five-year period. The general features of the tube, indications for its use, and its method of insertion are described. The versatility and advantages over other stents are discussed. Two cases reports are described and the clinical course and outcomes of the individual patients are outlined.

Abstract Epistaxis remains the most common ENT emergency. The use of coagulation studies in Scotland to manage these patients was investigated to determine current practice. The study took the form of a postal questionnaire sent to all practising ENT consultants and a telephone survey of ENT senior house officers working in Scotland. Of the 60 questionnaires circulated amongst consultants, 55 responses were received (92 per cent). Thirty-eight consultants (70 per cent) indicated that they did not routinely request a coagulation screen for their patients, however, 30 per cent (16) did. Forty-three of the 45 junior staff were available for interview, 22 (51 per cent) of whom routinely requested coagulation studies. While the majority of consultants did not request routine coagulation studies, there did not appear to be any consensus among the junior staff. Although there is a paucity of scientific information with regard to this aspect of epistaxis patient management, there is support in the literature for targeted rather than blanket testing. There is perhaps a need to address this issue within individual departments, to achieve uniformity of practice, and to improve communication between junior and senior staff.

Tracheostomy in infants and children has been the subject of controversy in the medical literature, but decannulation in the paediatric patient is even more controversial. Various approaches and techniques have been used for decannulation, however in spite of all efforts it continues to be a problem. The objective of our study was to assess the role of polysomnography (PSG) in predicting readiness for decannulation. All subjects (n = 31) of the study were less than 12 years of age, and tracheostomized for periods of at least six months to ensure a minimum period of dependence on the tube. All had clinical, radiological and endoscopic clearance before PSG was performed. Twenty-one out of 22 patients with favourable PSG data were successfully decannulated. Attempts to decannulate all the nine patients with unfavourable PSG failed. The conclusion of the study was that PSG is a useful adjunct to the many methods of evaluating readiness for decannulation in children with long-term tracheostomy tubes.

We propose a new questionnaire-based method for evaluating and reporting the severity of snoring, the snoring scale score (SSS), which provides an assessment of the loudness, frequency and periodicity of snoring sound. Ninety-nine patients with snoring problems were assessed and the results of 19 patients who underwent surgery to reduce snoring were reported using the SSS and the linear analogue score (LAS) at six weeks and six months after surgery. All patients reported reduction of snoring on both the SSS and LAS after surgery although minor discrepancies of reporting were found in six patients when comparisons were made between reporting of outcome using the SSS and LAS. Our study suggested that the SSS offers a uniform, comprehensive and simple to understand method for the evaluation, grading and reporting of snoring which is not currently available.

Gustatory sweating of the external auditory canal is extremely rare. A clinical case, that is only the second in the English literature, is presented. The potential pathogenesis and its treatment options are discussed.

In the recent past there has been a significant expansion in the range of paediatric tracheostomy tubes available. This has mainly been in response to clinicians' requests. This article reviews those now available and the situations in which they are useful. A sizing chart is included for easy reference.

The bacteriology of maxillary sinuses with normal endoscopic findings is reported in this study. When transantral sinoscopy was used to examine the maxillary sinuses, the whole maxillary sinus was inspected with different-angle endoscopes. If no lesion was seen over the whole maxillary sinus mucosa, no secretion existed in the maxillary sinus cavity, and the maxillary sinus ostium was wide open, the maxillary sinus was considered endoscopically normal. The bacteriology of these endoscopically normal maxillary sinuses was studied by passing cotton-tipped sticks through the cannula to collect swab specimens. In some cases, a biopsy forceps was also passed to obtain mucosal specimens. The specimens were sent to the laboratory for aerobic and anaerobic cultures. Between July 1990 and May 1998, 83 swab and 31 mucosal specimens were collected from 69 patients who had not taken any antibiotic within 10 days before endoscopy. The culture rates were 62.3 per cent (35/53) from swab specimens and 57.1 per cent (eight out of 14) from mucosal specimens in patients with the diagnosis of chronic paranasal sinusitis, and were 46.7 per cent (14/30) from swab specimens and 41. 2 per cent (seven out of 17) from mucosal specimens in patients without this diagnosis. This study shows that endoscopically normal maxillary sinuses are not sterile.

Pharyngeal pouch surgery by the external approach has been shown to be effective but has a relatively high complication rate. We compared the outcome of 17 patients who had cricopharyngeal myotomy alone or combined with excision/inversion/suspension, simple pouch excision and Dohlman's procedure with 17 patients who had the relatively new Endo GIA-30 endoscopic stapling technique. Results were obtained retrospectively by postal questionnaire and medical records. We conclude that endoscopic stapling shortens the return to normal diet and in-patient stay. These patients also experience better swallowing and are generally more satisfied with the procedure. We have accepted endoscopic stapling as the method of choice for the treatment of pharyngeal pouches.

There is no general consensus as to the best method of reconstruction following total laryngopharyngectomy for hypopharyngeal carcinoma. The aim of this study is to attempt to establish the current practice amongst British ENT Consultants and to ascertain the reasons for their choice of reconstructive technique.

An anonymous questionnaire was sent to 546 consultants in the UK and the results of 363 (66.5 per cent) were analysed. One hundred and twenty-eight (35.3 per cent) consultants replied that they performed surgery for hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Sixty-five (50.8 per cent) performed a stomach pull-up procedure, 23 (18 per cent) used a jejunal free flap, 36 (28.1 per cent) used both and four (3.1 per cent) used other techniques. In the stomach pull-up group, the main reasons given for their choice were because there was no lower resection margin (48 out of 65) and because of tradition in the way they were trained (37 out of 65). In the group using the jejunal free flap, lower morbidity (18 out of 23) and mortality (14 out of 23) were the main reasons for their choice. The questionnaire also found that amongst the 60 consultants who would consider using a jejunal free flap, the majority (39) aimed for a lower clearance margin of 2–4 cm, while 17 aimed for >4 cm clearance.

This study provides a good indication of the current practice in the UK of reconstruction following resection for hypopharyngeal carcinoma. It appears that the stomach pull-up remains the most commonly used method of reconstruction, but the jejunal free flap is becoming increasingly more popular because of its lower morbidity and mortality.

This article evaluates and compares the benefits of a House/3M single channel cochlear implant or a Nucleus 22-channel cochlear implant on speech recognition in Thai-speaking patients. From 1986–1989, four profoundly deaf adults were implanted with the House/3M prosthesis. Since 1994, nine post-lingually deaf adults and three pre-lingually deaf children have been implanted with the Nucleus prosthesis. One case was implanted with the House/3M prosthesis and in the contralateral ear with the Nucleus prosthesis. The post-operative results were determined according to the ability to understand Thai monosyllabic, bisyllabic open-word sets and everyday sentence tests with, and without, lip reading. The scores were then compared in the House/3M users and the Nucleus users and compared between the House/3M cochlear implant and the Nucleus cochlear implant in the same user. The speech recognition scores on monosyllabic and bisyllabic open-word set demonstrated that the Nucleus users perform at a much higher level than the House/3M users. The results of four pre-lingually deaf children will be reported later after a period of auditory and speech rehabilitation.

Brachytherapy is an established procedure in primary and in recurrent cancer. We perform afterloading brachytherapy during general anaesthesia. The target organ is punctured with hollow needles which are loaded with 192iridium via remote control. The depth and number of needles depend on tumour extension. In the interdisciplinary approach of our departments, this method has been improved and supplied by B-scan ultrasound control. Needles are positioned under continuous ultrasonographic guidance, and adjacent structures (e.g. the carotid artery) are localized ultrasonographically. Thus violation of the large vessels is avoided and the exact position of the needles within the tumour is improved.

In this paper, we report results on 22 patients suffering from recurrent carcinoma of the head and neck following surgery and curative radiation, and 17 patients with first onset of cancer. We did not observe any severe complications such as haemorrhage, osteomyelitis, or dyspnoea. The only side-effect was temporary oedema, sometimes associated with a short-term increase of pain. No systemic side-effects occurred.

The method is described and results from both patient groups are reported in detail. We conclude from our data that ultrasonographically-controlled endoscopic brachytherapy is a valuable procedure in locally-advanced primary, and in recurrent head and neck cancer.

Erythema multiforme is an uncommon acute self-limiting condition characterized by mucocutaneous lesions of varying severity with a variable pattern of recurrence. This is a case of a four-year-old girl who developed erythema multiforme secondary to topical aural application of Gentisone HC drops (hydrocortisone acetate one per cent, gentamicin 0.3 per cent (as sulphate)) prescribed as a treatment for otorrhoea following grommet insertion. The clinical features are described and the literature reviewed. To my knowledge, this is the first reported case in the literature, of erythema multiforme secondary to a topical aminoglycoside/steroid preparation.

To quantify the potential burden for screening for cerebellopontine angle lesions, all adult new patients attending the ENT outpatient department of a district general hospital were documented to see if their presenting symptom(s) could be consistent with the presence of a cerebellopontine angle lesion. Of the patients, 19.7 per cent were found to be potential candidates for screening. A 15 decibel asymmetry at one frequency was found in 11.8 per cent of patients. The burden of screening with a variety of audiological and symptomatic protocols was quantified. Effective age limits to reduce the burden for screening were found to be either 65 or 75 years of age. With such a large potential pool of patients for further investigation, the results of this study could be used to suggest protocols which are likely to produce a load of cases, which matches local resources for screening.

Caffeine is considered to be a dehydrating agent with detrimental effects on the quality of voice of persons ingesting it. This has led medical personnel dealing with voice disorders, especially in the case of professional voice users, to give advice against the use of caffeine. Yet this is an anecdotal truth as an extensive Medline literature search did not reveal any scientific evidence of caffeine being proven to have adverse effects on the vocal folds. We, therefore, initiated this pilot study to ascertain the connection between caffeine and voice quality on a laboratory basis. Two hundred and fifty mg of caffeine were provided to eight volunteers in tablet form, and blood levels along with laryngograph readings were recorded to document the changes produced. Analysing the irregularities of frequencies in a) free speech b) a reading passage and c) singing ‘Happy Birthday’, substantial changes were seen to authenticate the fact that caffeine does produce alterations in voice quality but these alterations have considerable intrasubject variability. A full study with wider parameters is to be performed on this subject as we consider it to be of importance in the management of voice disorders.

There are few accounts of cochlear implantation in adults with post-traumatic sensorineural hearing loss. We report our experience with multichannel implantation in three such patients.

Two patients experienced no cognitive or communication deficits as a result of their head injury. At nine months post-implant, compared with our experience of non-head-injured implantees, these patients achieved average or above average scores on audiological performance tests.

The third patient presented with cognitive, behavioural and communicative deficits. The level of improvement achieved by this patient, when lip-reading was supplemented with electrical stimulation, in both BKB sentence and connected discourse tracking (CDT) tests was comparable with that of the non-head-injured group. However, his absolute performance at nine months post-implant was well below average. Performance at 18 months on BKB sentences and environmental sound recognition showed little change, and was again well below average, however his score on CDT with lip-reading and electrical stimulation improved considerably and was similar to the average achieved by the non-head-injured group. The major difficulties experienced with this patient were increasing depression and low implant use. Considerably more time was spent in the assessment and rehabilitation of this patient and involved liaison with a number of other agencies. When considering such patients for cochlear implantation it is strongly recommended that these additional requirements are taken into account.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of pre-treatment anaemia on tumour recurrence and survival in patients treated with primary radiotherapy for early squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. A retrospective analysis of 117 patients with previously untreated T1N0M0 and T2N0M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx was carried out. Patients were considered anaemic if their pre-treatment haemoglobin levels were below 13 g/dl in males and 11.5 g/dl in females. The influence of pre-treatment haemoglobin levels on local control and survival were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Two- and five-year local-regional control estimates for anaemic patients were 58 per cent and 53 per cent respectively while patients with normal haemoglobin levels had two and five-year local-regional control rates of 90 per cent and 81 per cent respectively (p = 0.002). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed pre-treatment haemoglobin significantly influencing recurrence-free survival (p = 0.0094).

Patients with a low haemoglobin level prior to radiation therapy suffered higher levels of local-regional failure.

Ear, nose and throat emergencies constitute a heavy but unpredictable workload for the junior otolaryngologist. Patients are often seen in the treatment room on the ward or in the casualty department. Many patients referred as emergencies can in fact be seen the following day without detriment.

This audit examined the change in treatment room workload when an open access ENT clinic was set up each weekday morning.

The results demonstrate that around 75 per cent of the patients seen were suitable for waiting until the next day. The clinic was considered a success as it provided benefits for GP access, routine clinics, junior doctor teaching and concentration of aural toilet cases under expert nurse care.

Gastric transposition has been used extensively in this department since 1965 for reconstruction following pharyngolaryngoesophagectomy (PLO). A previous report by Harrison and Thompson in 1986 detailed our experience with 101 cases dating back to 1965. Here we review our experience between 1986–1996.

Medical records of 41 cases were examined. The primary site and stage of tumour and associated lymph nodes, patient demographics, complications, in-patient mortality and survival as demonstrated by the Kaplan-Meier method were recorded.

Gastric transposition is now used for more extensive tumours: 70 per cent T4 (83 per cent pathologically T4) compared to 21 per cent in the previous report. A high proportion of ‘radiation failures’ remains (54 per cent). The in-hospital mortality has fallen from 11 per cent to seven per cent. The five-year-survival calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method is 11 per cent.

This procedure is increasingly being used as a palliative procedure aiming to restore swallowing in the relatively young patient who has very extensive hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Long-term survival rates specific to this operation have fallen. This is attributed to patient selection for the procedure with the vast majority having disease extending into bone, cartilage or soft tissues (T4). The defect created by the resection of less extensive tumours are now increasingly reconstructed with jejunal free flaps and musculocutaneous flaps.