Recently, there has been increased emphasis on the development and application of patient-reported outcome measures. This drive to assess the impact of illness or interventions, from the patient's perspective, has resulted in a greater number of available questionnaires. The importance of selecting an appropriate patient-reported outcome measure is specifically emphasised in the paediatric population. The literature on patient-reported outcome measures used in paediatric otolaryngology was reviewed.

A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the databases Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and PsycInfo, using the terms: ‘health assessment questionnaire’, ‘structured questionnaire’, ‘questionnaire’, ‘patient reported outcome measures’, ‘PROM’, ‘quality of life’ or ‘survey’, and ‘children’ or ‘otolaryngology’. The search was limited to English-language articles published between 1996 and 2016.

The search yielded 656 articles, of which 63 were considered relevant. This included general paediatric patient-reported outcome measures applied to otolaryngology, and paediatric otolaryngology disease-specific patient-reported outcome measures.

A large collection of patient-reported outcome measures are described in the paediatric otolaryngology literature. Greater standardisation of the patient-reported outcome measures used in paediatric otolaryngology would assist in pooling of data and increase the validation of tools used.

Cervical metastases in papillary thyroid carcinoma are associated with increased recurrence. However, their effect on survival remains controversial. This study evaluated literature on the prognostic value of lymph node ratio for loco-regional recurrence and survival in metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma.

The PubMed database was systematically searched using the terms ‘papillary thyroid carcinoma’ and ‘lymph node ratio’. Articles addressing the association between lymph node ratio and loco-regional recurrence or survival were identified.

Nine retrospective studies were included, comprising 12 400 post-thyroidectomy and neck dissection papillary thyroid carcinoma patients (median age, 48.6 years; 76 per cent females). Lymph node ratio was associated with worse recurrence-free survival in 60 and 75 per cent of studies investigating the effect of central compartment metastases and both central and lateral compartment metastases on recurrence-free survival, respectively. One large population-based study showed an association between lymph node ratio and disease-specific mortality in N1 nodal disease, but failed to maintain the same association when N1b patients were excluded.

Regional lymph node ratio is an independent predictor for loco-regional recurrence in pathologically staged N1 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Patients with a high lymph node ratio should be closely followed up.

Tracheoesophageal puncture represents the ‘gold standard’ for voice restoration following laryngectomy. Tracheoesophageal puncture can be undertaken primarily during laryngectomy or in a separate secondary procedure. There is no current consensus on which approach is superior. The current evidence comparing primary and secondary tracheoesophageal puncture was assessed.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of articles comparing outcomes for primary and secondary tracheoesophageal puncture after laryngectomy were conducted. Outcome measures were: voice success, overall complication rate and pharyngocutaneous fistula rate.

Eleven case series met the inclusion criteria, two prospective and nine retrospective. Meta-analysis did not demonstrate statistically significant differences in overall complication rate or voice outcomes, though it suggested a significantly increased risk of pharyngocutaneous fistula in primary compared to secondary tracheoesophageal puncture.

Primary tracheoesophageal puncture is a safe and efficient approach for voice rehabilitation. However, secondary tracheoesophageal puncture should be preferred where there is a higher risk of pharyngocutaneous fistula.

High-quality trials have the potential to influence clinical practice.

Ten otolaryngology journals with the highest 2011 impact factors were selected and publications from 2010 were extracted. From all medical journals, the 20 highest impact factor journals were selected, and publications related to otolaryngology for 2010 and 2011 were extracted. For all publications, the reporting quality and risk of bias were assessed.

The impact factor was 1.8–2.8 for otolaryngology journals and 6.0–101.8 for medical journals. Of 1500 otolaryngology journal articles, 262 were therapeutic studies; 94 had a high reporting quality and 5 a low risk of bias. Of 10 967 medical journal articles, 76 were therapeutic studies; 57 had a high reporting quality and 8 a low risk of bias.

Reporting quality was high for 45 per cent of otolaryngology-related publications and 9 per cent met quality standards. General journals had higher impact factors than otolaryngology journals. Reporting quality was higher and risk of bias lower in general journals than in otolaryngology journals. Nevertheless, 76 per cent of articles in high impact factor journals carried a high risk of bias. Better reported and designed studies are the goal, with less risk of bias, especially in otolaryngology journals.

Recent studies found that mobile phone users had a significantly greater risk of having elevated thresholds in speech frequencies. This study investigated the correlation between the laterality of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, handedness and the preferred ear for mobile phone use.

The study included all patients who presented with sudden sensorineural hearing loss to the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery in our tertiary referral medical centre between 2014 and 2016. Patients were asked to indicate their dominant hand and preferred ear for mobile phone use.

The study comprised 160 patients. No correlation was found between the dominant hand or preferred ear for mobile phone use and the side of sudden sensorineural hearing loss. There was no correlation between the side of the sudden sensorineural hearing loss (preferable or non-preferable for mobile phone use) and audiometric characteristics.

No correlation was found between the laterality of ears used for mobile phone and sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Possible therapeutic and protective benefits of intratympanic autologous serum application in amikacin-induced ototoxicity were investigated.

Twenty-four guinea pigs were separated equally into two groups: therapeutic (group A) and protective (group B). Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions were recorded before and after autologous serum application. Apoptotic cells were identified in the organ of Corti, spiral limbus and spiral ganglion by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (‘TUNEL’) method.

Transient evoked otoacoustic emission responses at 1, 1.4 and 2.8 kHz improved without significance after autologous serum application in group A (p > 0.05). A significantly protective effect of autologous serum was determined at 4 kHz in group B (p < 0.05). There were significantly fewer apoptotic cells at the spiral limbus in the therapeutic and protective groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05).

Autologous serum may offer protection against ototoxicity-induced hearing loss, but it cannot restore hearing. Immunohistochemically, autologous serum significantly decreases activation of the intrinsic pathway of pro-apoptotic signalling in mesenchymal cells compared to neurons and neurosensory cells.

To assess the frequency of bacterial agents in chronic suppurative otitis media and the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of isolates among patients.

A total of 185 patients clinically diagnosed with chronic suppurative otitis media were interviewed and middle-ear effusion samples were collected using sterile swabs. All bacterial isolates were identified by conventional microbiological methods. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the isolates were determined by Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion.

Staphylococci spp. (64.9 per cent) were the most prevalent bacteria isolated, followed by Klebsiella spp. (12.9 per cent) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10.3 per cent). The most effective antibiotic for treatment of bacterial chronic suppurative otitis media was ciprofloxacin. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in bacterial infestations among chronic suppurative otitis media patients and the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the bacterial isolates based on gender and age (p > 0.05).

Our findings highlight the importance of a continuous and periodic evaluation of the bacteriological profile and antibiotic susceptibility patterns in chronic suppurative otitis media patients for efficacious treatment of the infection.

The safety of day-case tonsillectomy is widely documented in the literature; however, there are no evidence-based guidelines recommending patient characteristics that are incompatible with day-case tonsillectomy. This study aimed to identify which patients should be considered unsafe for day-case tonsillectomy based on the likelihood of needing critical intervention.

Retrospective review of 2863 tonsillectomy procedures performed at University Hospital Geelong from 1998 to 2014.

Of the patients, 7.81 per cent suffered a post-tonsillectomy complication and 4.15 per cent required intervention. The most serious complications, haemorrhage requiring a return to the operating theatre and airway compromise, occurred in 0.56 per cent and 0.11 per cent of patients respectively. The following patient characteristics were significantly associated with poorer outcomes: age of two years or less (p < 0.01), tonsillectomy indicated for neoplasm (p < 0.01) and quinsy (p < 0.05).

The authors believe that all elective tonsillectomy patients should be considered for day-case surgery, with the following criteria necessitating overnight observation: age of two years or less; an indication for tonsillectomy of neoplasm or quinsy; and an American Society of Anesthesia score of more than 2.

Head and neck space infections present with a potential mortality rate of 40–50 per cent. This paper proposes an algorithm-based management of head and neck space infection to prevent life-threatening events.

A total of 225 patients with head and neck space infection were prospectively analysed at our institution. An experimental scoring system determined the level of clinical risk for the development of major complications. Accordingly, patients were classified into three risk groups: low-, intermediate- and high-risk.

Only intermediate- and high-risk patients were hospitalised. Intermediate-risk patients received intravenous medical therapy with daily re-evaluation; 18 of them required delayed surgery. Of the high-risk patients, three required immediate surgical treatment and five received delayed surgery, while in five cases medical therapy was the only treatment received. Low-risk patients were treated in an out-patient setting.

The algorithm-based management of head and neck space infection was successful in enabling the avoidance of lethal complications onset.

This study is the first to evaluate scar satisfaction and body image in thyroidectomy patients using validated assessment tools.

A total of 123 thyroidectomy patients were recruited over 8 months. Both patients and clinicians completed assessment tools that included: the Manchester Scar Scale (to measure scar perception), Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire (to assess body image), Body Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire (to screen for body dysmorphic disorder) and EQ-5D (to measure life quality). A separate image panel comprising experts and non-experts assessed 15 scar photographs. The results were analysed using non-parametric descriptive statistics.

Poor body image was associated with poor scar perception (ρ = 0.178, p = 0.05). Poor life quality correlated with poor scar perception (ρ = −0.292, p = 0.001). Scar length did not affect scar perception. Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder among patients was found to be 8.94 per cent, which is higher than general population rates.

Negative body image and life quality impact negatively upon scar perception.

Endoscopic ear surgery is becoming an accepted technique in otological surgery, in the management of chronic otitis media.

The technique was introduced to the humanitarian care setting of an ear camp in Nepal to consider the appropriateness of the technique in this type of clinical setting.

Fifteen cases of myringoplasty were successfully completed.

The apparent advantages of the endoscopic approach over the traditional microscopic one were the ease of transporting the equipment and the optimal view obtained of the tympanic membrane. The ability for pathology and operative technique to be observed equally well by the surgeon and local staff was helpful for teaching, and enables a move towards self-sufficiency of care. Easy image capture also has potential for remote telemedicine applications.

Necrotising otitis externa can be a devastating form of otitis externa. It typically tends to affect patients who are immunocompromised or diabetic. To date, there is very little in the literature about necrotising otitis externa in the immunocompetent patient population.

The present paper discusses both the clinical and radiological findings in three cases of necrotising otitis externa in an immunocompetent patient cohort. The common factor among all three patients was their advanced age.

Diagnosing necrotising otitis externa can be challenging because of the potentially non-specific symptoms and the absence of early radiological signs, particularly if patients are neither immunocompromised nor diabetic. Elderly patients should be considered in the same light as immunocompromised and diabetic patients in the context of necrotising otitis externa.

To highlight a case from 1960 connecting endolymphatic sac tumour and von Hippel–Lindau disease.

In 1960, a 24-year-old woman presented with unilateral hearing loss, pulsatile tinnitus and a mass visible on otoscopy. The patient underwent surgical biopsy, which was complicated by haemorrhage, and ultimately resulted in death. At autopsy, a destructive temporal bone neoplasm with cystic and papillary architecture was observed that had eroded into the otic capsule. Intra-abdominal lesions consistent with von Hippel–Lindau disease were also observed, and the surgeon postulated a connection between endolymphatic sac tumour and von Hippel–Lindau disease.

A review of the literature was carried out using PubMed.

Endolymphatic sac tumours are rare neoplasms of the temporal bone that can occur sporadically or as part of von Hippel–Lindau disease. The connection between endolymphatic sac tumour and von Hippel–Lindau disease was first proposed in 1988 and formalised in 1997. We believe that this case represents the first documented connection between endolymphatic sac tumour and von Hippel–Lindau disease.

Re-stenosis and a consequent need for revision surgery are the most common problems in the follow-up period following endoscopic modification of the Lothrop procedure.

This paper reports a new technique for reconstructing and resurfacing of the posterior frontal recess bone for prevention of re-stenosis.

A 46-year-old man presented with a frontal sinus osteoma, and treatment featured an endoscopic modification of the Lothrop procedure. A vascularised, posteriorly based, septal mucosal flap was used in reconstruction. There have been no reported issues over 24 months of follow up.

The use of a nasoseptal flap seems feasible to reduce scarring and recurrence of (common) frontal recess stenosis after a Draf III operation.

Palatal reconstruction following maxillectomy is a surgical challenge, and a nasoseptal flap is a feasible approach. This paper reports the first known successful clinical case of a nasoseptal pedicle flap applied for the reconstruction of maxillary bone following hemi-maxillectomy.

This report describes hemi-maxillectomy in a 60-year-old Italian male diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma of the left maxilla. Endoscopic transnasal extended medial maxillectomy was performed, followed by a transoral modified midfacial degloving technique for removal of the maxillary bone. The contralateral nasoseptal pedicle flap was used to reconstruct the defect. The case was followed up prospectively for the assessment of flap reception and healing.

The locally accessible nasoseptal flap is a viable alternative for palatal reconstruction; therefore, a second surgical procedure with its associated donor site morbidity can be avoided. Large-scale studies may help in establishing the cosmetic and functional outcomes.