Otolaryngologists to involve epidemiologists, mental health professionals, and others in patient education, follow-up care, and use of adjunctive hearing-assistance devices

Otolaryngologists to involve epidemiologists, mental health professionals, and others in patient education, follow-up care, and use of adjunctive hearing-assistance devices
Oral steroids in chronic rhinosinusitis; macrolide therapy for chronic rhinosinusitis; parotid gland lymphoma consideration in parotid lesion evaluation; better dialogues with patients may minimize liability in cranial nerve injury malpractice trials; obesity in children with OSA can lead to depression, withdrawal; many otolaryngologists dissatisfied with current sinus CT results
Physicians’ business associates can now face civil, criminal penalties for violating HIPAA confidentiality laws
Sites provide tool to market products, services, but comments hard to control
Quality initiative aims to give physicians feedback on their diagnosis and treatment of patients with oral cavity cancers
Transnasal balloon catheter dilation of eustachian tube relieves ear pressure; fat graft myringoplasty highly successful in certain tympanic membrane perforations; molecular testing may improve differentiated thyroid cancer diagnoses; polysomnography widely used in pediatrics, but not up to practice guidelines; length of intubation, number of sedation doses affect subglottic stenosis risk in children; little difference between tetracaine and lidocaine for nasal endoscopy
Environmental pollutants, such as second-hand smoke, chlorine in pools, and pesticides are associated with greater risk for allergies, studies report
MRI cost justified in dysosmia; ESS superior to medical therapy for QOL in CRS; First-line steroid therapy can improve outcomes for ISSHL; TORS total laryngectomy effective for salvage surgery; Cidofovir effective for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis; High-volume academic medical centers have lower complication rates for head and neck oncologic surgery
The single most important step in payment collections is pre-registering patients when they make their appointment
Experts stress the importance of educating the patient and family about tracheostomy care to reduce complications from the procedure