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Background: We analysed the outcomes of 726 cases of primary head and neck cancer patients managed between 1996 and 2008, including those managed in the multidisciplinary clinic or team setting (MDT) and those managed outside of an MDT by individual disciplines (non-MDT) in the same institution. Methods: Data were collected from the Hospital Based Cancer Registry and a database within the Head and Neck Cancer Clinic. Univariable comparisons and multivariable analyses were performed using a logistic regression model. Survival by staging was analysed. Comparisons of management and outcomes were made between MDT and non-MDT patients. Results: 395 patients (54%) had been managed in the MDT vs 331 patients (46%) non-MDT. MDT patients were more likely to have advanced disease (likelihood ratio χ 2 =44.7, P <0.001). Stage IV MDT patients had significantly improved 5-year survival compared with non-MDT patients (hazard ratio=0.69, 95% CI=0.51–0.88, P =0.004) and more synchronous chemotherapy and radiotherapy ( P =0.004), and the non-MDT group had more radiotherapy as a single modality ( P =0.002). Conclusions: The improved survival of MDT-managed stage IV patients probably represents both the selection of multimodality treatment and chemotherapeutic advances that these patients received in a multidisciplinary team setting by head and neck cancer specialists as opposed to cancer generalists in a non-MDT setting.

To summarise the available literature related to wound healing post tonsillectomy, including the stages of healing, experimental models for assessing healing (in animals and humans) and the various factors that affect wound healing. A search of the English literature was conducted using the Ovid Medline database, with the search terms 'tonsillectomy' or 'tonsil' and 'wound healing'. Thirty-one articles that objectively assessed tonsillectomy wound healing were included for analysis. The majority of assessments in humans investigating tonsillectomy wound healing involve serial direct clinical examinations of the oral cavity. Many patient and surgical factors have been shown to affect wound healing after tonsillectomy. There is some research to suggest that the administration of adjunctive treatment in the post-operative period may be beneficial to tonsillectomy wound healing. Wound healing post tonsillectomy has been poorly researched. Having a better understanding of the process of wound healing would allow surgeons to potentially prevent, anticipate and manage complications from the surgery that arise as part of the healing process.

Subtotal petrosectomy combined with cochlear implantation is a procedure required in specific situations. A retrospective review of all cases of subtotal petrosectomy in cochlear implant surgery over a five-year period was performed. The indications, complications and outcomes for this procedure are outlined. Sixteen patients underwent cochlear implantation in combination with subtotal petrosectomy and blind sac closure of the external auditory meatus from 2008 to 2013. Seventy-five per cent of these were completed as a two-stage procedure and 25 per cent as a single-stage procedure. The most common indications for the procedure were chronic otitis media, previous radical cavity, and for surgical access in challenging anatomy or in drill-out procedures. Mastoids were obliterated with fat or musculoperiosteal flaps. The complication rate relating to blind sac closure was 6 per cent. Cochlear implants were successfully placed in all cases and there was no incidence of device failure. For patients with chronic suppurative otitis media or existing mastoid cavities, subtotal petrosectomy with blind sac closure of the external auditory canal, closure of the eustachian tube, and cavity obliteration is an effective technique to facilitate safe cochlear implantation.

In order to safely explore the medial wall of the attic, a working knowledge of the anatomy of the anterior supralabyrinthine air cell tract is required. To clarify the surgically relevant anatomical relationships that comprise the anterior supralabyrinthine air cell tract. Surgical dissection of 10 fresh cadaveric temporal bones was undertaken, including measurement of distances between the key anterior supralabyrinthine anatomical landmarks. The following mean distances were calculated: the labyrinthine segment between the geniculate ganglion and the ampullated end of the superior semicircular canal, 2.33 mm (range 1.75-2.75); the tympanic segment between the anterior margin of the oval window niche and the geniculate ganglion, 3.58 mm (range 3.25-4); and from the tympanic segment adjacent to the anterior margin of the oval window niche to the labyrinthine segment adjacent to the superior semicircular canal, 3.48 mm (range 3-4.25). The key anatomical landmarks of the anterior supralabyrinthine air cell tract define a distinct triangular segment of bone, knowledge of which is helpful in surgical dissection.

A Pott's puffy tumour is a subperiosteal abscess and osteomyelitis of the frontal bone secondary to frontal sinusitis. Intracranial complications are seen in approximately 40 per cent of cases and are potentially life-threatening; such complications have not previously been reported in pregnancy. A 21-year-old woman at 35 weeks' gestation presented with a history of frontal headaches and swelling, periorbital oedema, pain and chemosis. Imaging confirmed Pott's puffy tumour with right-sided epidural empyema and periorbital cellulitis. A multidisciplinary team was involved in the patient's management. Intravenous antibiotics were commenced and initial percutaneous drainage through the frontal sinus skin was performed, followed by endoscopic sinus drainage. A caesarean section was performed 3 days later. Complete resolution of the sinus and intracranial collections was noted on imaging performed six weeks later. This case highlights the challenges of managing rare intracranial complications of sinusitis in pregnancy, and the importance of multidisciplinary care.

Tympanic membrane (TM) perforations are common, with current treatments for chronic perforations involving surgery, using various graft materials, from autologous cartilage or fascia through to paper patch. Recent research developments in this field have begun applying the principles of tissue engineering, with appropriate scaffolds, cells, and bioactive molecules (BMs). This has revolutionized the therapeutic approach due to the availability of a wide range of materials with appropriate compatibility and mechanical properties to regenerate the membrane acoustics and may also represent a paradigm shift in the management of TM perforations in an outpatient setting without surgery. However, many factors need to be considered in the fabrication of a bioengineered TM. This review discusses the issues associated with current treatment and examines TM wound healing relevant to the construction of a bioengineered TM. It also describes the tissue-engineering approach to TM regeneration by summarizing currently used scaffolds, BMs, and cells in TM wound healing. Finally, it considers the design of scaffolds, delivery of BMs, and cell engraftment toward potential clinical application.

To determine the safety and efficacy of a 0.5% povidone-iodine nasal spray (Nasodine) as a treatment for the common cold (ACTRN12619000764134). A multi-center, randomized, controlled, double-blind Phase III study was conducted to assess the impact of Nasodine on the common cold. Two hundred and sixty (260) euthyroid adults with qualifying cold symptoms and meeting inclusion/exclusion criteria were randomized 2:1 to Nasodine or matching saline nasal spray (SNS), each applied 4 times daily for 5 days. Cold severity was reported using the WURSS-21 survey. The primary endpoint was impact on nasal symptoms (4-item scale), with the validated 19-item Global Severity Score (GSS) as the key secondary endpoint. All cold severity outcomes pointed in favor of Nasodine over SNS. In the ITT ( = 260), the Nasodine benefit over SNS on nasal symptoms was 8.4% ( = 0.217). For GSS, the benefit was 12.6% ( = 0.054) in the ITT population. subset analyses showed markedly improved benefits of Nasodine: In subjects with stronger symptoms at enrollment (ES), the GSS benefit was 17.1% ( = 0.023); for those with confirmed viral infection (VES), GSS benefit was 23.0% ( = 0.048); and for those enrolled within 24 h of symptom onset (24S), GSS benefit was 39.7% ( = 0.024). In terms of functional impairment, the Nasodine benefit was greater in all subsets, with 16.1% ( = 0.041) benefit in ITT, 22.2% in ES ( = 0.012), 32.1% in VES ( = 0.023) and 37.1% in 24S ( = 0.093). Nasodine was well tolerated, with mild transient nasopharyngeal discomfort being a common adverse effect. Nasodine treatment had a consistently positive and clinically meaningful benefit on overall cold severity when compared with saline nasal spray. Early treatment after symptom onset is an important efficacy factor. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=377353&isReview=true, identifier ACTRN12619000764134.

Background Globally, about 50 million people were living with dementia in 2015, with this number projected to triple by 2050. With no cure or effective treatment currently insight, it is vital that factors are identified which will help prevent or delay both age-related and pathological cognitive decline and dementia. Observational data have suggested that hearing loss is a potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia, but no conclusive evidence from randomised controlled trials is currently available. Methods The HearCog trial is a 24-month, randomised, controlled clinical trial aimed at determining whether a hearing loss intervention can delay or arrest the cognitive decline. We will randomise 180 older adults with hearing loss and mild cognitive impairment to a hearing aid or control group to determine if the fitting of hearing aids decreases the 12-month rate of cognitive decline compared with the control group. In addition, we will also determine if the expected clinical gains achieved after 12 months can be sustained over an additional 12 months and if losses experienced through the non-correction of hearing loss can be reversed with the fitting of hearing aids after 12 months. Discussion The trial will also explore the cost-effectiveness of the intervention compared to the control arm and the impact of hearing aids on anxiety, depression, physical health and quality of life. The results of this trial will clarify whether the systematic correction of hearing loss benefits cognition in older adults at risk of cognitive decline. We anticipate that our findings will have implications for clinical practice and health policy development. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( ANZCTR: 12618001278224 ), registered on 30.07.2018.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), presbycusis, is a chronic health condition that affects approximately one-third of the world's population. The peripheral and central hearing alterations associated with age-related hearing loss have a profound impact on perception of verbal and non-verbal auditory stimuli. The high prevalence of hearing loss in the older adults corresponds to the increased frequency of dementia in this population. Therefore, researchers have focused their attention on age-related central effects that occur independent of the peripheral hearing loss as well as central effects of peripheral hearing loss and its association with cognitive decline and dementia. Here we review the current evidence for the age-related changes of the peripheral and central auditory system and the relationship between hearing loss and pathological cognitive decline and dementia. Furthermore, there is a paucity of evidence on the relationship between ARHL and established biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease, as the most common cause of dementia. Such studies are critical to be able to consider any causal relationship between dementia and ARHL. While this narrative review will examine the pathophysiological alterations in both the peripheral and central auditory system and its clinical implications, the question remains unanswered whether hearing loss causes cognitive impairment or vice versa.

Background. Telavancin is an investigational, rapidly bactericidal lipoglycopeptide with a multifunctional mechanism of action. Methods. We conducted 2 parallel, randomized, double-blind, active-control, phase 3 studies with a prespecified pooled analysis design. Patients aged ⩾18 years who had complicated skin and skin-structure infections caused by suspected or confirmed gram-positive organisms were randomized to receive either telavancin (10 mg/kg intravenously every 24 h) or vancomycin (1 g intravenously every 12 h). Results. A total of 1867 patients were randomized and received ⩾1 dose of study medication. In the clinically evaluable population, at 7–14 days after receipt of the last antibiotic dose, success was achieved in 88% and 87% of patients who received telavancin and vancomycin, respectively (95% confidence interval for the difference, −2.1 to 4.6). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was isolated at baseline from samples from 579 clinically evaluable patients. Among these patients with methicillin-resistant S. aureus infection, cure rates were 91% among patients who received telavancin and 86% among patients who received vancomycin (95% confidence interval for the difference, −1.1 to 9.3). Microbiologic eradication among patients infected with methicillin-resistant S. aureus was 90% in the telavancin treatment group and 85% in the vancomycin treatment group (95% confidence interval for the difference, −0.9 to 9.8). Therapy was discontinued because of adverse events in 8% and 6% of patients who received telavancin and vancomycin, respectively. Except for mild taste disturbance, nausea, vomiting, and serum creatinine concentration elevation in the telavancin treatment group and pruritus in the vancomycin treatment group, adverse events were similar between groups with regard to type and severity. Conclusions. Telavancin given once daily is at least as effective as vancomycin for the treatment of patients with complicated skin and skin-structure infections, including those infected with methicillin-resistant S. aureus.