[The history of tuberculosis of the larynx]. / Zur Geschichte der Kehlkopftuberkulose.

The tuberculosis of the larynx was an incurable deadly infectious disease until the introduction of antituberculous drugs in therapy. Since the 18th century medical specialists investigated this kind of tuberculosis. Progresses of laryngeal diagnostic made possible a local treatment with drugs, operations and experiments with X-rays. After the development of antituberculous drugs, tuberculosis of the larynx became a curable disease.

Principles of infection prevention and reprocessing in ENT endoscopy.

This article gives an overview on the principles of reprocessing of rigid and flexible endoscopes used in ENT units including structural and spatial requirements based on general and ENT-specific risks of infection associated with diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy. The underlying legal principles as well as recommendations from scientific societies will be exemplified in order to give a practical guidance to the otorhinolaryngologist. Preliminary results of a small nation-wide survey on infection control standards based on data of 29 ENT practices in Germany reveal current deficits of varying degree concerning infection control management including reprocessing of endoscopes. The presented review aims to give support to the establishment of a structured infection control management program including the evaluation of results by means of a prospective surveillance.