Survey and analysis of knowledge, attitude and practice among otolaryngologists in a state in eastern India in relation to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has resulted in various changes in knowledge, attitude and practice among doctors. A survey was conducted of otolaryngologists in India regarding these aspects in relation to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHOD: Otolaryngologists from West Bengal (India) were invited to participate in an online self-administered survey. Data were collected and analysed using appropriate methods. RESULTS: Responses from 133 participants, grouped into 4 groups by their career stage, were collected and analysed. Of the participants, 36.8 per cent were directly involved in treating a known or suspected coronavirus disease 2019 patient, although 66.2 per cent considered the personal protective equipment inadequate. Ninety-four per cent indicated that their willingness to perform procedures depended on personal protective equipment availability. Of the respondents, 83.5 per cent revealed additional mental stress due to the pandemic. Of the participants, 41.4 per cent took hydroxychloroquine as coronavirus disease 2019 prophylaxis. CONCLUSION: This study provides an insight into which issues may need attention, to help ENT surgeons tackle the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic more effectively based on analysis of responses in the survey.

Impacted dentures in the oesophagus.

OBJECTIVE: This study presents the incidence of denture impaction in the oesophagus, and discusses the difficulties of managing such cases. METHOD: A total of 262 patients with a history of foreign body ingestion (between 1999 and 2010) were reviewed; 46 of these patients had dentures impacted in the oesophagus. RESULTS: The cervical section of the oesophagus was the commonest site of impaction. Dysphagia and tracheal tenderness were the most consistent features when dentures became impacted in the upper oesophagus. In most cases, rigid oesophagoscopy enabled successful removal of the impacted denture. Locating an impacted denture hidden within the oesophageal mucosal folds sometimes proved difficult. CONCLUSION: In cases of impacted dentures in the oesophagus, a positive history helps in the diagnosis, but a high degree of clinical suspicion aids early detection. Conventional radiographs are important but may not always be of assistance. Early intervention reduces complications. Dentures that are poorly maintained and old are more likely to be swallowed accidentally. The inclusion of radiopaque filler within dentures would assist localisation following accidental swallowing.

Disseminated rhinosporidiosis.

INTRODUCTION: Rhinosporidiosis primarily affects the mucous membranes of the nose and nasopharynx. The disseminated form of this chronic fungal disease is extremely rare. CASE REPORT: The authors present a case of disseminated rhinosporidiosis in an immunocompetent patient with involvement of the skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle, bone, penis and urethra, and with a long-standing primary lesion in the nose. DISCUSSION: A late or atypical presentation of rhinosporidiosis may cause diagnostic dilemma. Fine needle aspiration cytology of the tumoural lesions may establish the diagnosis. Histopathology is confirmatory. The subcutaneous masses may be solid or cystic. Ulceroproliferative lesions need to be differentiated from malignancies. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case of truly disseminated rhinosporidiosis with simultaneous involvement of multiple anatomically unrelated sites in a single patient. This is also the first reported case of cystic rhinosporidiosis. The possibility and sequelae of spontaneous regression of rhinosporidiosis are also discussed.

Foreign body in ENT--general practitioner's duty.

Foreign body in ENT region is an age-old problem. Introduction of foreign body in ear, nose and throat is specially seen in children. There are many types of foreign body seen in the ear, nose and throat. They can aspirate into larynx, trachea and bronchus. How to manage the removal of foreign body in ear, nose and throat had been discussed in a nutshell. General practitioners should be skilled enough to remove foreign body with their limited resources and they should know when to send the cases to an ENT specialist or to a hospital.

Role of grommet in otitis media with effusion: A necessity or nuisance? A comparative study.

Otitis media with effusion is one of the commonest otological problems in paediatric age group. The condition occurs in childhood as overt or covert hearing loss presenting as an educational or behavioural problem. As there is widespread controversy regarding its precise aetiology, natural history and pathogenesis a treatment dilemma still persists. The main goal of this study is to compare the efficacy of different modalities of medical and surgical treatment designed for this condition and analysis of the results statistical.

Rhabdomyosarcoma of nose and paranasal sinuses--a therapeutic challenge.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a highly malignant tumour of striated muscle and it is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in the paediatric age group. It is very uncommon in the nose and paranasal sinuses. Pinkish nasal mass and recurrent epistaxis are the most common presenting symptoms. Histologically embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common variant. The present series deals with seven such cases of different histopathological types including the embryonal, botryoid, and alveolar varieties in the paediatric age group. Multimodal treatment including limited surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy resulted in survival ranging from 3 days to more than 3 years, which was also influenced by the severity of the disease at presentation and its aggressiveness.

Deaf child--a general practitioner's responsibility.

The power of a child's speaking language never develops if he is deaf. Deafness persists if it is not detected early. Childhood deafness is either congenital or acquired. At birth, doctors or attendants can detect deafness by arousing the baby with sudden loud noise. At 4 months onwards mothers and doctors can detect deafness. The baby at this age can turn its head or eyes towards the source of the sound. By 12 months to 2 years of age it is very difficult to detect deafness. By the age of 3 years children again become co-operative and it becomes easier to detect deafness. Children should always be screened for deafness while being admitted to nursery classes. In school going age ie, 5 years onwards loss of tests can be employed to detect deafness. If a child is suspected be deaf, a general practitioner's responsibility is to refer him to an ENT specialist earlier. Any child whose mother believes her child is deaf should be given due attention. Otitis media with effusion, enlarged adenoid, chronic suppurative otitis media, recurrent otitis media are some diseases to be carefully looked into by the general practitioners. Now-a-days cochlear implantation surgery is gaining popularity to give hearing to deaf child. Moreover regular screening for deafness should be included school heath programme.

An unusual foreign body (Big Metallic Nut) in the nasopharynx of an infant.

Foreign body in the nasopharynx is an extremely rare conidition; however a big metallic nut in the masopharynx of an infant of eight- months has not been previously reported in literature. We report an unusual case where an eight-month-old child introduced a big metallic nut through the mouth and was lodged in the nasopharynx, with a brief review of literature regarding the diagnosis and management of such case.

Large capillary haemangioma arising from the nasal columella--a case report.

A 39-year-old male presented with a mass arising from the nasal columella for last 8 months. The mass was lobulated, dark red in colour, firm in consistency and approximately 3 cm in diameter. It was attached to the columella of the nose by a narrow stalk. The mass was excised completely under general anaesthesia and histopathological examination suggested it to be a case of capillary haemangioma.

Bilateral antrochoanal polyps.

An extremely rare case of bilateral antrochoanal polyp in an otherwise fit 12-year-old girl is reported. The antrochoanal polyps were removed by bilateral Caldwell-Luc operation. Histopathological examination showed them to be of benign inflammatory nature.

Foreign bodies in the larynx.

Inhalation of foreign body is a serious event. A very small proportion of foreign bodies get impacted in the larnyx. Any [foreign body in the larynx presents usually as a respiratory (emergency, when urgent recognition is required to prevent disaster. Two cases of fish bone impacted in the larynx, one in anteroposterior and another in coronal disposition are presented here along with a brief review of literature.

Play safe with safety pins.

Three cases of Safety pins in the aerodigestive tract have been presented here with a brief review of litereture.

An arrow in the nasal cavity, ethmoid and nasopharynx.

A penetrating foreign body (Metallic arrow) involving the ethmoidal air cells nose and nasopharynx is being reported.