COVID-19 Infection among Patients Presenting to a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease-19 infection is caused by the coronavirus and has taken a toll throughout the world. The aim of this study was to find the prevalence of coronavirus disease-19 infection among patients presenting to a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the fever clinic of a tertiary care centre between January 2021 to September 2021 after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 2011202001). Convenience sampling was done. Data were collected from the records of patients diagnosed with real-time polymerase chain reaction) test in the sample group. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 230 patients presenting to the fever clinic, 130 (56.52%) (50.11-62.93, 95% Confidence Interval) were diagnosed with coronavirus disease-19. Conclusions: Our study found that the prevalence of coronavirus disease-19 was higher when compared to similar studies conducted in similar settings. Keywords: blood group; COVID-19; pandemic.

Association Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Recurrent Tonsillitis.

BACKGROUND: Tonsillitis is defined as an inflammation of the tonsils characterized by signs of tonsillar erythema and exudates and recurrent tonsillitis is at least 7 episodes of acute tonsillitis in a year, or a minimum of 5 episodes in a year for 2 consecutive years, or at least 3 episodes in a year for 3 consecutive years. There are many research that have hypothesized the association of low level of Vitamin D and recurrent attacks of acute tonsillitis. METHODS: A single centre prospective, cross sectional analytical study was conducted from 2021 June to 2022 March in Department of ENT and Head and Neck surgery in Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital. The study participants were recruited from ENT Head and Neck OPD and the data on number of episodes of recurrent attacks of tonsillitis and serum level of Vitamin D were collected. RESULTS: 78.8% of patients with tonsillitis had low level of serum Vitamin D (less than 30ng/ml) and 21.2% had optimal level of serum Vitamin D (more than 30ng/ml). The incidence of recurrent tonsillitis was 40.9% in patients with low level of Vitamin D where as the incidence of recurrent tonsillitis was 18.1% in patients with optimal level of Vitamin D. CONCLUSIONS: The low serum level of Vitamin D was found to be associated with recurrent episodes of tonsillitis.

Comparison of Clinical and Functional Outcome of Cold Steel Dissection versus Coblation Technique in Tonsillectomy.

BACKGROUND: To ameliorate the intra and post-op morbidities associated with newer techniques for tonsillectomy like coblation has been introduced in the recent past. This study was aimed to compare the cold steel dissection with the coblation technique with regards to its effectiveness and safety. METHODS: An observational comparative study was carried out in 90 patients undergoing tonsillectomy between July 2018 to December 2019. Forty-five patients in each group of cold steel dissection and coblation were compared between the operative time, intraoperative blood loss, post-operative pain, post-operative bleeding and return to work. Intraoperative blood loss was measured using a standard sized gauge piece whereas post-operative pain was measured using a visual analogue scale (0-10) at first and third day of surgery. RESULTS: The age and sex were comparable between the groups. The mean operation time (31.40±4.52 min versus 17.02±3.11 min), intraoperative blood loss (27.20±7.16 ml vs 9.73±5.52 ml), post-operative pain in day 1 (8.02±1.27 vs 4.98±1.03), post-operative pain in day 3 (4.80±0.89 vs 2.76±0.74) and time needed to return to work in days (10. 31±1.29 vs 6.76±1.20) were statistically significant in coblation group (p<0.000). Primary and secondary post-operative haemorrhage rates were similar in both the groups. There was no return to theatre for hemostasis. CONCLUSIONS: Coblation tonsillectomy significantly reduces operation time, intraoperative blood loss, post-operative pain (day1 and 3) and time required to return to work . This technique doesn't differ from cold steel dissection tonsillectomy in terms of primary and secondary post-operative hemorrhage.

Anatomical Positions of Superior Parathyroid Gland with regard to the Zuckerkandl Tubercle in Patients Undergoing Thyroidectomy in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Zuckerkandl tubercle is a prominent anatomical structure of the thyroid lobe. Identification and preservation of recurrent laryngeal nerve and parathyroid glands during thyroid surgery can be made easier through assessment of their relationship with the Zuckerkandl tubercle. This study aims to determine the anatomical relationship between Zuckerkandl tubercle and superior parathyroid in patients who underwent thyroidectomy in a tertiary care center. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital of Nepal following ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference no: 0106201804) among patients who underwent thyroid surgery between July 2018 to February 2020. Convenience sampling was used for collecting data and was entered in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency andproportion for binary data. RESULTS: Out of 59 cases, 27 (96.4%) of superior parathyroid on the left were at the 1-2 o'clock position, and 28 (90.3%) of superior parathyroid on the right were at 10-11 o'clock position. On the left side, the superior parathyroid was adhered to Zuckerkandl tubercle in 10 (35.7%), was within 5 mm in 16 (57.1%), and was >5 mm away from Zuckerkandl tubercle in 2 (7.14%). On the right side, the superior parathyroid was adhered to Zuckerkandl tubercle in 12 (38.7%), was within 5 mm in 13 (41.93%), and was >5 mm away from Zuckerkandl tubercle in 6 (19.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Zuckerkandl tubercle has a consistent relationship with the superior parathyroid and can be used as an important landmark for identifying superior parathyroid during thyroid surgery.

Septorhinoplasty among Patients who Visited the Outpatient Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery of a Tertiary Care Center: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: The nose is the central most part of the face, so any nasal deformities may cause a high level of psychological distress on one's quality of life. Septorhinoplasty is a surgical procedure used to correct both functional as well as aesthetic problems of the nose. It enhances facial harmony and increases self-confidence. The objective of this study is to find out the prevalence of out-patients who underwent septorhinoplasty in a tertiary care centre in Nepal. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study among 5,760 patients who visited the outpatient department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery of Kathmandu Medical College from April 2019 to September 2020. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Committee of Kathmandu Medical College. A convenient sampling technique was used. The preoperative and postoperative assessment was done with the help of a rhinoplasty outcome evaluation questionnaire. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences is used for analysis. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: The prevalence of septorhinoplasty was 117 (2.03%) during the study period (95% Confidence Interval= 1.66-2.40). Among 117 patients, 67 (57.3%) were males and 50 (42.7%) were females. Among 117 patients, 85 (72.6%) patients underwent an open approach, while 32 (27.4%) patients underwent closed approach rhinoplasty for the correction of both aesthetic and functional problems. CONCLUSIONS: This study concludes the prevalence of septorhinoplasty is low which may be due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the study period.

Trans-oral Extra Tonsillar Approach of Styloidectomy for Treatment of Eagle's Syndrome among Operated Cases of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Eagle's syndrome is a poorly understood clinical entity that has variable presentations like recurrent throat pain or foreign body sensation, dysphagia, or facial pain. With a confirmed diagnosis, a surgical approach is considered appropriate for its treatment. This study aims to find out the prevalence of trans-oral extra tonsillar approach of styloidectomy among the operated cases of Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,475 who underwent surgery at the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in a tertiary care center of Nepal between July 2018 to September 2020 after receiving the ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 0106201802). Convenience sampling was done and data was entered in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. RESULTS: Among 1,475 patients enrolled in the study, 24 (1.62%) patients (95% Confidence Interval= 0.97-2.26) underwent trans-oral extra tonsillar approach of surgery for Eagle's syndrome during the study duration. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of styloidectomy among the operated cases of our study is low in comparison to other studies done in similar settings. Transoral extra tonsillar approach can be considered as a novel approach for surgical removal of the styloid process in Eagle's Syndrome.

Distance of Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve in Relation to Superior Parathyroid Gland During Thyroid Surgery.

BACKGROUND: In thyroid surgery, it is essential to identify and preserve recurrent laryngeal nerve to avoid injury to the nerve which will lead to nerve paralysis or paresis. The meticulous dissection of recurrent laryngeal nerve is important for careful identification and preservation of the nerve to prevent post operative vocal cord paresis and hoarseness. METHODS: A single centre prospective, cross sectional study was conducted from May 2019 to January 2021 in Department of ENT and Head and Neck surgery in Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital. The data on distance between recurrent laryngeal nerve and superior parathyroid gland during thyroidectomy were collected. RESULTS: The mean distance of recurrent laryngeal nerve in relation to superior parathyroid gland during thyroid surgery was 5.03±1.79 millimeters. The recurrent laryngeal nerve lies within 5mm of superior parathyroid gland in 83.05% cases and between 6 and 10mm in 15.25 % of cases. CONCLUSIONS: The recurrent laryngeal nerve is found in the close proximity to the superior parathyroid gland. The visual method of identification of recurrent laryngeal nerve can be widely adopted in thyroid surgery to prevent recurrent laryngeal nerve injury.

Mean Duration for Cessation of Pain following Tonsillectomy Operation among the Patients of Otolaryngology Department in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures performed by Otolaryngologists world-wide. There are various techniques for tonsillectomy, but none of the techniques has been accepted as the best one universally. Despite the efforts of all the surgeon and use of recent techniques, some post-tonsillectomy morbidity is unavoidable. The main objective of our study is to find out the mean duration for cessation of pain among the patients following tonsillectomy operation in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study of 104 patients who underwent tonsillectomy in department of otolaryngology of Kathmandu Medical College from 1st August 2020 to 31st July 2021. Convenient sampling technique was used. Ethical Approval was taken from Ethical Clearance Committee of hospital (Reference number: 2207202005). Proforma containing visual analog score was given to every patient for scoring the severity of postoperative pain. The scoring of pain was done from 1st postoperative day till 14th postoperative day. Descriptive statistical analysis was done. RESULTS: One hundred four patients had undergone tonsillectomy in our hospital. The mean duration for cessation of pain was 10 (9.75±1.97) days with mean duration of analgesia taken of 11 (10.84±2.15) days. The mean duration after tonsillectomy operation for cessation of pain on drinking was 8 (7.51±1.19) days and on eating solids 12 (11.59±2.56) days. Patients reported the first normal night of sleep at seven (6.90±1.41) days and return to normal daily activities 11 (11.18±2.53) days. CONCLUSIONS: From the study concluded that the mean duration for cessation of pain after tonsillectomy is slightly lower than other similar study.

Endoscopic Septoturbinoplasty among Patients Undergoing Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck of a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Septoplasty without turbinoplasty is one of the main reasons for failure of procedure in case of deviated nasal septum with inferior turbinate hypertrophy. Septoturbinoplasty is the procedure of choice for complete treatment. The main objective is to find out the prevalence of endoscopic septoturbinoplasty among patients undergoing surgery in Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck of a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study in Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery done over a period of 1 year duration from 1st August 2020 to 31st July 2021 among 1248 patients who underwent surgery in the department. Ethical Approval was taken from Institutional Review Committee of Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital (Reference number: 2207202004). A convenience sampling technique was used. Two different techniques, Microdebrider Assisted Turbinoplasty and Outfracture with Submucosal Diathermy were used in surgery. Nasal Obstruction and Symptom Evaluation Scale questionnaire was used pre and postoperatively for data collection. Data were analyzed in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated, with frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviations. RESULTS: Out of 1248 patients, about 92 (7.37%) patients (4.95-10.14 at 95% Confidence Interval) underwent septoturbinoplasty. The mean Nasal Obstruction and Symptom Evaluation Scale before surgery was 75.21±6.19. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of septoturbinoplasty in our study is similar to other studies done in similar settings. We found almost complete resolution of breathing problems following endoscopic septoturbinoplasty, hence improving quality of life.

Left Chronic Otitis Media with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Middle Ear and Postauricular Mastoid Fistula: A Case Report.

Though squamous cell carcinoma is the commonest tumor, it rarely presents in the middle ear and follows a history of chronic ear discharge. Postauricular mastoid fistula is also a rare complication of chronic otitis media. These two pathological changes occurring simultaneously are even rarer. We report a rare case of a 37 years old male with a history of left-sided chronic ear discharge and conductive hearing loss. Squamous cell carcinoma along with postauricular mastoid fistula was diagnosed based on high-resolution computed tomography scan and histopathology. Left modified radical mastoidectomy with tympanic membrane grafting was done under general anesthesia. Often middle ear tumor is associated with long-standing ear discharge and this case is a very good example. The co-occurrence of the middle ear tumor with mastoid fistula is extremely rare as both the entities are rare in itself.

Innovative Method of Using Endoscope in Postoperative Canal Wall Down Mastoid Cavity.

INTRODUCTION: Poor access to the difficult areas in the middle ear and mastoid cavity is considered as the major reason for failure in mastoid surgery. Wide field visibility, visualization of nooks and corners by an endoscope could contribute to better clinical control of the disease in these patients that cannot be accessed by the operating microscope. The study was done to assess and clean postoperative canal wall down mastoidectomy cavities with endoscope and compare with oto-microscopy. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, done in Kathmandu Medical College from January to June 2017. Thirty two patients were included in the study. Data collection was done by convenient sampling. Statistical analysis was done by Chi square test and Fisher Exact test, P value of <0.005 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The study revealed that exposure benefit with an endoscope in canal wall down mastoid surgery was significantly better than with a microscope (P value of 0.034). The level of complete clearance and level of difficulty in cleaning with the help of a microscope compared to endoscope did not show a significant difference with P value of 0.288 and 0.652 obtained by Fisher extract test respectively. After microscopic removal of materials from the mastoid cavity, 22 (68.8%) which is more than half of cases had remaining materials in the cavity which was removed by endoscope completely. CONCLUSIONS: Outcome will make the ENT surgeons aware of use of endoscopy in post mastoid follow up cases to give better results and make the surgeon much more successful in his/her endeavor to eradicate the disease.

Acoustic Analysis of Voice in School Teachers.

INTRODUCTION: The term 'voice' is the acoustic energy generated from the vocal tract that are characterized by their dependence on vocal fold vibratory pattern. Teachers as professional voice users are afflicted with dysphonia and are discouraged with their jobs and seek alternative employment. Loud speaking and voice straining may lead to vocal fatigue and vocal fold tissue damage. The objective of the study is to assess the quality of voice of school teachers before and after teaching practice. METHODS: Sixty teachers from various schools, volunteered to participate in this study. Acoustic analysis Doctor Speech Tiger Electronics, USA was used to assess the voice quality of the school teachers before and after teaching practice. The data were collected and analyzed using Doctor Speech Tiger Electronics, USA. Analysis was performed in terms of perturbation (jitter and shimmer), fundamental frequency, harmonic to noise ratio and maximum phonation time. RESULTS: We found statistically significant difference in all the four parameters except the Jitter value. The fundamental frequency and shimmer value has significantly increased (P<0.001) and (P=0.002) respectively after teaching practice. Unlikely, there was significant decrease in harmonic to noise ratio value (P<0.001) and maximum phonation time value (P<0.01) after teaching practice. CONCLUSIONS: Vocal abuse, overuse, or misuse in teaching practice over a long period of time can result in inadequate phonatory pattern due to vocal fold tissue damage, which ultimately results in vocal nodules or polyps. So voice evaluation is particularly important for professional voice users and for the people who are concerned about their quality of voice.

Diode Laser Reduction of Symptomatic Inferior Turbinate Hypertrophy.

INTRODUCTION: Inferior turbinate hypertrophy refractory to medical management is one of the commonest problems encountered by ENT surgeons all over the world. Diode Laser turbinate reduction is a safe, minimally invasive, cost-effective procedure that helps in relieving the symptoms associated with it and can be performed on a day care basis under local anesthesia. The objective of this study is to measure the effectiveness of Diode laser in treatment of symptomatic ITH. METHODS: Fifty patients with symptomatic inferior turbinate hypertrophy, age ranging between 15-45 years were enrolled in the study. Symptom assessment was done with the visual analogue scale. Portable Diode laser was used. Patients were followed up after 1 week and 1 month of surgery. During each postoperative visit, symptoms were reassessed using VAS and postoperative morbidity were noted. RESULTS: Out of fifty patients, all the patients had nasal obstruction and 42 had nasal discharge and by the end of 1 month 43 (86%) and 37 (88%) patients had relief of symptoms respectively. Excessive sneezing was found in 45 patients, 39 (86.6%) patients got benefitted. Out of 18 patients, 15 (83.3%) patients had decreased snoring at 1 month post-op. Similarly, 24 patients had headache, 20 (83.3%) patients had decrease in severity. Hyposmia was seen in 19 patients, 10 (52.6%) patients had improvement in olfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Diode laser turbinate reduction for symptomatic inferior turbinate hypertrophy is one of the safest procedures that can be done under local anesthesia on OPD basis with significant relief of symptoms and with minimal complications.

Effects of Bilateral Nasal Packing on Oxygen Saturation and Blood Pressure.

INTRODUCTION: Nasal packing is one of the most common rhinological procedures in ENT practice exerting local in nose and systemic effects. Systemic effects may be due to poor sleep quality, respiratory difficulty, decreased oxygen saturation, circulatory problems and toxic shock syndrome which can threaten the life of a person.The study was done to investigate the effect on bilateral nasal packing on blood oxygen saturation and blood pressure changes. METHODS: A cross-sectional prospective study was undertaken in Kathmandu Medical College from January 2017 to June 2017. The ethical approval was taken from institutional review committee of KMC and verbal consent was taken from each patient. Thirty patients were included in the study by simple randomized sampling. The association between nasal packing and oxygen saturation and blood pressure was done using ANNOVA and Fisher Exact test. P value of <0.005 was considered statistically significant. SPSS version 20 for windows OS was used for analysis. RESULTS: Blood oxygen saturation on four different days was compared using ANNOVA and paired sample tests. It showed a significant dip on the day of bilateral nasal packing compared to other readings (P value <0.001). Likewise, systolic and diastolic blood pressures showed a significant rise on the day of bilateral nasal packing compared to readings on other days (P value <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Bilateral nasal packing can lead to significant rise in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and a dip in blood oxygen saturation. Thus care has to be taken while performing bilateral nasal packing in normal patients but much more in high risk patients.

Agenda setting and framing of gender-based violence in Nepal: how it became a health issue.

Gender-based violence (GBV) has been addressed as a policy issue in Nepal since the mid 1990s, yet it was only in 2010 that Nepal developed a legal and policy framework to combat GBV. This article draws on the concepts of agenda setting and framing to analyse the historical processes by which GBV became legitimized as a health policy issue in Nepal and explored factors that facilitated and constrained the opening and closing of windows of opportunity. The results presented are based on a document analysis of the policy and regulatory framework around GBV in Nepal. A content analysis was undertaken. Agenda setting for GBV policies in Nepal evolved over many years and was characterized by the interplay of political context factors, actors and multiple frames. The way the issue was depicted at different times and by different actors played a key role in the delay in bringing health onto the policy agenda. Women's groups and less powerful Ministries developed gender equity and development frames, but it was only when the more powerful human rights frame was promoted by the country's new Constitution and the Office of the Prime Minister that legislation on GBV was achieved and a domestic violence bill was adopted, followed by a National Plan of Action. This eventually enabled the health frame to converge around the development of implementation policies that incorporated health service responses. Our explicit incorporation of framing within the Kindgon model has illustrated how important it is for understanding the emergence of policy issues, and the subsequent debates about their resolution. The framing of a policy problem by certain policy actors, affects the development of each of the three policy streams, and may facilitate or constrain their convergence. The concept of framing therefore lends an additional depth of understanding to the Kindgon agenda setting model.