JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery
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JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Mar 2014
Multicenter StudyHoarseness and laryngopharyngeal reflux: a survey of primary care physician practice patterns.
Current approaches to the diagnosis and subsequent management of specific voice disorders vary widely among primary care physicians (PCPs). In addition, sparse literature describes current primary care practice patterns concerning empirical treatment for vocal disorders. ⋯ Most PCPs who responded to our survey report empirically treating patients with chronic hoarseness of unknown origin. Many physician respondents were willing to empirically prescribe reflux medication as primary therapy, even when symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease were not present. These data suggest that PCPs strongly consider reflux a common cause of dysphonia and may empirically treat patients having dysphonia with reflux medication before referral.
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JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Mar 2014
Multicenter StudySafety of adult tonsillectomy: a population-level analysis of 5968 patients.
Tonsillectomy is one of the most commonly performed otolaryngology procedures. The safety of this procedure in adults is based on small case series. To our knowledge, we report the first population-level analysis of the safety of adult tonsillectomies in the United States. ⋯ In the United States, adult tonsillectomy is a safe procedure with low rates of mortality and morbidity. The most common posttonsillectomy complications were infectious in etiology, and complications were independently associated with the need for reoperation.