Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
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Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Nov 2012
Readability assessment of patient education materials on major otolaryngology association websites.
Various otolaryngology associations provide Internet-based patient education material (IPEM) to the general public. However, this information may be written above the fourth- to sixth-grade reading level recommended by the American Medical Association (AMA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of this study was to assess the readability of otolaryngology-related IPEMs on various otolaryngology association websites and to determine whether they are above the recommended reading level for patient education materials. ⋯ The IPEMs found on all otolaryngology association websites exceed the recommended fourth- to sixth-grade reading level.
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Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Nov 2012
Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of the tongue base: a cadaver feasibility study.
The authors hypothesize that floor-of-mouth and tongue base anatomy can be visualized with ultrasound and that ultrasound can be used to accurately guide needle placement and dye injection into the tongue base, serving as a surrogate for fine-needle aspiration. ⋯ Anatomy of the floor of mouth and tongue base can be readily depicted with ultrasonography. After reasonable success of injecting dye into cadaver tongue bases, the authors conclude that there appears to be a future clinical role for ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of the tongue base for tongue base lesions.
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Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Oct 2012
ReviewAcute otitis media in infants: the disease and the illness. Clinical distinctions for the new treatment paradigm.
Acute otitis media has changed conceptually from being a feared infection with severe complications to a modest disease that should be treated for symptomatic relief but often without immediate antimicrobials. This holds true for infants and children with nonsevere forms of the illness if the parents and the clinician agree to a strategy of watchful waiting with easy access for follow-up. ⋯ The appraisal of the symptoms that characterize the illness in a child, matched with the otoscopic intensity of the disease, provide a comprehensive estimation of overall severity that many experts have used for research. The perspectives examined in this article and the schematic construct that proposes considering disease and illness independently may help to bring the current paradigm of acute otitis media into everyday pediatric practice as a model for a more rational and personalized management of each patient.
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Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Oct 2012
Multidisciplinary team approach in the management of tracheostomy patients.
To examine whether the implementation of a multidisciplinary percutaneous tracheostomy team decreases complications, improves efficiency in patient care, and reduces length of stay and cost in patients undergoing percutaneous tracheostomy. ⋯ Airway bleeding, physiological disturbances, and efficiency of care improved after the institution of a multidisciplinary percutaneous tracheostomy team approach and may have a favorable impact on health care costs.
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Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Oct 2012
Reducing disposable equipment waste for tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy cases.
Large amounts of waste in hospitals are generated in the operating rooms from disposable surgical supplies. Tonsillectomy/adenotonsillectomy (T&A) cases use many disposable supplies that are not recyclable. ⋯ The aims were the following: (1) identify what disposable medical supplies were unnecessarily opened for each case, (2) eliminate all disposable medical waste that was not critical to the case in both settings, and (3) determine the cost reduction at both hospital and surgery center facilities by revising the current disposable instruments/supplies pulled for tonsillectomy cases. The authors report projected cost savings and reduction in waste for one children's hospital and nationally based on their waste reduction.