The Laryngoscope
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The effects of peritonsillar infiltration on the reduction of intraoperative blood loss and post-tonsillectomy pain in children.
Improved hemostasis and reduction of postoperative pain are desired goals when performing tonsillectomy. This is especially true in children, who may be reluctant to receive intramuscular injections for pain relief and who may lose a higher percentage of total blood volume during surgery than adults. This study evaluated the effects of peritonsillar infiltration upon operative blood loss and postoperative pain in 42 children. ⋯ Because of the small sample size we were unable to evaluate the beneficial effects of peritonsillar infiltration performed with bupivacaine upon the reduction of the severity of pain and the requirement for narcotic analgesics following tonsillectomy. Therefore, until further studies demonstrate such efficacy, all peritonsillar infiltrations should be performed solely for the purpose of reducing operative blood loss. As such, infiltrations should be performed with either normal saline containing epinephrine (1:200,000) or lidocaine containing epinephrine (1:200,000).
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Fifty-one Japanese professional surfers were examined in order to analyze surfer's ear. Forty-one cases (80%), 71 ears, were diagnosed as surfer's ear. ⋯ The age at which surfing is taken up has no influence on the appearance of surfer's ear. Surfers who surf on northern (colder) coasts have severer surfer's ear than those who frequent the southern (warmer) coasts.