ENT Flashcards
What is vertigo?
Hallucination of movement (caused by problem with vestibular system)
What are some central causes of vertigo?
Stroke
Migraine
Neoplasms
Demylination e.g. MS
Drugs
What are some peripheral causes of vertigo?
BPPV
Menieres disease
Vestibular Neuronitis
How does benign paroxysmal positional vertigo present?
What causes it?
Vertigo associated with head movements lasts seconds
Caused by otoliths (crystals) in the semicircular canals (most commonly posterior) causing abnormal stigmatise of the hair cells
How is BPPV diagnosed and how is it treated?
Diagnosis = Dix-Hallpike
Treatment = Epley manoeuvre
What are the clinical features of Ménière’s disease?
What is the pathophysiology?
Tinnitus in affected ear
Episodic vertigo lasting minutes to hours associated with N&V
Fluctuating hearing loss
Aural fullness
(over time the disease burns out with no more vertigo but some reduced hearing - due to increased pressure and dilatation of endolymphatic system)
Caused by increased fluid in the endolymphatic compartment (endolymphatic hydrops)
What is the management of Ménière’s disease?
Dietary - reduce salt, chocolate, caffeine and Chinese food
Medical - thiazide diuretics, prochlorperazine for acute attacks (vestibular sedatives)
Surgical - grommet insertion
PREVENTION = betahistine and vestibular rehab exercises
How does vestibular neuronitis present?
Incapacitating vertigo lasting several days associated with N&V (after recent viral infection)
No hearing loss
Horizontal nystagmus
(Think in young fit patient)
How is vestibular neuronitis managed?
Vestibular sedatives during acute attacks (may still have long term vertibular deficits but don’t take vestibular suppressants as it delays recovery)
Resolves eventually - vestibular rehab exercises if chronic
How does viral labyrinthitis present?
Recent viral infection
N&V
Hearing loss (unlike vestibular neuronitis - hearing is in tact)
Sudden onset
How does vertibrobasilar ischaemia present?
Elderly
Dizziness on extension of neck
How does acoustic neuroma present?
Hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus
Absent corneal reflex is important sign
Associated with neurofibromatosis type 2
What can happen to the external ear?
How is it treated?
Lacerations = primary closure with exposed cartilage covered with skin
Haematoma (blood in between cartilage and perichondrium) = drainage and pressure dressing
Tympanic membrane perforation (causes pain and conductive hearing loss) = usually heals by itself (if not my 6 months then myringoplasty)
Haemotympanum (blood in middle ear - can be associated with temporal bone fracture) = treated conservatively
How does otitis externa present?
What organisms can cause it?
Painful discharging ear (inflamed ear canal)
Muffled hearing due to discharge
Pseudomonas aeruginosa/ staph aureas
What is malignant otitis externa?
Seen in diabetics / immunecompromised
Infection spreads from soft tissue into bone
Presentation = chronic ear discharge despite treatment, deep seated severe ear pain and cranial nerve palsies
what is the management of otitis externa?
What are the risk factors?
Topical eardrops
Swab discharge in resistant cases
Microsuction of pus allowing drops to get to infection
If severe then wick can hold canal open
Malignant otitis externa = IV abx and topical treatment
Risk factors = cotton buds, swimming, humidity, immunocompromised
What is the epithelium lining the middle ear?
Respiratory epithelium (pseudostratified columnar)
What are the features of otitis media?
Ear pain (caused by increased pressure in tympanic cavity)
Discharge (pain may settle as tympanic membrane ruptures)
Fever
What is the management of otitis media?
What are the complications of AOM?
Conservative with analgesia
Medical if severe / persistent
Surgery - if recurrent may benefit from grommet
Complications = meningitis, intracranial abscess, sigmoid sinus thrombosis, bacterial labyrinthitis, facial paralysis
What are the two types of chronic otitis media?
Active / inactive (if discharging)
Then subdivided into mucosal or squamous disease
What is active squamous chronic otitis media also known as?
Cholesteatoma
How does inactive squamous COM act?
Retraction pocket which may develop in to active disease (cholesteatoma)
What is active mucosal COM?
What is inactive mucosal COM?
Active = chronic discharge from middle ear through tympanic membrane perforation
Inactive = tympanic membrane perforation but no active infection / discharge
How does mucosal COM develop?
Acute episode of AOM - after rupturing of tympanic membrane there is failure to heal
How is squamous COM thought to develop?
When keratinised squamous cells are introduced to middle ear from perforation
How does active COM present?
Chronic ear discharge and often conductive hearing loss
What is the management of COM?
Cholesteatoma = surgery
If no cholesteatoma = topical antibiotic drops and aural toilet
What is the risk with mastoid surgery?
Facial nerve palsy
Alteral taste (damage to chorda tympani)
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Complete loss of hearing
What is otitis media with effusion (glue ear)?
Fluid in middle ear associated with eustacian tube dysfunction (post nasal tumours can also cause glue ear)
OME is not painful but can become infected and become AOM
What are the clinical features of glue ear?
Middle ear effusion on otoscopy
Conductive hearing loss (associated with speech delay)
What are the investigations for glue ear?
Typanogram (flat type B tracing with normal canal volumn)
Pure tone audiogram (showing conductive hearing loss)
What is the management of glue ear?
Conservative (usually settles in 3 months)
Heading aid
Surgery - for prolonged hearing loss causing significant problems with Grommets (ventilation tubes) +/- adenoidectomy
What are the examination findings of otosclerosis?
Typically normal
Rarely pink hue to the tympanic membrane - Schwartze’s sign
What are the investigations for otosclerosis?
Typanogram (normal type A trace)
Pure tone audiogram (conductive hearing loss, carhart notch at 2kHz)
What is the management of otosclerosis?
Conservative - hearing loss
Surgery - stapedectomy
Where is the inner ear found?
Petrous part of temporal bone
What are the investigations for sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss?
Confirm sensorineural with tuning forks
Pure tone audiogram
MRI scan (for lesions along central auditory pathway e.g. acoustic neuroma)
What is the management for sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss?
Steroids (normall oral but can be injected into middle ear)
Anti-virals
Other treatments e.g. hyperbaric oxygen, carbogen
How to perform tuning fork test?
With a 256 or 512 Hz tuning fork
Weber = placed on forehead, louder on right / left
Sensorineural = louder on opposite side
Conductive = louder on same side as hearing loss (conductive hearing loss with block out background noise)
Rinne = placed on mastoid (conducted to cochlear via temporal bone) then lateral ear
Sensorineural if air conduction is louder (normal)
Conductive if bone conduction is louder
How is a pure tone audiogram performed?
Hearing threshold assessed at various frequencies
Air conduction assessed with headphones
Bone conduction is assessed by playing tone through bone conductor over mastoid bone
what are the three possible results from a tympanogram?
Tympanogram = inserting a probe into external ear canal
Type A = peak centered on 0 daPa on x axis (normal)
Type B = flat tracing (middle ear effusion / perforation)
Type C = peak has negative pressure (eustacian tube dysfunction)
Label the following:
Label the following:
What are some local and idiopathic causes of nosebleeds?
Local = idiopathic (85%), traumatic, foreign body, inflammatory e.g. rhinitis, neoplastic
Systemic = HTN, coagulopathies, vasculopathies
What is the management of epistaxis?
ABC (assess for shock )
First aid (pinch soft part of nose, head forward, spit out don’t swallow)
Examination (anterior / posterior bleed)?
Conservative management = cautery (silver nitrate / bipolar diathermy), topical adrenaline may help control bleeding before, nasal packing if cautery fails (anterior +/ posterior)
Surgical management = under GA ligate / embolise the following vessels (sphenopalatine, anterior ethmoid, external carotid (last resort)
What is a complication of epistaxis?
How can it be prevented?
Septal haematoma later causing erosion of septal cartilage and saddle nose deformity
Prevented = anterior rhinoscopy and palpation of bulging septum
When can nasal trauma occur?
Assault
Sports
RTA
What are some complications of nasal bone fractures?
Septal haematoma
CSF leak with associated skull base fracture (rare)
What is the management of nasal trauma?
ABC (epstaxis is normally self limiting)
Examine for septal haematoma
No X-ray required
If deviated then consider manipulation under anaesthetic within 2 weeks
Label the following:
Label the following: