ENT Flashcards
what is atypical facial pain
- Diagnosis of exclusion
- UL Burning, aching, cramping sensation
- often in region of CNV
- can extend further to neck, back of scalp
- often linked with mood disorders
- may be worse w fatigue/stress
What conditions may cause or predispose to atypical facial pain?
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- ***- Temporomandibular joint problems and tendonitis
- Migraines, cluster headaches
- teeth/sinus infections
- neuralgia eg cavitational oseteonecrosis
- ***- C-spine issues
ix for ?atypical facial pain
exclude other causes: - XR of skull MRI/CT detaile dental and otolaryngologic evaluation - neuro exmination
tx for atypical facial pain
1st line- TCA (amytriptyline, fluoxetine, venlafaxine)
- gabapentin, pregablin
- capsaicin- topical
- acupuncture
- CBT
- peripheral subcute field stimulation
How do you read an audiogram?
- one symbol is air, another symbol is bone
X axis is frequency (pitch), Y axis is volume (db) - anything lower than (ie higher on the graph) 20db is normal!
Describe how different ear pathologies would appear on an audiogram
Conductive hearing loss
- bone-air gap (with bone performing better)
Sensorineural hearing loss
- bone and air are equal but under 20bd on the graph
Meniere’s
- UL sensorineural hearing loss involving **low frequencies only
Cholesteatoma
- UL **mixed hearing loss
- ***- bone and air under 20bd on the graph AND bone air gap
Acoustic neuroma/vestibular schwannomas
- UL sensorineural hearing loss at ***higher frequencies
Presbycusis
- BL sensorineural hearing loss at higher frequencies
what is a cholesteatoma
collection/sac of keratinizing sq epithelium in the middle ear, behind the eardrum
causes of cholesteatoma
congenital
repeated middle ear infections
Why can a cholesteatoma cause damage?
- local expansion causes erosion
- it releases cytokines which upregulate osteoclasts– bone resorption
What are the red flags in ear hx
- CN VII palsy/bell’s
- UL sensorineural hearing loss
- tinnitus UL
- sudden deafness with no wax/SN
- conductive hearing loss of unknown cause
sx of cholesteatoma
- repeated UL infections
- very offensive discharge
- conductive hearing loss
- tinnitus/vertigo (if facial nerve is involved- late stage)
- SensoriN hearing loss if large
signs of cholesteatoma
- otorrhoea (offensive)
- UL mixed hearing loss (hearing under 20bd on graph and a bone air gap)
- may be able to see keratin (white material) on otoscope at attic of the TM, may be a TM perf
ix for ?cholesteatoma
otoscope
audiometry
CT of temporal bone to determine involvement
tx of cholesteatoma
dry, safe ear
repair of perf
remove cholsteatoma, mastoidectomy
What sx are there in CN VIII palsy
- hearing loss
- vertigo, motion sickness
- loss of equilibrium in dark places
- *- nystagmus
- *- gaze-evoked tinnitus
what are two Examination tests for hearing using a tuning fork
Rinne’s- air/mastoid
Weber’s- tuning fork on forehead (fork makes W shape with person’s ears lol)
what size tuning fork do you use for rinne’s/webers
512 hz
causes of congenital deafness
- genetic
- intrauterine infection (rubella)
- drugs in regnancy (streptomycin- abx)
- meningitis
- neonatal jaundice
causes of childhood onset deafness
no earache:
- BL glue ear
- impacted ear wax
- hereditary
- following meningitis, head injury or birth complications
Earache:
- acute otitis media
what are some Qs to ask during hearing loss hx
- do people seem like they’e mumbling, saying pardon alot, conversations hard to follow, missed phone calls or someone ringing the doorbell
- high or low sounds
- tinnitus, vertigo
- *- headaches, visual changes
- pain- ear, facial
- weakness
- nasal congestion
- dysphagia
- changes in voice
- infection- fever, ottorhoea
- wt loss, fatigue, appetite, night sweats
- occupation, noise exposure
What does a positive rinne test mean
the fork in the air sounds louder than on bone
this means normal or sensorineural hearing loss
what does a negativee rinne’s test mean
fork is louder when on the bone
conductive hearing loss
What may it mean when the tuning fork is hear louder in the L ear compared to the R on Weber’s testing
Conductive hearing loss in L ear
or R sensorineural hearing loss
Causes of conductive hearing loss
- impacted ear wax
- debri/foreign body
- eardrum perforation
- middle ear effusion.glue ear
- otosclerosis
- cholesteatoma
Causes of senorineural hearing loss
- presbycusis
- infection
- meniere’s disease
- drugs
- acoustic neuroma
- noise induced
How do you tx impacted ear waxx
olive oil drops for ~2w
wash out/suction
What would be present with eardrum perforation
purulent discharge
Describe pattern of hearing loss in presbycusis
- gradual onset
- high frequencies more severely affected
- examination normal as both ears normally affected to same degree
- audiometry- SN (bone and air), BL usually
ix for ?presbycusis
audiology
tx presbycusis
hearing aids
sx of acoustic neuroma, what is it
neurofibroma from acoustic nerve
UL sensorineural hearing loss
tinnitus
facial/bell’s palsy
pathophysiology of meniere’s
- idiopathic dilatation of endolymphatic spaces
- poor fluid drainage of endolymph
sx of meniere’s
attacks of:
- vertigo
- tinnitus
- ***- feeling of pressure deep inside the ear
- N+V
- sudden drop in hearing- sensorineural
- cumulative sensorineural hearing loss after repeated attacks
- each attack lasts mins to hours
management of meniere’s attack
refer to ENT
acute attack- labyrinthine sedatives:
- Prochloperazine (1st gen antipsychotic)
- antihistammines- cyclizine, promethazine
- Ecourage mobilisaiotn after
- try to ID and avoid trigger
LT management of meniere’s (ie not of acute attack)
LT tx
- hearing aids
- tinnitus markers
- surgery to control vertigo
- thiazide like diuretics (hydrochlorothiazide)/betahistine to reduce freq
- avoid alcohol, caffeine, smoking, salt
must inform DVLA
RF for meniere’s
- allergies
- immune disorder
- viral infections eg meningitis
- head injury
- migraines
- fam hx
What is otosclerosis, sx
- BL Conductive hearing loss
- positive family history of early onset deafness
- young (<40s)
- tinnitus/vertigo sometimes
- focus/foci of spongy bone affecting ossicles
- adheres od stapes footplate to bone
tx of otosclerosis
surgery
What is glue ear, who is it common in
middle ear effusion
non infective fluid causing
- eustachian tube dysfunction
- most common cause of hearing loss in children- can have grommets inserted
- rarer in adults, may follow a URTI but self-resolves
A 32 year old has had a middle ear effusion for 2 months, which has not resolved depsite your previous advice to watch and wait- what could this be?
posterior nasal space tumour- refer to ENT as needs excluding
When are cochlear implants used
- profound, BL sensorineural hearing loss
What are some causes of vertigo
Central
- MS
- Posterior Stroke
- **- Head Trauma/concussion
- **- Migraine
- Space occupying lesion
Otological
- Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo
- Meniere’s Disease
- Vestibular Neuronitis/labrynthitis
- Persistent postural perceptual dizziness- sudden unsteadiness/vertigo
- Acoustic Neuroma
- **- Ramsay Hunt Syndrome- Herpes Zoster Oticus
- Motion Sickness
Causes of fainteness/lightheadedness
- haemodynamic orthostatic hypotension (postural hypotension)
- Cardiovascular disease- arrhythmias, narrowed/blocked blood vessel, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, decrease in blood volume
- hypoglycaemia
- vasovagal- emotional triggers, prolonged standing
Name some causes of loss of balance
- nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy
- joint issues
- Muscle issues- weakness
- Vision issues
- Medications
- Parkinson’s
- psychiatric disorders- depression, anxiety
- hyperventilation
- vertigo
What is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
- presence of canaliths in the semicircular canals instead of in the utricle
- these crystals cause abnormal movement of the endolymph when the pts head is moved
RF for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
trauma- head injury or whiplash
Vestibular neuronitis
Meniere’s
elderly
often idiopathic though
what are the symptoms of an episode of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
very sudden onset vertigo settles after a few seconds starts when pt looks up.sideways/when turning in bed N+V pt feels normal between attacks
How do you diagnose benign paroxysmal positional vertigo?
Hx
Dix-Hallpike Manoeuvre/supine lateral head turn
- positive if nystagmus and vertigo are evoked
- pt sat up, then lie pt down with head hanging of end of bed, whilst turning their head to the side
- repeat maneouvre twice, turning head on side each time
- posterior canal- rotatory nystagmus on diagnostic procedure
Lateral canal- horizontal nystagmus on diagnostic procedure
Management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
meds- none
Epley’s manoeuvre/particle repositioning manoeuvre
- removes crystals from the canal and resolves
- pts advised not to drive and to keep/sleep upright/not to bend over in 48hours
- Brandt-Doroff exercises given to pts to do at home to reduce intensity of sx
What are the theories on the pathophysiology of Meniere’s
- endolymphatic pressure, caused by dysfunctioning Na channels
- osmotic gradient created which draws fluid into endolymph
sx of Meniere’s
- attacks of tinnitus (UL), vertigo, SN hearing loss
- feeling of pressure deep inside the ear (UL)
N+V
hearing recovers after the attacked but cumulative attacks cause progressive SN hearing loss
lasts 2-3 hours, usually resolves fully within 24hours
age range of Meniere’s
20-40
ix for Meniere’s
- audiometry (UL SN hearing loss in lower frequencies)
- tympanometry
- otoscopy- normal looking eardrum
Management of Meniere’s
Refer to ENT
acute attack tx:
- cyclizine/prochloperazine (vestibular sedatives)- N+V and vertigo
- Antihistamines- promethazine- helps with N+V and vertigo
- encourge to mobilize after
- try to ID trigger
LT tx and prophylaxis
- betahistine reduced attack frequency , or thizide like diuretics
- avoid alcohol, caffeine, smoking , slat
- hearing aids, tinnitus markers
- surgery to control vertigo
- must inform DVLA!!
RFs/causes of meniere’s
- immune disorder
- *- allergies
- viral infection eg meningitis
- fam hx
- head injury
- migraines
What is labrynthitis/vestibular neuritis
inflammation of the vestibular never (and cochlear if labrynthitis)
causes of labrynthitis/vestibular neuritis
- viral mostly
- can be bacterial
preceded by URTI in about 50% of cases
sx of labrythnitis/vestibular neuritis
- vertigo lasts for days or up to 3w
- sudden onset
- severely incapacitating
- N+V
- hearing drop (SN) and tinnitus if labrynthitis
- imbalance
ix for ?labrynthitis
- otoscopy- eardrum normal
- horizontal nystagmus
- Neuro exmaination- normal
- hearing normal or reuced
complication of labrynthitis/vestibular neuritis
- lasting unsteadiness
tx of labrynthitis/vestibular neuritis
vestibular sedative
- prochlorperzine/cyclizine
- promethazine
should be stopped after worst of acute episode as brain needs to get used to new unsteadiness
- consider IV fluids if pt is dehydrated from N+V
- LT vestibular rehab if vestibular hypofucntion persists- Cawthorne-Cooksey exercises
What cell type represents most head/neck cancers
sq cell carcinoma
Where are most head and neck cancers
oral cavity- buccal mucosa, retromolar triangle, alveolus, anterior 2/3 of tongue, hard palate, floor of mouth, mucosal surface of the lip
Pharynx
Oropharynx- base of tongue, tonsil, soft palate
Hypopahrynx- postcricoid surface, posterior pharyngeal wall
Nasopharynx- behind the nose
Larynx
Presentation of tongue cancer
usually dont present util large (>2cm)
speech difficult
sqallowing difficulty
***pain when tumour involved nerve- referred to ear
Presentation of tonsillar cancers
- trismus (lockjaw)
- *- neck mass
- foreign body/mass sensation
- *- ear pain
- *- bleeding
- sore throat
O/e- may be under the surface, so may only see a slight increase in size and firmness in the area
presentation of buccal mucosa cancer
- warty/ulcerative invasive lesion
- painless in early stages
- bleeding
- difficulty chewing
- leukoplakia, eryhtroplakia
When to refer ?oral cavity malignancy on 2ww
- unexplained ulceration in oral cavity lasting >3w
- persistent and unexplained lump in the neck
- lump on the lip or in the oral cavity
- red or red/white patch in the oral cavity (leukoplakia- white, doesn’t come off when scraped;, erythroplakia- red, bleeds easily when scraped)
Management of oral cavity malignancy
RT
CT
Surgical resection with reconstruction
Sx or oropharyngeal malignancy
- persistent sore throat
- lump in mouth.throat
- pain in the ear
- dysphagia
sx of hypopharynx cancer
- dysphagia
- ear pain
- hoarseness
sx of nasopharynx cancer
lump in neck nasal obstruction ***deafness recurrent ear effusions- posterior nasal space tumour postnasal discharge
what virus are pharyngeal cancers associated with
HPV
O/E what may you see in pharyngeal cancers
unexplained red/white pacthed (erythroplakia, leucoplakia), which are painful and bleed easily
mass
nodes (BL mets are common)
Ix for ?pharyngeal cancer
biopsy
CT and MRI
CXR and LFTs for mets
criteria for 2ww for ?pharyngeal cancer
- neck mass whihc is persistent and unexplained
- unepxlained ulceration in oral cavity/back of throat >3w
Management of pharyngeal cancer
Surgery
RT
CT
mixture of above
sx of laryngeal cancer
- chronic hoarseness
- pain- throat, ear
- dysphagia, aspiration
- lump in neck
- haemoptysis, persistent cough , SOB
- Fatigues, weakness, wt loss
Referral for ?laryngeal cancer
- Hoarseness >3w
- unexplained lump in the neck
Ix for ?laryngeal cancer
- Laryngoscopy with biopsy - under GA
- fine needle aspiration of a neck mass
- CT/ MRI
- CXR if hoarseness >3w
Management of Laryngeal cancer
surgery
CT
RT
What cell type are ear malignancies
Sq cell
basal cell
melanoma
Sx of ear malignancies
Ear canal:
- Pain
- Otorrhoea
- Loss of hearing
- Lump in ear canal
- Weakness of the face
Middle Ear
- hearing loss
- Earache
- Cannot move face on ipsilateral side
Inner ear
- pain, headache
- hearing loss
- tinnitus
- vertigo
Ix of ?ear malignancy
Biopsy
MRI
CT
tx of ear malignancy
surgery
RT
CT
Name the salivary glands and where they are
sublingual gland (under tongue)
Submadibular- deep to sublingual gland, connected with sublingual
Parotid- slightly inferior and anterior to the ear
Many minor salivary glands widely distributed throughout oral mucosa, palate, uvula, floor of mouth, post tongue, retromolar and peritonsillar regions, pharynx, larynx and paranasal sinuses
Where to most of the salivary gland cancers arise from
Parotid gland
What cell type are salivary gland tumours
Adenoid cystic carcinomas are most common
Can also be mucoepidermoid, acinic
Presentation of salivary gland cancers
- facial nerve weakness/palsy
- Paraesthesia and anaesthesia of neighbouring sensory nerves
- salivary gland mass
- usually painless,or with increasing painfulness, which becomes relentless
- ulceration or induration (or both) of the mucosa or skin overlying
RF for salivary gland malignancy
- hx of previous skin ca
- Sjogrens
- previous radiation to head/neck
clincial features of salivary gland malignancies
- hardness on palpation of parotid/submandibular/sublingual regions
- fixed lump
- tenderness
- infiltration of surrounding structures- Facial nerve palsy, local lymph node enlargement
- overlying skin ulceration
When to refer for ?salivary gland malignancy
- any unexplained neck lump in >45y/o
- peristent and unexplained neck lump in any pt
ix for salivary gland malignancy
- USS- if superficial
- USS guided fine needle aspiration
- MRI/CT
- all tumour in lublinguinal gland should be imaged with MRI as the risk of malignancy is high
management of salivary gland malignancy
- ablation
- radiotherapy
- chemotherapy
- removal of the affected gland
Eye and optic nerve tumour- presentation
Generally, in over 50s
- pupil distortion
- cataract
- visual decline/disturbances
- pain due to elevated intraocular pressure
Management of eye/optic nerve tumours
observe
surgery
radiotherapy
removal of the eyeball
Sx /signsof reintoblastoma
sx
- pain
- Apparent change in the colour of the iris
- inflammation, redness or increased pressure in/around the eye without infection
- detioration of vision in one or both eyes
- buphthalmos (enlarged eye)
- leukocoria- after flash is taken (white pupillar reflex)
Signs
- Strabismus
- glaucoma
- nystagmus
- parental hx
Ix of ?retinoblastoma
- Examination under anaesthesia with maximally dilated pupil
- MRI
tx of retinoblastoma
radiation
chemo
surgery
Where do nosebleeds bleed from most commonly
Little’s area/kiesselbach’s plexus- most accessible part of the nose anteriorly and very well vascularised
Where do posterior epistaxis arise from?
- Sphenopalatine artery
causes of epistaxis
- nose picking
- inflammation (URTI, sinusitis)
- foreign body
- trauma- blowing nose with force, insertion of object, injury to nose/face
- bleeding disorder/anticoag/antiplatelets
- HTN
- ## Dry air