ENT Flashcards
Centor criteria for Group A Strep tonsilitis
1 Point for:
- Hx of fever
- White exudates on tonsils
- Abscence of cough
- Tender cervical lymphadenopathy
Pts w/ 3-4 points should be concidered for abx therapy
Bacterial tonsilitis management
Phenoxymethylpenicillin - clari/erythromycin if pen allergic
Tonsilitis complications
- Recurrent tonsilitis
- Retropharyngeal abcess
- Quincy
- Lemierre’s syndrome = inflammation leads to pharygeotonsilitis, inflammation w/in the internal jugular vein and septic emboli - treated w/ high dose benzylpencillin and debridement
Paediatric otitis media management
- Admit if < 3 months old or worried about severe complications
- Offer a delayed abx perscription to be taken if symptoms arnt improving after 4 days (can offer immediate perscirption if pt is systemically unwell)
Otitis media complications
Extra-cranial:
- Facial nerve palsy
- Mastoiditis
- Petrositis
- Labrynthitis
Intra-cranial:
- Meningitis
- Sigmoid sinus thrombosis
- Brain abscess
Indications for adenoidectomy
- Recurrent or persistent otitis media (due to obstruction of the eustachian tubes by enlarged adenoids)
- Adenoid hypertrophy leading to upper airway obstrucion (snorking, OSA)
- In association w/ tonsilectomy for recurrent tonsilitis
- Recurrent sinusitis or adenoiditis
- Dysphagia w/ failure to thrive
- Speech impendements
Allergic rhinitis management
- Avoid triggers
- Nasal irrigation w/ saline
- Oral/intra-nasal antihistamines
- Regular intra-nasal steroids
- Oral steroids if QOL severely affected
- Referal to ENT (red flags, refractory, for allergen testing)
Define Basal skull fractures
Fracturing of one or more of the bones at the base of the skull
Anterior cranial fossa = superior sphenoid and ethmoid bones
Posterior cranial fossa = occipital, temporal and part of the spehnoid bone
Basal skull fractures features
- Hx of head trauma
- Reduced consciousness
- Rhinorrhoea (CSF leakage from nose)
- Otorrhoea (CSF leakge from ears)
- Cranial nerve palsy
- Epistaxis or ottorhagia (bleeding from ears)
- Haemotympanum (blood visible behind the tympanic membrane)
- Battle sign = bruising of the mastoid process
- Racoon eyes = periorbital bruising
Define Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
A condition caused by detachment of otoliths in the inner ear during head movements, resulting in hair cell stimulation and vertigo
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo features
- Vertigo attacks triggered by head movements
- Episodes of rotational vertigo lasting 30 secs - 1 min
- Absence of audiotory symptoms
- Reccurent episodes, often resolving naturally over weeks to months
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo investigations
Dix-Hallpike manoeuvre - causes vertigo and nystagmus if +ve for BPPV
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo management
Epley manoeuvre - aims to move the detached otholiths out of the semicircular canal and back into the urticle where they belong
Define Branchial cyst
A congenital malformation formed from the incomplete obliteration of the branchial arches (an integral part in devloping the structure of the head and neck)
Branchial cyst features
A painless, cystic mass located anterior to the sternocleidomastoid just below the ear - it may increase in size during URTI
Branchial cyst investigations
- US
- CT/MRI
- Fine-needle aspiration to rule out malignancy
Define Cholesteatoma
An abnormal accumulation of skin and squamous cells w/in the middle ear clerft and mastoid air cells - often caused by recurrent otitis media
Cholesteatoma features
- Persisten foul-smelling discharge
- Headache
- Otalgia
- White area in attic behind the tympanic membrane
Sinusitis features
Acute:
- Bilateral intense pain
- Fever
- Pain worse on sitting forwards
- Purulent discharge
Chronic:
- Bilateral pain
- Purulent discharge
- Nasal obstruction due to muscosal hypertrophy
Sinusitis investigations
- Hx and examination
- Imaging
- Nasal endoscopy
- Microbiology
Sinusitis management
- Analgesia
- Nasal sprays to reduce inflammation
- Abx if bacterial
- Surgery for severe or recurent cases (to remove polyps that may have formed)
Conductive hearing loss causes
- Wax impaction
- Glue ear
- Eustachian tube dysfunction
- Ear infections
- Perforated tympanic membrane
- Chronic suppurative otitis media
- Otosclerosis
Conductive hearing loss investigations
Audiometry shows bone conduction greater than air conduction
Which vessels are involved in anterior epistaxis?
Kiesselbach’s plexus, a vascular network located on the anterior part of the nasal septum
Which vessels are involved in posterior epistaxis?
Branches of the sphenopalatine artery
Epistaxis management
Stepwise approach:
1) Direct compression = pinch nose and lean fowards (to avoid aspirating) - mostly resolves w/in 10-15 min
2) Cautery w/ silver nitrate or electricity - must have a visible bleeding point
3) Nasal packing to tamponade the bleeding
4) Aggressive therapies = reserved to posterior bleeds and uncontrolled severe bleeds that dont resolve w/ nasal packing - includes nasal balloon catheters, transnasal endoscopy w/ cautery/ligation, embolisation, oral/IV transexamic acid
Posterior bleed signs = profuse bleeding, both nostrils involved, unidentifiable bleeding site
Nasal foreign body features
- Organic objects = local inflammation, secondary infections and sinusitis
- Inorganic objects = asymptomatic unless big enough to cause nasal obstruction
- Button batteries = tissue necrosis though electrolysis at the negative pole, leading to septal perforation (epistaxis, purulent/black discharge, facial swelling, pain and fever)
Head and neck cancer features
- Hoarsness
- Throat pain
- Tonhue ulcers
- Painless neck lump
- WL, fevers, NS
- Lymphadenopathy
- Sympoms persisiting longer than 3 wks
Laryngeal papillomatosis management
Surgery to remove the papillomas +/- cidofovir
Define Laryngeal papillomatosis
A rare disease caused by HPV which results in the growth of papillomas inside thew voice box, vocal cords, or anywhere in the air passages from the nose to the lungs
Laryngeal papillomatosis features
- Dysphagia
- SOB
- Hoarsness
- Feeling something stuck in the throat
- Choking
- Coughing
- Recurrent pnuemonia
- Snoring
Define Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia
A rare genetic condition characterised in the abnormal formation of blood vessles - results in telangiectasia and AV malformations
Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia features
- Episatxis
- Anaemia
- GI blood loss
- Emobolic manifestations
Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia investigations
- Nasoendoscopy - may show telangectasia in the nose
- CT/MRI to find AV malfomrations
- FHx
Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia management
- Iron replacement
- Blood transfusion
- Emobolisation of AV malformations w/in organs
Primary causes of hoarsness
- Laryngeal cancer = hoarsness >3 wks, sig smoking history
- Chronic laryngitis = associated w/ GORD, worse in the mornings
- Acute laryngitis = usually viral and self-limiting
- Reinke’s oedema = enlargement of the vocal cords associated w/ hypothyroidism
Define Meniere’s disease
An inner ear disorder caused by dilation and subsequent increased fluid pressure in the endolymphatic spaces of the membranous labyrinth
Meniere’s disease features
- Sudden attacks of vertigo - often in clusters
- Associated deafness
- Tinnitus
- N&V
Meniere’s disease management
- Betahistine (anti-vertigo medication) for prophylaxis
- Prochlorperazine to reduce N&V during attacks
- Duiretics to reduce endolymphatic volume (only done by ENT)
- Low salt diet to reduce endolymphatic volume
Acute VS chronic nasal obstruction
Acute lasts < 12 wks, chronic lasts >12 wks