Head and Neck/ENT Flashcards
What is a goitre and what are the different types?
A swelling of the neck resulting from enlargement of the thyroid gland. This can be:
- Diffuse
- Nodular
What causes a diffuse goitre?
- Iodine deficiency
- Congenital
- Acute thyroiditis (de Quervains)
- Pregnancy
- Puberty
- Autoimmune (Graves, Hashimotos)
What is a multinodular goitre?
Most common thyroid gland disorder involving multiple neck lumps. May be retrosternal or substernal
Patients usually euthyroid but may become hyperthyroid (toxic) - rare to have malignancy or hypothyroidism
What is Plummer’s disease?
Hyperthyroidism with a single toxic nodule
What is a fibrotic goitre?
aka. Riedel´s thyroiditis (RT)
A rare inflammatory disease of the thyroid gland, causing compression and fibrosis of adjacent tissues
What are the causes of a single thyroid nodule?
- Cyst
- Adenoma (hyperthyroid/toxic won’t go away after a course of antithyroid drugs)
- Malignancy (10%)
- Discrete nodule as part of MNG
What investigations should be done for a neck lump?
BLOODS: T3/T4/TSH, thyroid autoantibodies if suspecting Graves/Hashimotos, virology, mantoux test
IMAGING: USS (looks at consistency), CXR with thoracic inlet (may show malignancy), radionuclide scan (hot/cold), CT (defines mass in relation to anatomical neighbours)
OTHER: FNA biopsy and cytology
What is the significance of hot/warm/cold nodules on radionuclide scan?
Refers to the uptake of the dye on scan
HOT - produce excess thyroid hormone, rarely malignant, likely adenoma
WARM - normal thyroid function
COLD - nonfunctional tissue, more likely to be malignant
How should impalpable nodules that show up on US be managed?
<1cm, no past history of thyroid cancer/radiation or family history of medullary cancer - OBSERVATION
Otherwise do USS guided FNA for biopsy and cytology
How should non-malignant thyroid enlargement with normal thyroid function be managed (incl symptoms of compression)?
No treatment needed unless breathing difficult or clinical concern.
Repeat US and TSH if malignant/compression suspected
If compressive symptoms - surgery, radioactive iodine ablation or percutaneous thermal ablation
What are the main types of thyroid cancer?
- Papillary (60%)
- Follicular(25%)
- Medullary (5%)
- Lymphoma (5%)
- Anaplastic
What are the features of papillary cancer?
- Younger patients
- Spreads to lungs via jugulo-digastric nodes
- Differentiated (cancer cells function like thyroid cells)
What are the features of follicular cancer?
- Middle aged patients
- Spreads early via blood to bone and lungs
- Differentiated (cancer cells function like thyroid cells)
What are the features of medullary cancer?
- May be sporadic or part of MEN syndrome
- May produce calcitonin which can be used as a tumour marker
- No response to iodine
- Should perform phaeochromocytoma screen pre-op
What are the features of lymphoma thyroid cancer?
- May present with stridor/dysphagia
- Assess tissue for MALT origin (better prognosis)
How is thyroid cancer managed initially?
Total thyroidectomy
Node excision
Radioactive iodine to ablate residual cells
MUST BE RENDERED EUTHYROID PRE-OP BUT STOP 10 DAYS BEFORE SURGERY
What can be given for differentiated cancer after radioactive iodine?
Lenvatinib and sorafenib (as long as they haven’t had a tyrosine kinase inhibitor before)
What are the complications of thyroid surgery?
- Recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy
- Haemorrhage
- Hypoparathyoidism (check calcium)
- Thyroid dysfunction incl storm
What are the most common neck lumps?
<3 weeks - self-limiting infection
Intradermal - sebaceous cyst or lipoma
What lumps are common in the midline?
<20yo patient - dermoid cyst or thyroglossal cyst
> 20yo - thyroid isthmus mass, chondroma (if bony hard)
What is a thyroglossal cyst, and what symptoms does it produce?
A fluid-filled space resulting from incomplete closure of the thyroids migration path.
Lump will move up on tongue protrusion, situated below the hyoid.
What lumps are common in the submandibular triangle?
<20yo - self limiting lymphadenopathy
> 20yo - exclude malignant lymphadenopathy (firm, non tender). May be TB, salivary stone, sialadenitis (infection of salivary glands), tumour
What defines the submandibular triangle?
The mental process, mandible and the line between the two angles of the mandible
What defines the anterior triangle?
Midline, anterior border of sternocleidomastoid muscle and line between the two angles of the mandible
What defines the posterior triangle?
Behind sternocleidomastoid, in front of trapezius, above clavicle
What lumps may be found in the anterior triangle?
- Lymphadenopathy (benign/malignant)
- Branchial cysts
- Parotid tumour
- Laryngoceles
- Carotid artery aneurysm
- Tortuous carotid artery
- Carotid body tumours
What is a branchial cyst? How are they managed?
Oval, mobile, flucutant cystic mass found in under 20yos, emerges under the anterior border of sternocleidomastoid. Formed from non-disappearance of cervical sinus at birth
EXCISE
What is a laryngocele?
Congenital dilated of laryngeal saccule, filled with air and made worse by blowing. May give hoarseness. May be associated with laryngeal carcinoma.
Where is a parotid tumour most likely to be found?
Supero-posterior area of the anterior triangle
What are carotid body tumours? How are they managed?
Rare, move from side to side but not up and down. Firm but may be soft and pulsatile.
Diagnosis is by duplex USS or digital computer angiography.
Management is extirpation (complete excision) by a vascular surgeon
What lumps may be found in the posterior triangle?
- Cervical ribs
- Pharyngeal pouch
- Cystic hygromas (transilluminating lumps)
- Pancoasts tumour
- Subclavian artery aneurysm
What are the complications of cervical ribs?
Raynauds syndrome - the ribs compress the subclavian artery
Neurological symptoms - due to pressure on lower trunk of brachial plexus
What is a pharyngeal pouch?
aka Zenkers diverticulum
A diverticulum of the mucosa of the pharynx. More common if >70yo and in its with cervical webs. May protrude into posterior triangle on swallowing
What are the symptoms of a pharyngeal pouch?
- Asymptomatic
- Dysphagia
- Globus
- Regurgitation, cough and halitosis due to regurgitation of food
How is pharyngeal pouch diagnosed and managed?
Diagnosis - barium swallow and endoscopy
Management - can leave if small otherwise neck surgery, endoscopic stapling, laser
What are the 3 main salivary glands?
- Parotid (serous) most tumours
- Submandibular (mixed) most stones
- Sublingual (mucous)
What causes acute swelling of the salivary glands?
HIV, mumps
have to be cautious of acute airway compromise!
What causes recurrent unilateral pain and swelling? How is it managed?
Salivary stone (sialolith) - 80% submandibular
Causes colicky pain/swelling during eating.
Conservative - hydration, pain relief, sialogogues (pilocarpine)
Medical - antibiotics
Surgical - distal stones can be removed from the mouth but deeper ones may need surgical excision
What causes chronic bilateral salivary gland symptoms?
Autoimmune disease (hypothyroidism, sjorgens)
Bulimia
What causes a fixed salivary gland swelling?
Tumour
ALL
Sarcoid/amyloid
Wegeners
What is the typical salivary gland tumour?
80% parotid
80% of these are pleiomorphic adenomas
80% of these are in superficial lobe
Classically the ear is deflected outward or 7th nerve palsy
How are salivary gland tumours managed?
Pleimorphic adenoma - superficial parotidectomy
Adenolymphoma - enucleation
Carcinomas - surgery and radiotherapy
What investigations should be ordered in salivary gland pathology?
BEDSIDE: exudate C&S
BLOODS: FBC ?autoantibodies
IMAGING: facial xray, US
What causes lymphadenopathy?
COMMON
- EBV
- Infection
- HIV
- Adenovirus
- CMV
UNCOMMON
- Malignancy (hodgkins/nonhodgkins lymphoma, CLL, mets)
What are the three ossicles of the ear?
Three bones (malleus, incus and stapes) that lie within the middle ear and transmit sound from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear
What is the eustachian tube?
Tube connecting the middle ear to the nasopharynx - ventilates the middle ear and maintains equal air pressure across the tympanic membrane
What is the cochlea?
A spiralled hollow bone involved in hearing. Waves propagate from the base to the apex (centre of spiral)
What are the vestibule and semicircular canals?
Organs found in the inner ear that are responsible for balance