BackgroundBone conduction devices are widely used and indicated in cases of conductive, mixed or single sided deafness where conventional hearing aids are not indicated or tolerated. Percutaneous bone-conduction devices gave satisfactory hearing outcomes but were frequently complicated by soft tissue reactions. Transcutaneous bone conduction devices were developed in order to address some of the issues related to the skin-penetrating abutment. The aim of this article is to present a systematic review of the indications, surgical technique and audiological, clinical and functional outcomes of the BAHA Attract device reported so far.MethodsA systematic computer-based literature search was performed on the PubMed database as well as Scopus, Cochrane and Google Scholar. Out of 497 articles, 10 studies and 89 reported cases were finally included in our review.ResultsThe vast majority of implanted patients were satisfied with the aesthetics of the device scoring highly at the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit, Glasgow Benefit Inventory and Client Oriented Scale of Improvement. Overall, hearing outcomes, tested by various means including speech in noise, free field hearing testing and word discrimination scores showed a significant improvement. Complications included seroma or haematoma formation, numbness around the area of the flap, swelling and detachment of the sound processor from the external magnet.ConclusionsThe functional and audiological results presented so far in the literature have been satisfactory and the complication rate is low compared to the skin penetrating Bone Conduction Devices. Further robust trials will be needed to study the long-term outcomes and any adverse effects.
Design and Setting. A retrospective study was conducted on all 2WW referrals made to our tertiary head and neck centre in a 12-month period. Methods. Sensitivity, specificity, and PPV of presenting complaints in H&N cancer diagnosis using Excel® and the statistical package SPSS®. Results. The sensitivity and specificity of 2005 NICE guidelines in detecting H&N cancers were 91.2% and 59%, respectively; their PPV was 9%. The sensitivity and specificity of 2015 NICE guidelines were 75.4% and 71%, respectively; their PPV was 10.3%. Eight out of 85 patients who presented with unilateral sore throat for more than 4 weeks, with or without otalgia and normal otoscopy, had H&N cancer (PPV 9.5%). Conclusions. Although the 2015 NICE guidelines have a high rate in detecting H&N cancers, consideration of reincluding unilateral sore throat in the referral criteria might be necessary.
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