There seems to be a resurgence in tuberculous otitis media in India. Microbiological, histopathological and polymerase chain reaction tests for tuberculosis are helpful for its diagnosis.

Balloon Sinuplasty is a new technique which has revolutionized sinus surgery in recent times.

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The reduction in the number of adverse outcomes due to treatment of obesity related OSA implicates the urgent need for public health policies in providing screening for OSA among children population: an early detection and a consequently prompt reaction to pediatric OSA could improve the burden of OSA related obesity.

Background: Pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis is a difficult entity encountered in clinical practice which manifests with a myriad of etiologies and presentations. Management of pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis is a surgical challenge which requires meticulous preoperative evaluation and planning. Aim of study:This is a retrospective study of the efficacy of different surgical techniques involved in restoring the airway patency in pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis performed at our institution over 4 years. Materials and methods:Twenty-four pediatric patients underwent treatment for laryngotracheal stenosis over a 4-year period (June 2006-May 2010). Various surgical modalities, such as anterior cricoid split, costal cartilage interposition, stenting, laser procedures, etc. were used. Hood's stent, Montgomery T-tube, silastic swiss roll, indwelling nitinol tracheal stent were used to stent the airway after resection of the stenotic segment.Results: Nine patients achieved successful decannulation with single-stage procedure and 14 patients underwent multiple procedures. Of 24 patients, decannulation was possible in 18 patients (75%), one patient had no indication for tracheostomy and five children (20%) have a persisting tracheostomy including two who were lost to follow-up. Conclusion:It is vital to outline a rational approach to the management of laryngotracheal stenosis in children based on the site and severity of the stenotic segment. No single approach is ideal and often several procedures may be required before decannulation can be achieved. Limitations of study:Patients were followed-up for 1 year. A long-term follow-up is preferable.

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and outcomes of intravenous high dose steroids in patients diagnosed with sudden sensori-neural hearing loss (SSNHL). The study also looked at the various co-morbidities influencing the outcomes of IV steroid therapy and also evaluated the improvement in associated symptoms like vertigo and tinnitus. This prospective study involved 30 patients treated during the 1 year period from January 2010 to 2011 in the Department of Otolaryngology, Madras ENT Research Foundation, Chennai. Male: female ratio was 1.3:1 and age range was 19-80 years. For all patients, pre treatment pure tone audiometry (PTA) was compared with post treatment PTA at 1 month. Treatment was given in the form of intravenous high dose methyl prednisolone. The patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 (20 pts) included SSNHL with no co-morbidity, group 2 (10 pts) included SSNHL with various co-morbidities. The mean hearing level improved from an average of 79.53 dB (HL) before treatment to 42.33 dB (HL) after treatment. In patients with predominantly low frequency HL (16 pts) PTA improved from 76.01 to 32.6 dB while in high frequency HL PTA improved from 83.55 to 53.43 dB. In our study of 30 patients, complete recovery occurred in 56.66% cases and marked improvement (>30 dB) in 16.66% patients. There was no improvement in 26.66% cases. Patients in group 2 had co-morbid factors like diabetes mellitus, dys-thyroidism and hypertension. A statistically significant improvement in the associated symptoms of tinnitus/vertigo, were also noted after IV steroid treatment. According to our results, emergency administration of high dose of Intra-venous corticosteroids to patients with SSNHL is highly recommended. Patients with high frequency preservation have better hearing improvement at the end of treatment. The critical time period for commencing IV treatment is less than 6 h from onset of hearing loss in order to restore normal hearing. High dose Intravenous steroids are a safe and effective treatment in sudden sensori-neural hearing loss.