Synchronous telehealth consultations, facilitated by a general physician, can be an alternative to visiting a general otolaryngology clinic, especially for otologic patients.

The uHear application is inaccurate in assessing hearing thresholds for screening in the elderly. However, when site-specifically corrected, the uHear application may be used as a screening tool for hearing loss in an elderly population.

Acupuncture, in addition to conventional analgesic treatment, is an effective treatment for posttonsillectomy pain. Acupuncture is safe and well received by children and their parents.

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Probiotics are live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. The probiotic Streptococcus salivarius has been shown to be effective in reducing the frequency of recurrent pharyngeal infections in children and adult populations. However, probiotics have not yet been evaluated in the treatment of acute pharyngotonsillitis in adults. We aimed to examine whether the addition of S. salivarius probiotics to the routine therapy of acute pharyngotonsillitis in adult patients may shorten disease duration and reduce symptom severity. This study was a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study comparing treatment with probiotics to placebo in addition to antibiotics in patients who were hospitalized with severe pharyngotonsillitis. Laboratory results, pain levels, body temperature, and daily volume of fluids consumed were recorded for both groups. Sixty participants were recruited, 30 for each group. No statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed regarding any of the major clinical and laboratory parameters examined. Supplement probiotic treatment with S. salivarius in patients with acute pharyngotonsillitis treated with penicillin is ineffective in relation to the parameters examined in this study and we cannot, therefore, recommend the use of S. salivarius during active pharyngotonsillar infection treated with penicillin.

When children were more able to recognise and name hospital staff, this indirectly improved parental satisfaction, even if the number that parents could identify remained unchanged. Displaying staff photographs is a simple way of increasing parental satisfaction during a child's hospitalisation.

Background Patients with advanced salivary gland malignancies (SGCs) have few therapy options. Although results from newly published trials suggest that checkpoint inhibition may be useful in a subgroup of patients, there are no clear criteria for PD-L1 score in SGCs. Chemotherapy benefits were observed to be limited, with a dismal prognosis in unresectable and high-grade SGC. Immunotherapies have demonstrated extraordinary efficacy in a variety of cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer and malignant melanoma. Anti-PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab has been shown to have potent anti-tumor action in a number of clinical trials. Case presentation We report a unique case of advanced high grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid salivary gland after Pembrolizumab treatment as a first line therapy. The tumor was downstaged as a result of the pembrolizumab treatment, allowing for a successful surgical excision with no facial nerve sacrifice and no major neoadjuvant treatment adverse effects, and the final specimen pathology was tumor-free. In these types of malignancies, a similar technique resulted in a complete response (CR) radiologically and pathologically has never been discussed before. Conclusions In pretreated patients with high-grade salivary gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma, pembrolizumab showed good anticancer activity and provided a clinically, radiologically, and pathological response with a viable treatment choice. More research is needed to bring Pembrolizumab to the front-line of treatment. The time and duration of medication should be compared to the time required for surgery in these investigations.

Introduction Nystagmus is a valuable clinical finding. Although nystagmus is often described by the direction of its quick phases, it is the slow phase that reflects the underlying disorder. The aim of our study was to describe a new radiological diagnostic sign called “Vestibular Eye Sign”—VES. This sign is defined as an eye deviation that correlates with the slow phase of nystagmus (vestibule pathological side), which is seen in acute vestibular neuronitis and can be assessed on a CT head scan. Materials and methods A total of 1250 patients were diagnosed with vertigo in the Emergency Department at Ziv Medical Center (ED) in Safed, Israel. The data of 315 patients who arrived at the ED between January 2010 and January 2022 were collected, with criteria eligible for the study. Patients were divided into 4 groups: Group A, “pure VN”, Group B, “non-VN aetiology”, Group C, BPPV patients, and Group D, patients who had a diagnosis of vertigo with unknown aetiology. All groups underwent head CT examination while in the ED. Results In Group 1, pure vestibular neuritis was diagnosed in 70 (22.2%) patients. Regarding accuracy, VES (Vestibular Eye Sign) was found in 65 patients in group 1 and 8 patients in group 2 and had a sensitivity of 89%, specificity of 75% and a negative predictive value of 99.4% in group 1—pure vestibular neuronitis. Conclusion VN is still a clinical diagnosis, but if the patient undergoes head CT, we suggest using the “Vestibular Eye Sign” as a complementary sign. As per our findings, this is a valuable sign on CT imaging for diagnosing the pathological side of isolated pure VN. It is sensitive to support a diagnosis with a high negative predictive value.