Critical ENT Skills and Procedures in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Injuries and illness to the ears, nose, and throat are frequently seen in the emergency department. The emergency medicine physician must be proficient in recognizing these injuries and their associated complications and be able to provide appropriate management. This article discusses the most common otorrhinolaringologic procedures in which emergency physicians must be proficient for rapid intervention to preserve function and avoid complications. A description of each procedure is discussed, as well as the indications, contraindications, equipment, technique and potential complications.

Tympanolith under the Protiniculum - A Case Report

“…Foreign body in the external auditory canal is common and often treated in an outpatient basis. The foreign bodies commonly found in the external auditory canal include animate and inanimate objects like stones, insects, erasers, buttons, vegetable pieces, cereals and pulses, cotton ball, bits of metal from welding, most common being beads, paper/tissue paper or popcorn kernels [1,2]. A tympanolith (stone in the middle ear) is a calcified body in the tympanic cavity, which can be extrinsic (foreign body) or intrinsic ( purulent dried discharge or stagnant mucus acting as a nidus for calcification) [3].…”