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Spontaneous cerebrospinal fistulae can simulate secretory otitis media or be discovered at myringotomy, but the diagnosis is frequently made after one or more episodes of meningitis. Congenital perilabyrinthine fistulae are extremely rare, and unlike translabyrinthine fistulae there is usually no sensorineural hearing loss. This is the first reported case of a congenital meningocele through the tegmen in a child. An 11-year-old boy presented with signs and symptoms which mimicked serous otitis media. A cerebrospinal fistula was produced at myringotomy and this was closed surgically via an endaural approach. A CT scan defined a defect in the tegmen tympani anterior to the superior semicircular canal.

We present the results of a prospective study of 388 patients presenting with a history of swallowing a foreign body. We indicate whether the patients' symptoms and signs were associated with a retained foreign body. While tenderness on palpation was an unreliable sign, pooling at indirect laryngoscopy invariably predicted a retained object. In many patients, initial careful examination of the oropharynx by casualty officers would have shown a retained fishbone in the tonsil or tongue and would have resulted in 16 per cent fewer radiographs and 17 per cent fewer referrals to the ENT department. Radiography only improved management in a small minority and 35 per cent of films were interpreted incorrectly by casualty officers. A follow-up barium swallow disclosed a pathological lesion in a significant proportion of patients with bolus obstruction, whether or not this was passed spontaneously.

The use of controlled local-release heparin was studied as a means to prevent thrombosis in microvascular surgery, using a rat arterial inversion graft as a model. Polyvinyl alcohol embedded with heparin was placed around the outside of inversion graft anastomoses in 16 animals. Results were compared with control group animals in which polyvinyl alcohol alone was placed around the graft or systemic heparin was given. Vessel patency rates were significantly higher for animals receiving either systemic or transmural heparin than for animals in the control group. Controlled local delivery of heparin did not cause measurable systemic anticoagulation. However, the complication of local hematoma formation occurred as frequently as in the systemic heparin group. Controlled transmural release of heparin has an effective local antithrombotic effect and may hold promise for use in clinical practice.

We studied balance in 34 children with chronic secretory otitis media and compared them with 34 age- and sex-matched control children between the ages of 3 and 5 years. In addition to history and examination, objective measurements were obtained by use of a fixed force plate body sway platform in both the control group and the group with chronic secretory otitis media. We took measurements in both groups at an interval of 4 months to ensure that any improvement in body sway could not be attributed to normal maturation. Eight parameters of body sway were compared, including three new parameters not described elsewhere (mean squared velocity, the number of intersections, and velocity moment). Our study showed that balance is significantly worse in children with chronic secretory otitis media compared to a control group. Furthermore, the increased body sway of children with chronic secretory otitis media was returned to the normal range by myringotomy and insertion of ventilation tubes.

We report a lateral saccular cyst of the larynx with both an internal and external component. The patient had a four year history of a cervical swelling and hoarseness. He presented acutely with stridor. The cyst was resected successfully without tracheostomy.

In this paper data concerning the tissue composition and distribution in the carcases of Botswana smallstock (goats and sheep) of different age and sex groupings are discussed. These data were collected for use in the Botswana Smallstock Improvement Programme, which is designed to improve meat production from the indigenous goats and sheep of Botswana. This programme, together with the data on live measurement, general body composition and carcase joint composition, has been described in the previous papers in this series. The data presented showed that, generally, indigenous Botswana sheep were fatter and earlier maturing than goats at similar ages. The sheep were still found to be significantly fatter when the data were statistically analysed and corrected for differences in empty body weight. In the case of the milk tooth male goats, castration increased the rate of maturity and the level of fat in the carcase. Similar data obtained on male Boer goats (which are to be used as a meat improver breed) showed that these animals produced both bigger and leaner carcases than indigenous goats of similar age. These differences were significant when the two groups were compared statistically after corrections for body weight differences., (Copyright © 1978. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Previous reports describe Cogan's syndrome occurring in young adults this case shows that it can be diagnosed in an older patient, and that prompt treatment is often successful, making it a worthwhile diagnosis to consider in patients with sudden hearing loss. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate was a useful marker for disease activity in this patient.

Although there is no generally accepted therapy for ergotamine-induced vasoconstriction, infusion of directly acting vasodilators is regarded presently as the treatment of choice. We present a case of peripheral arterial ischaemia secondary to excessive use of ergotamine suppositories, which was reversed with oral thymoxamine hydrochloride (an alpha 1-adrenoceptor antagonist) and ergotamine withdrawal. We suggest that in patients with ergotamine-induced peripheral arterial vasoconstriction with no evidence of gangrene, oral thymoxamine may be considered as a useful adjunct or possible alternative to infused vasodilator treatment.

We present a study of 22 patients with perennial non-atopic rhinitis who have been treated with a course of topical beclomethasone dipropionate (Beconase). All subjects were skin-test negative for the common inhaled allergens and had normal total and specific IgE levels. The results of treatment were assessed by symptom scoring and by active anterior rhinomanometry, and are compared to measurements of resistance made in 22 untreated controls and an equal number of normal volunteers.

Conjunctival innoculation is a previously unrecognized hazard for the otologist during mastoid surgery. This experiment assess the spread of droplet contamination during temporal bone dissection. The results suggest that otologists and assistants should wear eye protection during exposure of the mastoid antrum by drilling.

We have reviewed 60 patients with primary bone infections; 21 of these (35%) had subacute osteomyelitis, a figure which supports other recent observations that this variant of bone infection is becoming more widespread. In this group open culture and biopsy were necessary in order to exclude bony malignancy, and a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate proved a useful diagnostic aid. All the patients with acute osteomyelitis or with vertebral infection responded to primary treatment, but five of those with subacute osteomyelitis had recurrences.

Two hundred and fifty patients with chest trauma admitted consecutively over a 6-year period to the Royal Surrey County Hospital were reviewed. This is a large series by British standards. The cause and nature of their chest and associated injuries were studied, together with the management, complications and outcome. The aim of this study was to find areas where diagnosis and treatment could be improved. It was found that where there was no lung contusion, flail chest injuries could be managed without ventilation. The review suggests that even small traumatically induced pneumothoraces should be drained. It illustrates the need for an awareness of the wide range of concurrent problems in patients with chest injuries and the variety of possible complications.