Epidemiology of ENT emergencies

OBJECTIVE

To give an overview of ear, nose, and throat (ENT) pathologies encountered in the emergency room (ER).

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of 1296 files of patients visiting the ER between January 2008 and December 2012. Diagnosis, treatment, hospitalisation, referral, and demographic parameters were evaluated.

RESULTS

Epistaxis is the most frequent ENT condition seen in the ER. One third of epistaxis patients are on anticoagulant therapy. The second most frequent conditions observed were infections of the pharynx and tonsils. Nasal fractures and vertigo were also frequently observed.

CONCLUSION

Epistaxis and its treatment were the most frequent ENT diagnosis and therapy seen in the ER. Infections are the main cause of hospitalisation. Referral to other disciplines and revisits seldom occurred.

Aetiology of congenital hearing loss: a cohort review of 569 subjects

OBJECTIVE

Newborn hearing screening was implemented in Flanders about fifteen years ago. The aim of this study was to determine the aetiology of hearing loss detected by the Flemish screening programme.

METHODS

From 1997 to 2011, 569 neonates were referred to our tertiary referral centre after failed neonatal screening with Auditory Brainstem Responses. In case hearing loss (HL) was confirmed, further diagnostic testing was launched. A retrospective chart review was performed analysing the degree of HL, risk factor and aetiology.

RESULTS

Metabolic disorders (0.5%), infectious diseases (35.8%), congenital malformations (6.1%) and genetic abnormalities (19.8%), whether or not syndromic, were retained. In 35% of the subjects no obvious aetiology could be determined in the current study.

CONCLUSION

In contrast to the literature findings, this series shows a genetic syndromic cause in 80% of the genetic bilateral HL cases. On the other hand connexin positive diagnoses were mostly underrepresented in this study, showing the need for better screening.

Syndromic disorders in congenital hearing loss

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the aetiology of congenital hearing loss detected by the universal neonatal hearing screening programme (Algo) that was introduced in Flanders 15 years ago, and, more specifically, to investigate genetic causes.

METHODOLOGY

Diagnostic work-up of all children with confirmed hearing loss after referral by the Algo screening programme and screening at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of our university hospital.

RESULTS

A hearing loss was confirmed in 505 of the 569 neonates (18% from NICU) referred between 1997 and 2011. After further examination, a genetic origin was identified in 84 (17%) of 100 children with a syndromic hearing loss. The most frequent syndromes are discussed.

CONCLUSION

A higher percentage of syndromic hearing loss was found than in the literature. This could be explained by the good cooperation with the human genetics department and the proportion of children retrieved from the neonatal intensive care unit.