Aetiology of sensorineural hearing loss in children in Bahrain: a 10 years study

This study was carried out on chidren presented with deafness, speech delay or both to the hearing impaired [deaf-mute] children clinic at Salmaniya Medical Complex in Bahrain. Full detailed medical and family history including pre, peri and post-natal history relevant to hearing impairment were obtained. Otolaryngological and Audiological assessment were conducted and recorded on preset proforma. Assessment was also conducted by developmental paediatrician and child psychiatrist when indicated. A total of 196 cases were studied over 10 years period from 1986 to 1996. Children with positive family history of deafness constituted 37.8% of the cases [genetic group]. Other aetiological groups showed the following distribution: cause unknown 33.6%, pre-natal 3.0%, peri-natal 5.6%, post-natal 16.3% and miscellaneous group 3.6% Our study showed that the main aetiological factors for deafness in children in Bahrain were the Genetic and Unknown factors at 71.5% This might be attributed to recessive genes,probably due to the high rate of consanguineous marriages of 60.7% among the sample subjects

Lymphangioma of the tonsil

A case of cavernous lymphangioma arising from the tonsil in a 45 years old man is presented along with a brief review of literature. The tumour mass was removed successfully under surface anaesthesia as an out-patient procedure without any complications

Sinus washout or antroscopy: a comparison study of two procedures

Ninety seven maxillary sinuses in 50 patients were studied to compare the diagnostic value of sinus [proof puncture] and antroscopy. The findings were categorized for each procedure into normal or diseased sinus with 3 sub types in the diseased category: straw colour fluid, turbid washout and frankpus for sinus washout, and congested mucosa, polypoidal mucosa, and frankpus for antroscopy. Twenty eight and ten sinuses were classified as diseased by antroscopy and sinus washout respectively. Statistical comparison of these results showed that antroscopy is significantly better than sinus washout in diagnosing maxillary sinus disease [P<0.001]

Antroscopy [sinuscopy]

Antroscopy, an endoscopy of the maxillary sinuses, is one of the new diagnostic procedures in otolaryngology. This procedure has gained wide acceptance in continental Europe in the seventies, but only in the late eighties in UK and USA. It was first practiced in Bahrain in 1986. In this paper the technique, indications, and complications of the procedure will be presented along with the literature review