Paediatric hearing loss: a community-based survey in peri-urban Kumasi, Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Paediatric hearing loss rates in Ghana are currently unknown. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in peri-urban Kumasi, Ghana; children (aged 3-15 years) were recruited from randomly selected households. Selected children underwent otoscopic examination prior to in-community pure tone screening using the portable ShoeBox audiometer. The LittlEars auditory questionnaire was also administered to caregivers and parents. RESULTS: Data were collected from 387 children. After conditioning, 362 children were screened using monaural pure tones presented at 25 dB. Twenty-five children could not be conditioned to behavioural audiometric screening. Eight children were referred based on audiometric screening results. Of those, four were identified as having hearing loss. Four children scored less than the maximum mark of 35 on the LittleEars questionnaire. Of those, three had hearing loss as identified through pure tone screening. The predominant physical finding on otoscopy was ear canal cerumen impaction. CONCLUSION: Paediatric hearing loss is prevalent in Ghana, and should be treated as a public health problem warranting further evaluation and epidemiology characterisation.

Portable audiometric screening platforms used in low-resource settings: a review.

BACKGROUND: Millions of people across the world suffer from disabling hearing loss. Appropriate interventions lead to improved speech and language skills, educational advancement, and improved social integration. A major limitation to improving care is identifying those with disabling hearing loss in low-resource countries. OBJECTIVES: This review article summarises information on currently available hearing screening platforms and technology available from published reports and the authors' personal experiences of hearing loss identification in low-resource areas of the world. The paper reviews the scope and capabilities of portable hearing screening platforms, including the pros and cons of each technology and how they have been utilised in low-resource environments. CONCLUSION: Portable hearing screening tools are readily available to assess hearing loss in low-resource areas. Each technology has advantages and limitations that should be considered when identifying the optimal methods to assess needs in each country.

Role of the Endobronchial Landmarks Guiding TBNA and EBUS-TBNA in Lung Cancer Staging.

Background. Lung cancer is the leading cause of malignancy related mortality in the United States. Accurate staging of NSCLC influences therapeutic decisions. Transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) and endobronchial ultrasound-guided TBNA (EBUS-TBNA) has been accepted as a procedure for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and adequacy of TBNA and EBUS-TBNA for sampling of mediastinal adenopathy using the Wang's eleven lymph node map stations. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed 99 consecutive cases diagnosed with malignancy by EBUS-TBNA and a series 74 patients evaluated for mediastinal adenopathy or a pulmonary lesion using conventional transbronchial needle aspiration. The IASLC lymph node map was correlated with Wang's map. Results. A total of 182 lymph node stations were sampled using EBUS-TBNA. 96 were positive for nodal metastasis. A total of four cases of samples taken from station 2R showed malignant cells. From the 74 cases series using cTBNA 167 nodes were sampled in 222 passes. Lymphoid or malignant tissue was obtained in 67 (91.8%) cases; 55.1% of the nodes were 1 cm or less. Conclusions. The use of the eleven stations described in Wang's map to guide TBNA of the mediastinal nodes allows sampling of radiologically considered nonpathological nodes. These data suggest that Wang's map covers the most frequent IASLC nodal stations compromised with metastasis.