Academic Impact and Quality of Life Among Otorhinolaryngology Residents During COVID-19 Pandemic in South India.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a major public health crisis. Residents entered the frontline in triaging and treating COVID-19 patients, working overtime to meet the growing demand. Surgical practice and educational activities were restricted, thus affecting resident training. There was also a great risk to their mental health. Our study aims to assess the academic impact and quality of life including mental health status among year I, year II and year III otorhinolaryngology residents during the pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted among postgraduates and junior residents working in otorhinolaryngology departments in institutions across South India in October 2020. Quality of life, severity of anxiety and depression, and academic impact were assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF, GAD-7, PHQ-8 and Academic impact questionnaires respectively via Google Forms. A total of 303 responses were obtained. Inpatient and outpatient clinical activity were affected irrespective of the year of training. Surgical training was also affected especially among the final-year residents (year III) with a mean score of 4.42. The maximum median WHOQOL-BREF score of 14.66 was found in the social domain and 13.33 in the psychological and social domains in men and women respectively. The majority (43%) of 114 men had mild anxiety, while among women, a slight preponderance (33.9%) of severe anxiety was noted. Most of the residents (75% of men and 66.6% of women) had no symptoms suggestive of depressive disorder, however, 19.3% of the men and 29.6% of the women were found to have major depression. The impact of the pandemic on resident training and mental health has been immense. The study outcome may help residents comprehend and perceive the extent of the same, and explore methods to be equipped and overcome similar circumstances in the future.

Web in the Neck - An Interesting Case Report.

Lateral neck masses are common in children, ranging from simple benign diseases to pathologies with malignant potential. Plexiform neurofibromas are extremely rare peripheral nerve sheath tumours involving multiple nerve sheath fascicles. They are typically seen in the paediatric population, with the majority affecting the craniofacial area and neck. Due to the close clinical and histological resemblance with other benign neck lesions such as lymphadenitis and branchial cysts, these cases can often go misdiagnosed. We describe a lesion in a young girl who presented with a progressive lateral neck swelling and how it was managed.

Association Between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Hearing Loss Among Patients in a Coastal City of South India.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic culprit known to perpetuate several disease processes. The relationship between hearing loss (HL) and type 2 DM (T2DM) remains unclear despite the vast volume of research devoted to this topic. We conducted this study with the aim to evaluate HL among T2DM patients and to assess the relationship between severity of HL, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels and duration of T2DM. DESIGN: a time bound descriptive crosssectional study. SETTING: tertiary care hospital of South India. SUBJECTS: subjects with T2DM, aged from 40 to 60 years (excluding hypertension, chronic noise exposure and history of smoking or ototoxicity) were included. METHODS: Non-random convenience sampling. Details were gathered using a self-administered, semistructured questionnaire and the hearing was assessed by pure tone audiometry. Data was analysed using SPSS. A large proportion of the sampled population had audiological assessments suggestive of SensoriNeural HL (SNHL). 90.2% had a bilateral distribution of HL; however, only 39% of patients reported having any associated ear complaints. No statistically significant associations were obtained between severity of HL, glycaemic control, duration of diabetes or gender. Bilateral SNHL is a complication associated with T2DM. Duration and glycaemic control are independent variables and do not statistically influence the severity of HL. However, this study demonstrated that many patients with SNHL had no symptoms and also lacked awareness of HL in DM. Therefore routine assessment of hearing should be considered in the diabetic population.

Audiological profiling in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the audiological profiles in postmenopausal women with and without osteoporosis and to study the pattern of hearing loss in osteoporotic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 80 postmenopausal women were evaluated at a tertiary referral center and were divided into normal, osteopenic and osteoporotic based on BMD results. The hearing evaluation was done using PTA, Impedance audiometry and DPOAE and the results were compared between the groups and analyzed. RESULTS: Osteoporotic patients had higher incidence of sensorineural hearing loss than normal and osteopenic patients and the results were statistically significant (P ≤0.001) on PTA and DPOAE testing. The mean pure tone thresholds were significantly higher in osteoporotic patients in comparison with normal and osteopenic patients. The average hearing loss in osteoporotic patients with sensorineural loss was of mild degree. CONCLUSION: The data reveal that osteoporosis is associated with sensorineural hearing loss in postmenopausal women. The underlying mechanism needs further research but cochlear dysfunction could be an important factor.