<p class="abstract">Diphtheria is a highly contagious, potentially life threatening bacterial infection caused by <em>Corynebacterium diphteriae. </em>Diphtheria is transmitted from person to person, usually through respiratory droplets and can lead to severe breathing problems, heart failure, blood disorders and death. Diphtheria was basically eliminated after the introduction of the vaccine in the 1940-1950s. However there is presently global concern that diphtheria is reemerging. We herein report nine cases of diphtheria presenting within a period of six months. All cases presented with sore throat, fever, membrane in the oropharynx and bull neck. Eight of the cases had never been immunized against diphtheria. All cases progressed and developed various complications with 8 of the cases dying. None of the cases had diphtheria antitoxin. This cases present the potential for this highly fatal but preventable disease reemerging and the need to be aware of epidemiological features, clinical signs and symptoms of diphtheria so that cases can be promptly diagnosed and treated, and further public health measures can be taken to contain this serious disease.</p>

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Surgery has a predominantly male-dominated population, especially in Otolaryngology. Efforts have been made worldwide to improve gender equality in medicine, including Otolaryngology. Knowing the experience will help the curriculum develop.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> An anonymous web-based survey was distributed via the WhatsApp group of the Otorhinolaryngological Society of Nigeria (ORLSON) platform using the survey monkey. A questionnaire-based study using a 10 stem questions, assessing demographics, academic progression, work life balance and factors affecting women in Otolaryngology in Nigeria was carried out in April 2020 for four weeks. All information gathered from the study was entered into Statistical Package and Service Solution (SPSS) version 20 and analyzed.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 37 women responded out of 48 women in Otolaryngology practice. Twenty-nine (78%) had complete responses to all the ten stem questions. Mean age of responders is 39±7.28 years ±7.27 S.D. Thirty-eight percent are consultant cadre, 86% are married. The average duration of residency is 7 years. A quarter of responders are interested in Head and Neck as a subspecialty. Thirteen-point eight percent experienced some form of sexual harassment during the course of residency training, 62% believe women lack mentorship in Otolaryngology while 59.46% did not feel disadvantaged as females in otolaryngology compared to their male counterparts.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Despite increase in women in surgical practice and a growing number of women joining residency programs, the number of female Otolaryngologists remains just a fraction of what it should be. The curriculum has many problems affected by gender.</p>

Background: The 2019 novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic broke out in Wuhan, Hubei province in China in December 2019. Available research so far showed that Otolaryngologists had an elevated risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 due to the high viral load in the respiratory tract, which is the primary area of examination and instrumentation. We aimed to present our findings on the impact of this pandemic on Otolaryngology practice in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted online in September, 2020 amongst otolaryngologists in secondary and tertiary health centers across Nigeria using the survey monkey. Analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 102 ORL practitioners in Nigeria were assessed in this study. The mean age of the respondents was 42.4 ± 7.9 years; majority (54.9%) were Consultants and their duration of ORL practice ranged between 1 -37 years. All the respondents felt being an ENT Surgeon exposes them to higher risk of contracting COVID-19 in their practice while 93% of them felt unsafe to perform throat examination during COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, 74.5% feel unsafe to perform rhinoscopy while 67.7% of the respondents feel unsafe to do anterior rhinoscopy, posterior rhinoscopy and rigid nasal endoscopy. Conclusion: Otolaryngologist is at high risk of being infected with SARS COV-2 as they cope with upper respiratory tract during diagnosis, clinical review, sampling and surgery. The pandemic has affected almost all aspects of Otolaryngologic practice in Nigeria.

Introduction: Remnants or the regrowth of adenoid tissue after adenoidectomy may present with clinical symptoms that could warrant a revision surgery. Aim and Objectives: This study aims to determine the prevalence and risk factors of revision adenoidectomy in our centre. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective case–control study conducted in a tertiary otorhinolaryngology centre over a 10-year period. Cases of revision adenoidectomies were identified and matched with controlled cases of single-stage adenoidectomies within the same period. All information was entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 and analysed using descriptive and cross-tabulation analysis. Results: A total of 1249 adenoidectomies were performed during the period of review with 26 being revision cases. The prevalence of revision adenoidectomy was found to be 2.1% with the mean interval between surgeries being 2.1 years. Age ≤ 2 years (odds ratio (OR) = 95.25, P < 0.0001), allergy (OR = 0.09, P < 0.0001), recurrent tonsillitis (OR = 0.79, P = 0.006), recurrent/chronic middle ear infections (OR = 7.5, P < 0.0001), and the primary surgeon being a junior registrar (OR = 11.5, P < 0.0001) were significantly associated with revision adenoidectomy. The performance of adenoidectomy without tonsillectomy also carries a significant odd ( P = 0.04). Conclusion: Revision adenoidectomy is low in our setting. Young age at primary surgery, the presence of allergy, surgeon’s designation, the extent of surgery, and recurrent middle ear and tonsil infections are factors associated with revision adenoidectomy. These should be considered in risk stratification and surgery planning.