Chronic otitis media is a major contributor to acquired hearing loss in developing countries. Developing countries such as India, with huge populations and poor health infrastructures, have always felt the shortage of trained specialists who can provide quality care to meet the enormous demand for treatment of this disease. This pilot study assessed the feasibility of empowering trained health workers equipped with ENTraview, a store-and-forward telemedicine device that integrates a camera- enabled smart phone with an otoscope. This device allows the screening of otology patients within the community. Three months of extensive training was provided to five community health workers on primary ear and hearing care, including training on the use of the ENTraview device. Community otology screenings were conducted to triage otology patients and provide them with specialized ENT care at a tertiary hospital. In the initial 6 months of the project, 45 screening camps were organized, which screened 3,000 patients free of cost. Of these 3,000 screened patients, 54% (1,619) were referred for ENT consultation and 215 patients reported. Nearly 50% (103) of the 215 reporting patients required surgical intervention, and 29 patients underwent surgery. Reaching out to the community by remote screening of ear diseases by trained technicians with a telemedicine device seems to be an effective and cost-effective way to triage patients with otologic pathologies.

No abstract

An adverse drug reaction relates to an undesired response to administration of a drug. Type A reactions are common and are predictable to administration, dose response, or interaction with other medications. Type B reactions are uncommon with occurrences that are not predictable. Appropriate diagnosis, classification, and entry into the chart are important to avoid future problems. The diagnosis is made with careful history, physical examination, and possibly allergy testing. It is recommended that help from allergy immunology specialists should be sought where necessary and that routine prescription of Epi pen should be given to patients with multiple allergy syndromes.

Hearing aid fi tment is a routine, usually safe procedure carried out by hearing aid technicians or even audiologists. Hearing aids are often considered the benign, non-surgical alternative to rehabilitate a patient who cannot be helped surgically. It is rare to have to resort surgery to manage a complication resulting from hearing aid fi tting. We report here, a case of otoplast as a foreign body in the middle ear cleft (middle ear cavity and mastoid). The otoplast was used to prepare a mould for the hearing aid and the syringe carrying the otoplast burst splashing the material into the middle ear and the mastoid. This resulted in sudden excruciating pain, further loss of hearing and intractable otorrhea. After several attempts to remove the material elsewhere, our patient underwent a successful mastoid exploration to remove the otoplast resulting in a dry ear after seven years of persistent otorrhea. Patient's professional requirement for good hearing necessitated a myringoplasty on the other (only hearing) ear. He is now happily rehabilitated with a dry but deaf left ear and a normally hearing right ear.

Gossypiboma or retained surgical sponge is an infrequently encountered surgical complication, more so in the head and neck region. A literature search did not reveal a previously reported case of retained or concealed surgical sponge after microscopic ear surgery. We present a unique and previously unreported case of a 25-year-old male who presented with a cystic swelling in the right supra-aural region 5 months post-modified radical mastoidectomy of the right ear. Surgical excision of the swelling revealed a retained surgical sponge. We emphasise the importance of counting surgical sponges after every surgical step to minimise the incidence of such retained surgical items.