Background: Hearing impairment and tinnitus are common otological manifestations found in the outpatient Department of Otorhinolaryngology. Hearing loss and tinnitus have been documented among coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patients. However, these clinical manifestations were rarely investigated among pediatric patients with COVID-19 infections. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of hearing impairment and tinnitus among children with COVID-19 infection at a teaching hospital. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective and descriptive study where 192 children with COVID-19 infections were evaluated for hearing loss and tinnitus. There were 44 (22.91%) children with COVID-19 infections presenting with hearing loss and tinnitus. All of the children were confirmed as COVID-19 infection with the help of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction of the nasopharyngeal swab. Detailed history taking and clinical examination of the ear were done for the assessment of hearing loss and tinnitus and its outcome was analyzed. Results: Out of 44 children, 20 (45.45%) were presented with tinnitus, 16 (36.36%) were presented with hearing loss, and 8 (18.18%) were presented with both hearing loss and tinnitus. Out of 44 pediatric patients with hearing loss and/or tinnitus, 26 (59.09%) were males and 18 (40.90%) were females with a male child to female child ratio of 1.44:1. The mean age of the participants was 9.16 years with an age range from 5 to 18 years. The sporadic type of tinnitus is more common than any other type. Conclusion: This study showed that the presence of subjective neurological features like hearing loss and tinnitus can be found in children with COVID-19 infection. More studies are required to confirm the exact pathophysiology mechanism underlying this subjective symptom in pediatric patients with COVID-19 infection.

Fungal infection in the oral cavity is considered a marker of immunosuppression in certain chronic conditions such as cancer patients on immunosuppression medications and human immunodeficiency virus infections. Currently, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is causing immunocompromised conditions of patients and inviting superadded infections such as local Candida infections such as oral candidiasis and invasive fungal infections. The role of opportunistic fungal infections in the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 infections remains less established. Overuse of antibiotics for the treatment of COVID-19 infections is also thought to hamper normal flora in the oral cavity which is also an important risk factor for aggravating opportunistic fungal infection in the body. Here, an 18-year-old immunocompetent male presented with a white patch on the dorsal surface of the tongue, which developed 1 week after relieved from COVID-19 infection. The microbiological test of the whitish patch over the tongue confirmed candidiasis.

The microbiome includes microbes that are both helpful and potentially harmful to the human body. The majority of the microbiome are symbiotic and few are pathogenic. The collaboration of microbial colonizers is thought to help in and regulate bodily function. The rapid development of sequencing techniques and analytical methods is increasing the ability to understand the human microbiome. The importance of the human microbiome in the detection and prevention of the disease has been well established in different anatomical parts; however, there is limited literature or research on the microbiome of the head-and-neck region. Proper understanding of the microbiome in the head-and-neck area can help to differentiate the disease-prone patients from normal persons and is helping to guide the treatment regimens and usage of antibiotics. This can help to control resistance and limit the adverse effects of antibiotic overuse. Understanding by clinicians about dysbiosis can help to treat and even protect from common clinical entities such as tonsillitis and rhinosinusitis. Novel genetic sequencing (16S/next-gen sequencing) is helpful for the accurate identification of bacterial taxa in samples collected from the head-and-neck region and a better understanding of the composition of the otolaryngologic microbiome. In this review article, we discuss details of the head-and-neck microbiome distinguished by all relevant subsites.

Background: Deep neck abscess is a life-threatening clinical entity. It can result in significant morbidity for the patients. Deep neck abscess continues to be commonly found in developing countries like India. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at tertiary care teaching hospital in eastern India from September 2016 to October 2021. The medical records of patients diagnosed with deep neck abscesses with an age range between 18 years and 65 years were reviewed. This study analyzes the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of the deep neck abscess. Results: There was a predominance of male patients with deep neck abscesses (62.12%) and a mean age of 32.4 years. The most common clinical manifestation was fever (26.51%), followed by odynophagia (23.48%), neck swelling (20.45%), restricted neck movement (13.63%), otalgia (12.12%), trismus (11.36%), neck pain (10.60%), and stridor (2.27%). The peritonsillar abscess (28.78%) was the most commonly affected space of the deep neck abscess of this study. The important life-threatening complication in this study was stridor (2.27%). Conclusion: Early diagnosis, aggressive surgical intervention, and proper airway management are important factors for reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with deep neck abscesses.