Otolaryngology News

Initial occurrence of acute otitis media at a younger age, particularly before age 9 months, was strongly associated with recurrent acute otitis media and full health care use during childhood, according to Dutch study findings.

The use of nasal irrigation for chronic or recurrent sinus symptoms may reduce discomfort, headache, over-the-counter medication use and the need to consult a general practitioner for future symptoms, according to recent study findings.

Breast-feeding could significantly reduce the risk for diarrhea and feeding at the breast instead of from a bottle or formula may reduce otitis media infections in infants, according to recent survey results published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Excessive exposure to loud music, via headphones, mobile devices and live music venues, may be associated with an alarming level of tinnitus among adolescents, according to recent research in Scientific Reports.

One of the new 2016 CPT codes that should see a great deal of use in pediatricians’ offices is the code that entails the removal of impacted cerumen using irrigation or lavage. Previously, when a patient had impacted cerumen, it had to be removed via instrumentation which, of course, was documented in the patient’s record and the CPT code would be 69210. If you chose to lavage the impacted cerumen – rather than mechanically removing it – you were certainly welcome to do so, but you would not be paid. Fortunately, that has now changed.

Updated guidelines recently released by the Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery Foundation recommend improved practice parameters for the diagnosis, treatment and management of otitis media with effusion in children.

More than 5% of children and adolescents in the United States experienced issues related to dizziness and balance within the past year, according to research in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Pediatric patients with both higher and lower intelligence scores at baseline showed improved behavior after adenotonsillectomy, according to recent research.

Patterns of hospital use and regionalization of pediatric adenotonsillectomy indicated that the procedure is performed most commonly at teaching and academic hospitals, according to recent research.

Corynebacterium accolens, a benign lipid-requiring bacterium, hydrolyzes skin surface triacylglycerols, releasing free fatty acids that inhibit pneumococcal growth, and may play a beneficial role in forming the human microbiome, according to a study published in MBio.