Lifetime intimate partner violence exposure, attitudes and comfort among Canadian health professions students.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread public health problem and training of health professions students has become common. Understanding students' prior knowledge, attitudes and personal exposure to IPV will aid educators in designing more effective curriculum. As interprofessional educational efforts proliferate, understanding differences across disciplines will be critical.

Acute otitis media in children with tympanostomy tubes.

Objective: To review evidence regarding antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media in children with tympanostomy tubes and to discuss antibiotic resistance and ototoxicity.

Quality Of Evidence: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for relevant articles. Articles providing level I evidence(randomized controlled trials) for treatment were used.

Infection control for the otolaryngologist in the era of severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Objectives: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has affected more than 8400 persons in 28 countries, with more than 800 deaths. The current SARS outbreak, especially in North American health care centers, has motivated a re-evaluation of infection control practices in the hospital and clinic environment. These considerations are particularly important to otolaryngology, in which examination and diagnostic procedures often bring the otolaryngologist in close--if not direct--contact with the patient's upper airway, mucosa, and secretions.

Cost comparison of auditory brainstem response versus magnetic resonance imaging screening of acoustic neuroma.

The cost-effectiveness of current diagnostic approaches employed in patients with suspected acoustic neuroma was evaluated. Currently, patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of acoustic neuroma, such as sudden unilateral hearing loss and/or tinnitus, undergo auditory brainstem response (ABR) screening tests to rule out this condition. If the ABR is normal, acoustic neuroma can be ruled out.

Noise-induced hearing loss in snorers and their bed partners.

Objective: As habitual snoring affects a large percentage of the population and is associated with various medical and social complications, we examined whether loud snoring is also associated with noise-induced hearing loss for the snorers and/or their bed partners.

Patient Selection: Healthy adults between the ages of 35 and 55 years with subjective symptoms of severe snoring were screened to exclude those with a past history of noise exposure (e.g.

Excessive noise levels in the neonatal ICU: potential effects on auditory system development.

Objective: Several recent studies have found exceedingly high noise levels in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and in incubators. The purpose of this study was to perform a detailed noise assessment in a Canadian NICU.

Methods: A noise level meter was used to evaluate ambient noise levels in three rooms of the NICU and to compare those levels with measurements taken inside an occupied incubator.