Does Celecoxib Prescription for Pain Management Affect Post-tonsillectomy Hemorrhage Requiring Surgery? A Retrospective Observational Cohort Study.

Background: Adenotonsillectomy and tonsillectomy (referred to as tonsillectomy hereafter) are common pediatric surgeries. Postoperative complications include hemorrhage requiring surgery (2 to 3% of cases) and pain. Although nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly administered for postsurgical pain, controversy exists regarding bleeding risk with cyclooxygenase-1 inhibition and associated platelet dysfunction.

iHear: Canadian medical student based hearing assessment program for grade school children using a tablet audiometer.

Purpose: To evaluate the progress and challenges of a hearing screening program as well as review the incidence of pediatric hearing loss in grade school children participating in this program.

Methods: Medical students from the University of Ottawa established iHear, a grade school hearing assessment program that uses novel tablet audiometry. Over 3 years, children in grades 1 and 2 were assessed and those found to have abnormal results on iHear assessment were then referred to audiology for formal testing, and to otolaryngology if needed.

Bilateral Piriform sinus fistulas: a case study and review of management options.

Background: Piriform sinus fistulas occur due to developmental abnormalities of the third and fourth branchial arches, and almost always occur unilaterally. They generally present as recurrent abscesses in the anterior-inferior neck, with concurrent thyroiditis. They have conventionally been managed with complete removal of the sinus tract, and thyroidectomy if required; however, endoscopic approaches have been increasingly favored.

The effect of an educational pre-operative DVD on parents' and children's outcomes after a same-day surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

Aims: To examine the effect of a pre-operative DVD on parents' knowledge, participation and anxiety and on children's distress, pain, analgesic requirements and length of recovery after same-day surgery.

Background: Very few parents are adequately prepared to participate in their child's care during a same-day surgery. An educational DVD was developed to educate parents on how to actively support their child in the recovery room.

Direct molecular detection of a broad range of bacterial and viral organisms and Streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine serotypes in children with otitis media with effusion.

Background: Otitis media with effusion (OME) causes significant morbidity in children, but the causes of OME and methods for prevention are unclear. To look for potential infectious etiologies, we performed a pilot study using multiple-target real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for 27 infectious agents, including nine bacterial organisms and 18 respiratory viruses in middle ear fluids (MEFs) from children with OME. QPCR was also performed for the 13 Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes contained in the current vaccine.

Celecoxib pharmacogenetics and pediatric adenotonsillectomy: a double-blinded randomized controlled study.

Background: Pediatric adenotonsillectomy (A&T) is associated with prolonged pain and functional limitation. Celecoxib is an effective analgesic in adult surgery patients; however, its analgesic efficacy on pain and functional recovery in pediatric A&T patients is unknown.

Methods: During 2009-2012, children (age 2-18 yr) scheduled for elective A&T were enrolled in a single-centre double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Success of supraglottoplasty for severe laryngomalacia: the experience from Northeastern Ontario, Canada.

Objectives: To review the outcomes of supraglottoplasty performed in children with severe laryngomalacia at a pediatric university teaching hospital and to determine if these outcomes are influenced by gender, age at time of supraglottoplasty, or medical comorbidities.

Methods: Retrospective chart review of children who underwent supraglottoplasty for severe laryngomalacia between 2001 and 2010 at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, Canada. Statistical significance was obtained using 2-tailed Fisher's exact test.

Topical lidocaine and oral acetaminophen provide similar analgesia for myringotomy and tube placement in children.

Purpose: Preoperative oral acetaminophen (30 mg x kg(-1)) was compared with topical 2% lidocaine ear drops for postoperative analgesia following bilateral myringotomy and tube placement (BMT) in children.

Methods: In a randomized, prospective, double-blind trial, we studied 124 patients, six months to eight years, ASA physical status I or II, undergoing elective BMT under general anesthesia. The patients in Group I received acetaminophen 30 mg x kg(-1) orally in a grape flavoured syrup 30 to 60 min before surgery and 0.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled noninferiority trial of amoxicillin for clinically diagnosed acute otitis media in children 6 months to 5 years of age.

Objectives: Debate continues with respect to a "watch and wait" approach versus immediate antibiotic treatment for the initial treatment of acute otitis media. In this double-blind noninferiority trial, we compared clinical improvement rates at 14 days for children (6 months to 5 years of age) with acute otitis media who were randomly assigned to receive amoxicillin or placebo.

Methods: We enrolled healthy children who presented to clinics or the emergency department with a new episode of acute otitis media during the fall and winter months in Ottawa (from December 1999 to the end of March 2002).

Cilia ultrastructure in children with Down syndrome.

Chronic sinusitis, otitis media with effusion, and upper respiratory tract infections are commonly found in patients with Down syndrome. These diseases are generally felt to be secondary to depressed immune function and altered craniofacial dimensions. Recently, a cilia ultrastructure abnormality was found in a child with Down syndrome.

Optimal biopsy techniques in the diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia.

Objective: Adequate biopsy specimens that clearly demonstrate cilia, and therefore enable the determination of the presence or absence of primary cilia dyskinesia, may be difficult to obtain. This study is an attempt to identify the optimal sampling technique to best examine respiratory tract cilia.

Design: A prospective comparison of the four sampling techniques was carried out: nasal brushing, nasal biopsy, bronchial brushing, and tracheal biopsy.