Syncope as a rare presentation of papillary thyroid cancer.

Syncope as a presentation for head and neck cancers is extremely rare. We report a case of a man in his 50s presenting with syncope and a left-sided neck mass. The diagnosis of syncope was secondary to a neck mass compressing the carotid body.

Assessing the attitude of surgical trainees towards virtual reality simulation: A national cross-sectional questionnaire study.

Background: We performed a cross sectional study to determine the attitudes of surgical trainees and medical students towards virtual reality (VR) simulation in surgical training. A survey was devised through an iterative process before distribution to surgical trainees, foundation year doctors and medical students through online platforms.

Methods: The survey was disseminated within the United Kingdom through social media and email correspondence, in co-operation with national surgical organisations.

ENT On-call Equipment Bag: Updated for COVID-19.

Otorhinolaryngology, or Ear Nose and throat (ENT), is a specialty requiring specific equipment for the management and treatment of patients. While most hospitals provide a 24/7 ENT procedure room, there is also a need for a mobile equipment bag with objects and instruments not readily available outside of the ENT department. We look to introduce a novel ENT equipment bag and checklist which has been updated to include a list of required equipment in the setting of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Intraoperative Sneezing Secondary to Indirect Olfactory Nerve Stimulation.

Sneezing is a poorly understood, protective reflex response. It's characterized by the following sequence: eye closure, inspiration, glottic closure, forced expiration with sudden glottic opening, and release of an elevated intrathoracic pressure creating a flow of explosive air through the nose. Studies have indicated an anatomic sneezing area of the brainstem corresponding to the central recipient zone of the nasal sensory neurons in the lateral medulla.

Understanding angiogenesis and the role of angiogenic growth factors in the vascularisation of engineered tissues.

Tissue engineering is a rapidly developing field with many potential clinical applications in tissue and organ regeneration. The development of a mature and stable vasculature within these engineered tissues (ET) remains a significant obstacle. Currently, several growth factors (GFs) have been identified to play key roles within in vivo angiogenesis, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), FGF and angiopoietins.

Sleep in elite swimmers: prevalence of sleepiness, obstructive sleep apnoea and poor sleep quality.

Objectives: Limited data suggest that swimmers might be affected by poor quality of sleep significantly. The aim was to explore the prevalence of sleep disturbances in swimmers and possible link between rhinitis and sleep disturbance.

Methods: Study 1 was an observational case-control, questionnaire-based study involving 157 elite and non-elite swimmers, 36 non-swimming athletes and 50 controls.

Strongly positive anti-CCP antibodies in patients with sacroiliitis or reactive arthritis post-E. coli infection: A mini case-series based review.

We report here on four cases of patients with strongly positive anti-citrullinated cyclic peptides (anti-CCP) antibodies and clinical features of seronegative spondyloarthritis (SpA) and reactive arthritis. The four patients had various clinical presentations: one had an initial diagnosis of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with involvement of the sacroiliac joints (similar to previous reports of the association of two diseases); one had a clinical picture of reactive arthritis following an episode of an Escherichia coli positive urinary tract infection; and two had asymmetrical sacroiliitis (SII), but no evidence of peripheral joint involvement (never reported before). In all cases, high titers of anti-CCP antibodies were found.