The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide threatening human health. To reduce transmission, a ‘lockdown’ was introduced in Ireland between March and May 2020. The aim of this study is to capture the experiences of consultant psychiatrists during lockdown and their perception of it’s impact on mental health services.

A questionnaire designed by the Royal College of Psychiatrists was adapted and circulated to consultant members of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland following the easing of restrictions. The questionnaire assessed the perceived impact on referral rates, mental health act provision, availability of information technology (IT), consultant well-being and availability of personal protective equipment (PPE). Thematic analysis was employed to analyse free-text sections.

Response rate was 32% (n = 197/623). Consultants reported an initial decrease/significant decrease in referrals in the first month of lockdown (68%, n = 95/140) followed by an increase/significant increase in the second month for both new (83%, n = 100/137) and previously attending patients (65%, n = 88/136). Social isolation and reduced face-to-face mental health supports were among the main reasons identified. The needs of children and older adults were highlighted. Most consultants (76%, n = 98/129) felt their working day was affected and their well-being reduced (52%, n = 61/119). The majority felt IT equipment availability was inadequate (67%, n = 88/132). Main themes identified from free-text sections were service management, relationship between patients and healthcare service and effects on consultants’ lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed increased pressure on service provision and consultant wellness. This further supports the longstanding need to increase mental health service investment.

The incidence of recurrent stenosis after cricotracheal resection is 3–9.5 per cent. Management of such patients is challenging. This study aimed to review our experience in revision cricotracheal resection.

The study was conducted in the Otorhinolaryngology Department, Mansoura University Hospitals, Egypt, on nine patients with recurrent stenosis following cricotracheal resection. Revision cricotracheal resection was performed in all patients. Surgiflo was applied on the site of anastomosis to enhance healing.

No intra-operative complications were recorded. Minor post-operative complications occurred in two patients (surgical emphysema and temporary choking); no major complications were reported. Re-stenosis occurred in one patient. Successful decannulation was achieved in eight of the nine patients.

Revision cricotracheal resection is the definitive curative treatment for recurrent stenosis after previous unsuccessful resection. It has high success rates, provided that careful pre-operative assessment and meticulous operative technique are performed.

To investigate a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak event involving multiple healthcare facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; to characterize transmission; and to explore infection control implications.

Outbreak investigation.

Cases presented in 4 healthcare facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a tertiary-care hospital, a specialty pulmonary hospital, an outpatient clinic, and an outpatient dialysis unit.

Contact tracing and testing were performed following reports of cases at 2 hospitals. Laboratory results were confirmed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) and/or genome sequencing. We assessed exposures and determined seropositivity among available healthcare personnel (HCP) cases and HCP contacts of cases.

In total, 48 cases were identified, involving patients, HCP, and family members across 2 hospitals, an outpatient clinic, and a dialysis clinic. At each hospital, transmission was linked to a unique index case. Moreover, 4 cases were associated with superspreading events (any interaction where a case patient transmitted to ≥5 subsequent case patients). All 4 of these patients were severely ill, were initially not recognized as MERS-CoV cases, and subsequently died. Genomic sequences clustered separately, suggesting 2 distinct outbreaks. Overall, 4 (24%) of 17 HCP cases and 3 (3%) of 114 HCP contacts of cases were seropositive.

We describe 2 distinct healthcare-associated outbreaks, each initiated by a unique index case and characterized by multiple superspreading events. Delays in recognition and in subsequent implementation of control measures contributed to secondary transmission. Prompt contact tracing, repeated testing, HCP furloughing, and implementation of recommended transmission-based precautions for suspected cases ultimately halted transmission.

Laryngotracheal stenosis is currently one of the most common complications associated with nasal and orotracheal intubation and tracheotomy. Once established, tracheal stenosis can be a complex and difficult problem to manage.

We retrospectively analysed 2004–2010 data for 12 male patients with postintubation cervical tracheal stenosis (grade III–IV) treated in the otolaryngology department, Mansoura University Hospitals. All patients had a tracheostomy at presentation, and all underwent tracheal resection with primary cricotracheal anastomosis and suprahyoid release.

Grade III stenosis was present in five patients (41.7 per cent) and grade IV stenosis in seven patients (58.3 per cent). The length of trachea resected ranged from 2 to 4 cm, representing one to four tracheal rings. In all 12 patients, the procedure allowed successful tracheotomy decannulation. Minor complications comprised surgical emphysema (n = 2) and wound infection (n = 1), and were managed conservatively. Major complications consisted of restenosis (n = 3), managed in two patients by repeated dilatation; one patient was lost to follow up.

Segmental tracheal resection with cricotracheal anastomosis was successful in 11/12 (92 per cent) patients with severe cervical tracheal stenosis. The strategy for treatment of airway stenosis is now well established and success rates are high, with minimal or no sequelae.

To conduct a prospective study (1) to evaluate and compare the efficacies of nasopharyngeal endoscopy and computed tomography in the diagnosis of local failure of external beam radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and (2) to assess whether multiple endoscopic nasopharyngeal biopsies are superior to a single, targeted biopsy, for the same purpose.

Forty-six patients who had been treated with external beam radiotherapy for primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma were enrolled in the study. For every patient recruited, computed tomography, rigid nasopharyngeal endoscopy and nasopharyngeal biopsies were performed 12 weeks after radiotherapy.

Twelve weeks after treatment, six patients (13 per cent) had evident disease on histological examination of biopsies. Nasopharyngeal endoscopy showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 66.6, 95, 66.6 and 95 per cent, respectively. There was statistically significant agreement between the endoscopic findings and the histological findings (Kappa reliability coefficient = 0.617, p < 0.01). Computed tomography showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 50, 45, 12 and 85.7 per cent, respectively. There was no statistically significant agreement between the computed tomography findings and the histological findings (Kappa reliability coefficient = 0.021, p > 0.05). A targeted, single biopsy performed under endoscopic control demonstrated excellent sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value, being 83.3, 100, 100 and 97.5 per cent, respectively. The Kappa test showed a very statistically significant agreement between the histological findings for the single and the multiple endoscopic biopsies (Kappa reliability coefficient = 0.897, p < 0.001).

Rigid nasopharyngeal endoscopy should be considered the primary follow-up tool after radiotherapy treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with computed tomography being reserved for patients with histological or symptomatic indications. Routine postnasal biopsies are not necessary, given the excellent specificity and negative predictive value of rigid nasopharyngeal endoscopy. Single, targeted endoscopic biopsy provides an excellent alternative to the usual multiple biopsies. In addition, it reduces cost, time, morbidity and patient discomfort.