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Background Since the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 from China, all deferrable medical activities have been suspended, to redirect resources for the management of COVID patients. The goal of this retrospective study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on head and neck cancers’ diagnosis in our Academic Hospital. Methods A retrospective analysis of patients treated for head and neck cancers between March 12 and November 1, 2020 was carried out, and we compared these data with the diagnoses of the same periods of the 5 previous years. Results 47 patients were included in this study. We observed a significative reduction in comparison with the same period of the previous 5 years. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a decrease in the number of new H&N cancers diagnoses, and a substantial diagnostic delay can be attributable to COVID-19 control measures.

To systematically review outcomes of orbital bony wall decompression for Grave’s orbitopathy according to the surgical approach. A systematic search for studies published in “Ovid MEDLINE”, “Web of Science” and “Embase” of patients with surgical treatment of Grave’s orbitopathy was performed. The overall postoperative change in Hertel exophthalmometry was calculated by random-effect meta-analysis model with 95% confidence interval (CI). A total of 33 studies, including 1686 patients and 2946 procedures, were included. The weighted mean Hertel value overall reduction was − 4.56 mm (95% CI − 5.05 to − 4.07 mm). According to surgical techniques the reduction was − 4.36 mm (95% CI − 5.22 to − 3.50) for infero-medial technique, − 4.88 mm (− 5.68 to − 4.08) for medial–lateral technique, − 4.32 mm (− 4.80to − 3.84) for lateral technique, − 5.45 mm (− 6.16 to − 4.74) for three-wall technique and − 3.47 mm (− 5.81 to − 1.12) for medial technique. The overall rate of new-onset of primary gaze diplopia was reported in 23 studies. The included procedures were 653 and results were heterogeneous (heterogeneity: Q = 78.8 df = 22, I2 = 72.09%, p

Purpose: The presence of many asymptomatic COVID-19 cases may increase the risks of disease dissemination, mainly for physicians. There are numerous reports on the frequent findings of sudden anosmia or hyposmia, before or at the same time of the typical COVID-19 symptoms onset. The aim of this study was to verify the association of olfactory impairment and COVID-19, providing a basis for subsequent research in the field of COVID-19 clinical heterogeneity. Methods: We developed a 15-item online questionnaire on “Sudden Olfactory Loss (SOL) and COVID-19” that was administered during March 2020 to Italian general practitioners registered to a social media group. Results: One hundred and eighty responses were received. SOL was identified as a significant sign of infection in COVID-19 patients, mainly aged between 30 and 40 years, even in the absence of other symptoms. SOL was present as an initial symptom in 46.7% of subjects, and in 16.7%, it was the only symptom. Among the COVID-19 confirmed cases, SOL occurred as the only symptom in 19.2% of patients. Conclusion: SOL could represent a possible early symptom in otherwise asymptomatic COVID-19 subjects. Subjects affected by SOL should be considered as potential COVID-19 cases. Level of evidence: 4.

We investigated the relationship between dental and maxillofacial surgery and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). BPPV represents the most frequent cause of vertigo of labyrinthine origin. BPPV has been reported following surgical trauma from various surgical interventions, regarding anatomical site and technical execution. A surgical origin is, in many cases, supported by the temporal relation to the surgical intervention as well as by the clinical picture. We considered eight BPPV cases of suspected iatrogenic origin focusing our attention on dental surgery with particular reference to surgical extraction of included teeth through rotating tools. The cases taken into account had no other inner ear disease and BPPV risk indicator. We conclude that dental surgery is a risk factor for BPPV.