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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a type of viral pneumonia that has paralysed the entire world both in terms of health and economy. It has been recently declared as a global pandemic. All the health care professionals must be aware of the disease entity and take precautionary measures to control its transmission from person to person, particularly in hospital settings. In this article, we propose essential steps that can be implemented at the departmental and institutional levels to do endoscopic diagnostic procedures effectively during COVID-19 outbreak and to break the transmission chain.

Covid-19 symptoms are commonly seen in Otorhinolaryngology clinics on a daily basis. This article provides a brief review of the current knowledge regarding SARS Cov-2 including disease transmission, clinical characteristics and occupational hazard. The article focuses on the adequate precautions needed for Otorhinolaryngologists. We, being involved in the frequent manipulation of the aero-digestive tract containing a high viral load carry the biggest threat of an occupational hazard. We should be aware of utmost importance of effective use of full or enhanced Personal Protective Equipment during diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Microdebrider has superior efficacy in clearing the adenoids, compared to curettage. We compared the improvement in middle ear function and hearing thresholds after adenoidectomy, by both methods. 126 patients (median age—9 years) were randomized into groups A and B, where adenoidectomy was done by microdebrider and curettage, respectively. Middle ear function parameters and hearing thresholds were measured serially. The mean improvement in middle ear pressure, compliance and hearing thresholds were 92.5 ± 67.6 and 84.2 ± 71.4 daPa; (p = 0.40), 0.19 ± 0.34 and 0.27 ± 0.27 mL; (p = 0.07) and 3.20 ± 4.95 and 2.54 ± 3.98 dB; (p = 0.27), in groups A and B, respectively. Reversal of type B tympanograms was noted in both groups. Middle ear function and hearing thresholds improved in both groups after adenoidectomy. More improvement was noted in the microdebrider group, which, however, was not significant.

Total thyroidectomy has evolved from a vilipended surgery owing to its high mortality to one with commonly performed surgery with minimal complications. After a total thyroidectomy many patients are left hypothyroid and/or hypoparathyroid, and thus prone to develop neuropsychiatric complications. Although anxiety and depression are the common manifestations, acute psychosis consequent to total thyroidectomy is rarely reported. Herein, we present the case of a 55-year-old female with a massive neck swelling diagnosed as papillary carcinoma of thyroid with bilateral metastatic cervical lymph nodes for which total thyroidectomy with bilateral modified neck dissection was performed. Postoperatively, she developed symptoms of altered sensorium, disorientation, insomnia, agitation, and delusions of persecution as well as suffered from two episodes of generalized seizures. Initially, suspected to be delirium, the persistence of the psychotic symptoms led to revision of diagnosis to psychotic disorder due to another general medical condition. The acute neuropsychiatric manifestations consequent to major thyroid surgeries may seldom leave the surgeon by surprise. Hence, a multidisciplinary liaising for major thyroid surgeries is the need of hour to avert severe emergencies.

Ewing's sarcoma is a small round cell tumor, malignant in nature, typically affecting long bones and pelvis. It is most commonly presented in the pediatric age group. The occurrence of Ewing's sarcoma in the head-and-neck region is rare and is reported to be around 2%-3%, of which chances of having primary lesion are rarer. Among facial bones, mandible is the most commonly affected bone. Primary involvement of zygoma is extremely rare. Here, we present a case of primary Ewing's sarcoma of the left zygoma in a 17-year-old girl. The diagnosis was made after surgical resection, histopathology with immunohistochemistry confirmation, and cytogenetic study.