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Monday, 09 November 2009 23:00 |
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Surgery For Otitis Media Among Indigenous Australians
O'Leary SJ, Triolo RD, 2009
Otitis media with effusion and recurrent acute otitis media are ubiquitous among Indigenous children. Otitis media causes conductive hearing loss that may persist throughout early childhood and adversely affect social interactions, language acquisition and learning. Control of otitis media usually restores hearing to adequate levels. Surgery is to be considered when otitis media has not responded to medical treatment. In non-Indigenous populations, tympanostomy tubes ("grommets"), with or without adenoidectomy, can control otitis media; how these findings relate to Indigenous Australians is not known. Tympanic membrane perforation is a frequent sequela of early childhood otitis media among Indigenous children. It occurs as early as 12 months of age and causes conductive hearing loss. Perforation is associated with recurrent aural discharge, particularly in the tropics and in desert regions. Medical and public health management is required until a child is old enough to undergo surgical closure of the perforation, usually by an age of 7-10 years. Surgical closure of the tympanic membrane stops the aural discharge and improves the hearing sufficiently to avoid the need for hearing aids in most cases. The success rate of surgery conducted in rural and remote Australia is below urban benchmarks; improving this will probably require funding for community-based follow-up.
Medical Journal of Australia; 191(9): S65-8
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About Us
On This Day in Indigenous History
Sunday, 02 September 1838
Last Sovereign Queen of Hawai'i Born
On This Day: In 1838 the last sovereign Queen of Hawai'i, Lydia Kamakaʻeha Kaola Maliʻi Liliʻuokalani, was born. Liliʻuokalani inherited the throne from her brother Kalakaua on 29 January 1891. On 14 January 1893, a group composed of Americans and Europeans formed a Committee of Safety seeking to overthrow the Hawaiian Kingdom, depose the Queen, and seek annexation to the United States. The Queen was deposed on 17 January 1893 and temporarily relinquished her throne to "the superior military forces of the United States". She had hoped the United States, like Great Britain earlier in Hawaiian history, would restore Hawaii's sovereignty to the rightful holder.
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