title: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and ENT.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This review addresses Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the context of ENT, and aims to summarise the relevant history, pathophysiology and implications for contemporary practice.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare, fatal, neurodegenerative disorder. It is a prion disease with four different subtypes that can only be definitively diagnosed post-mortem. The main implications for the ENT surgeon lie in the risk of iatrogenic transmission. The three facets of assessing individual patient risk are: patient history; tissue infectivity; and procedure infectivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is a controversial area in medicine, and ENT in particular. This review highlights a clinically applicable approach for everyday use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, UK.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sethi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Condon
mesh_terms: D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D010038:Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases / Q000601:surgery / Q000821:virology; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment