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.
Overview: 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.
Conclusion: This is a controversial area in medicine, and ENT in particular. This review highlights a clinically applicable approach for everyday use.