Can meta-analysis help uncertainty in surgery for otitis media in children

Role of grommet in otitis media with effusion: A necessity or nuisance? A comparative study

Otitis media with effusion is one of the commonest otological problems in paediatric age group. The condition occurs in childhood as overt or covert hearing loss presenting as an educational or behavioural problem. As there is widespread controversy regarding its precise aetiology, natural history and pathogenesis a treatment dilemma still persists. The main goal of this study is to compare the efficacy of different modalities of medical and surgical treatment designed for this condition and analysis of the results statistical.

Beliefs about and responses to childhood ear infections: a study of parents in eastern North Carolina

Middle ear infection, also known as otitis media (OM), is a major public health problem among American children. Although clinical and epidemiological aspects of OM have been intensely studied, cultural factors that may be contributing to the problem of OM have received less attention. This article presents findings from an ethnographic study exploring beliefs about OM and responses to the illness among parents from eastern North Carolina. In-depth interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of nine mothers in order to learn more about parents' explanatory models of OM, the source of their beliefs, and how they respond to the illness. A survey instrument based on their statements was then constructed and administered to a convenience sample of 79 parents. The survey consisted of belief statements about OM, as well as questions pertaining to sources of beliefs, the home management of the disease, and the effects of the illness on families. A cultural consensus analysis of responses to belief statements indicates that parents shared a common model of OM. Beliefs about risks, symptoms, and causes of OM were similar to the current biomedical model of the illness, but their divergent beliefs about the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of OM could lead to unnecessary use of health care services. Clinicians, family, and friends were reported to be important sources of information about OM. Parents also reported using similar home management strategies and care seeking behaviors to minimize the impact of the illness on their children and families. While these findings need to be replicated in studies with larger, more representative samples, this study suggest that ethnographic approaches may provide new insights into the cultural dimension of the problem of OM.

Surgical prevention of otitis media

Increasing concerns over drug-resistant bacteria mandate that alternative methods of treatment and prevention, including surgery, be considered to reduce antibiotic usage for acute otitis media (AOM). Meta-analysis of five randomized trials of tubes versus no surgery showed a mean absolute decrease in AOM incidence of 1.0 episode per child-year (95% CI, 0.4-1.6), with a relative decrease of 56%. Similarly, the prevalence of middle-ear effusion decreased by 115 days per child-year (95% CI, 11-220). Within several weeks of tube placement 79% of children had improved quality of life, 17% had trivial change, and 4% were worse. Systematic review of 134 articles revealed transient post-operative otorrhea in 16% of patients with tubes, and later in 26%; recurrent otorrhea occurred in 7.4% of patients and chronic otorrhea in 3.8% Adenoidectomy reduced AOM incidence by 0.32 episodes per child-year (95% CI, 0.03-0.61) for a 3-year period in one study (26% relative decrease), but the effect was only significant for children with prior tubes. Surgical therapy of otitis media offers significant benefits and is an effective prevention strategy in selected children.

A systematic review of clinical research addressing the prevalence, aetiology, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of otitis media in Australian Aboriginal children

The objective of this review was to systemically identify and summarize all the clinically relevant evidence available from studies addressing the prevalence, aetiology, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of otitis media in Australian Aboriginal children. Electronic searching of Medline, the Australian Medical Index and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Bibliographic Index was performed. This was supplemented by hand searching the Menzies School of Health Research otitis media collection, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Information Bulletin and Aboriginal Health: an annotated bibliography. Data were extracted and placed in a series of evidence tables relevant to clinical practice. There were 59 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The majority were surveys, and only 19 addressed diagnosis, prognosis or therapy. Severe otitis media in rural Aboriginal children does not occur in isolation but as part of a spectrum of chronic bacterial infections of the respiratory tract. Although the aspects of poverty that result in this condition remain to be clarified, exposure to other young children with chronic nasal discharge is likely to be important. Whilst there is a considerable amount of literature on otitis media in Australian Aboriginal children, the number of studies most relevant to improving health outcomes is small. A systematic approach to disease surveillance, diagnosis, and application of medical interventions is required urgently. Future medical research should be concerned with the evaluation of interventions and the generalisabilty of studies from different populations.

A community-based nursing approach to the prevention of otitis media

Otitis media (OM), a disease of the middle ear, is one of the most common diseases of childhood. Although the medical and surgical treatment of the disease by physicians is covered at length in the literature, information about the role of nurses in dealing with OM is scant. The purpose of this article is to propose a community-based nursing prevention plan for OM based on what is known about its prevalence and pathogenesis.

A randomized study of the surgical management of children with persistent otitis media with effusion associated with a hearing impairment

The object of this study was to compare the effect on the hearing of the insertion of a grommet, with or without adenoidectomy, against a non-surgically managed control ear in children with persistent hearing impairment due to otitis media with effusion. Seventy-eight children (44 boys, 34 girls, mean age 5.8 years) with documented bilateral otitis media with effusion associated with a bilateral hearing impairment (pure tone average air conduction thresholds over 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz of > or = 25 dB HL) over a three month period were admitted to a randomized, controlled trial. Each child was randomized to have or not to have an adenoidectomy. The ears in each child were then randomly allocated to have a grommet (tympanostomy tube) inserted. The children's hearing status was reviewed six and 12 months post-operatively. During follow-up, should a child redevelop a persistent bilateral hearing impairment (as defined above) for three months they were managed with a hearing aid. Thus no child had repeat insertion of a grommet. Surgery of each type had an effect on the hearing and the presence of otitis media with effusion at six months post-operatively but not at 12 months when it was no different from natural resolution. If resolution of the otitis media with effusion is the outcome measure, then adenoidectomy alone is significantly better than no surgery but only in boys rather than in girls. Even in boys it only resolves about 60 per cent of effusions. However, when combined with a grommet (one insertion) adenoidectomy gives no greater resolution (89 per cent compared with 86 per cent).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)