Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Mar;45(2):239-247.
doi: 10.1111/coa.13502. Epub 2020 Jan 6.

The effect of ventilation tube insertion on quality of life in children with persistent otitis media with effusion

Leigh N Sanyaolu  1 , Rebecca Cannings-John  2 , Christopher C Butler  3 , Nick A Francis  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The effect of ventilation tube insertion on quality of life in children with persistent otitis media with effusion

Leigh N Sanyaolu et al. Clin Otolaryngol. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the effect of ventilation tube (VT) surgery on quality of life (QoL) in children with persistent otitis media with effusion (OME).

Design: Secondary analysis of trial data (oral steroids versus placebo for persistent OME), comparing QoL by history of VT surgery performed between 5 weeks and 12 months post-randomisation. Multilevel regression models were used to identify the association between VT surgery and QoL scores at 12 months, controlling for pre-exposure risk factors associated with surgery, including pre-surgery hearing level.

Setting: Ear, nose and throat (ENT), paediatric audiology and audiovestibular medicine (AVM) departments in Wales and England.

Participants: A total of 327 children aged 2-8 years with OME symptoms for at least three months and audiometry-proven bilateral hearing loss with VT surgery status.

Main outcome measures: Otitis Media questionnaire (OM8-30) and Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) total and subscale scores, and the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3) at 12 months post-randomisation.

Results: Participants who had VT surgery had no significant difference in OM8-30, PedsQL or HUI total scores. OM8-30 hearing difficulty (HD) subscale scores at 12 months were better in those who had VT surgery (adjusted mean difference (aMD) = -0.46 (95% confidence interval: -0.69 to -0.23), P < .001), and this varied by when the surgery occurred (aMD for surgery between 5 weeks and 6 months = -0.4 [-0.67 to -0.13], P = .004 and between 6 and 12 months = -0.54, [-0.87 to -0.22], P = .001).

Conclusion: Ventilation tube surgery was associated with an improvement in HD-related functional health status but no change in overall QoL.

Keywords: audiology; otitis media; otitis media with effusion; otolaryngology; otologic surgical procedures; quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Perera R, Glasziou PP, Heneghan CJ, McLellan J, Williamson I. Autoinflation for hearing loss associated with otitis media with effusion. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013;31(5):Cd006285.
    1. Williamson I. Otitis media with effusion in children. BMJ Clin Evid. 2011;2011:0502.
    1. Williamson I, Benge S, Barton S, et al. Topical intranasal corticosteroids in 4-11 year old children with persistent bilateral otitis media with effusion in primary care: double blind randomised placebo controlled trial. BMJ. 2009;339:b4984.
    1. Williamson I, Vennik J, Harnden A, et al. Effect of nasal balloon autoinflation in children with otitis media with effusion in primary care: an open randomized controlled trial. CMAJ. 2015;187(13):961-969.
    1. Waldron CA, Thomas-Jones E, Cannings-John R, et al. Oral steroids for the resolution of otitis media with effusion (OME) in children (OSTRICH): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2016;17:115.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources