MANAGING OTITIS-MEDIA WITH EFFUSION IN YOUNG-CHILDREN

This reference guide contains highlights from the Clinical Practice Gu ideline, Otitis Media with Effusion in Young Children. The Otitis Medi a Guideline Panel, a private-sector panel of health care providers, de veloped the Guideline after comprehensively analyzing the research lit erature and current scientific knowledge of the development, diagnosis , and treatment of otitis media with effusion in young children. Speci fic recommendations are given for the management of otitis media with effusion in young children age 1 through 3 years with no craniofacial or neurologic abnormalities or sensory deficits. The natural history o f otitis media with effusion, the functional impairments that may resu lt from otitis media with effusion, and the difficulty of measuring th e effects of medical and surgical interventions on long-term outcomes are included. The medical interventions studied involve antibiotic, st eroid, and antihistamine/decongestant therapies. The surgical interven tions studied involve myringotomy with insertion of tympanostomy tubes , adenoidectomy, and tonsillectomy. Short-term outcomes addressed are resolution of effusion and restoration of hearing.