Mc. Hart et al., CHILDHOOD IMBALANCE AND CHRONIC OTITIS-MEDIA WITH EFFUSION - EFFECT OF TYMPANOSTOMY TUBE INSERTION ON STANDARDIZED TESTS OF BALANCE AND LOCOMOTION, The Laryngoscope, 108(5), 1998, pp. 665-670
Citations number
16
Categorie Soggetti
Otorhinolaryngology,"Medicine, Research & Experimental
The goal of this study was to investigate the role of chronic otitis m
edia with effusion as a cause of childhood imbalance. Nineteen 4- to 6
-year-old children with chronic otitis media with effusion and 14 matc
hed control children underwent a series of laboratory tests, including
two standardized tests of balance and locomotion: the Peabody Develop
mental Motor Scales (PDMS) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor P
roficiency (BOTMP). The children in the chronic otitis media with effu
sion group underwent tympanostomy tube insertion. Both groups underwen
t the same battery of tests within 6 to 8 weeks of initial testing. An
alysis of variance for the PDMS and BOTMP demonstrated significantly l
ower performance in the balance subscales for the otitis group before
(P < .01), Both otitis and control groups improved when retested, The
improvement was greater and approaching significance in the otitis gro
up on the PDMS and BOTMP (P = .056 and .097, respectively). It is conc
luded that chronic otitis media with effusion significantly affects ba
lance and coordination skills in 4- to 6-year-old children. These skil
ls improve after tympanostomy tube insertion at a rate greater than th
at of the control group.