Short-term benefits of grommet insertion in children

It is commonly acknowledged that otitis media with effusion (OME) can cause behavioural disturbances and that this can be relieved by grommet insertio n. However, this widely-held perception has not been documented in the lite rature. In this study parents were asked to complete a short behavioural qu estionnaire on the day of the admission and 6 weeks later. A total of 32 ch ildren admitted to the Day Care Unit for insertion of grommets at The Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London, UK, were recruited. There was a significant behavioural change, evident by the difference in the scor es before and after grommet insertion (P < 0.001).