OUTCOME ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN RECEIVING TYMPANOSTOMY TUBES

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the outcome of c hildren receiving tympanostomy tubes with respect to improvement in he aring and incidence of otitis media. Method: One hundred twenty-nine c hildren who underwent myringotomy and insertion of tympanostomy tubes were followed for at least 2 years postoperatively. They were analyzed pre- and postoperatively with respect to the incidence of otitis medi a and/or level of hearing. Results: Children receiving ventilation tub es for recurrent acute otitis media experienced an average of 7.45 epi sodes of otitis media in the 12 months preoperatively and 0.76 episode s in the 12 months postoperatively, with an improvement of 6.69 infect ions (p < .0001). All patients showed improvement, and 69% remained in fection free for 12 months postoperatively. Audiologic tests showed th ere was a significant improvement in the hearing postoperatively, with an average of nearly 14-dB improvement. There was significant improve ment in all frequencies tested when the preoperative measures are comp ared with those of the first postoperative audiometric testing (with s tatistical significance p < .0001 throughout). Conclusions: Tympanosto my tubes significantly reduced the incidence of otitis media and impro ve hearing in paediatric patients.