2005 Volume 51 Issue 5 Pages 319-324
We investigated the efficacy of ventilation tube therapy in the treatment of 246 ears demonstrating otitis media with effusion (OME) in 130 children between 1990 and 1992. We used a long-term ventilation tube. We examined the age at insertion, the detention period, the combination with an adenotomy, and the presence of a tympanic membrane perforation following the removal of the ventilation tubes. After treatment, a cure was achieved in 170 ears (69.1%) and a retraction of the tympanic membrane, including a recurrence of OME, was found in 52 ears (21.1%). The average duration of tube ventilation was 18 months. The OME cure rate was significantly higher in the group intubated for 18 months or more compared with the group intubated for less than 18 months. The cases that underwent an adenotomy a showed a higher cure rate. The average age at intubation was 5. We thus concluded that a diagnosis of OME and an early commencement of treatment produced a higher cure rate. In addition, 23 ears(9.4%) demonstrated a membrane perforation following the removal of ventilation tubes. The membrane perforation correlated with neither the detention term nor the repetition of insertion.
