滲出性中耳炎の耳管障害の病態

抄録

Although dysfunction of the eustachian tube (ET) has been widely accepted as one of the main causes of otitis media with effusion (OME), its details such as site or mechanism have not been fully clarified yet.
In this article, previous studies regarding those issues were reviewed and found that: 1. Ventilatory dysfunction appeared to lie near the pharyngeal orifice in many of ETs with OME.
2. Constriction of the ET instead of dilation on swallowing was seen in 30-80% of patients with OME.
3. Inflammatory conditions in the nasopharynx such as hypertrophied adenoids or blockage of the tubal orifice by nasal discharge were closely related with the tubal constriction on swallowing.
From these results, treatment of inflammatory conditions of the nasopharynx was considered to be important in the management of OME in a sense that it may improve the tubal function as well as the elimination of infection in the middle ear with OME.