Otoscopic, impedance, and audiometric findings in glue ear treated by adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy. A prospective randomised study. Adenoidectomy for otitis media with mucoid effusion. A randomized study of the surgical management of children with persistent otitis media with effusion associated with a hearing impairment. Adenoidectomy for otitis media with effusion in 2-3-year-old children. Effectiveness of adenoidectomy and tympanostomy tubes in the treatment of chronic otitis media with effusion. A randomised controlled trial of surgery for glue ear. Efficacy of adenoidectomy for recurrent otitis media in children previously treated with tympanostomy-tube placement. Results of parallel randomized and nonrandomized trials. Adenoidectomy does not significantly reduce the incidence of otitis media in conjunction with the insertion of tympanostomy tubes in children who are younger than 4 years: a randomized trial. Conservative treatment of otitis media with effusion by autoinflation of the middle ear. Epidemiology and treatment of otitis media with effusion in children in the first year of primary school. Adenoidectomy for middle ear disorders: a randomized controlled trial. Efficacy of myringotomy with and without tympanostomy tubes for chronic otitis media with effusion. Efficacy of medical treatment as an adjunct to surgery in the treatment of secretory otitis media. Prevention of otitis media by adenoidectomy in children younger than 2 years.
150 children aged between 2 and 9 years (mean 5.25 years) with chronic bilateral otitis media with effusion were randomly allocated to three groups who, in addition to unilateral myringotomy and grommet insertion, would have an adenotonsillectomy, an adenoidectomy, or neither. The contralateral ear was assessed. Otoscopic, impedance, and audiometric findings were recorded preoperatively and at six and twelve months postoperatively. Subtraction of the no-surgery results indicates that at twelve months adenoidectomy produces otoscopic resolution of OME in 41.7% and no-peak/peak conversion of impedance in 29.8%. The hearing gain from adenoidectomy alone was similar to that resulting from insertion of a grommet alone, but the children having adenoidectomy required fewer reinsertions to maintain adequate subjective hearing thresholds in the treated ear (26% versus 54%). Tonsillectomy conferred no additional benefit. Without treatment there was a small but significant improvement in all indices at twelve months but not at six months postoperatively. This random controlled study was undertaken to determine the extent to which nonsurgical treatment can control otitis media with effusion (OME); and if surgical treatment is indicated, and myringotomy, removal of middle ear liquid with insertion of aeration tubes is carried out, and whether removal of the adenoids produces any beneficial effect. A preparatory two-month nonsurgical treatment consisting of measures to improve the functional state of the nose was undertaken to eliminate from the study those children (42%) who would respond to medical treatment alone. The cure rate was similar in each of the operation groups with a greater relapse rate in the nonadenoidectomy groups who required 9% more aeration tube insertions. An estimation from x-rays of the size of the adenoids, shows that the group cured without surgery has a tendency towards the smaller adneoids. The relapse rate in the nonadenoidectomy group was independent of the size of the adenoids, and the study failed to show that any benefit accrued though adenoidectomy. Accordingly, the removal of adenoids should cease to be indicated in cases of OME as a primary form of treatment. The object of this study was to compare the effect on the hearing of the insertion of a grommet, with or without adenoidectomy, against a non-surgically managed control ear in children with persistent hearing impairment due to otitis media with effusion. Seventy-eight children (44 boys, 34 girls, mean age 5.8 years) with documented bilateral otitis media with effusion associated with a bilateral hearing impairment (pure tone average air conduction thresholds over 0.5, 1 and 2 kHz of > or = 25 dB HL) over a three month period were admitted to a randomized, controlled trial. Each child was randomized to have or not to have an adenoidectomy. The ears in each child were then randomly allocated to have a grommet (tympanostomy tube) inserted. The children's hearing status was reviewed six and 12 months post-operatively. During follow-up, should a child redevelop a persistent bilateral hearing impairment (as defined above) for three months they were managed with a hearing aid. Thus no child had repeat insertion of a grommet. Surgery of each type had an effect on the hearing and the presence of otitis media with effusion at six months post-operatively but not at 12 months when it was no different from natural resolution. If resolution of the otitis media with effusion is the outcome measure, then adenoidectomy alone is significantly better than no surgery but only in boys rather than in girls. Even in boys it only resolves about 60 per cent of effusions. However, when combined with a grommet (one insertion) adenoidectomy gives no greater resolution (89 per cent compared with 86 per cent).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) To compare the efficacy of three surgical treatment combinations - myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion (M&T), adenoidectomy with M&T (A-M&T), and adenoidectomy with myringotomy (A-M) - in reducing middle-ear disease in young children with chronic OME.
                Children 24-47 months of age, with a history of bilateral middle-ear effusion (MEE) for at least 3 months, unilateral for 6 months or longer or unilateral for 3 months after extrusion of a tympanostomy tube, unresponsive to recent antibiotic, were randomly assigned to either M&T, A-M&T, or A-M. Treatment assignment was stratified by age (24-35 months, 36-47 months), nasal obstruction (no, yes) and previous history of M&T (no, yes). Subjects were followed monthly and with any signs or symptoms of ear disease for up to 36 months.
                Ninety-eight subjects were randomly assigned to the three treatment groups. Fifty-six subjects (57%) were 24-35 months of age; 63% had nasal obstruction, and 36% had previously undergone M&T. During the 36 months after entry, subjects were noted to have MEE for the following percentages of time: 18.6% in the M&T group, 20.6% in the A-M&T group, and 31.1% in the A-M group (M&T vs. A-M&T, p=0.87; M&T vs. A-M, p=0.01). By 36 months, there were no differences in the number of further surgical procedures for ear disease needed among the groups.
                Adenoidectomy with or without tube insertion provided no advantage to young children with chronic OME in regard to time with effusion compared to tube insertion alone. Fewer tympanostomy tubes were placed in children undergoing A-M as their initial procedure, but this should be balanced by the performance of the more invasive surgical procedure and their increased time with effusion. To study the effectiveness of adenoidectomy and of the placement of tympanostomy tubes in the treatment of chronic otitis media with effusion, we randomly assigned 578 children, aged four through eight years, to receive bilateral myringotomy and no additional treatment (Group 1), placement of tympanostomy tubes (Group 2), adenoidectomy (Group 3), or adenoidectomy and placement of tympanostomy tubes (Group 4). The 491 children who underwent one of these treatments were examined at six-week intervals for up to two years. The mean time spent with effusion of any type in either ear over the two-year follow-up in the four groups was 51, 36, 31, and 27 weeks, respectively (P less than 0.0001), comparing Group 1 with each of the other groups. Hearing was equivalent in Groups 2, 3, and 4, and was significantly better than in Group 1. The most frequent sequela, purulent otorrhea, occurred one or more times in 22, 29, 11, and 24 percent of the subjects in Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively (P less than 0.001). Adenoidectomy plus bilateral myringotomy lowered the overall post-treatment morbidity (as measured by hearing acuity in the most severely affected ear [P = 0.0174] and the number of surgical retreatments required [P = 0.009]) more than did tympanostomy tubes alone and to the same degree as did adenoidectomy and tympanostomy tubes. We conclude that adenoidectomy should be considered when surgical therapy is indicated in children four to eight years old who are severely affected by chronic otitis media with effusion. To assess the effect of five different surgical treatments for glue ear (secretory otitis media) on improvement in hearing and, assuming one or more treatments to be effective, to identify the appropriate indications for surgery.
                Randomised controlled trial of children receiving (a) adenoidectomy, bilateral myringotomy, and insertion of a unilateral grommet; (b) adenoidectomy, unilateral myringotomy, and insertion of a unilateral grommet; (c) bilateral myringotomy and insertion of a unilateral grommet; and (d) unilateral myringotomy and insertion of a grommet. Children were followed up at seven weeks, six months, 12 months, and 24 months by symptom history and clinical investigations.
                Otolaryngology department in an urban hospital.
                149 Children aged 4-9 years who were admitted for surgery for glue ear and who had no history of previous operations on tonsils, adenoids, or ears and no evidence of sensorineural deafness. Inadequate follow up information on levels of hearing and on middle ear function was obtained from 22.
                Mean hearing loss (dB) of the three worst heard frequencies between 250 and 4000 Hz, results of impedance tympanometry, and parental views on their child's progress.
                In the 127 children for whom adequate information was available ears in which a grommet had been inserted performed better in the short term (for at least six months) than those in which no grommet had been inserted, irrespective of any accompanying procedure. Most of the benefit had disappeared by 12 months. Adenoidectomy produced a slight improvement that was not significant, though was sustained for at least two years. The ears of children who had had an adenoidectomy with myringotomy and grommet insertion, however, continued to improve so that two years after surgery about 50% had abnormal tympanometry compared with 83% of those who had had only myringotomy and grommet insertion, and 93% of the group that had had no treatment. Logistic regression analyses identified preoperative hearing level as the single best predictor of good outcome from surgery. Other variables contributed little additional predictive power.
                If the principal objective of surgery for glue ear is to restore hearing then our study shows that insertion of grommets is the treatment of choice. The addition of an adenoidectomy will increase the likelihood of restoration of normal function of the middle ear but will not improve hearing. When deciding appropriate indications for surgery, a balance has to be made between performing unnecessary operations and failing to treat patients who might benefit from surgical intervention. Preoperative audiometry scores might be the best predictor in helping to make this decision. We studied the efficacy of adenoidectomy in 213 children who had received tympanostomy-tube placement because of persistent and/or recurrent otitis media and had again developed otitis media after tubal extrusion. Ninety-nine of the children were assigned randomly to either an adenoidectomy group or a control group; in a separate trial, 114 children whose parents withheld consent for randomization were assigned according to parental preference. In both trials, control group outcomes appeared to have been biased favorably by the withdrawal of certain severely affected subjects from control status to receive adenoidectomy. Nonetheless, in both trials, adenoidectomy group outcomes were more favorable than control group outcomes during the first 2 follow-up years. Statistically significant differences were found mainly in the randomized trial, where during the first and second years, respectively, adenoidectomy subjects had 47% and 37% less time with otitis media than control subjects and 28% and 35% fewer suppurative (acute) episodes than control subjects. We conclude that adenoidectomy is warranted on an individualized basis for children who develop recurrent otitis media after extrusion of tympanostomy tubes. To evaluate the efficacy of adenoidectomy in reducing the incidence of otitis media among children who are younger than 4 years and receive tympanostomy tubes.
                A randomized trial was conducted at a tertiary center clinic. A total of 217 children who were aged 12 to 48 months and had recurrent acute otitis media (>3 episodes during the past 6 months) or chronic otitis media with effusion, no obstructive symptoms as a result of adenoid enlargement, and no previous surgical intervention were enrolled in the study. Adenoidectomy in conjunction with the insertion of tympanostomy tubes or insertion of tympanostomy tubes without adenoidectomy was studied. The number of otitis media episodes during the follow-up period of 12 months was measured.
                During the follow-up, the mean number of otitis media episodes was 1.7 among children who underwent adenoidectomy with concurrent insertion of tympanostomy tubes and 1.4 among children who received tympanostomy tubes only. The risk for recurrent otitis media (>or=3 episodes) could not be reduced by adenoidectomy (odds ratio: 1.66; 95% confidence interval: 0.80-3.46).
                Adenoidectomy does not significantly reduce the incidence of acute otitis media in otitis prone children who are younger than 4 years and receive tympanostomy tubes. A total of 85 children on the waiting list for grommet insertion aged between 3 and 10 years with bilateral chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) were assigned at random to an observation or treatment group. Those in the treatment group were given the Otovent device to use three times a day for the duration of the study and both groups were then seen at monthly intervals for 3 months for pneumatic otoscopy and tympanometry. Statistically significant improvement was seen in those using the treatment with a compliance of more than 70%. This was detected on the outcome measures of tympanometry and pneumatic otoscopy after 1, 2 and 3 months. No side effects were demonstrated. We conclude that autoinflation is an effective short-term treatment for children with OME when used regularly under supervision. In this multicentre study we evaluated the prevalence and risk factors of otitis media with effusion (OME) in Italian school-children and the effectiveness of medical treatment of chronic OME with a new cephalosporin, ceftibuten. During two winter periods, 3413 children, aged 5 to 7 years, were examined for the presence of OME by means of pneumotoscopy and a portable, hand-held tympanometer. The prevalence of asymptomatic OME was 14.2%, with no difference as regards sex, age, month of examination or geographic area. Younger children had significantly more bilateral than unilateral effusion. A recent episode of acute otitis media and previous tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy were associated with an increased risk of OME in multivariate logistic regression models. The presence of OME was unrelated to such factors as birthweight, prematurity, sibling or parental history of allergy, duration of daycare attendance, family history of ear infections. After 12 weeks, 26.6% of children with OME still had middle-ear fluid: 52 were randomized to ceftibuten (9 mg/kg q.d. for 14 days) and 59 to no treatment (nasal saline drops allowed). Children treated with ceftibuten had a significantly better resolution of middle-ear effusion after 4 and 8 weeks. As mass screening programmes for OME in the year of school entry are questioned, a focus only on children with known risk factors seems advisable. Ceftibuten can be useful in reducing the duration of middle-ear effusion. Repeated tympanometric screening of a regionally defined population of 3-year-old children defined a group of 42 children with middle ear disease which had persisted for at least 6 months. These children were treated by either myringotomy with adenoidectomy or myringotomy without adenoidectomy decided by random allocation. Postoperative observation during 6 months failed to disclose any difference in middle ear status between the two groups. In a previous trial involving 109 children with chronic otitis media with effusion of at least a 2 months' duration that had been unresponsive to medical treatment, we compared the efficacy of myringotomy with tube insertion, myringotomy alone and no surgical intervention with regard to time with middle ear effusion, hearing status and other indices over a 3-year period. Because interpretation of the results was rendered difficult by certain complexities of study design, the present trial with a revised protocol was carried out in an additional group of 111 children. As in the previous trial, myringotomy with tube insertion resulted in less time with effusion and better hearing than did either myringotomy alone or no surgery. However, acute and chronic otorrhea and tympanic membrane perforation developed not uncommonly after tube insertion. Myringotomy alone offered no advantage over no surgery regarding the percent of time with effusion or the number of episodes of acute otitis media. Currently for children with long-standing middle ear effusion, we recommend either watchful waiting with periodic hearing assessment or myringotomy with tube insertion, individualizing the recommendation for each child. In a pilot controlled randomised trial of 38 children who had bilateral secretory otitis media, with effusion demonstrated at operation, we compared the efficacy of a six-week course of an oral decongestant--antihistamine combination and a mucolytic preparation with a control group in preventing the presence of middle-ear effusion six weeks after myringotomy and adenoidectomy. The mucolytic preparation decreased the presence of middle-ear effusion when compared to the decongestant-antihistamine combination and the control group (p = 0.06). To test the effect of adenoidectomy in connection with tympanostomy compared with tympanostomy only in preventing otitis media in children younger than 2 years.
                Prospective trial with randomized and nonrandomized arms.
                Primary care study clinics.
                The study participants were selected from 2497 children who had been enrolled in the Finnish Otitis Media Vaccine Trial at the age of 2 months. A total of 306 children, aged 1 to 2 years, who had experienced recurrent episodes of otitis media were randomized into 2 treatment groups: tympanostomy with or without adenoidectomy. Of the 306 children, 137 were operated on according to random basis (randomized trial). The 169 children whose parents declined participation in the randomized trial were operated on according to the parents' preferences (nonrandomized trial). All children were followed up until 2 years of age. The mean follow-up time was 7 months.
                The rate of acute otitis media episodes.
                The average reduction in the rate of all acute otitis media episodes in the adenoidectomy group was 19% (95% confidence interval [CI], -14% to 43%) among children enrolled in the randomized trial and 25% (95% CI, -13% to 50%) in the nonrandomized trial. The reduction in the randomized trial was mainly due to reduction in the rate of pneumococcal otitis media (58%, 95% CI, 16%-79%).
                In children younger than 2 years, concurrent adenoidectomy during the insertion of tympanostomy tubes does not seem to have a major advantage over the insertion of tympanostomy tubes alone in preventing otitis media.
Our review shows a significant benefit of adenoidectomy as far as the resolution of middle ear effusion in children with OME is concerned. However, the benefit to hearing is small and the effects on changes in the tympanic membrane are unknown. The risks of operating should be weighed against these potential benefits.
The absence of a significant benefit of adenoidectomy on AOM suggests that routine surgery for this indication is not warranted.