Secretory otitis media. Late results of treatment with grommets.
In 108 children (184 ears) with chronic secretory otitis treated with grommets, the condition at one-to-five years follow-up was compared with that at five-to-eight years follow-up. At the latter time, hearing was extremely good, 97.5% of the ears having a speech reception threshold (SRT) of 20 dB or less. However, only 67% of patients could be classified as cured by normal tympanometry. The remaining ears showed a negative middle-ear pressure of 100 to 300 mm H2O (25%), recurrent accumulation of secretion (1.6%), adhesive otitis (3.3%), perforation (1.7%), or cholesteatoma (1%). The eardrum was normal in 44% of patients, while in 25% it was diffusely atrophic, lax, or retracted.
D000233:Adenoidectomy; D000293:Adolescent; D001299:Audiometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011312:Pressure; D013997:Time Factors