Analysis and presentation of data on the natural course of otitis media with effusion in children.
Methods of analysing and presenting longitudinal data on health characteristics that have a fluctuating course are by no means standard. Several possibilities are discussed and tried out on longitudinal data on Otitis Media with Effusion (OME) in Dutch children. If the purpose of a study is descriptive, a graphical presentation based on an idea from Fiellau-Nikolajsen is preferred. For estimation purposes on the other hand, hazard functions are the most suitable. Further reduction of the data does not lead to a clear view into the complex nature of the course of a disease such as OME.
Zielhuis
G A
GA
Department of Epidemiology, Nijmegen University, The Netherlands.
Straatman
H
H
Rach
G H
GH
van den Broek
P
P
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008390:Markov Chains; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012008:Recurrence