Screening for otitis media with effusion in preschool children.
1439 Dutch children were included in a randomised trial to evaluate the efficacy of preschool screening for otitis media with effusion (OME) by 3-monthly tympanometry. Children with bilateral OME on two consecutive occasions were referred for further investigation and then, if parents gave their consent, allocated at random to treatment or non-treatment groups. The effect of childhood screening for OME and subsequent treatment was evaluated by assessment of language performance; no benefit was found, mainly because of the large degree of spontaneous recovery.
Zielhuis
G A
GA
Department of Epidemiology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Rach
G H
GH
van den Broek
P
P
D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation; D009426:Netherlands; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011897:Random Allocation