title: Eustachian tube function of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: Prolonged observations of the eustachian tube (ET) function were made on 40 ears of 20 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who survived more than 5 years after radiotherapy in a state of remission. The ET function tests included passive opening, inflation-deflation, and clearance, and were performed before, at 6 months, and at 5 years after radiotherapy. The test results were found to be worst at 6 months after radiotherapy and improved at 5 years after radiotherapy. Tubal obstruction and inflammation are the main causes of the ET malfunction that results in otitis media with effusion (OME) in NPC patients after radiotherapy. Insertion of a ventilation tube into the ear with OME can relieve tubal obstruction but can aggravate inflammation. Thus, myringotomy and aspiration of effusion and local treatment may be preferable to insertion of a ventilation tube in NPC patients with OME. When hearing improvement in prolonged survival of NPC patients with OME is needed, the use of amplification is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Republic of China.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D005064:Eustachian Tube / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D001239:Inhalation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome