title: Does the type of middle ear aspirate have any prognostic significance in otitis media with effusion in children?
abstract: Two hundred and twenty-two children with chronic, bilateral middle ear effusions were assessed during a 2 year follow-up period. At initial myringotomy the middle ear aspirate was found to be serous in 44 children and mucoid in 178 children. Evaluation at 1 and 2 years post-operatively showed no difference in otoscopic fluid clearance or mean hearing threshold at either follow-up time in relation to either type of fluid. There was no greater need for ventilation tube reinsertion in either group during the overall follow-up period. There was found to be no significant difference between the children with serous or mucoid effusions in relation to a range of pre-operative and operative variables. The study suggests that outcome in terms of fluid clearance and hearing thresholds is independent of the fluid type and there appears no greater need for revision ventilation tube insertion in relation to the findings at myringotomy. The type of effusion found on aspiration prior to ventilation tube insertion has no prognostic value. Children with serous fluid should be managed in an identical manner to those in which the fluid is thicker and mucoid in character.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Bristol Royal Infirmary, UK.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Maw
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bawden
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: O'Keefe
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gurr
mesh_terms: D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011897:Random Allocation