title: Ventilation tube treatment: a systematic review of the literature.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this review was to study the effectiveness of ventilation tube (VT) treatment in children with secretory otitis media (SOM), assessed by improved hearing, normalized language and quality of life (QoL), and recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM), assessed by number of episodes of AOM and QoL. Data Sources. Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase databases were searched for randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials and cohort studies in English, Scandinavian, German, and French languages between 1966 and April 2007. Additional literature was retrieved from reference lists in the articles.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 493 abstracts were evaluated independently by 2 members of the project group, 247 full-text versions were assessed for inclusion criteria and quality using structured evaluation forms, and 63 articles were included in the review.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This review shows that there is strong scientific evidence (grade 1) that VT treatment of SOM improves hearing for at least 9 months and that QoL is improved for up to 9 months (grade 2 scientific evidence). There was insufficient evidence to support an effect of VT treatment for rAOM. There was also insufficient evidence to determine whether the design or material of the VT or the procedure used for insertion had any influence on the effect; however, there was some evidence (grade 3) that aspiration of secretion at insertion does not prolong VT treatment. Further research is needed to address these issues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Audiology and Neurotology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. sten.hellstrom@karolinska.se
authors.forename: Sten
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hellström
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Groth
authors.forename: Finn
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jörgensen
authors.forename: Agneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pettersson
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ryding
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Uhlén
authors.forename: Kristina Bengtsson
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Boström
mesh_terms: D000233:Adenoidectomy / Q000379:methods; D001299:Audiometry / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation / Q000379:methods*; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D011788:Quality of Life; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012008:Recurrence; D012086:Reoperation / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome