The effectiveness of ventilation tubes treatment in otitis media with effusion in children

Background. Otitis media with effusion is a common condition in children. It is defined as a presence of fluid in the middle ear and causes conductive hearing loss. It is recommended to start a treatment after 3 months of "watchful waiting" period. Surgical treatment methods include adenoidectomy and ventilation tubes insertion. Objectives. Assessing the effectiveness of middle ear ventitalion as OME treatment method. Material and methods. The medical charts of 31 children with ventilation tube treatment were analyzed. The control group were 7 children with medical treatment or adenoidectomy. The number of ears with effusion was compared between groups after 6-9, and 12-24 months. Results. There was statistically relevant difference in the number of ears with effusion between groups after 6-9 months and there was no such a difference after 12-24 months. Conclusions. Ventilation tube treatment is effective in resolving effusion comparing to medical treatment or adenoidectomy but this effect is short term.