Factors associated with tympanostomy tube insertion among preschool-aged children in the United States.
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OBJECTIVES: Recurrent and persistent otitis media is often treated by tympanostomy tube insertion to ventilate the middle ear and restore hearing. This study examined the factors that predict which children are most likely to receive tympanostomy tubes through 3 years of age. METHODS: Multiple logistic regression was conducted on data from a nationally representative sample of children (N = 8285). RESULTS: By 3 years of age, 6.8% of US children had tubes inserted. Logistic regression indicated that after control for number of ear infections, children without any gaps in health insurance, who attended a day-care center, who were White, whose birth-weight was less than 1500 g, and who lived in the Midwest or South were significantly more likely to have tympanostomy tubes. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that differences exist as to who receives tubes. Of particular concern are differences by race/ethnicity and continuity of health insurance coverage. With expansions in health care coverage to larger proportions of uninsured children, it will be important to monitor these programs to ensure that all children who may need tympanostomy tubes have access to them. (+info)
Acute otitis media: part II. Treatment in an era of increasing antibiotic resistance.
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Antibiotic resistance is increasing among the pathogens that commonly cause acute otitis media. This development may merit changes in the traditional antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media. Risk factors for resistant pathogens include recent antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media, children in day care facilities, wintertime infections and acute otitis media in children less than two years of age. Amoxicillin remains the antibiotic of first choice, although a higher dosage (80 mg per kg per day) may be indicated to ensure eradication of resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Oral cefuroxime or amoxicillin-clavulanate and intramuscular ceftriaxone are suggested second-line choices for treatment failure. Compliance with antibiotic regimens is enhanced by selecting agents that require less frequent dosing (such as one or two times a day) and by prescribing shorter (five days or less) treatment courses. Selective use of tympanocentesis if the patient does not respond to empiric therapy can help confirm the diagnosis and guide effective therapy. (+info)
Otolaryngologists' perceptions of the indications for tympanostomy tube insertion in children.
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BACKGROUND: Bilateral myringotomy with insertion of tympanostomy tubes is the most common operation that children in Canada undergo. Area variations in surgical rates for this procedure have raised questions about indications used to decide about surgery. The objective of this study was to describe the factors that influence otolaryngologists to recommend tympanostomy tube insertion in children with otitis media and their level of agreement about indications for surgery. METHODS: A survey was sent to all 227 otolaryngologists in Ontario in the fall of 1996. The influence of 17 clinical and social factors on recommendations to insert tympanostomy tubes were assessed. Case vignettes were used to determine the effect of multiple factors in decisions about the need for surgical management. RESULTS: Surveys were returned by 138 (68.3%) of the 202 eligible otolaryngologists. There was agreement (more than 90% of respondents) about 6 indications for surgery: persistent effusion, a lack of improvement after 3 months of antibiotic therapy, a history of persistent effusion for 3 or more months per episode of otitis media, more than 7 episodes of otitis media in 6 months, a bilateral conductive hearing loss of 20 dB or more and a persistently abnormal tympanic membrane. Some respondents were more likely to recommend tube insertion if there were parental concerns about hearing problems or the frequency or severity of episodes of otitis media. Otolaryngologists agreed about the role of tympanostomy tubes in 1 of 4 case vignettes but disagreed about whether adenoidectomy should also be performed in that instance. Most viewed tympanostomy tube insertion as beneficial, with few adverse effects. INTERPRETATION: There is a lack of consensus among practising otolaryngologists in Ontario as to which children with recurrent otitis media or persistent effusion should undergo bilateral myringotomy with tympanostomy tube insertion. These findings suggest the need to revisit clinical guidelines for this procedure. (+info)
Randomised controlled trial of the effect of ventilation tubes (grommets) on quality of life at age 1-2 years.
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AIMS: To study the effect of treatment with ventilation tubes on quality of life in children aged 1-2 years with persistent otitis media with effusion (OME), as compared to watchful waiting. METHODS: Multicentre randomised controlled trial (n = 187) with two treatment arms: ventilation tubes and watchful waiting. Children were detected by auditory screening at the age of 9-12 months, and were subsequently diagnosed as having persistent (4-6 months) bilateral OME. Quality of life (TAIQOL and Erickson scales) was measured at 0, 6, and 12 months follow up. RESULTS: There was improvement in quality of life, but the ventilation tube group did not improve significantly more than the watchful waiting group. Although an attempt has been made to identify possible subgroups that benefit more, we were not able to find such subgroups, which might be a result of lack of power in this study. CONCLUSION: Ventilation tubes do not have a substantial incremental effect on the quality of life of infants aged 1-2 years with uncomplicated persistent bilateral OME. (+info)
Use of intranasal fentanyl in children undergoing myringotomy and tube placement during halothane and sevoflurane anesthesia.
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BACKGROUND: Many children are restless, disoriented, and inconsolable immediately after bilateral myringotomy and tympanosotomy tube placement (BMT). Rapid emergence from sevoflurane anesthesia and postoperative pain may increase emergence agitation. The authors first determined serum fentanyl concentrations in a two-phase study of intranasal fentanyl. The second phase was a prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blind study to determine the efficacy of intranasal fentanyl in reducing emergence agitation after sevoflurane or halothane anesthesia. METHODS: In phase 1, 26 children with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I or II who were scheduled for BMT received intranasal fentanyl, 2 microg/kg, during a standardized anesthetic. Serum fentanyl concentrations in blood samples drawn at emergence and at postanesthesia care unit (PACU) discharge were determined by radioimmunoassay. In phase 2, 265 children with ASA physical status I or II were randomized to receive sevoflurane or halothane anesthesia along with either intranasal fentanyl (2 microg/kg) or saline. Postoperative agitation, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS) scores, and satisfaction of PACU nurses and parents with the anesthetic technique were evaluated. RESULTS: In phase 1, the mean fentanyl concentrations at 10 +/- 4 min (mean +/- SD) and 34 +/- 9 min after administering intranasal fentanyl were 0.80 +/- 0.28 and 0.64 +/- 0.25 ng/ml, respectively. In phase 2, the incidence of severe agitation, highest CHEOPS scores, and heart rate in the PACU were decreased with intranasal fentanyl. There were no differences between sevoflurane and halothane in these measures and in times to hospital discharge. The incidence of postoperative vomiting, hypoxemia, and slow respiratory rates were not increased with fentanyl. CONCLUSIONS: Serum fentanyl concentrations after intranasal administration exceed the minimum effective steady state concentration for analgesia in adults. The use of intranasal fentanyl during halothane or sevoflurane anesthesia for BMT is associated with diminished postoperative agitation without an increase in vomiting, hypoxemia, or discharge times. (+info)
Effect of early or delayed insertion of tympanostomy tubes for persistent otitis media on developmental outcomes at the age of three years.
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BACKGROUND: A main indication for the insertion of tympanostomy tubes in infants and young children is persistent otitis media with effusion, reflecting concern that this condition may cause lasting impairments of speech, language, cognitive, and psychosocial development. However, evidence of such relations is inconclusive, and evidence is lacking that the insertion of tympanostomy tubes prevents developmental impairment. METHODS: We enrolled 6350 healthy infants from 2 to 61 days of age and evaluated them regularly for middle-ear effusion. Before the age of three years 429 children with persistent effusion were randomly assigned to have tympanostomy tubes inserted either as soon as possible or up to nine months later if effusion persisted. In 402 of these children we assessed speech, language, cognition, and psychosocial development at the age of three years. RESULTS: By the age of three years, 169 children in the early-treatment group (82 percent) and 66 children in the late-treatment group (34 percent) had received tympanostomy tubes. There were no significant differences between the early-treatment group and the late-treatment group at the age of three years in the mean (+/-SD) scores on the Number of Different Words test, a measure of word diversity (124+/-32 and 126+/-30, respectively); the Percentage of Consonants Correct-Revised test, a measure of speech-sound production (85+/-7 vs. 86+/-7); the General Cognitive Index of McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (99+/-14 vs. 101+/-13); or on measures of receptive language, sentence length, grammatical complexity, parent-child stress, and behavior. CONCLUSIONS: In children younger than three years of age who have persistent otitis media, prompt insertion of tympanostomy tubes does not measurably improve developmental outcomes at the age of three years. (+info)
Does early detection of otitis media with effusion prevent delayed language development?
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OBJECTIVE: To consider whether earlier detection of otitis media with effusion (OME) in asymptomatic children in the first 4 years of life prevents delayed language development. METHODS: MEDLINE and other databases were searched and relevant references from articles reviewed. Critical appraisal and consensus development were in accordance with the methods of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. RESULTS: No randomised controlled trials assessing the overall screening for OME and early intervention to prevent delay in acquiring language were identified, although one trial evaluated treatment in a screened population and found no benefit. The "analytic pathway" approach was therefore used, where evidence is evaluated for individual steps in a screening process. The evidence supporting the use of tools for early detection such as tympanometry, microtympanometry, acoustic reflectometry, and pneumatic otoscopy in the first 4 years of life is unclear. Some treatments (mucolytics, antibiotics, steroids) resulted in the short term resolution of effusions as measured by tympanometry. Ventilation tubes resolved effusions and improved hearing. Ventilation tubes in children with hearing loss associated with OME benefited children in the short term, but after 18 months there was no difference in comparison with those assigned to watchful waiting. Most prospective cohort studies that evaluated the association between OME and language development lacked adequate measurement of exposure or outcome, or suffered from attrition bias. Findings with regard to the association were inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence to support attempts at early detection of OME in the first 4 years of life in the asymptomatic child to prevent delayed language development. (+info)
Strategies for decreasing multidrug antibiotic resistance: role of ototopical agents for treatment of middle ear infections.
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Change in the susceptibility of bacterial pathogens to antimicrobial agents is constant. The efficacy of a new drug may change as it is used in clinical settings, and resistant bacterial clones result from the encounter of drug and organism. Soon after the introduction of the sulfonamides in the mid-1930s, the first effective agents of the antimicrobial era, resistance of pneumococci and group A streptococci was evident. In each of the following decades, a different problem in multidrug resistance occurred among common bacterial pathogens: beta-lactamase-producing staphylococci in the 1950s; highly resistant gram-negative enteric bacteria in the 1960s; beta-lactamase-producing Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis in the 1970s; and multidrug-resistant pneumococci in the 1980s. Antimicrobial resistance among respiratory pathogens is now a common clinical problem throughout the world, and its management is a part of routine office practice. Currently in the United States, about 25% of pneumococci are resistant to penicillin, and 25% of H influenzae and 90% of M catarrhalis produce beta-lactamase and would be inactivated by organisms producing the enzyme. The emergence of penicillin and multidrug-resistant pneumococci and beta-lactamase-producing strains of H influenzae and M catarrhalis have special importance for the management of infections of the middle ear. The widespread use of oral and parenteral antimicrobial drugs for appropriate and inappropriate uses has driven the emergence and spread of resistant organisms. This article discusses current susceptibility patterns of organisms involved in middle ear infections, risk factors associated with development of resistant strains, strategies for limiting the incidence and spread of resistant organisms and, as part of the strategy, use of ototopical rather than systemic antimicrobial drugs for chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) and acute otitis media (AOM) in children with tympanostomy tubes. Although many ototopical agents are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the indication of otitis externa, only ofloxacin otic is approved for treatment of CSOM in patients older than 12 years of age and AOM in children with tympanostomy tubes who are 1 year of age or older. (+info)