van Dongen, TM;
van der Heijden, GJ;
Freling, HG;
Venekamp, RP;
Schilder, AG;
(2013)
Parent-Reported Otorrhea in Children with Tympanostomy Tubes: Incidence and Predictors.
PLoS One
, 8
(7)
, Article e69062. 10.1371/journal.pone.0069062.
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Abstract
Purpose Although common in children with tympanostomy tubes, the current incidence of tympanostomy tube otorrhea (TTO) is uncertain. TTO is generally a sign of otitis media, when middle ear fluid drains through the tube. Predictors for otitis media are therefore suggested to have predictive value for the occurrence of TTO. Objective To determine the incidence of TTO and its predictors. Methods We performed a cohort study, using a parental web-based questionnaire to retrospectively collect data on TTO episodes and its potential predictors from children younger than 10 years of age with tympanostomy tubes. Results Of the 1,184 children included in analyses (total duration of time since tube placement was 768 person years with a mean of 7.8 months per child), 616 children (52%) experienced one or more episodes of TTO. 137 children (12%) had TTO within the calendar month of tube placement. 597 (50%) children had one or more acute TTO episodes (duration <4 weeks) and 46 children (4%) one or more chronic TTO episodes (duration ≥4 weeks). 146 children (12%) experienced recurrent TTO episodes. Accounting for time since tube placement, 67% of children developed one or more TTO episodes in the year following tube placement. Young age, recurrent acute otitis media being the indication for tube placement, a recent history of recurrent upper respiratory tract infections and the presence of older siblings were independently associated with the future occurrence of TTO, and can therefore be seen as predictors for TTO. Conclusions Our survey confirms that otorrhea is a common sequela in children with tympanostomy tubes, which occurrence can be predicted by age, medical history and presence of older siblings.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Parent-Reported Otorrhea in Children with Tympanostomy Tubes: Incidence and Predictors |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0069062 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069062 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2013 van Dongen et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. PMCID: PMC3709928 |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > The Ear Institute |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1404201 |
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