[Clinical and experimental considerations for evaluation of Eustachian tube physiology]

Eustachian tube dysfunction plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of otitis media with effusion. Besides the lack of sufficient animal models to investigate the role of gastroesophageal reflux on Eustachian tube function, there is no reliable test that clinically allows the quantification of Eustachian tube function. Therefore, we established a Mongolian gerbil model to trace gastroesophageal reflux into the middle ear. In gerbils with traceable reflux, the refluxate reached the both middle ears through the Eustachian tubes in most cases.

Clinical studies were performed to analyze the reproducibility of measuring the accuracy of modified tube manometry in healthy Caucasians.

Tube manometry was found to be a reliable and reproducible tool for measuring Eustachian tube function.

Both our animal model and the clinical application of tube manometry are likely to be useful for further experimental and clinical studies.