[Parents satisfied with the grommet treatment in ear, nose and throat practice]

In Denmark, grommet insertion in the tympanic membrane is the most frequent type of surgery carried out on children. Denmark has a higher registered incidence of grommet treatment than the countries with which we normally compare ourselves. It is therefore relevant to study whether ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists follow grommet treatment guidelines, and which children are treated with grommets.

The study was planned as an observational survey with the individual child as observational unit for patient data. The ENT specialist was the observational unit for doctor behaviour. Data were collected in a double questionnaire study in which two questionnaires were completed by the ENT specialist and another two by the parents of each individual child.

A total of 24 ENT specialists participated, and they included 426 children in the study. The majority of the children were observed between three and six months prior to surgery. In 32% (28-37%) of the cases, the specialist had no information describing how long the GP had observed the child. A total of 95% (92-97%) of the parents were satisfied with the grommet treatment and estimated that it had considerably improved the child's and the family's daily lives.

The specialists followed the grommet treatment guidelines. Communication between specialists and GPs could be improved. Parents were satisfied with the treatment.