Transmyringeal ventilation tube treatment: a 10-year cohort study

This ten-year cohort study was intended to determine the incidence and expected outcome of ventilation tube treatment at a clinic that serves a community with 300,000 inhabitants.

All children aged 0-10 years, who received their first ventilation tube during 1996, were followed over 10 years, at the department of Otorhinolaryngology, county hospital Ryhov, Jönköping, Sweden. All acute and planned visits were recorded and analyzed, but no extra visits were scheduled due to participation in the study.

In 1996 the overall incidence of tube insertion in the age group 0-10 years was 1 percent. A total of 155 children were entered, and 146 (94 percent) fulfilled the study. During the 10 years' follow up, a total of 409 acute visits and 1485 planned visits were made. In approximately 50 percent of the cases the first ventilation tube was still in place after one year. Infection occurred in 53 percent of the treated ear(s) at least once; the risk for infection was higher if the indication for ventilation tube placement was recurrent acute otitis media. In 45 percent of the children at least one more tube insertion was needed. A permanent perforation after tube treatment was seen in 2 percent of the treated ears. After 5 years, one half of the children were declared free from middle ear disease, but at the termination of the study 17 percent of the children were still in need of regular visits to an otologist due to residual ear problems.

This study shows the natural course of treatment with middle ear ventilation tubes in a cohort of children aged 0-10 years during a ten-year period. The incidence of ventilation tube treatment was 1 percent. It is evident that many children need a prolonged contact with an ear-nose and throat specialist when treated with a ventilation tube.