Predictive value of the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 for identifying obstructive Eustachian tube...

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Audiology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (OETD) significantly impacts patient quality of life.
• Objective measures like impedance tympanometry are crucial for diagnosing OETD.
• The ETDQ-7 is a widely used patient-reported outcome measure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the diagnostic accuracy of the ETDQ-7 for OETD.
• To evaluate the ETDQ-7's performance against objective measures such as tympanometry.
• To determine if a specific ETDQ-7 score threshold reliably identifies OETD.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of studies utilizing the ETDQ-7 and objective OETD measures.
• Searched four major electronic databases: Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus.
• Qualitative synthesis of 12 studies meeting inclusion criteria, with attention to study design and patient selection.

Main Results:

• Twelve studies were included after screening 652 initial records.
• When ETDQ-7 was used alongside prior objective testing, sensitivity ranged from 91%-100% and specificity from 67%-100%.
• When ETDQ-7 was administered without prior objective testing, sensitivity dropped to 49%-80% and specificity to 24%-78%.

Conclusions:

• The ETDQ-7 is a valuable patient-reported outcome measure.
• Existing literature suggests the ETDQ-7 has limitations as a standalone diagnostic tool for OETD.
• The ETDQ-7's utility as an objective measure of Eustachian tube function is currently limited.