Screening for Eustachian Tube Dysfunction in Clinical Practice Using the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7.

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Medical diagnostics
• Patient-reported outcomes

Background:

• Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) presents with symptoms that can overlap with other ear conditions, complicating diagnosis.
• Accurate differentiation is crucial for appropriate patient management and treatment.
• The Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7) is a tool used to assess ETD symptoms, but its discriminative ability needs further evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire-7 (ETDQ-7) for its capacity to differentiate between patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) and those with non-ETD diagnoses.
• To identify specific symptom information that can enhance the diagnostic discrimination of ETD.

Main Methods:

• A pilot retrospective cohort study involving adult patients in otology and otolaryngology clinics.
• Patients completed the ETDQ-7 along with eight additional symptom-specific questions.
• Data were analyzed using receiver-operating characteristic curves to determine the area under the curve (AUC) for diagnostic discrimination.

Main Results:

• The ETDQ-7 alone had an AUC of 0.569 for distinguishing ETD from other causes of ear fullness.
• Patients diagnosed with ETD reported significantly higher ETDQ-7 scores compared to the control group (P = .008).
• Incorporating the eight additional symptom questions improved the AUC to 0.801, significantly enhancing diagnostic discrimination.

Conclusions:

• The ETDQ-7 is a valuable tool but may require supplementation for precise ETD diagnosis.
• Additional patient-reported symptom data can significantly improve the ability to differentiate ETD from conditions with similar presentations.
• This finding supports the refinement of diagnostic questionnaires for otological conditions.